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i_read_whatSo last time, we read the first story in the Chronicles of Pern. In it, we see the initial survey of Pern. Not a lot happened and the characters were more interesting concepts than fully developed, but it wasn't bad.
Let's see what "The Dolphins' Bell" gives us.
So we start with Jim Tillek, a character I vaguely remember from Dragonsdawn, though I don't think he actually did or said much, activating a "red alert recall sequence" at Monaco Bay. A shit ton of dolphins answer.
One dolphin gets a bit more of a description than others, so I'm assuming she's important:
“Why ring the red?” Teresa demanded, bobbing her head up in front of Jim, who stood, legs spread for balance, on the rocking float anchored at the end of Monaco Wharf. Her nose bore the many scratches and scars of age, as well as of an aggressive personality. She tended to assume the role of Speaker for Dolphins.
She seems fun.
We're also given a description of the set up: a "float" where the "dolphineers" confer with pods and individuals, and where dolphins report unusual occurrences, and the "Big Bell" which they use to call each other (the dolphins have a chain they can pull).
Oh okay, so this is set during the period where the Pern colonists have to move north. They're looking for the dolphins to help as well as warning them about the impending destruction.
Jim, by the way, is pretty unhappy about the whole "our main settlement, which we've developed and worked on for more than nine years is about to be blown up or covered in ash" part, and okay, I can't blame him for that. It kind of sucks.
You would think that the volcanic activity would have gone in the initial survey report, really. I was going to suggest that the geologist was one of the team members that were killed, but actually no. Ben was the geologist. What the fuck, Ben? You guys have a shit ton of technology but can't figure out a volcano is likely to blow in a few decades?
There is an interesting world building note. Teresa asks where the humans will go and if it will be "back to sick ocean world". Jim says no, and we're told that the dolphins had spent the fifteen year journey in cold sleep so they don't know how much time has passed.
So presumably one of the worlds the colonists came from had issues with their oceans. Good to know.
We see the dolphins talk to each other, a touch I really like. One dolphin, Captiva, semes to have a pretty strong grasp of English (or Pernese?) grammar. We also learn that, at this time, there are nine dolphineers and seven apprentices. Jim Tillek has a forty foot sloop called the Southern Cross. We see a few other names, but I'm not sure which, if any, will be significant so I'm moving past them.
One dude though seems more significant, if troublesome.
“We’ve got to transport all that?” Ben Byrne cried in an aggrieved tone as he flung an arm toward the wharfside, where enormous piles of matériel were being deposited by sleds of all sizes. He was a small, compact man with crisp blond hair nearly white from sun bleach. His wife, Claire, who worked with him at Paradise River, stood at his side. “There aren’t that many ships of any decent size and if you think the dolphins can—”
“We’ve only to get it to Kahrain, Ben,” Jim said, laying a steadying hand on the younger man’s shoulder.
“Click! Click!” Teresa managed an ear-piercing shout for attention. “We do that, we do that!” Amadeus, Pha, and Kibby agreed, nodding vigorously.
“Ye daft finnies, you’d burst yerselves,” Ben cried, incensed, wagging his arms at the dolphins facing him to be quiet.
I'm hoping to give McCaffrey benefit of the doubt here, but I'm getting Ted Tubberman and Wind Blossom vibes here. I'm getting the sense that we're not supposed to like this guy.
Jim Tillek just thinks that Ben is "as uninhibited as any of the whimsically impetuous dolphins he was supposed to 'manage.'"
Hm. It's funny that both stories in the book so far have a dude named "Ben". I think the stories may have originally been published in different places though. But it'd be pretty great if this keeps going. I wouldn't put it past McCaffrey to include B'n the dragonrider.
Apparently the dolphins have been aware that something was happening though, so some of the dolphineers are less surprised. Though they note that "some of them" exaggerate.
So Tillek continues to fill them in: Garben is the volcano that's erupting. "Patrice" can't give them a time frame (which stuns one random dude who is described as "solid and unflappable") but the eruption is imminent.
Like an hour or two imminent. Yikes.
That said, volcano eruptions are probably not as abrupt as they look on television. And indeed, they're anticipating a few days of "just sulfer and ash", but also Monaco is in range of heavy stuff that the volcano can throw at them. Like boulders and shit.
There's a funny note of confusion where someone points out that Threadfall is happening soon. But Jim just says that threadfall will have to wait. Fair enough.
So there's logistics. Moving shit. Spreading evacuation plans. Apparently Emily Boll had provided Tillek with them earlier. Apparently the cargo loads are color coded: red and orange as priority, red as fragile. green and blue are waterproof and can be towed. Yellow needs to go in a hull. Neat. And Lilienkamp is sending supplies.
I'm reminded of my vague irritation that Jayce's people are named after the supply masters and not the travelers that their culture is clearly based off of/descended from. But that's not really fair to harp on here.
Huh, maybe I'm wrong about Ben, because so far, he seems like a pretty enthusiastic planner and has his own helpful thoughts about the logistics. He also gets a cute bit with a dolphin "Ammie" or "Amadeus" who splashes him, but is reminded that it's a serious matter so "no rough stuff today".
So things get going, I don't feel the need to recap more logistics or the start of the transport. It's fun to read though. It is noted that many of the crafts being pressed into service are being manned by relatively inexperienced sailors. Some of whom are preteens.
Oh, we do see some of McCaffrey's weird anti-common folk classism pop up though:
“Those clodheaded landlubbers are more trouble than anyone else,” Jim said, striding landward on the wharf, raising his bullhorn to chew out some Landing residents who were adding household goods to the stack of red priority cargo. Some of the colonists who had remained at the Landing site as administrators felt they should have certain perks. Well, not in this crisis, they didn’t.
Of course the random no-name folk can't comprehend the nature of "priority" just like peasant folk can't possibly appreciate Aivas. Again, this might not be fair. I should judge this story on its own merits. And so far, it's not bad.
