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| Dibsthe1 2005-06-22 ch 3, anon. | abuseAgain, an intriguing blend of old and new! A people who know the word "toaster" without ever having seen one are convinging as a people which acquires new technology not by experiment and innovation but by means of dances and four leaf clovers. Technology is a very closely guarded secret, to be shared only with those who prove themselves worthy, in a primitive, back-to-the-basics way. (I'm positive that a version of this is what essentially goes on in actual boardrooms today... impress me with your power suit and say all the right things, and I'll buy your ad campaign / and I'll hire you / and I'll do business with you.) So a toaster is evil, but devices which triple crop yields are good? This raises the question of where does productivity end and laziness begin? Are you planning to continue this? I'd like to see what else you've envisioned for this future/past society. . . . Somebody once asked Albert Einstein, or somebody else whose work led to the atomic bomb, what he thought would be the weapons of World War 4. "Rocks." |
| Dibsthe1 2005-06-22 ch 2, anon. | abuseIntriguing blend of the old and the new! Many so-called "primitive" peoples have legends about times long ago when people were closer to nature, but this one is unique in referring to machines, technology and pollution. We have here a renegade who is questioning the tribe's accepted beliefs. It could be interesting to see where this will end up going. Technology is a two edged sword; it can make life easier, but carried too far it can be destructive as well. We are told that the cities and the previous civilization were destroyed by lightning, thunder, rain and darkness. Sticking to the most basic words possible, words available to a pre/post technological society, that is a pretty accurate description of a nuclear attack. The very few survivors of this atomic holocaust became the ancestors of the people of this story. I must admit, I find the latter part of this chapter a little vague. I don't know if you're planning to make the relationship between these two clearer later on, or if you're not sure yet yourself what it will be. |
| Dibsthe1 2005-06-22 ch 1, anon. | abuseOn the surface, this looks a lot like any college party or downtown bar on a weekend night, and yet, something about it's just a little bit off... Maybe it's the "enlightenment through dance," or the mention of "the gods," or maybe it's the last line, indicating that this is a religious rite rather than just a good time. Reading this, I recalled the part of "Clan of the Cave Bear" in which Ayla accidentally swallows some of the potion she is preparing for the elders' religious rite, and she has a, like, trip, man... |