Not to say that the portion of the chronicle where the humans had colonized wasn't interesting; it was just a little humbling to see that even if we did change planets we would probably bring all of the stuff that made earth unlivable in the first place with us anyways. That was the point of Spender's last hurrah, he knew that even if the first few colonists were harmless, eventually capital interests or violent interests would further destroy the memory of a civilization already ruined by disease.
Something else interesting is how little the humans actually adapt to the new planet. There was an attempt to start planting earth seeds in martian soil to try to fix the oxygen problem; however, it was pretty poetic how the attempt seemed to be a magnificent success only to be completely ruined by the harsh martian sun and showing how unwelcome the humans were. Although the martians and the humans seem very similar and mars was almost habitable to humans, it's obvious that the humans were being carless when deciding that mars would be a good place to settle down.
When the alien and the colonist meet in a road and literally cannot exist in the same reality, it really emphasizes the point of thier alien-ness to each other. Allthough they share similar desires, they cannot co-habitate, the whole "there can only be one" (courtesy of Highlander) argument is really strong here and eventually proves it's self to be true by the end of the book.
I agree that the parts of the book that were more focused on the Martians were more interesting than the parts that focused on the humans on Mars. I liked the idea of Martian telepathy and was disappointed when they died so early into the book.
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ReplyDeleteI think that the anti-climatic end of almost the entire Martian civilization was meant to catch the reader off guard with the combination of how sudden the events had occurred, and how nonchalant all voyagers on the expedition, save for Spender, took the fact that they were at fault for the destruction of a species. There's a certain disconnection they feel in regards to the devastation that occurred on Mars, and the apathy most of them feel is something of a historical nod to humanity's general insensibility.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you on how the story seemed to level off, interest wise, after the fourth expedition and human settlement, as I think that just has something to do with the fact that compared to an unfamiliar, alien race, humans are boring. Our conflict is selfish and predictable, and we never bother to evade consequential actions due to our own greed. We're not very interesting to ourselves, especially when she have to spend half a book reading about the levels of damage we leave behind where ever we go.
Yes, way to touch on those chicken pox. I mentioned it before, I felt as if I have really high expectations for these martians. They're this advanced civilization (in our opinion) but they seem to fall into human categories and don't seem so martian after all. We end up being so similar in the end.
ReplyDeleteyes I really loved the story where he planted all the seeds and trees it was really cool. a fave.
ReplyDeleteI like your point about how only one can exist. The humans think that they've inherited Mars (because all the Martians are gone, wonder how that happened). In the end it is the Martian buildings which last the longest.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the sentence that talked about us bringing all of our problems with us, but now I´m depressed
ReplyDeleteI feel like the "only one ca exits" when humans are involved. When human are involved it's "no one can exist bc they always kill everything, even their own planet.
ReplyDeleteOh, this is gorgeous! Humans have some actual crummy intentions in coming to Mars, and we bring all of our nasty baggage with us (I think it is not unintentional that portions of the book focus specifically on luggage).
ReplyDeleteAnd then they're killed by chicken pox. Chicken pox! A cause that would be insurmountable, supposing humans had any contact with them whatsoever.
I love your title here. I love everything about this entry. :-D