From one plane to another

Changing Planes
Ursula Le Guin

Ursula Le Guin amazed me when I read Dispossed and the Left Hand of Darkness. I like sci-fi stories with an anthropological, political, and sociological slant like OS Cards’ Ender series (particularly Speaker for the Dead) and Herbert’s Dune. It’s fascinating that they painstakingly imagined what societies would be like if --- there was no male and female, if there was no government, if humans settled on a planet with a developing specie and civilization, if the economy, society, civilization depended on only one resource – wow.

What was very interesting with Changing Planes was that it was based on the premise that people can change planes (dimensional) while waiting for a plane (airplane) – the combination of stress, anxiety, and frustration enables humans to slide to other planes where they can go on a holiday and relax. There’s a “time difference” – days in one plane is only equivalent to maybe an hour in the airport. (For someone who travels often - GOD, I wish this was really possible!) The chapters were observations and stories about different planes – they’re short anthropological or sociological papers about a culture! Well, you can also see it as a travelogue. Either way, it was a very great read.

Fight the Night

A wrinkle in time
Madeleine L’Engle

My brother has been telling me to read this book for years, I finally got around it. I expected a sci-fi story for young people and I found it very philosophical – well, make that spiritual. It was a classic story of good vs. evil but there was a spiritual element on it. The kids were fighting an on coming darkness that controls lives – it deprives people of freedom, forcing them to be the “same” to the extreme – same thoughts, body rhythm, and activities. The controllers (or IT) saw the arrangement as a nirvana – no crime, no sickness, no poverty. One of the children, Meg, fought the darkness with love with the support of beings from other planets/dimensions who believe in good – in the light and in God.

A Wrinkle in Time reminded me of Sci-Fi books where religion and belief in God were central such as Orson Scott Card in his Memory of Earth series and Stephen King’s the Stand. It was amazing that L’Engle wrote the philosophical conflict for young people. The book also implied that “conformity” is an instrument of evil – the Borg of Star Trek also embodied this point of view. We can see this idea in a lot of books and films but isn’t it funny that our society encourages individuals to conform and frowns upon anyone different?

The calm before the storm

April and June were slow months for me - no trips to disaster areas or war-torn communities. Yes, my work does require me to go to buwis buhay trips in order to help out - in our own way. So staying home for two months meant I had time to buy books and graphic novels! Reading my hoard will take a bit longer but July and August schedules will be devastating - to my social life and so-called life.

Wish I could stay home longer.