Coldfire re-read: When True Night Falls - chapters 5 and 6

[trobadora]

We still have ongoing discussions about the trilogy's ending and women in Coldfire as well as last week's chapters, but we're capable of multitasking, right? So here's the next bit of WTNF ...

Plot summary

Chapter 5
A Protector invites an invasion, and the treachery is repaid: the creatures he's invited make short work of him, and one of them mimicks his form, taking his place. And the fake Protector goes to see "his" daughter Jenseny, who is in on the plot. Needless to say, it's not that easy to fool an adept!

Chapter 6
Damien's ship is escorted into Mercia. On the way, Damien and Hesseth talk theology. Damien tries to explain his faith to Hesseth, and in the process gives a summary of the Prophet's vision, speculates on Tarrant's continued attachment to the Church, and worries about Mercia's take on sorcery. When they reach Mercia, everyone's impressed.

Quotes

• I want to protect you, he had told her, on that terrible day when her mother died. More than anything else, I want to shelter you from all of this - to shelter your spirit from all the evil in this world, all the knowledge that might cause you pain ... but I can't do that, Jen. Not any more. It's a kind of make-believe, and it could hurt you someday. Because what would happen to you if something went wrong? What would happen if someday you did have to go outside, and I couldn't be there to help you? So I'm going to have to teach you things. Things that'll help you make it on your own, if you ever have to. Things that'll help you survive ...


• "Now, consider the human brain. Three distinct levels of functioning, myriad separate parts, each with its own way of reasoning - if reasoning it can be called - some by pure instinct, some by intelligence, some by methods so abstract we have no way of even describing them. All interconnected in such a way that a single thought, a single need, can awaken a thousand responses. Is there drought in the land? One part thirsts. One part wishes for rain. One part fears that rain will never come. One part thinks that if death by thirst is close by, it ought to indulge itself in every pleasure it can. One is angry at nature for starving it, and translates that anger into other things. One channels its fear into violence, in the hope that by redirecting its terror it need not face it head on. One is joyful because enemies are dying also, and another feels that death by dehydration is nature's just reward for some transgression, real or imagined, which it committed. All of that at once, inside one human head. Little wonder your people consider it chaotic. There's a type of doctor whose only purpose is to help humans wade through that mess and come to terms with who and what they are. An understanding your people take for granted.
  "So the fae responds to us, just like it responds to you. But it doesn't recognize that all these levels are integral parts of the same being, it just takes the cue nearest at hand and responds to it. At least that's how we understand it. With some people the response falls into a predictable pattern - they can always control it, they can never control it, the fae responds to fears, or to hopes, or to hates . . . but with most people the response is utterly random."


• There was a time called the Dark Ages, when terror and havoc reigned. Fortunately, there were still a few men and women with clear enough vision to realize that something must be done ... something to mold the human imagination so that it ceased to be its own worst enemy. Thus the Revival was born, an experiment in rigid social structure based upon traditional Earth-values.


• "The goal was threefold," he said at last. "One: To unify man's faith, so that millions of souls might impress the fae with the same image in unison. Two: To alter man's perception of the fae - to distance him from that power - thus weakening the link which permitted it to respond to him so easily. This meant a god who wouldn't make appearances on demand, nor provide easy miracles. It meant hardship and it meant sacrifice. But he believed that in the end it would save us, and permit us to regain our technological heritage. Three: To safeguard man's spirit while all this was taking place, so that when at last we cast off the shackles of this planet and rejoined our kin among the stars, we wouldn't discover that in the process we had become something other than human. Something less than we would want to be." He paused, considering. "I think in some ways that last one's the hardest part. But I believe it's the most important."


• A thousand selfish men designed their own prayers and their own psalms and gave birth to a thousand godlings, each with its own petty domain, each feeding on man while serving his earthly desires. Even as the Church grew in strength, this trend continued, until there were over a hundred tiny states with their own pet deities, their own claim to power. So we went to war: man's final recourse when diplomacy fails him. It was a disaster. Oh, if it had been a clean and glorious conflict, filled with images of faith and capped by a clear-cut victory, it might have stirred men's hearts and won them to our side. It wasn't. It was a bloody mess that spanned three centuries, and it ended only when we bit off more than we could chew and tried to do battle with the fae itself - or rather, with the evil the fae had spawned. Our power base destroyed, our precious image sullied, we crept back to our churches and our pews to lick our wounds in private."


• "He tried to do away with Hell, you know. Excess philosophical baggage, he called it. Detrimental to our cause. He erased it from all the texts, expunged it from the liturgy. They put it back. The habits of Earth were too deeply ingrained, the image of divine judgment too comforting for the righteous. In the end he lost that battle."


• But the Evil that we came here to fight is subtle, and its tools may vary. Don't give in to assumptions, he begged himself. Even as he felt optimism flood his body like fine wine, making his senses swim. Even as he tried to ignore the fact that a part of his spirit was souring like the wind itself, that a voice inside him rang with the force of a thousand chimes: These are my people, oh, God. Thy people. And see what wonders they have wrought, all in Thy Name!


