I generally try to write a blog every month but sometimes for one reason or another I miss a month. That happened this September so I’m choosing to write a blog on the first of October – a rainy day in Saskatoon.
My grandson has been studying music for a number of years
and is an accomplished musician. Recently he talked about the modes of music – Ionian,
Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, etc. We talked about these as
well as the sitar, and I said that this kind of knowledge opens the mind, and
hopefully makes us think about things we don’t know or understand and try to
see the diversity and broadness of the world.
In regard to this, one of my favourite books is ‘Hellspark’
by Janet Kagan. I’ve mentioned it before on my blog. It was published in 1988
and later republished. It’s still available to read or purchase if you check
the web. Kagan unfortunately died in 2008 so we won’t see any more books by
her.
‘Hellspark’ which can be pronounced “hells park” or “hell
spark” is an SF novel that takes place in a universe of many cultures and
languages. Other worlds exploratory teams are generally made up of a diverse
crew so they have some training in getting along with diversity. This of
course, should also stand them in good stead when exploring new places and possibly
new cultures. They also have byworld judges who deal with cases when cultures
meet and clash (wouldn’t it be great if we could have some of those?). Within
this universe are the “hell sparks” who are traders and also multilingual in
not only words but ‘the silent language’ as Edward T. Hall terms it. That is
the language of stance and motion, proxemics, in other words nonverbal communications.
Even here on earth people differ in whether they make eye
contact or not, whether they like to sit face to face or not, how far apart
they prefer to stand. Some of these differences are cultural, and Edward T.
Hall wrote a number of books on these subjects: The Silent Language, Beyond
Culture, The Dance of Life, The Hidden Dimension, etc.
Kagan took some of Hall’s ideas and used them in her novel.
The problem of the story is that a group of explorers has reached a planet with
life but most of the team don’t believe that it is sapient life as opposed to
sentient life. But at least one of the team is not convinced and has sent for
additional help. I won’t spoil the story, but the Hell Spark trader protagonist
of the story ends up on the planet. Throw in a talking, learning computer, a culturally
mixed team, more than one possible villain, great writing, and you have a
totally absorbing novel in my mind.
I will end with a couple of quotes from the novel to give you
a taste:
The ceiling in the captain’s quarters had been
lowered to conform to Sheveschkem standards – no doubt to the extreme
discomfort of most members of the survey team … Generations of sailing had left
their mark … Nothing better sustained balance below deck in stormy seas than a
flattened palm against a ceiling. … she automatically followed his lead and “danced”
Sheveschkem, despite the fact that he spoke GalLing’ and she replied in kind.
and
I’m saying that they may be so different
that we don’t recognize one of their artifacts when we get our noses rubbed in
it…I’m saying that even Homo Sapiens within historical time have had
difficulty proving their humanity to other Homo Sapiens. I’m asking that
you all consider the circumstances in which you would be hard put to prove your
sapience, especially if you were unaware that you were being tested.
Happy reading, and I hope you explore all the diverse
worlds you can find.
