From: dac@prolix.apana.org.au (Andrew Clayton)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Xenocide Sequel? SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!
Date: Thu, 07 Jan 1993 10:30:46 GMT
 <1993Jan6.092912.21804@mfltd.co.uk> <1993Jan6.100145.26564@bnr.uk>
Summary: ***** Spoilers for Xenocide ******
Organization: More like Dis~, really.
X-Newsreader: Arn V1.00

Here there be SPOILERS for Xenocide! You have been multiply warned.

In article <1993Jan6.100145.26564@bnr.uk>, Alan Carter writes:

> In article <1993Jan6.092912.21804@mfltd.co.uk>, sts@mfltd.co.uk (Steve Sherwood) writes:
> |> In article <TOMW.93Jan5214525@orac.asd.sgi.com>, tomw@orac.asd.sgi.com (Tom Weinstein) writes:
> |> |> In article <YAMAUCHI.93Jan5134817@yuggoth.ces.cwru.edu>, yamauchi@ces.cwru.edu (Brian Yamauchi) writes:
> |> |> 
> |> |> > Does anyone know whether a sequel to Orson Scott Card's _Xenocide_ is
> |> |> > planned, and if so, when it is expected to be published?
> |> |> 
> |> |> I certainly hope not.
> |> 
> |> Why not ?
> 
> My unposted response to this question was exactly the same as Tom's
> posted one. The story has come to an end. 

What happens to Jane.  That's the biggest question, amongst
several smaller, yet important ones.

Since Jane is utterly reponsible for instantaneous matter
transmission, humanity will lose a great deal if they do turn off
their ansible network off and 'lose' Jane.

Plus if Jane could evolve once, then perhaps a similar entity
could evolve again; the governing body of humanity would have to
regularly turn off the ansible network.  And there might well be
a problem with restarting an ansible network - you can't just
flick a switch and start up another pair of particles that
instantaneously respond to what happens to each other, regardless
of their displacement in space.  You have to generate them from
the same point, and then take them out to where you want them to
be.  Ansible communication is very expensive even in Xenocide's
time, presumably because ansible bandwidth is limited.

Breaking your communications network to make sure that nothing
can 'live' in it, and then spending centuries rebuilding it,
sounds highly unlikely to moi.  But I'm an idealist, and I'd like
to see Jane save the day, again.

> The plot elements have been 
> resolved. There is even a kind of reconciliation between Peter and
> Ender, because although he isn't Peter, Peter seems to be derivable
> from (a subset of?) Ender's subconcious. From here, a sequel could 
> only go downhill, and would be a sure sign that Card had lost it. 

Rubbish.  Card wrote the book, and it got too big, so he [and/or
his publisher] split it into two.  This was theorized [proved?]
last year.  Expect the sequel out this year, IMAO.

No matter what sort of elitist snobs some readers are [there are
many that thumb their nose at _Ender's Game_ for not being as
good as the novella!] there are MANY MORE people who will pay
their money and seek enjoyment from an author who has a knack for
reaching inside people's heads and pushing buttons.

[Let us avoid the entire 'homophobe' and 'mormon' debate, because
it gets very stale, very fast].

> On reflection, Brian's original question is phrased such that he
> might not be aware of Ender's Game and Speaker For The Dead,
> without which Xenocide is not complete.

Okay, let's get seriously banal here:

If there is no sequel for Xenocide published in the next 14
months, I will send you a cheque, in British Pounds, for 50.  Of
course, this depends on your participation in the wager [$A100
should do - 1.00 = $A2.20].

You may want to take this to the relative safety of Email. :-)

Dac
--
dac@prolix.apana.org.au              David Andrew Clayton.           // _| _  _
dac@prolix.sserve.cc.adfa.oz.au      Canberra, Australia           \X/ (_](_](_
                    <Using ARN on an Amiga 4000. Yay!>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written