Jim looks back and sees the volcanos emitting clouds of white and grey and how many things still need to be removed. He has a moment of resentment for not being able to send more stuff by air, but when he catches sight of dragons, he has to admit that a shit ton of stuff IS being flown out.
Huh, a McCaffrey lead making an incorrect snap judgment about some of the important folk of the realm and acknowledging that he's being unfair? Wow. Both being wrong and admitting to it is a rare thing for her heroes. I could get to like Tillek after all.
There's some trouble with the water folk too. A raft is not loaded in a balanced way. There are a few minor casualties. But mostly things go well, and Jim does a good job of leading the folk.
Things pass to the next day. Folks are pretty exhausted and the sulfuric and chlorinated air make things worse. Most human swimmers end up needing masks and oxygen tanks. And there are more emergencies because everyone is tired and stiff.
On the third day, the smaller crafts are taken out of the water, and the crews are used to unload larger ships and dolphins. And apparently the dolphins are having fun competitions about hauling weight and such. On a sad note, apparently otters are extinct on Earth at this time. Aw.
We do learn a bit more of the plan. Once everything is taken to Kahrain, they'll be figuring out what's going to be packed up and taken north. Another dude gets a significant description here:
“It’s a fair ol’ haul to the place they’ve chosen in the north,” Anders Sejby said in a neutral tone. He was a big man, phlegmatic in temperament, but astonishingly agile physically. He had big hands, big feet, broad shoulders, and solid legs that threatened to burst the seams of his waterproofed trousers. He tended to go bare-chested, and barefooted, but there wasn’t a mariner on the planet that wouldn’t sail anywhere with him, Jim Tillek included. “Any sort of a pier there? Or do we have to lighter stuff in from the bigger ships?”
Jim gave him a blank stare. “I dunno. I’ll find out.”
“You mean,” asked Ben, who fired up easily, “we’re busting our nuts doing all this and we’ve got to—”
Jim held up his hand to stem Ben’s indignant protest. “All will be prepared for us there.”
“Bet it wasn’t until you mentioned it,” Ben said sourly.
I see you Tubbermanning there, Ben. Be careful. Right now you're allowed to be competent. That might not last.
So then things get really exciting when Garben does its grand scale eruption -I assume the "erupting in a few hours" in the previous scene was about the preliminary process, where this is the big kaboom. It definitely sounds exciting though:
Everyone did have memories of Garben’s spectacular eruption, seen at a safe enough distance to be clear of the pyroclastic debris. It was truly awe-inspiring, and immensely heartbreaking, to see the community that they had achieved in such a short time showered with ash and burning missiles, then disappearing behind dense gray clouds.
Fortunately, it sounds like everyone got out.
Ben asks about the dolphin bell, but Tillek decides they should leave it. The dolphins can still have fun ringing it after all, and Tillek doesn't have the energy to dismantle it.
Hm. I wonder if this bell will somehow still be operational for "Dolphins of Pern". I suspect it will be.
Ben though is pretty sad when the bell and wharf recede from sight. An obnoxious character who still gets likable and sorrowful moments? Tillek even sympathizes with the guy, noting that Paradise River had become a home to him and the bell clearly symbolizes so much else that had to be left behind.
They do get to have some rest in Kahrain at least. We're told the only casualty of the evacuation was a young dragonrider and his dragon who went between and never came out. Aw. I remember that. (I feel like the dude ends up showing up in that really weird little Moreta story McCaffrey wrote. I should find that one.)
I rather like this bit from when Emily discusses the newly traumatized dragonriders:
“I told them to take the day off,” she said, clearing her throat authoritatively, ignoring the fact that Sean, de facto leader of the dragonriders, had told her in no uncertain terms that he and his group would not be available for work until the next day.
Heh, I always did like Sean.
So there's more logistics planning. They've got a warehouse for nonvital supplies so they can pace their runs. There's still threadfall to deal with. They're trying to avoid the burrows. And interestingly, we're told a few groups intend to stay behind on the southern continent. Drake, who had been namedropped a few times in Dragonsdawn is one. So are the Gallanis, Logrides, Seminole, Key Larger and Ierne Island groups. Tarvi's keeping mines and smelters going.
Huh, calling him Tarvi instead of Telgar? Interesting. And we can guess they're not staying forever. Telgar, at least, will end up going North, from what I remember.
So more planning. Joel Lilienkamp is apparently under a lot of stress. He'd apparently had everything ultra catalogued and organized at Landing (except when Ted stole the Beacon, I guess or the whole fuel thing...) and he's not dealing well with the present confusion.
He also apparently has an eidetic memory, which is good to know but not really relevant at this time I'd reckon.
It's funny which characters get explanations in this story and which ones don't. Emily is explained early on as being the co-leader of the colony. But Ezra Keroon is in this scene and he gets no explanation. He's just "Ezra". He'll be putting back on his captain's hat to help with moving shit.
There's some fun banter between Jim and Ezra over who gets to be the Admiral of the Pernese navy (Ezra just notes they'll stick to being captains and working as a team).
One recurring character in the story seems to be somewhat important too:
“There was a fleet like this once before,” Jim said to Theo Force, who was the dolphineer on duty at the time the Southern Cross was leading the way out of Kahrain Cove.
“Like that?” Theo jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the strung-out line of ill-assorted vessels. Dressed in her body wet suit, breather flung over one shoulder to be ready for use instantly, she had stretched out her strong tanned legs on her side of the cockpit. Jim had an eye for a shapely leg, even one generally showing scars from many brushes with underwater obstacles. He was also becoming accustomed to Theo’s subtly attractive face. Well into her third decade, she was not a conventionally pretty woman, but her rather plain features nevertheless indicated her strong character and purposefulness.
