In Dr. Gregory Benford’s novel The Stars in Shroud, Ling’s pod arrives in orbit over Veden. After awhile, a shuttle arrives to transport him down to the planet. He is surprised to learn that the pilot has just completed necessary satellite repairs, but soon realizes that the people of Veden could not justify the cost of launching a ship into orbit just to retrieve him. Seventy million people might live on Veden, but the planet’s crust is poor in metals, oil, and other elements necessary to support major industrial bases. Without the ability to attract Earth corporations, the planet’s surface is largely undeveloped, and has been set up as a reservation for the Hindic peoples.
Veden’s sun shines more brightly than that of Earth, so when the shuttle lands Ling is given special contact lenses to filter out the higher Ultraviolet radiation, which otherwise would burn out his retinas. He soon realizes that the brighter sunlight is not the only way in which Veden is different from Earth. He is driven to his new house in a car propelled by a steam engine. Along the way, he watches a winged man soar above him, taking advantage of Veden’s lighter gravity.
The population is less cosmopolitan than on Earth or most other Fleet worlds. When he goes to a restaurant, he sees no meat dishes on the menu: it seems that everyone on Veden is vegetarian. His new assistants Gharma and Majumbdahr explain that, while unrest and violence occasionally break out in the cities, the population has yet to exhibit any definitive signs of the Quarm plague. Perhaps the answer lies in their religion. The Hindics have never embraced the game of Sabal, but are nonetheless a very spiritual people. With such a vastly different outlook on life, Ling knows it will be difficult to sort out one particular reason why these people have remained untouched by the debilitating psychological disorder that has brought Fleet worlds to a standstill. Yet he must, if he is to find a cure for those who suffer from the alien plague, and thus secure a better future for his family.
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| "In a completely different world" |
Ling’s experience on a completely different world resonates with me. Walking the streets of London only enhanced my love for the stories set there. Before the trip, I saw bread only as something necessary to hold together a sandwich, and cheese as a mere ingredient. After sampling so many different varieties of both, I now regularly eat toast with breakfast, and enjoy blue cheese in all its forms. I could have watched documentaries and read books about Westminster Abbey, but I couldn’t have known how worshipping in a church filled with such a historical and secular presence would have felt. How I approach my spirituality, and embrace my religion, has changed as a result of that experience.
To think that such subtle (and yet such profound) changes could result from experiences during the first day-and-a-half of our vacation! I’m so glad that my wife persevered, beyond my initial reluctance, and convinced me that we must finally visit this completely different world. Or, as Dr. Benford writes in his novel:
“The greatest favor a friend can do for you is, every so often, to tilt the world at five degrees. Colors dance, fresh-scrubbed. The universe becomes a fuller place because you must notice it.”
As Ling discovered, one can read about the differences that exist elsewhere. But transformation comes through experience.
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| "Everything looks different now" |
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