Fear has always been a factor in most of my decisions. As a family man, I often have to act out of fear of how the outcome will affect them. Yet Orr seems to operate outside of this impulse. The idea that he is dead in the middle of all things seems to imply that his motivation really does seem to fall in the range of affecting the most people in a positive way. Can you imagine a political candidate who appeals to both sides equally? While talking to Orr, Haber mentions that the governing power of fear is a Victorian notion that destroyed the best minds of the nineteenth and twentieth century; that the end result of what he and Orr were doing was to eradicate fear.
But Orr response to the idea of having nothing to fear was, “But there is…”.
The different responses to fear illustrate their different perspectives. When confronted with the greatest moments of fear, Orr’s reaction was one that benefited humanity, even if it were often in miniscule ways. But as an extreme example, when faced with the end of the world (the burning world), he saved humanity while still making the world normal; fearful.
Haber’s idea was to eradicate fear, to change the world into a perfect utopia. Anyone who has ever seen a movie with a genie in it, knows that if you wish for a perfect world, it doesn’t happen. Yet for al his supposed good intentions, Haber’s world s governed by fear as well. When the alien’s were “attacking” his reaction was not to protect Orr, or even humanity, but to throw himself over the Augmentor.
Orr dealt with life as it happened, and towards the end of the book, seemed to realize the inevitability of actions. Orr operated based on his fear; not knowing the outcome. When Haber almost destroyed reality, what drove Orr to succeed was the fear of losing Heather and his chaotic life.
Harvey mentions this idea in his essay when he says, “The boundary between fiction and science-fiction has, as a consequence, effectively dissolved, while postmodernist characters often seem confused as to which world they are in, and how they should act with respect to it. Go with the flow; don’t worry, be happy; cool runnings. Like an abstract or minimalist painting, what is on the outside is not important. Everyone underestimated Orr because on the outside he appeared weak, yet no one ever took the time to delve into the depths of his mind and actions. While he often reacted out of fear, even if it was to take dugs out of fear of hurting others, his actions eventually led to a greater good, even if it were an imperfect world.