I sense love interest. Maybe Jim and Ezra were reading a little too gay. She was here earlier and had ridden a dolphin and exchanged some banter with Jim.
Jim now seems to be noticing she's a girl though so that's probably relevant. We're also told that Theo never finds Jim boring when he starts "yarning".
See?
“Oh?” Theo never found Jim Tillek boring, especially when he started yarning. She knew that he had sailed every sea on old Earth and some on the newer colony planets, as well, in between his interstellar voyages as the captain of a drone freighter. Over the past few days she’d had a chance to admire the qualities of a man she’d barely chatted with before. Now, keeping as watchful an eye on their convoy as he did, she listened with pleasure as he warmed to his tale.
I sense romance. I'm not sure how old Tillek is supposed to be, but McCaffrey does like significant age differences.
Tillek's telling her about Dunkirk actually, and how there were no dolphins to help.
Oh, yes, sudden sexiness now:
Theo scrunched down on the cockpit seat, grinning at the subtle reprimand. His face had a lot of sun wrinkles, which made him look older, but his body in the tank top and shorts was lean, fit, and tanned. As usual on board, his feet were bare, showing long, prehensile toes. Once or twice, she’d seen him hold a line tight with just his toes.
...that sounds a little weird, honestly. I can grip some things with my toes too, but "prehensile" sounds a bit much. And as he continues talking about Dunkirk, Theo notes that Jim has only a sprinkling of chest hair which she likes better than other men's full pelt. Down girl.
So anyway, she notes that they're not dealing with a thirty-four klick channel but an entire coastline. He points out that they don't have a war. She points out Thread. He acknowledges, but corrects that at least it's not a war with people shooting at them. Fair.
So more sea stuff. It's an interesting read but not an interesting recap, sorry. Jim and Ezra make progress. They confer about their travel prospects and the hazards. Eventually, they'll be splitting the fleet. Larger crafts with Ezra and two pods of dolphins. Jim gets the smaller, slower ships and more dolphins to help.
They do end up having to layover due to weather, and some plastics experts end up making sail covers, door covers, and plastic headgear to protect folk against Thread when they're in the water. It sounds pretty ingenious actually!
(Miscellaneous note, the inventor, Ika Kashima, is "Eurasian" and based it on the hats that rice farmers used. I like the notes of different races and cultures among the settlers of Pern. Even if sometimes it's a little clumsy.)
I'm also not really sure what to make of this bit:
“We’re lucky we have people of such differing backgrounds,” Jim told the embarrassed Ika kindly. “You never can tell when something as simple as straw hats from rice paddies on Earth can turn out to be life-saving on Pern. Good thinking, Ika! Cheer up, child. You’ve just saved our lives!”
She managed to send him a shy smile before she retreated once again, but her husband, Ebon Kashima, strutted about the camp as if he had thought of the gear.
...hm. Yeah. This feels a little microaggression-ish to me. But I'm also very white, I have to admit, so I could be barking up the wrong tree.
Jim later tells Theo about "boat people" It sounds like he's talking primarily about Vietnamese refugees here:
“More like the boat people,” Jim remarked to Theo as he tacked back down the strung-out line of his charges.
“Boat people?”
“Hmmm, yes. War victims in the twentieth century. They tried to leave their country—Asians, they were—in the most incredibly unseaworthy craft. Junks and sampans, they were called.” He shook his head. “Totally unsuitable. Many died trying to escape. Many arrived at their destinations only to be turned back.”
“Turned back?” Theo was outraged.
“I don’t remember the historical-political situation at the time. It was before Earth was really united by outward-bound goals. I don’t think a one of their craft was as good as the worst of these.”
I feel like McCaffrey might be letting some personal political opinions creep in here. But I think we likely have a similar feeling in this particular instance. I tend to be a bit more tolerant of that kind of thing when I agree with the implied politics, for some reason. (I think we're probably both pretty pro-refugee in general.)
Theo gets to go out with her dolphin to help a distressed ship. Jim realizes he was also thinking of the Heyerdahl expeditions. I wish his tendency to infodump wasn't quite so relatable. Though my knowledge base is far less useful.
Another interesting note is that apparently dolphins eat Thread. Theo's Dart likes them when they're bloated with water. It does make me wonder about the long term effects of eliminating Thread when the ecosystem seems to have developed taking it into account.
Theo gets to talk a bit about herself too. She had been a pilot, now she's a dolphineer. She likes the latter profession better. She's particularly fond of Dart, who is superior to any Earth domestic animal. She didn't stand for Thread because she's too old.
Oh, we do get an age for Jim here:
Theo’s laugh was genuine amusement. “Maybe not from where you swim, Granddad,” she said, but he took no offense from her teasing. He was, after all, in his sixth decade, twice her age, and should have been a grandfather . . . if he hadn’t chosen a profession that would have denied him most of the pleasures of marriage and children. A month’s home leave after sixteen or seventeen months in space wasn’t enough time for a wife or kids. He’d never tried for any more than casual relationships.
Called it. McCaffrey does like age gap romances. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it is pretty predictable.
It definitely sounds like a surreal experience to be in the water and have Thread bounce off your plastic hat. Also apparently fish feel you up as they wait to eat thread.
I mean, the intervals are pretty long so I suppose the fish must have other food sources besides Thread, but I am curious.
Another random note, as the captain of the Buenos Aires, Jim brought teakwood as part of his "allowable weight" - which was what he used to make the deck. (Fortunately fire lizards are there to help protect it.)
So they make it through Threadfall and another emergency - a ketch is nearly sunk by a burst plank. The dolphins save the day there though.
More traveling. There's a tropical storm. It's pretty dramatic. Everyone's trying to get sails down and keep from getting washed off the deck. One dude almost gets struck by lightning. Fortunately, the dolphins are there to help rescue people. But it definitely is very scary and exciting.
