Part III . . . Notes, References, and Shoutouts (Chapters 19-22)
(4MiM Supplement #5)
Chapter 19. Through a Window, Darkly
Mrs. Gillis was no longer there to cut her down to size.
It had been arranged for Ambassador Gillis’ wife, Mathea Gillis, to stay on Border Starbase 19 for the duration of Operation Tarrash. (See Chapter 15. Getting Down to Business )
The players studied their hands. The bid went round the table. “You guys look like the cat who ate the canary. What were you talking about before I came in?” Joanni asked as the meld was laid down.
In pinochle, the highest bidder for a particular hand names the trump suit. Then all players lay down the cards in their hand that are worth points (see below). These points (meld) are totaled for each player or team, then play begins.
“Raindrops on kittens and bright silver mittens,” she told her.
A faulty remembering by Ruthie (Lt. McKaye) of the song lyrics from a popular 20th century musical. A coy, canary-swallowing response.
Chapter 20. The Menace of Faint Warnings
It was left to Brennan, of course, to make the most succinct and annoying remark about the whole affair. “He wants what he wants. He’s not sitting an examination where points are awarded for the correct answer.”
“A man like the captain—he’s a leader. He needs to be in charge and he needs to feel in control. When a guy like that falls for a girl, he feels he’s losing some of that control. The higher you go in the power structure, the more he feels you don’t need him. He needs to be useful.”
The peanut gallery advice: an amalgam of complaints and plaints about love and the opposite sex drawn from social media over the past several years.
. . . and a low level humming or vibration began that at first could only be heard by those onboard from home planets other than Earth, then by Earthpeople with very acute hearing, then by even those who had been rendered hard of hearing by constant space travel. The animals on board were agitated. Joanni was at her usual post at her window one afternoon when the cabin pressure within the ship became so great, so painful, worse than any migraine, that she thought she was going to suffer an aneurysm. It forced her head down onto her desk; she could no longer open her eyes.
The idea of the steady growth of a force until such force becomes overwhelming was drawn, in part, from a scene that had always struck me when reading C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew (1955), part of The Chronicles of Narnia series; though with Lewis, the force is sound rather than pressure:
Chapter 21. Two Entities of Great Energy
But she couldn’t rest; she left her quarters and paced up and down the hallways, a throwback to the earlier claustrophobic days immediately after coming on board . . .
For the introduction of the theme of claustrophobia, see Chapter 7. Irrational Fears and Fabulous Backstories.
Full power was eventually restored, and she continued on her mission to Oreana, once again lighting up the skies.
The musical inspiration for the Eridanus’ resumption of her journey: “East of Easter (Live)”, off the album Simple Minds Live (2002)
Chapter 22. Single Kayak Philosophy
“The Oreanians will [listen to me]. If I ask them, they will not sign.”
Joanni was right. The Oreanians would not sign anything without her approval; they had no strong feelings about the mutual cooperation treaty other than getting their clesig back. Also, given their culture, they would more readily take a suggestion from Joanni than from any alien male diplomat.
“That was very brave of you.” She paused, then continued, “But he isn’t going to like you any better.”
Brennan was also correct. The captain would gladly take any opportunity to save his crew, but, it would grate a little—getting out of a tight situation, saving the day—that was what he was suppose to do, not Joanni.
I often associate a particular piece of music with a particular chapter. My mental soundtrack for this chapter:
I discovered this piece of music through figure skating: the Japanese skater, Hana Yoshida, is using it for her free program this season.
Four Months in May’s regular chapter format will return Friday, December 15, the last post for this year. The adventures of Joanni and the captain and crew of the Eridanus will resume next year on January 5, 2024. Happy Holiday reading!
Top image: “Cat and Canary Cage” by Kamal-ol-molk (1848-1940). Golestan Palace, Iran. Public domain. Edited by J. Weigley