Re: Punishment

Anton Sherwood (dasher@netcom.com)
Sat, 14 Mar 1998 01:35:20 -0700


John K Clark wrote:
> That sounds a lot like Science Fiction writer David Brin's fist non fiction
> book called "The Transparent Society", [...]
> Mr. Brin's idea is not going to work, and I politely explained to him why, at
> that point a totally unexpected phenomena occurred, Mr. Brin went non linear.
> [...] I never read "The Postman" or
> saw the movie and probably never will, but "the Holnists" are in it and I'd
> be interested if anybody knows what they (it?) are, I have a hunch it's
> something pretty nasty because Brin compared me to them and I'm quite sure
> he wasn't trying to give me a compliment.

If I remember right, the Holnists are a gang of militarist uebermenschen
who plan to make themselves kings over the inferior tree-hugging rabble.

> Anyway, as I told Mr. Brin, I personally find his idea repulsive but that's
> irrelevant because it's not going to happen. Brin's world is inherently
> unstable, so discussing its merits is like talking about if it would be fun
> to live in a world where the second law of thermodynamics worked backward.

Ha ha. For those who don't know, that is precisely the premise of
Brin's novel _The Practice Effect_, an early work which was fished out
of the trunk and published after _Startide Rising_ made him a star.

> [...]

-- 
"How'd ya like to climb this high without no mountain?" --Porky Pine
Anton Sherwood   *\\*   +1 415 267 0685
!! visiting New Mexico, end of March !!