Jim actually ends up with a broken arm. Everyone else has their share of injuries too. Jim ignores his injuries to take charge and then reports everything to Ongola over the coms. I remember him. I liked him better than most of the leadership characters.
Jim still seems pretty shocked. He acknowledges that he'd been warned about the way squalls blow up in the area (I suppose the survey crew was good at something!) but this still took everyone by surprise. There were casualties.
Theo made it though, and had helped Jim with his wounds. He also applied sealant to her bare legs and arms. I bet he did. (To be fair, she got them while trying to squeeze into wrecked cabins to help survivors.)
Anyway, Ongola will send medics and supplies, and help carry salvaged cargo. They're not sure how Ezra's group is doing, but Jim thinks they were farther ahead and might have missed the storm. No point in sending him back though as the ships are all loaded solid.
Jim's own ship made it, though it needs repairs. Everyone's pretty happy about that. Three barges sunk completely. The injured folk are biggest priority though. I appreciate that. Joel, in the background, is a dick thoguh and wants to know how much cargo is lost. To his credit, Ongola realizes that the question's out of line, but both note it's not out of character for the guy. Jim's too tired to be offended. He just notes that he hasn't completed a head count.
Apparently one dude actually did need CPR, but was resuscitated okay. Yay. The dolphins (and Theo) are still looking for survivors. Apparently five people are missing. Three of them kids. Ouch. At least they would have been wearing life vests.
The dolphineers were lucky during the storm, because they have breathers and could dive underwater with their partners. But now they're doing heroic rescues. So it balances out. (There are some good stories of them going after sinking ships to get survivors out and sharing breathers with drowning victims. Aw.)
So more recovery of people, ships and cargo. Because I hate Paul Benden, I'll share this bit.
“Look, Paul, I’m damned sorry to add this to your problems,” Jim said wearily.
“It’s not one I expected, certainly,” Paul replied in an odd voice. Jim heard the defeated tone and responded by couching his report in the most optimistic manner he could muster. He rubbed at his face, which was stiff from brine. “Actually, Paul, the way the stuff is floating in on the tide, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we’ll salvage most of it. Some’s too waterlogged to estimate any damage, but generally the packaging held. As to the ships, Andi’s already figuring out repair lists—”
I love how the storm survivor with a broken arm has to comfort the colony governor who is safe and sound. Hmph.
Jim gets his own moment of care later though when, after he hangs up, his colleagues mock him a little, then knock him out with a hypospray. Hah.
--
Later he wakes up to the smell of food. Theo is there too. Apparently she's the one who sicced the cronies on him to knock him out. But her dolphin tattled on her, so they're recuperating together. The medics are taking charge so they get to rest.
Not that Jim is all that cooperative, of course. But it turns out he'd been asleep for thirty-six hours. So things have been moving without them. They get to eat and find out how things are going "at Fort".
Apparently folks have settled well into the caves there. They don't have enough power packs for sleds to mount a fight against Thread, so they're bunkering down. Emily's doing well too. I'd forgotten about this, but she'd been seriously injured in a crash around this time, which is why Paul Benden sounds tired. Still, fuck Paul in general.
So more resting, recuperating, reunion with other folk. Another captain arrives with his ship to help. At some point, the exhausted dolphineers get some shore leave. And Jim and Theo continue to bond. It's cute.
They even have cute banter about whether Dart the dolphin is better than Jim's ship. (Dart talks, per Theo. But Jim feels like his ship does "talk" "in her own fashion". Sailors.)
And of course, we get to the point where, due to some agitated sea shenanigans, Jim invites Theo to stay in one of the bunks. And well, you know how this part goes. There's some shifting. Some falling against each other. Jim has the clueless male bit of assuming she's scared. She is not scared. And well...
Despite the rolling and pitching of the Cross, which sometimes worked to their advantage, he discovered that indeed there were ways and very little hurting. In fact, Jim decided that the next hour could be termed therapeutic—among other adjectives that he had had no occasion to employ for too long a time.
Indeed. Get it, you two.
So they both get approved for "light employment" and they have a kind of low key relationship talk. So to speak:
“We also have each other?” Jim made the sentence not quite a query, certainly not a statement. He was suddenly rather more anxious than he felt a man his age should be to hear her reply.
“So we do,” she said in the most equable of tones, calmly gazing at the Southern Cross as they neared her.
Grinning with relief, Jim put his back into the last few pulls on his oars..
Aw.
Anyway, a dolphin has a calf. The Southern Cross gets a replacement mast. Paul Benden is happy because the dragonriders appeared again after having lost contact. And everyone is pretty happy.
There's more sailing and logistics. The sea folk discuss their plans for the future. A boat shed is being built for some ships in Fort, from the sound of it. But the Big Island has a pretty big sea cavern that can be sailed into which could store a lot of the bigger ships when they're not needed. They can rotate which ships continue "on duty" and which get stored. Jim's Southern Cross will be stored this year, which means he'll miss sailing for a while, but he'll enjoy it when it's his turn again.
And well, he and Theo can have a break, a honeymoon, and well...there'll be three of them next year. And as it turns out, the bell that got left behind in Monaco Bay wasn't the only one that the Buenos Aires carried. This seems like an out of the blue resolution, but okay. Everyone's happy that there's a new bell. And celebrations abound. Yay!
--
Whoo. That was a much longer story than the first one. Fun though. It actually had a plot, of sorts. I brushed through a lot of it, because recapping the sailing and logistics part is boring, but I enjoyed reading it. Jim is a pretty good lead character actually and manages not to annoy me like most of McCaffrey's leads. I feel kind of guilty for neglecting Theo's earliest moments in this recap - I didn't realize she was significant until her description came up. But before that, she really didn't do anything really notable.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Jim and Theo though. It's a much quieter romance than we're used to seeing from McCaffrey. Very non-dramatic. Maybe the closest comparison I can make is Piemur and Jancis. Though I feel like Jim and Theo got to have more moments together.
