Read "Surface Tension" by James Blish in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame and write/post a journal: Make a comparison between an aspect of our society/culture/history and an aspect of the society/culture/history of the new race of men on Hydrot.

-- Anonymous, February 04, 2005

Answers

First, allow me to point out that I, Bains, was the first to post. Allow me also to point out that there is something inherently wrong with that.

I think the most apt comparison is that of the explorers during the so-called "Age of Exploration." The comparison is basically that through cooperation with other nations (in some cases. In others, it was competitive), and, after hardships of travel, new "worlds" were discovered and new, apparently less civilized people were met and "aided" much as the Europeans did with the Native Americans and Africans. The story, however, ends before we can really determine whether the effects of this aid are for ill or for good, though it is presumed it results in good.

-Bains

-- Anonymous, February 05, 2005

I would like to agree with what Bains pointed out with the his "Age of Exploration" comparison. Furthermore, I would add that the human race of Hydrot (or at least the section led by Lavon and the Shar) is emerging from what could be compared with the Dark Ages or Middle Ages. In the Middle Ages, people spent most of their time struggling for survival and did not have time to explore. Similarly, the Hydrotians (my official name for the people of Hydrot) have fairly recently (I think) come from a time of war with the Eaters and scrounging for food. They now have crop systems but still seem to have little time or appreciation for "space travel." Lavon's is surely the first of many exploration and (later) colonization expeditions into the great unknown.

-- Anonymous, February 05, 2005

I found the inherent superiority of Men over the "protos" implied in the story somewhat strange. On Hydrot, the races of Men and Protos seem roughly equal as sentient, cooperative beings. However, the protos seem to attach an almost religious significance to Men's mental capacity. While we're going along hte lines of an "Age of Exploration/Middle Ages" thing, this strikes me as Europeans seeking to "civilize" other races, who, early on, viewed the newcomers with religious awe (such as the Qetzlcoatl myths attached to the Spanish among the Aztecs). Perhaps the "Eaters" simply refused to be "civilized."

Bains was first to post. My brain hurts.

-- Anonymous, February 06, 2005

This story reminds me of man's progression in astronomy, but with a twist. In our history, religion(christianity) tends to limit and oppose ideas about other worlds. We over time went from a geocentric to heliocentric then back to geocentric and then 600 years ago back to heliocentric. Then we learned that other stars had themselves planets around them and that we one out of billions of stars in our own galaxy. And that galaxy is one of countless galaxies in the universe. This is like in the story when Shar is talking about their world may be just a cup in the bottom of a larger world, which in turn is a cup in a larger world, and so on and so forth. This story unlike our history has religion being on the side of science, with the plates talking about space.

-- Anonymous, February 06, 2005

I found the Hydrotians' situation resembling our modern space exploration program, in that they were going out into a new world for the purpose of gaining knowledge and not wealth. Even the Space Race of the 60's seems to have been initiated more for political reasons than interest in returns. Consequently, the Hydrotians, as with us, found opposition to space travel plans. Lacking the hope of wealth from the Indies the early European explorers possessed, many among the Hydrotians and people of our world are opposed to spending large amounts of money on a project with little "practical" value. Just look how NASA's gone down the tube.

-- Anonymous, February 06, 2005

I was amused by the fact that there were still self-important idiots in their tiny society like the ones we have in ours. When Lavon and Shar began to build their spaceship and defy the limits of their world, there are naturally those who oppose the project for the sake of defiance and leave to go lead what they think will be magnificent lives, when the true glory lies in aiding in reaching space. There are always those people who, out of fear or ignorance, scoff at the crazy dreams of others and choose to intentionally pursue mundane courses when broader ones are opened for them.

-- Anonymous, February 06, 2005

I think there is a suprising lack of opposition to the new idea of space travel in Hydrot society. In our culture, scientific advancement was discouraged, especially by the church and the ignorant, for many years. On Hydrot, we find the one group of dissentors, but overall the society is very accepting, especially for the first attempt at reaching out beyond the one world. The Hydrot mission has little more impetus than curiosity, unlike on Earth when, like Nick said, the intital Space Race was driven by politics.

-- Anonymous, February 06, 2005

It is rather interesting that the people of Hydrot only begin to explore "space" after the plates are taken away and they no longer have eternity to puzzle over that meaning or the data. Instead, their lack of supposedly all-knowing guidence starts the curiosity that leads to the journey. It is perhaps similar to the Space Race in which the U.S. played catch-up for a while and only really got started because we were goaded into it.

-- Anonymous, February 06, 2005

On thing that surprised me about the Hydrotian culture was the lack of any reference to a government or other centralized power. It seemed like groups of people would just come together to get certain things done, such as the spaceship and the coalition of people who opposed it.

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2005

Well the thing that hit me is quite contrary to what some of you said. I noticed the similar seperation of church and state. Lovan wants Shar to forget about their ancestors and the Creators and focus on the current problems and make live better for the people now rather than dream of gods and new worlds.

Ror

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2005

And yet another twist! I noticed that there was hardly any form of opposition to Shar and Lavon's spacecraft. We had to deal with the 'Space Race' with other countries, whereas in Surface Tension, nobody else is contending with Lavon and his friends. I did notice that there was a sort of dislike between the council and the scientists, however.

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2005