The Gap Into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge 11 - Chapter Seven

[Skyweir]

The Virus ...

Vorbulds virus ....

The entire ship plunged into darkness ....

Donaldson paints a visceral canvass for his audience .. leaving the reader in no doubt of the sensory shock and horror of Morns journey. Which is critical to understanding and empathising with what this characters experience.

Darkness and gasping atavistic panic

Such a great sentence to usher in this chapter. I had to look up "atavistic" .. like so much of Donaldsons select vocabulary, I was not familiar with this one either but in my defence .. a lot of the vocab he chooses are not common, every day conversational words .. lol .. well not in my world, so personally speaking of course So if you are one who is familiar with the meaning of atavistic, please disregard the following...

Atavistic ... relating to or characterized by reversion to something ancient or ancestral.

And I loved this sentence ...

There could be no defense against the fathomless abysm between the stars

Yep .. and again .. I included this definition as I particularly liked the example sentence.

Abysm ...an abyss ..."the abysm from which nightmares crawl

There is so much in this chapter that is brilliantly expressed

... along a vector that opposed the pull of her arms.

... The steady and delicate lateral thrust which curved Captains Fancy toward her eventual heading ...

... with a palpable whine Captains Fancy resumed internal spin

I found this interesting .. the conflict Morn experienced along her continuum of thought as she immediately felt concern for her unborn child within her .. felt for evidence of its condition then thought

Grimly she determined to have him aborted at her earliest opportunity.

Feeling that she couldnt allow the child within her to compromise her survivability .. the child she hadnt chosen or wanted.

On reading this I thought of other threads here where Watchers discuss the issue of abortion. And what came to my mind, was the instinctive reaction of a kangaroo, to toss its joey in moments of threat or danger, to ensure their survivability. In a human it is possibly a concern that would occur to any human, but more fairly a reactionary response .. and one Morn is able to reconcile because despite her expression, she does want this child. I think Morns mind, in this child lies her redemption.

Whether this is true, is yet to be seen. But this chapter we see Morns process, her thoughts her deepest most longed for desire, that is arguably an innate part of her and and many women, but not all of course.

The fact that she feels this child could be her redemption, I think, is what drives her actions forward.

Around her the crew are in a state of panic, making attempt after attempt to regain control of Captains Fancy ... Morn is lost in her calm, the place where her decision for "death resided" .. I love that expression .. cos it is isnt it?

It was lost in a similar state that led to the death of every member of her family. Donaldson indicates that it is a state, similar to a resignation of self termination, or suicide. I think that is incredibly interesting .. the way he so acutely describes that particular mental state.

The crew continue in panic and desperation, and fear of utter loss. They believe the ships computers have been corrupted by Vorbulds virus and that they have lost all their data.

Nick calls Morn out of her mental stasis .. she is in fact semi conscious to her surroundings .. and struggles to regain full control over her senses, her abilities to speak.

Shaking her head, she explains that the ship has not experienced a loss of data .. but the virus is hardwired into the ships systems. The exhilaration in Nicks realisation is palpable .. I love how Donaldson describes the realisation that comes to him of Morns words. Shes UMCP. She can access their data core.

Mikka of course is skeptical .. but thats Mikka, no? Shes the mum on the bridge if you will. She probably would prefer to be something else .. but to Nicks father, captain, OIC role, shes 2IC, mother hen, she feels responsible, is responsible .. equal to Nick, though in truth superior to him, despite her fealty to him and the ship.

Morn takes her opportunity to learn more, and asks for Nicks permission to crew. Perfect timing, she has restored the ships data, given them back control over the ship .. there is a spot open .. and she takes the opportunity to claim it.

Interestingly Nick as always, is a mixture of greed and lust once he has gotten his way .. ok this time .. its being saved .. by Morn, by her being UMCP .. but he has every reason to be very happy. So he filled with immense satisfaction, describes himself as a genie in a bottle, rub him the right way and poof your wish is granted. And he makes her data third. In response she gives him a "crisp salute" and replies "Captain Succorso, permission to leave the bridge".

"Permission granted" Nick replies but of course he harbours more lewd intentions that underpin his approval. Morn leaves the command module.

She is free .. for now .. free to carry out her decision to terminate her pregnancy. Free to avoid the consequences, free of the amnion (for now), free to rid herself of the crimes Angus Thermopyles perpetrated against her .. free to rid herself of his offspring, free to avoid the consequences of Nicks retaliation at her utter betrayal... free to live another day without retribution?

But she doesnt go to sick bay .. she keeps walking, filled now with a new calm, a different calm. Perhaps more accurately, filled with a sense of tribute, a reward of saving the day, of acting aright. Does that feeling offer her a false sense of "security"? Or was it just enough to set aside her earlier exigency?

That is for you to decide, till we read further

[Cord Hurn]

Donaldson paints a visceral canvass for his audience .. leaving the reader in no doubt of the sensory shock and horror of Morns journey. Which is critical to understanding and empathising with what this characters experience.

Darkness and gasping atavistic panic

Such a great sentence to usher in this chapter. I had to look up "atavistic" .. like so much of Donaldsons select vocabulary, I was not familiar with this one either but in my defence .. a lot of the vocab he chooses are not common, every day conversational words .. lol .. well not in my world, so personally speaking of course So if you are one who is familiar with the meaning of atavistic, please disregard the following...

Atavistic ... relating to or characterized by reversion to something ancient or ancestral.

And I loved this sentence ...

There could be no defense against the fathomless abysm between the stars

Yep .. and again .. I included this definition as I particularly liked the example sentence.

Abysm ...an abyss ..."the abysm from which nightmares crawl

There is so much in this chapter that is brilliantly expressed

I agree, and I love how SRD adds to the tension with his description of the darkness conjured up by Vorbuld's virus, for he makes it sound so elemental and pervasive as to seem unopposable.