I'm looking forward to the next one!
Let's see what "The Dolphins' Bell" gives us.
So we start with Jim Tillek, a character I vaguely remember from Dragonsdawn, though I don't think he actually did or said much, activating a "red alert recall sequence" at Monaco Bay. A shit ton of dolphins answer.
One dolphin gets a bit more of a description than others, so I'm assuming she's important:
“Why ring the red?” Teresa demanded, bobbing her head up in front of Jim, who stood, legs spread for balance, on the rocking float anchored at the end of Monaco Wharf. Her nose bore the many scratches and scars of age, as well as of an aggressive personality. She tended to assume the role of Speaker for Dolphins.
She seems fun.
We're also given a description of the set up: a "float" where the "dolphineers" confer with pods and individuals, and where dolphins report unusual occurrences, and the "Big Bell" which they use to call each other (the dolphins have a chain they can pull).
Oh okay, so this is set during the period where the Pern colonists have to move north. They're looking for the dolphins to help as well as warning them about the impending destruction.
Jim, by the way, is pretty unhappy about the whole "our main settlement, which we've developed and worked on for more than nine years is about to be blown up or covered in ash" part, and okay, I can't blame him for that. It kind of sucks.
You would think that the volcanic activity would have gone in the initial survey report, really. I was going to suggest that the geologist was one of the team members that were killed, but actually no. Ben was the geologist. What the fuck, Ben? You guys have a shit ton of technology but can't figure out a volcano is likely to blow in a few decades?
There is an interesting world building note. Teresa asks where the humans will go and if it will be "back to sick ocean world". Jim says no, and we're told that the dolphins had spent the fifteen year journey in cold sleep so they don't know how much time has passed.
So presumably one of the worlds the colonists came from had issues with their oceans. Good to know.
We see the dolphins talk to each other, a touch I really like. One dolphin, Captiva, semes to have a pretty strong grasp of English (or Pernese?) grammar. We also learn that, at this time, there are nine dolphineers and seven apprentices. Jim Tillek has a forty foot sloop called the Southern Cross. We see a few other names, but I'm not sure which, if any, will be significant so I'm moving past them.
One dude though seems more significant, if troublesome.
“We’ve got to transport all that?” Ben Byrne cried in an aggrieved tone as he flung an arm toward the wharfside, where enormous piles of matériel were being deposited by sleds of all sizes. He was a small, compact man with crisp blond hair nearly white from sun bleach. His wife, Claire, who worked with him at Paradise River, stood at his side. “There aren’t that many ships of any decent size and if you think the dolphins can—”
“We’ve only to get it to Kahrain, Ben,” Jim said, laying a steadying hand on the younger man’s shoulder.
“Click! Click!” Teresa managed an ear-piercing shout for attention. “We do that, we do that!” Amadeus, Pha, and Kibby agreed, nodding vigorously.
“Ye daft finnies, you’d burst yerselves,” Ben cried, incensed, wagging his arms at the dolphins facing him to be quiet.
I'm hoping to give McCaffrey benefit of the doubt here, but I'm getting Ted Tubberman and Wind Blossom vibes here. I'm getting the sense that we're not supposed to like this guy.
Jim Tillek just thinks that Ben is "as uninhibited as any of the whimsically impetuous dolphins he was supposed to 'manage.'"
Hm. It's funny that both stories in the book so far have a dude named "Ben". I think the stories may have originally been published in different places though. But it'd be pretty great if this keeps going. I wouldn't put it past McCaffrey to include B'n the dragonrider.
Apparently the dolphins have been aware that something was happening though, so some of the dolphineers are less surprised. Though they note that "some of them" exaggerate.
So Tillek continues to fill them in: Garben is the volcano that's erupting. "Patrice" can't give them a time frame (which stuns one random dude who is described as "solid and unflappable") but the eruption is imminent.
Like an hour or two imminent. Yikes.
That said, volcano eruptions are probably not as abrupt as they look on television. And indeed, they're anticipating a few days of "just sulfer and ash", but also Monaco is in range of heavy stuff that the volcano can throw at them. Like boulders and shit.
There's a funny note of confusion where someone points out that Threadfall is happening soon. But Jim just says that threadfall will have to wait. Fair enough.
So there's logistics. Moving shit. Spreading evacuation plans. Apparently Emily Boll had provided Tillek with them earlier. Apparently the cargo loads are color coded: red and orange as priority, red as fragile. green and blue are waterproof and can be towed. Yellow needs to go in a hull. Neat. And Lilienkamp is sending supplies.
I'm reminded of my vague irritation that Jayce's people are named after the supply masters and not the travelers that their culture is clearly based off of/descended from. But that's not really fair to harp on here.
Huh, maybe I'm wrong about Ben, because so far, he seems like a pretty enthusiastic planner and has his own helpful thoughts about the logistics. He also gets a cute bit with a dolphin "Ammie" or "Amadeus" who splashes him, but is reminded that it's a serious matter so "no rough stuff today".
So things get going, I don't feel the need to recap more logistics or the start of the transport. It's fun to read though. It is noted that many of the crafts being pressed into service are being manned by relatively inexperienced sailors. Some of whom are preteens.
Oh, we do see some of McCaffrey's weird anti-common folk classism pop up though:
“Those clodheaded landlubbers are more trouble than anyone else,” Jim said, striding landward on the wharf, raising his bullhorn to chew out some Landing residents who were adding household goods to the stack of red priority cargo. Some of the colonists who had remained at the Landing site as administrators felt they should have certain perks. Well, not in this crisis, they didn’t.
Of course the random no-name folk can't comprehend the nature of "priority" just like peasant folk can't possibly appreciate Aivas. Again, this might not be fair. I should judge this story on its own merits. And so far, it's not bad.