• Rasya was gazing out across the harbor, and as Damien watched her study the foreign ships - as he noted the adoration and envy that filled her eyes - he wondered if any mere man could ever inspire such depths of emotion in her. Probably not. Which might be just what had made them so compatible as lovers, he reflected; both their hearts were given over to greater things.

Thoughts

• We've discussed this theme before, but I have to bring it up again: Did you notice Jenseny's father's reasoning about not keeping things from his daughter? This, right here, is one of the reasons I love these books so much. This is a world where knowledge is valued. Everyone values it, from Gerald to Zen to Ciani to Jenseny's father. They all of them do different things with their knowledge, not all of them admirable, but not once is it suggested that they'd be better off not knowing. It's all in what you do with your knowledge.


• Speaking of Jenseny et al., for those of you who remember the first time you read this book: How did you respond to this chapter? After all, we already had a one-shot child victim - but here, we're getting our introduction to one of the book's main characters. How long did you take to realise?


• We also get a bit more about human history on Erna, especially the Revival and the Holy War against the Forest. We've been puzzling over the timeline before, but apparently it goes like this: Revival - Church (reshaped by the Prophet) - others taking up the same idea - several wars - war against the Forest - collapse. And then a rebuilding on a smaller scale. The idea is apparently that the early Church expected to accomplish their goals quickly, possibly within a person's lifetime, and in the end they had to settle for approaching their goal slowly - and acknowledging that it might never be fully attainable in human history at all. Sound familiar?


• Note that in Damien's explanation of the human mind and the fae's reaction to it, we also find out that there are psychiatrists on Erna. *g* Another quite modern aspect in this world.


• Finally, Tarrrant's vision and the Church's original goals: There's nothing in there that precludes usage of the fae as an instrument, does it? It all seems to be about distancing humanity from it, making it controllable, not erasing its function altogether.

(Forgive me if I'm slow replying to comments; it's been a long day, and I'm not sure how much longer I'll be online tonight.)

Anyway, on Thursday, we'll be continuing with chapters 7 and 8.

Comments

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

Jenseny's introduction definitely made me curious. What I liked about her was the introduction to the way a child sees the Fae. Gerald can describe it and the Adepts can talk about it, but a child will describe it exactly for what it is: noise, light, sensation. It was the clearest definition of the Fae for me.

both their hearts were given over to greater things.

*snickers* Yes, Damien. Greater things. Doing whatever the Prophet asks of you. Even when he's an evil, undead sorcerer.

[trobadora]

noise, light, sensation

That's pretty much how Ciani describes it in BSR too, isn't it?

*snickers* Yes, Damien. Greater things. Doing whatever the Prophet asks of you. Even when he's an evil, undead sorcerer.

I'm right there sniggering with you. :D

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

I think the Jenseny version made it clearer because it's from Jen's POV sometimes. Ci describes it, yes, but you get to see Jen experience it and feel the extremes that she and other adepts must go through. If young Tarrant was like that, his brothers wouldn't even have to touch him to make him feel he was being bullied.

[trobadora]

Yeah, that's true. And add to that that seems to have fits regularly ... it's a very vivid picture.

[ladyphoenix9]

I remember being pretty disoriented the first Jenseny chapter. I figured that she was going to fit into the picture somehow, but, well...I guess I was more cringing and thinking, "Agh, child character, agh, get it away, do not want!" more than anything. The creatures intrigued me more than Jenseny, sorry to say.

Finally, Tarrrant's vision and the Church's original goals: There's nothing in there that precludes usage of the fae as an instrument, does it? It all seems to be about distancing humanity from it, making it controllable, not erasing its function altogether.

Yes, and that is why the end needs to be hacked out viciously and without remorse and replaced with some good fanfic. ;)

I think of all the minor characters, Jenseny's father is one of my favorites, precisely because he's trying not to sugarcoat things and shelter his daughter so much that she's crippled without him. That, at least, is less selfish than a lot of characters running around Erna.

[trobadora]

Jenseny's father really is interesting, isn't he? I don't think I ever paid much attention to him before, but the more I think about him the more fascinated I am. He tried, much like Damien, his own deal with the devil against a (perceived) greater evil, but the outcome is very much the opposite. Something of a mirroring?

[aubrem.livejournal.com]

I can see that a reread is invaluable. This chapter is very important for info on how the fae works and the history of the church and humanity. I only read it a week ago but going back after finishing the books it means a lot more.

I still think that what is said here means that Gerald's intent was for humanity to regain a world/life like earth without effect from the fae (or, eventually, after gaining that freedom needing to control it). He wanted them to go back to the stars and there is no fae there. Controlling the fae would just mean freeing themselves from it. It could be read the other way though - certainly knowledge of the fae is complex and that would attract people like Gerald - it's a another thing to know and understand.

I love Damien's description of the human mind and how it affects the fae with its complexity. That's one part where the author really succeeded in making me understand. On the other hand, if Hesseth's mind is not that complex how can it be intelligent? And if it's that alien how is it she comes across as so understandable? I guess that's why she says so little - it's hard to write a truly alien mind.

