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.
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...Darkness and gasping atavistic panic
And I loved this sentence ...Atavistic ... relating to or characterized by reversion to something ancient or ancestral.
Yep .. and again .. I included this definition as I particularly liked the example sentence.There could be no defense against the fathomless abysm between the stars
There is so much in this chapter that is brilliantly expressedAbysm ...an abyss ..."the abysm from which nightmares crawl
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... 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
Feeling that she couldnt allow the child within her to compromise her survivability .. the child she hadnt chosen or wanted.Grimly she determined to have him aborted at her earliest opportunity.
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