Jim looks back and sees the volcanos emitting clouds of white and grey and how many things still need to be removed. He has a moment of resentment for not being able to send more stuff by air, but when he catches sight of dragons, he has to admit that a shit ton of stuff IS being flown out.
Huh, a McCaffrey lead making an incorrect snap judgment about some of the important folk of the realm and acknowledging that he's being unfair? Wow. Both being wrong and admitting to it is a rare thing for her heroes. I could get to like Tillek after all.
There's some trouble with the water folk too. A raft is not loaded in a balanced way. There are a few minor casualties. But mostly things go well, and Jim does a good job of leading the folk.
Things pass to the next day. Folks are pretty exhausted and the sulfuric and chlorinated air make things worse. Most human swimmers end up needing masks and oxygen tanks. And there are more emergencies because everyone is tired and stiff.
On the third day, the smaller crafts are taken out of the water, and the crews are used to unload larger ships and dolphins. And apparently the dolphins are having fun competitions about hauling weight and such. On a sad note, apparently otters are extinct on Earth at this time. Aw.
We do learn a bit more of the plan. Once everything is taken to Kahrain, they'll be figuring out what's going to be packed up and taken north. Another dude gets a significant description here:
“It’s a fair ol’ haul to the place they’ve chosen in the north,” Anders Sejby said in a neutral tone. He was a big man, phlegmatic in temperament, but astonishingly agile physically. He had big hands, big feet, broad shoulders, and solid legs that threatened to burst the seams of his waterproofed trousers. He tended to go bare-chested, and barefooted, but there wasn’t a mariner on the planet that wouldn’t sail anywhere with him, Jim Tillek included. “Any sort of a pier there? Or do we have to lighter stuff in from the bigger ships?”
Jim gave him a blank stare. “I dunno. I’ll find out.”
“You mean,” asked Ben, who fired up easily, “we’re busting our nuts doing all this and we’ve got to—”
Jim held up his hand to stem Ben’s indignant protest. “All will be prepared for us there.”
“Bet it wasn’t until you mentioned it,” Ben said sourly.
I see you Tubbermanning there, Ben. Be careful. Right now you're allowed to be competent. That might not last.
So then things get really exciting when Garben does its grand scale eruption -I assume the "erupting in a few hours" in the previous scene was about the preliminary process, where this is the big kaboom. It definitely sounds exciting though:
Everyone did have memories of Garben’s spectacular eruption, seen at a safe enough distance to be clear of the pyroclastic debris. It was truly awe-inspiring, and immensely heartbreaking, to see the community that they had achieved in such a short time showered with ash and burning missiles, then disappearing behind dense gray clouds.
Fortunately, it sounds like everyone got out.
Ben asks about the dolphin bell, but Tillek decides they should leave it. The dolphins can still have fun ringing it after all, and Tillek doesn't have the energy to dismantle it.
Hm. I wonder if this bell will somehow still be operational for "Dolphins of Pern". I suspect it will be.
Ben though is pretty sad when the bell and wharf recede from sight. An obnoxious character who still gets likable and sorrowful moments? Tillek even sympathizes with the guy, noting that Paradise River had become a home to him and the bell clearly symbolizes so much else that had to be left behind.
They do get to have some rest in Kahrain at least. We're told the only casualty of the evacuation was a young dragonrider and his dragon who went between and never came out. Aw. I remember that. (I feel like the dude ends up showing up in that really weird little Moreta story McCaffrey wrote. I should find that one.)
I rather like this bit from when Emily discusses the newly traumatized dragonriders:
“I told them to take the day off,” she said, clearing her throat authoritatively, ignoring the fact that Sean, de facto leader of the dragonriders, had told her in no uncertain terms that he and his group would not be available for work until the next day.
Heh, I always did like Sean.
So there's more logistics planning. They've got a warehouse for nonvital supplies so they can pace their runs. There's still threadfall to deal with. They're trying to avoid the burrows. And interestingly, we're told a few groups intend to stay behind on the southern continent. Drake, who had been namedropped a few times in Dragonsdawn is one. So are the Gallanis, Logrides, Seminole, Key Larger and Ierne Island groups. Tarvi's keeping mines and smelters going.
Huh, calling him Tarvi instead of Telgar? Interesting. And we can guess they're not staying forever. Telgar, at least, will end up going North, from what I remember.
So more planning. Joel Lilienkamp is apparently under a lot of stress. He'd apparently had everything ultra catalogued and organized at Landing (except when Ted stole the Beacon, I guess or the whole fuel thing...) and he's not dealing well with the present confusion.
He also apparently has an eidetic memory, which is good to know but not really relevant at this time I'd reckon.
It's funny which characters get explanations in this story and which ones don't. Emily is explained early on as being the co-leader of the colony. But Ezra Keroon is in this scene and he gets no explanation. He's just "Ezra". He'll be putting back on his captain's hat to help with moving shit.
There's some fun banter between Jim and Ezra over who gets to be the Admiral of the Pernese navy (Ezra just notes they'll stick to being captains and working as a team).
One recurring character in the story seems to be somewhat important too:
“There was a fleet like this once before,” Jim said to Theo Force, who was the dolphineer on duty at the time the Southern Cross was leading the way out of Kahrain Cove.
“Like that?” Theo jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the strung-out line of ill-assorted vessels. Dressed in her body wet suit, breather flung over one shoulder to be ready for use instantly, she had stretched out her strong tanned legs on her side of the cockpit. Jim had an eye for a shapely leg, even one generally showing scars from many brushes with underwater obstacles. He was also becoming accustomed to Theo’s subtly attractive face. Well into her third decade, she was not a conventionally pretty woman, but her rather plain features nevertheless indicated her strong character and purposefulness.
I sense love interest. Maybe Jim and Ezra were reading a little too gay. She was here earlier and had ridden a dolphin and exchanged some banter with Jim.
