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walkitoutThroughout the Pillars of Reality series, Mage Alain and Mechanic Mari attempt to explain each other’s specialties to each other, often to comical effect. This is YA, and, as much as I enjoy this author and it pains me to say it, because it is Hemry / Campbell, this comical effect and the point it is making are often pretty belabored. But that is fine! I love the point! I love the back-and-forth. I love that anyone anywhere, but especially in YA genre fiction is actually exploring frames, and limitations, and how working with a specialist from _outside your specialty_ can spark useful ideas and approaches within your specialty.
Anyway. That is the background for the moment when Mari realizes that one of the two locomotives she is about to destroy as part of the defense of Dorcastle in the big siege that is the final book in the series is the locomotive she trained on, a legend among Mechanics and deeply loved. She is saddened that she is about to destroy Betsy. Alain has pointed out to her that all of her behavior and her feelings indicate that to her, Betsy is like Mage Alera’s roc Swift. Alain is a Mage, so nothing is real, and rocs are not alive and he knows that but he also knows how much Alera loves Swift and how ordinary folk think of dragons, trolls and rocs as being alive even tho they are not. Here is Mari’s response, in part:
“I guess you’re right after all. We Mechanics tell ourselves that these are just machines formed of metal and fired with oil, soulless creations who owe their existence only to us and that have no feelings and no sense of their own. But we give them names and we feel their moods and we talk to them ... and when they reach their final end we feel very sad to lose them.” [paragraph] She got up. “I can’t do it. I’ll rig the other one, but not Betsy. I will not be the one who kills her.”
Don’t ya love it when two nerds really get each other when it matters? I may not get your thing and you may not get my thing, but we can still work together and accomplish Great Things.
Anyway. That is the background for the moment when Mari realizes that one of the two locomotives she is about to destroy as part of the defense of Dorcastle in the big siege that is the final book in the series is the locomotive she trained on, a legend among Mechanics and deeply loved. She is saddened that she is about to destroy Betsy. Alain has pointed out to her that all of her behavior and her feelings indicate that to her, Betsy is like Mage Alera’s roc Swift. Alain is a Mage, so nothing is real, and rocs are not alive and he knows that but he also knows how much Alera loves Swift and how ordinary folk think of dragons, trolls and rocs as being alive even tho they are not. Here is Mari’s response, in part:
“I guess you’re right after all. We Mechanics tell ourselves that these are just machines formed of metal and fired with oil, soulless creations who owe their existence only to us and that have no feelings and no sense of their own. But we give them names and we feel their moods and we talk to them ... and when they reach their final end we feel very sad to lose them.” [paragraph] She got up. “I can’t do it. I’ll rig the other one, but not Betsy. I will not be the one who kills her.”
Don’t ya love it when two nerds really get each other when it matters? I may not get your thing and you may not get my thing, but we can still work together and accomplish Great Things.