Re: Chapter Nineteen

2002-12-9 04:28:00

Rob writes:
Very action-packed and entertaining. But I missed the part explaining why being on the good side was worth all the sacrifice your character went through.

One of the reasons I liked the character of Philo from Book II was because his argument for taking care of yourself and not worrying if a soul-sustaining planet that was a billion light-years away blows up seemed to make a lot of logical sense. Even the character JJ comments about this to John. Philo's apparently tight argument made his character more intelligent and complex, which I liked, and also made me question if I would really recognize an evil philosophy if confronted with it. He represented an evil that was deeper and not nearly as apparent as the devils and demons I was taught to recognize from my youth.

But in Chapter 19 of Book III the question was never really answered as to why we should want to choose extreme physical pain and suffering by fighting the good fight, which I found disappointing. If the main evil character in this chapter was supposed to be more evil than Philo then I guess I expected a proportionately deeper and more complex philosophy from him as well as a counterargument to match it from the good side. But instead of explaining why living for one's own pleasure and avoiding all that pain over many lifetimes was undesirable, it was more like, "Let's forget their argument and just kill 'em all with a sword."

If I could see into my future lives and know all the pain and sacrifice I'd experience by choosing to join with the White Brothers, then there's no way in hell I would! So, why should anyone want to, JJ? When do the good guys get to have a supreme victory party?


JJ:
A lot of this will be addressed in the next visit with John. In Chapter 19 the Dark Brother got to present his side which was deceiving.

The burden is always easier on the side of light when the whole is considered. My character in the book had such a hard time on earth because he was paying off debts from a distant past where he assisted the Dark Brothers. If he hadn't made such a serious mistake then his sojourn here would have been much easier.

Keith asks:
Melva, this brings up a question I asked awhile back that nobody tried to answer. The question being; do we hunt our dweller or does the dweller show himself at the appropriate time? Do we choose high noon or does the dweller?

JJ:
Most people in the past who faced the Dweller had no choice because they were not aware of what the Dweller was. Thus the Dweller always picked the time and place. With the additional light being presented in this age and time, seekers will have more power in confronting their Dweller. Time will tell how this will work out.