GRGR(3) - The Map(s) #2

[calbert at pop.tiac.net]

> I don't think these stars are ever stated as representing "conquests."  Any
> encounter will do.  That they coincide with future bomb hits is "miraculous"
> in some sense.  Will we ever KNOW the mechanism?

But that assumes that random rules these activities, which we have 
reason to suspect is not so. Though  its been a while since I was 
down with Poisson, I think any process to which it is employed is not 
totally random. This is simple enough to apply to the rockets (they 
are targeted, subject to immutable laws of physics, there is at least 
an element of predictablility in their behavior); it is the 
possibility that Slothrop's conquests aren't entirely random which 
makes the whole scenario so fertile for speculation. I recall there 
being a direct implication of this sort by Slothrop in the early 
chapters.

Again we see the contrast between strict causality and the oriental 
concept of interrelatedness of all.


love,
cfa