It’s interesting that even during the midst of possible human annihilation the issue of politics still keeps it’s firm grip on the characters in the book. We see this with Senator Jellison’s visit to General Bambridge as well as through the interactions between the four astronauts in Hammerlab. Of course, in the case of Senator Jellison his reasons for action in terms of politics are not only his duty, in a way, but would possibly have a much greater effect on whatever survivors existed once the commit brought about it’s destruction. Also, it’s interesting that the author of the book would choose Senator Jellison as the one to take action in the name of the United States as a whole. Where’s that president of theirs? It seems that either the authors did not think highly of their President at the time, Jimmy Carter, or they went an easy route by making Jellison the political hero since he would be surviving the impact. That’s a different issue altogether, though. I’m not talking about politics in the book being a reflection of the time, at the moment at least.
I suppose my question, then, is as follows: Is it possible that we are indeed incapable of seeing past our socially constructed definitions of ourselves and others even in the face of death and destruction? I’d like to add that this is indeed a book and is influenced from the opinions of the authors. My question stems mostly from the interactions between the astronauts. They are the closest humans to the comet and the most helpless since they’re floating in the nothingness of outer space with not enough battery power to have their ship work at its full capacity, and yet their conversations seem to deal mostly with their political and cultural differences. I’m not sure that Russian astronauts would admit the failures of the own country in comparison to the country of their fellow astronauts while in the tail of a comet. So, is this a social commentary or an opinionated and completely fictional conversation?
Good question. In regards, specifically, to the astronauts, it just occurred to me that maybe they function as a kind of Greek Chorus, telling the audience what they’re supposed to think about the events unfolding below them on earth. If this is true, the astronauts are closer to the authors’ “voice” than any of the other characters. (While they’re up in space, that is…It’ll be interesting to see what happens to the astronauts’ point of view once they return from orbit.)
Good point! They’re even the ones to give us the bird’s eye view, if you will, of the atomic war that precedes comet hell. There’s something to the timing of their appearance through out the story, too.