Jim now seems to be noticing she's a girl though so that's probably relevant. We're also told that Theo never finds Jim boring when he starts "yarning".
See?
“Oh?” Theo never found Jim Tillek boring, especially when he started yarning. She knew that he had sailed every sea on old Earth and some on the newer colony planets, as well, in between his interstellar voyages as the captain of a drone freighter. Over the past few days she’d had a chance to admire the qualities of a man she’d barely chatted with before. Now, keeping as watchful an eye on their convoy as he did, she listened with pleasure as he warmed to his tale.
I sense romance. I'm not sure how old Tillek is supposed to be, but McCaffrey does like significant age differences.
Tillek's telling her about Dunkirk actually, and how there were no dolphins to help.
Oh, yes, sudden sexiness now:
Theo scrunched down on the cockpit seat, grinning at the subtle reprimand. His face had a lot of sun wrinkles, which made him look older, but his body in the tank top and shorts was lean, fit, and tanned. As usual on board, his feet were bare, showing long, prehensile toes. Once or twice, she’d seen him hold a line tight with just his toes.
...that sounds a little weird, honestly. I can grip some things with my toes too, but "prehensile" sounds a bit much. And as he continues talking about Dunkirk, Theo notes that Jim has only a sprinkling of chest hair which she likes better than other men's full pelt. Down girl.
So anyway, she notes that they're not dealing with a thirty-four klick channel but an entire coastline. He points out that they don't have a war. She points out Thread. He acknowledges, but corrects that at least it's not a war with people shooting at them. Fair.
So more sea stuff. It's an interesting read but not an interesting recap, sorry. Jim and Ezra make progress. They confer about their travel prospects and the hazards. Eventually, they'll be splitting the fleet. Larger crafts with Ezra and two pods of dolphins. Jim gets the smaller, slower ships and more dolphins to help.
They do end up having to layover due to weather, and some plastics experts end up making sail covers, door covers, and plastic headgear to protect folk against Thread when they're in the water. It sounds pretty ingenious actually!
(Miscellaneous note, the inventor, Ika Kashima, is "Eurasian" and based it on the hats that rice farmers used. I like the notes of different races and cultures among the settlers of Pern. Even if sometimes it's a little clumsy.)
I'm also not really sure what to make of this bit:
“We’re lucky we have people of such differing backgrounds,” Jim told the embarrassed Ika kindly. “You never can tell when something as simple as straw hats from rice paddies on Earth can turn out to be life-saving on Pern. Good thinking, Ika! Cheer up, child. You’ve just saved our lives!”
She managed to send him a shy smile before she retreated once again, but her husband, Ebon Kashima, strutted about the camp as if he had thought of the gear.
...hm. Yeah. This feels a little microaggression-ish to me. But I'm also very white, I have to admit, so I could be barking up the wrong tree.
Jim later tells Theo about "boat people" It sounds like he's talking primarily about Vietnamese refugees here:
“More like the boat people,” Jim remarked to Theo as he tacked back down the strung-out line of his charges.
“Boat people?”
“Hmmm, yes. War victims in the twentieth century. They tried to leave their country—Asians, they were—in the most incredibly unseaworthy craft. Junks and sampans, they were called.” He shook his head. “Totally unsuitable. Many died trying to escape. Many arrived at their destinations only to be turned back.”
“Turned back?” Theo was outraged.
“I don’t remember the historical-political situation at the time. It was before Earth was really united by outward-bound goals. I don’t think a one of their craft was as good as the worst of these.”
I feel like McCaffrey might be letting some personal political opinions creep in here. But I think we likely have a similar feeling in this particular instance. I tend to be a bit more tolerant of that kind of thing when I agree with the implied politics, for some reason. (I think we're probably both pretty pro-refugee in general.)
Theo gets to go out with her dolphin to help a distressed ship. Jim realizes he was also thinking of the Heyerdahl expeditions. I wish his tendency to infodump wasn't quite so relatable. Though my knowledge base is far less useful.
Another interesting note is that apparently dolphins eat Thread. Theo's Dart likes them when they're bloated with water. It does make me wonder about the long term effects of eliminating Thread when the ecosystem seems to have developed taking it into account.
Theo gets to talk a bit about herself too. She had been a pilot, now she's a dolphineer. She likes the latter profession better. She's particularly fond of Dart, who is superior to any Earth domestic animal. She didn't stand for Thread because she's too old.
Oh, we do get an age for Jim here:
Theo’s laugh was genuine amusement. “Maybe not from where you swim, Granddad,” she said, but he took no offense from her teasing. He was, after all, in his sixth decade, twice her age, and should have been a grandfather . . . if he hadn’t chosen a profession that would have denied him most of the pleasures of marriage and children. A month’s home leave after sixteen or seventeen months in space wasn’t enough time for a wife or kids. He’d never tried for any more than casual relationships.
Called it. McCaffrey does like age gap romances. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it is pretty predictable.
It definitely sounds like a surreal experience to be in the water and have Thread bounce off your plastic hat. Also apparently fish feel you up as they wait to eat thread.
I mean, the intervals are pretty long so I suppose the fish must have other food sources besides Thread, but I am curious.
Another random note, as the captain of the Buenos Aires, Jim brought teakwood as part of his "allowable weight" - which was what he used to make the deck. (Fortunately fire lizards are there to help protect it.)
So they make it through Threadfall and another emergency - a ketch is nearly sunk by a burst plank. The dolphins save the day there though.
More traveling. There's a tropical storm. It's pretty dramatic. Everyone's trying to get sails down and keep from getting washed off the deck. One dude almost gets struck by lightning. Fortunately, the dolphins are there to help rescue people. But it definitely is very scary and exciting.
Jim actually ends up with a broken arm. Everyone else has their share of injuries too. Jim ignores his injuries to take charge and then reports everything to Ongola over the coms. I remember him. I liked him better than most of the leadership characters.