[Cord Hurn]

Around her the crew are in a state of panic, making attempt after attempt to regain control of Captains Fancy ... Morn is lost in her calm, the place where her decision for "death resided" .. I love that expression .. cos it is isnt it?

It was lost in a similar state that led to the death of every member of her family. Donaldson indicates that it is a state, similar to a resignation of self termination, or suicide. I think that is incredibly interesting .. the way he so acutely describes that particular mental state.

The crew continue in panic and desperation, and fear of utter loss. They believe the ships computers have been corrupted by Vorbuld's virus and that they have lost all their data.

Nick calls Morn out of her mental stasis .. she is in fact semi conscious to her surroundings .. and struggles to regain full control over her senses, her abilities to speak.

I find it interesting that that emotionally detached state of mind that Morn's in, which once triggered the destruction of her family's ship, now allows her to stay calm enough to come up with a (temporary) solution for saving Captain's Fancy. And it's clever: because she's UMCP, she can always access the datacore for Nick and his crew. And now a reason becomes clear why we were given an Ancillary Documentation on datacores in a previous chapter.

[Cord Hurn]

The fact that she feels this child could be her redemption, I think, is what drives her actions forward.

That really does seem to be the case. It some ways, her life would be a lot less complicated if she just decided to abort, but the need for redemption for what she had unexpectedly done to her family is strong within her.

But when the dark came upon her it was a thing of such absolute certitude that she had no defense against it. It was like a gap-sickness. She'd killed all of them, her whole family; she had no one left except the child.

[Cord Hurn]

Mikka of course is skeptical .. but thats Mikka, no? Shes the mum on the bridge if you will. She probably would prefer to be something else .. but to Nicks father, captain, OIC role, shes 2IC, mother hen, she feels responsible, is responsible .. equal to Nick, though in truth superior to him, despite her fealty to him and the ship.

Already, I get the feeling that Mikka is truly the more stabilizing force aboard the ship than Nick could ever be, because her personality is so solid and dependable. Nick's instability and mood swings seem apparent by the way the color of his facial scars are described as changing, fluctuating almost.

[Cord Hurn]

As she moved, she pulled the chain of her id tag up over her head.

Mackern stared at her. His skin had a gray, strained tinge, and his gaze was rimmed with sweat.

Because he seemed to have nothing whatsoever in common with men like Orn Vorbuld and Nick Succorso and Angus Thermopyle, she smiled at him as she jacked her tag into his board.

I appreciate Morn's compassion and sympathy for Mackern, as he seems like a good character that has just been thrust into a situation that's over his head.

Thank you for this fine dissection, Sky!

[Cord Hurn]

The mixed reaction of the crew to Morn's being designated data third is noteworthy.

Tight with strain and uncertainty, Lind, Malda, and the helm first laughed nervously. Mikka and Carmel frowned their suspicions. Mackern let out a small sigh, a thin gust of relief.

On a subtle level, Morn seems to have gained some acceptance from the crew. It's very tentative, of course...but I believe that acceptance is there.

[Skyweir]

I agree with that observation Cordy too .. she is becoming more accepted .. there are of course some who still have reservations, but she proved herself via this act .. of .. well .. saving them all.

I really like Mikka ... she is one of my fave Captains Fancy crew. But even Mikka .. likely because she is so solid and grounded in her duty and responsibilities .. still retains some reservations. Which I suppose is quite natural... for someone in her position.

[Cord Hurn]

I really like Mikka ... she is one of my fave Captains Fancy crew. But even Mikka .. likely because she is so solid and grounded in her duty and responsibilities .. still retains some reservations. Which I suppose is quite natural... for someone in her position.

Yes, it's quite natural for her to remain suspicious of Morn, considering Mikka's high position and her tendency to be "a mother hen" in that position. She's quick enough to scold Nick:

[quote="In the eleventh chapter of Forbidden Knowledge, entitled "Chapter 7", was"]"Mackern"--Nick wasn't asking question--"you've got backup on that data."

Concentration drew sweat from the new data first's forehead. His voice sounded like it might crack under the stress. "I've got backup."

"Restore," Nick commanded. "Scan first, then targ."

Morn shook her head. Not good enough. Her head was so light that she could shake it easily. Even if the restore worked, it would solve nothing, reveal nothing.

Unless the virus had wiped itself.

She didn't believe that.

What Nick was doing could only make the problem worse.

Nobody asked her opinion, however.

But Mikka may have been thinking the same thing. She repeated Carmel's earlier objection. "That goes through your board. We might lose data itself this time."

Nick's eyes blazed fever at her. Dangerously calm, he asked, "Have you got any better ideas? Or do you just like running blind and defenseless?"

Mikka didn't back down. "I just don't think we need to be in a hurry about this. We've already lost scan and targ. If we lose data, too, we're finished."

________________________________________


"Mackern," Nick repeated, as distinct as a filleting knife. "I want a report."

"Yes," Mackern winced out. "I'm sorry. Yes."

Tremors ran through his shoulders as he jabbed his fingers at the keys in front of him.

When his equipment resumed function, , he began testing Captain's Fancy's data. Hardwired systems running at microprocessor speeds reported back to him almost instantly.

"It's gone." His voice sounded hollow in the silence; haunted. "All our data--everything." He may have wanted to cry out, but he was too scared. "It's all been wiped.

"We're lost."

"Goddamn it, Nick!" Mikka rasped. "I warned you."[/quote]


Mikka still can make a hurried conclusion herself, and be wrong, such as when she assumes Morn can do nothing to retrieve the lost data and so questions Nick's trust in Morn. But, despite being a pirate, she's been one of the most open and straight-up characters we've met so far in the Gap series.