Discussion Questions
1. What is the effect of placing a convent
against the backdrop of the lunar mountains? How is the effect different
from, say, that of a domed laboratory?
2. What features does the story associate
with male characters like Captain Szili? What features with female characters?
3. How does the information about time and
space distortions around super-novae become part of the emotional interaction
of Eloise and Lucifer?
4. The story is full of references to Christian
beliefs and symbols. How do those references relate to the scientific interpretation
of the events?
5. How does Anderson's use of the Schwarzchild
radius compare with Connie Willis's in "Schwarzchild Radius" and with John
Varley's in "Lollipop and the Tar Baby"? |