Jim still seems pretty shocked. He acknowledges that he'd been warned about the way squalls blow up in the area (I suppose the survey crew was good at something!) but this still took everyone by surprise. There were casualties.
Theo made it though, and had helped Jim with his wounds. He also applied sealant to her bare legs and arms. I bet he did. (To be fair, she got them while trying to squeeze into wrecked cabins to help survivors.)
Anyway, Ongola will send medics and supplies, and help carry salvaged cargo. They're not sure how Ezra's group is doing, but Jim thinks they were farther ahead and might have missed the storm. No point in sending him back though as the ships are all loaded solid.
Jim's own ship made it, though it needs repairs. Everyone's pretty happy about that. Three barges sunk completely. The injured folk are biggest priority though. I appreciate that. Joel, in the background, is a dick thoguh and wants to know how much cargo is lost. To his credit, Ongola realizes that the question's out of line, but both note it's not out of character for the guy. Jim's too tired to be offended. He just notes that he hasn't completed a head count.
Apparently one dude actually did need CPR, but was resuscitated okay. Yay. The dolphins (and Theo) are still looking for survivors. Apparently five people are missing. Three of them kids. Ouch. At least they would have been wearing life vests.
The dolphineers were lucky during the storm, because they have breathers and could dive underwater with their partners. But now they're doing heroic rescues. So it balances out. (There are some good stories of them going after sinking ships to get survivors out and sharing breathers with drowning victims. Aw.)
So more recovery of people, ships and cargo. Because I hate Paul Benden, I'll share this bit.
“Look, Paul, I’m damned sorry to add this to your problems,” Jim said wearily.
“It’s not one I expected, certainly,” Paul replied in an odd voice. Jim heard the defeated tone and responded by couching his report in the most optimistic manner he could muster. He rubbed at his face, which was stiff from brine. “Actually, Paul, the way the stuff is floating in on the tide, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we’ll salvage most of it. Some’s too waterlogged to estimate any damage, but generally the packaging held. As to the ships, Andi’s already figuring out repair lists—”
I love how the storm survivor with a broken arm has to comfort the colony governor who is safe and sound. Hmph.
Jim gets his own moment of care later though when, after he hangs up, his colleagues mock him a little, then knock him out with a hypospray. Hah.
--
Later he wakes up to the smell of food. Theo is there too. Apparently she's the one who sicced the cronies on him to knock him out. But her dolphin tattled on her, so they're recuperating together. The medics are taking charge so they get to rest.
Not that Jim is all that cooperative, of course. But it turns out he'd been asleep for thirty-six hours. So things have been moving without them. They get to eat and find out how things are going "at Fort".
Apparently folks have settled well into the caves there. They don't have enough power packs for sleds to mount a fight against Thread, so they're bunkering down. Emily's doing well too. I'd forgotten about this, but she'd been seriously injured in a crash around this time, which is why Paul Benden sounds tired. Still, fuck Paul in general.
So more resting, recuperating, reunion with other folk. Another captain arrives with his ship to help. At some point, the exhausted dolphineers get some shore leave. And Jim and Theo continue to bond. It's cute.
They even have cute banter about whether Dart the dolphin is better than Jim's ship. (Dart talks, per Theo. But Jim feels like his ship does "talk" "in her own fashion". Sailors.)
And of course, we get to the point where, due to some agitated sea shenanigans, Jim invites Theo to stay in one of the bunks. And well, you know how this part goes. There's some shifting. Some falling against each other. Jim has the clueless male bit of assuming she's scared. She is not scared. And well...
Despite the rolling and pitching of the Cross, which sometimes worked to their advantage, he discovered that indeed there were ways and very little hurting. In fact, Jim decided that the next hour could be termed therapeutic—among other adjectives that he had had no occasion to employ for too long a time.
Indeed. Get it, you two.
So they both get approved for "light employment" and they have a kind of low key relationship talk. So to speak:
“We also have each other?” Jim made the sentence not quite a query, certainly not a statement. He was suddenly rather more anxious than he felt a man his age should be to hear her reply.
“So we do,” she said in the most equable of tones, calmly gazing at the Southern Cross as they neared her.
Grinning with relief, Jim put his back into the last few pulls on his oars..
Aw.
Anyway, a dolphin has a calf. The Southern Cross gets a replacement mast. Paul Benden is happy because the dragonriders appeared again after having lost contact. And everyone is pretty happy.
There's more sailing and logistics. The sea folk discuss their plans for the future. A boat shed is being built for some ships in Fort, from the sound of it. But the Big Island has a pretty big sea cavern that can be sailed into which could store a lot of the bigger ships when they're not needed. They can rotate which ships continue "on duty" and which get stored. Jim's Southern Cross will be stored this year, which means he'll miss sailing for a while, but he'll enjoy it when it's his turn again.
And well, he and Theo can have a break, a honeymoon, and well...there'll be three of them next year. And as it turns out, the bell that got left behind in Monaco Bay wasn't the only one that the Buenos Aires carried. This seems like an out of the blue resolution, but okay. Everyone's happy that there's a new bell. And celebrations abound. Yay!
--
Whoo. That was a much longer story than the first one. Fun though. It actually had a plot, of sorts. I brushed through a lot of it, because recapping the sailing and logistics part is boring, but I enjoyed reading it. Jim is a pretty good lead character actually and manages not to annoy me like most of McCaffrey's leads. I feel kind of guilty for neglecting Theo's earliest moments in this recap - I didn't realize she was significant until her description came up. But before that, she really didn't do anything really notable.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Jim and Theo though. It's a much quieter romance than we're used to seeing from McCaffrey. Very non-dramatic. Maybe the closest comparison I can make is Piemur and Jancis. Though I feel like Jim and Theo got to have more moments together.
I'm looking forward to the next one!