I adore Damien when he reminds himself not to buy into the perfection of Mercia. I can feel how badly he wants to but he's disciplined - that's why he's such a survivor.


I also love Jenseny's father's reasoning that knowledge is key to survival. I really love that about these books - that everyone is smart and quick to figure out what's going on.

I was confused by the Jenseny's father chapter but of course that's the fun in books like these - trying to figure out what's going on. I thought at first that Jenseny's father was the big bad sorceror or may one of his lieutenants. I knew this was going to be a key plotline although I thought the main character was going to be the father - up until he got killed and then it was clear it was Jenseny.

Interesting that the Revival is where all this throwback social structure comes from. I mean, they consciously decided to put women into strict, limited roles. In fact was it Gerald's bright idea? That man was really messed up.

I'm fascinated that there were psychiatrists, AND gods dedicated to human urges, AND leftover Revivalist social structure. What a mess - the stories about this world could go on forever!

[trobadora]

I still think that what is said here means that Gerald's intent was for humanity to regain a world/life like earth without effect from the fae (or, eventually, after gaining that freedom needing to control it).

I think he wanted to regain a world free of the mess that results when fae hits human consciousness, to regain a stable world with stable laws. But simply cutting humanity off from consciously affecting the fae doesn't make sense from that point of view; the fae responds to all living things, and I can't imagine it will stop doing so now.

And he wanted them to be able to regain the stars, not become so bound to Erna's fae that they couldn't live without it any more.

if Hesseth's mind is not that complex how can it be intelligent?

It's likely just a different sort of complexity. And yes, I agree that one reason she remains enigmatic and silent is because that's the only way she can remain alien.

Interesting that you thought Jenseny's father was going to be the big bad sorceror! I can sort of see that, now that you mention it - might have been interesting!

In fact was it Gerald's bright idea?

No, the Revival started before Gerald. He became a leading figure, but I don't think he shaped that part of it.

the stories about this world could go on forever!

I wish! *g*

[shadowystar.livejournal.com]

1) I, too, think Erna's a world where knowledge is highly valued. Perhaps it's a left-over from the time when all knowledge that existed was sum of what any of 3000 colonists knew? Or why do you think there are people like loremasters? BTW, I remember there was something about Datalords and little wars about information... Besides, I think, in a world like Erna you can't have the luxury of not knowing.
2) I remember wondering, as soon I realized she was a main chara, how that girl was supposed to fit into the picture, and I was looking for her interaction with Gerald since he has had children himself...
3) Did anyone, I wonder, give it a thought that without the fae or rather a possibility to touch and alter it like any other being on Erna does (whether consciously or not), humans are kind of doomed to remain strangers on Erna, forever excluded from it's pattern? Wasn't it, on the contrary, all about becoming part of Erna?

[aubrem.livejournal.com]

I don't know if I would go so far as to say that "knowledge is valued" on Erna - it certainly is by some people but I think the big problem is that people gave up knowledge of science and gave themselves over to superstition - succumbing to seeing the fae as magic rather than a natural force that can be understood scientifically.

I think Jenseny's father was unusual in giving his daughter the information she needed to survive. Before J's mother died, they didn't tell J much - just kept her hidden. J's father was desperate once it was only him though, he knew that if he died she'd be helpless and so he had no choice but to teach her.

In fact the people of Erna seem kind of passive to me - they make wards and all but I would hope I'd made more of an effort to defeat the negative effects of the fae than they do. That the community would be organized, there would be demon-hunting patrols, experiments done in figuring out how to get around the problems. This is why we admire Gerald I guess. Jenseny's people are most passive of all - just sacrificing in order to survive.

[trobadora]

I think it's more of a case of Friedman's protagonists valuing knowledge than the whole of Erna, but you're right, due to the loss after the First Sacrifice there's a different emphasis than anywhere else.

Wasn't it, on the contrary, all about becoming part of Erna?

No, in one sense it does make sense - it was very much about keeping themselves apart from Erna's fae-dependent life so they'd be able to (eventually) regain the stars. But I don't think anyone except the current Church would have willingly gone so far as to blind themselves to the fae - that's too much of a danger.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

I wonder if everyone values knowledge, or just the characters we see. They are exceptional people, that's pretty clear. On one hand, I can see why every human might revere knowledge, because it's what connects them to their ancestors and Earth, and it's so very fragile on Erna, where if it's lost it can't be replaced. But on the other hand, like Aubrem said the general run of people do seem more inclined to huddle in corners and accept superstition. As usual, it's a case of wanting to see more.

It took me a little while to realize Jen was going to be in on this. After all, this is the woman who writes POV from a xandu. I didn't even hesitate to believe she might skip over to some neighboring area just to show what trouble was brewing in Mercia. When I did realize Jenseny was "in," I was a bit concerned, because my good experiences with child characters were few and far between.

I've been fascinated with the idea of Ernan psychiatrists ever since I found out about it. On a world like that, they must work their own kind of magic.

[trobadora]

Not everyone, I wouldn't say - I meant the main characters, and the emphasis the author puts on that. I love that she doesn't really have any main characters who don't value knowledge!

And heh, yeah, too true about the xandu POV. *g*