|
Visit our Liz Williams page,
for a Liz Williams biography, bibliography, Liz Williams short stories, and
interviews |
Ghiru thinks that he has lost his sister Hassia to the
Unthinkables. Unfortunately, the Unthinkables are the lowest of the low
in Ghiru's society, and are considered mad. Yet Ghiru is unwilling to
give up his sister so easily. It might not just be fraternal love which guides
him however; in such a hierarchical culture, losing a family member to the mad
would be shameful indeed. So, Ghiru sets out on a journey to discover
just what has happened to his sister. This involves a visit to the
Unthinkables quarter, and the revelation that Hassia has been taken by the
mysterious kathoi. And Ghiru unwittingly walks straight into a trap...
'The Unthinkables' was Liz Williams' first story
to be published by
Interzone in
her current writing spree (although the magazine had previously published her a
couple of years earlier). In some ways it's an untypical Liz Williams'
story: we're certainly not on Earth here, and there is no human culture to
speak of (Ghiru's species is birdlike, and the kathoi appear to be
insectoid). Having said that, the resolution of the story does seem to
bear some relation to Liz Williams' PhD in philosophy. (Incidentally,
John Meaney in his aptly named novel 'Paradox' last year, created a whole society which
revolved around logic and thought games). Of course, there is also the
correlation of the Unthinkables with India's 'Untouchables' caste.
Despite the fact that he is not human, Liz Williams draws Ghiru with all her
usual empathy. Ghiru's society has still retained its animal sense of
smell, and are more than adept in their use of telepathy. Yet the kathoi
are a wee bit more expert in the exchange of thought, and so dominate. I
couldn't help but think of the current 'digital divide': the seeming consensus
that those who lack access to the internet are at the very least culturally
poorer. However, as the Tamil Tigers have discovered with their hacking
and digital assault on the Sri Lankan military's website, there are many
ways to wage war through wires... There seems to be a typographical error
with two different spellings of 'heirophant' alternating, although this may
well be Interzone's fault - this story is also called 'The Unthinkable' on
their contents page. Again, it does seem as though Liz Williams is very
much tackling current issues, and mythologizing them. The fact that Liz
Williams has demonstrated her ability to create believable alien worlds also
bodes very well for the future. With all its philosophical ramifications,
this is my favourite Liz Williams tale thus far.
authortrek rating: 10/10
Epistemology
- an Introduction - it seems that the one Liz Williams tale we have
reviewed here that is set on an alien planet may be the one which conveys most
about her thinking. Although 'The Unthinkables' works very well on its
own, it also has a very interesting philosophical context (Liz Williams has a
PhD in Philosophy from Cambridge university). This web link gives a brief
overview of epistemology (Ghiru and his people are dosed with monthly 'epistemics'),
and also discusses the 'meme' concept mentioned by Hassia: "A most recent,
and perhaps most radical approach, extends this evolutionary view in order to
make knowledge actively pursue goals of its own. This approach, which as yet
has not had the time to develop a proper epistemology, may be called memetics. It notes that
knowledge can be transmitted from one subject to another, and thereby loses its
dependence on any single individual. A piece of knowledge that can be
transmitted or replicated in such a way is called a 'meme'. "
The
Heirophant - a definition. According to the bio on her homepage,
Liz Williams did once work as a tarot reader. The Heirophant is a tarot
card, often depicted as the Pope. No doubt the fact that the Hierophant
is the first to be infected by Ghiru is Liz Williams' version of the old joke
about fortune tellers (as in "I never saw it coming!").
Read Kevin Patrick Mahoney's essay on her second novel,
The Empire of Bones.
'The Unthinkables' was published in
Interzone number
151 January 2000.
|
Visit our Liz Williams page,
for a Liz Williams biography, bibliography, Liz Williams short stories, and
interviews |
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