Parts III to IV . . . Notes, References, and Shoutouts (Chapters 27-30)
(4MiM Supplement #7)
Chapter 27. The Oreanians Speak
The Oreanians pronounced her name as “jo’an-knee.”
Our protagonist’s name was taken from the Kate Bush song “Joanni” off her double album, Aerial. I myself pronounce it in my head as “jo’an-knee.”
Her dark hair was bundled up under a multi-pointed crown crusted with jewels and hanging pendants that lit up when she spoke.'
The Oreanians’ crowns resemble those worn by Xiao Mei (played by Ziyi Zhang) in Zhang Yimou’s House of Flying Daggers.
Brennan, who understood some of what Joanni was saying, widened her eyes in surprise at her friend’s boldness.
Brennan had often helped Joanni practice her Oreanian exercises during the long voyage, and had thus picked up a rudimentary understanding of the language.
Perfect your own world and be satisfied to live within it was more their style.
The Oreanian insular mindset was first noted in the Prologue: “The people of Oreana are not explorers; their ruling philosophy is we strive to reach perfection here before we venture forth.”
. . . but to have that outcome depend upon your actions, to have the outcome be your responsibility—that was quite another.
The idea of drawing strength from having life’s consequences depend upon your actions, your courage; to have these outcomes be your responsibility; and to find that burden “intoxicating” rather than unnerving was based, in part, on Bari Weiss’ Honesty podcast with journalist Sebastian Junger. “Why Men Seek Danger” The Free Press March 16, 2023.
Oreana was indeed a matriarchal society in which the heads of family and state were female.
This type of societal setup was similarly described in a quote post by Mary Harrington from November 27, 2023, specifically, this excerpt:
. . . toward a large structure of thick, heavy rings of decreasing size placed one upon another—the largest on the bottom, the smallest on top—shrouded in shadow and resembling the stacking toy of primary-colored wooden pieces from one’s childhood.
At the back of her imagined stage, the statue, on some unknown impulse, resonated in reply, the rings lighting up in harmony with the notes from the clesig.
Inspired by the beloved Animusic animations of the early 2000s.
Chapter 29. The Transmutation of Joanni N.
. . . but whether via screen or in person, the woman who appeared was, perplexingly, an enigma; her expression visored by sunglasses that were never removed . . .
Joanni wore sunglasses to protect her eyes from the brightness of the Oreanian video screens when videoconferencing with Gillis or Chipman. She wore them as well during the brief times she went aboard the Eridanus to shower, eat, and attend to other personal business. By doing so, she was able to more or less retain both physical and mental equilibrium. Only once did she remove them, during a few snatched minutes alone with the captain in his quarters, but it proved too unsettling for both of them.
Her dark, dilated eyes reminded him, just for a fleeting second, of the gaze of the deer from his past. He could not contain the quiet wildness of those deer . . .
The sighting of deer used as a symbol of something that cannot be easily captured or regulated was introduced in Chapter 4. Heard as Well as Seen: “. . . seeing them frozen there, silently staring back. Startling, even though common enough, back then, anyway. But still, something magical and fantastic and wild about it.”
Chapter 30. Ceremony of the Origin Clesig
. . . as the vibrations emanating from the vouronium crystal now placed into the well of the upper bridge of the Origin Clesig continued to reverberate . . .
As explained in the Prologue: “There was a depression with an empty mounting at the very top of its main bridge showing specks of the original slate blue color scratched into the mottled metal. It was thought that a crystal or gem had been placed there to generate vibrations . . .”
And in Chapter 6. Harmonies of the Mind: “First, she would play a simple folk song . . . explaining that additional vibrations could be added once the missing crystal was put back in place by the Oreanians.
Top Image: Celestial traveler. Source: Studio publicity still of Hedy Lamarr for the film Ziegfeld Girl (1941). Dr. Macro, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.