For instance, the main character's revulsion when they say 'Earth'. Without more information, it has no impact. Sometimes, you need context.
Good point. I kept wondering about that, too. They said Earth was flash frozen but I don't recall if they explained why or why it was an avoided word.
Maybe the story is set in the Millennium after tomorrow...
What I got from the story was that 'Earth' represented everything that was bad about governments, national states and the arbitrary aggression that goes with them. Also, we destroyed the planet (and nearly the entire race) by unbalancing the climate. Humanity has since rejected that way of life (what we got in exchange is a bit vague, but more about that later) and over the course of time even the mention of the name Earth has become taboo.
I liked this story best of all the Hugo nominees. It has some weak points, the main of which for me were the switching between different tones (serious, humoristic) in a very short space of time and, as mentioned, the fact that the ending felt rushed and incomplete. I had no problem with the other worlds being conquered so easily. After all, the premise of the story is that, along with abandoning Earth, mankind has also abandoned the way of life that I described above.
That being said, this is the first EP episode I listened to twice (yes, me too). Because after the first listen, I felt like I hadn't picked up on half of all the world building going on in the background. The second listen seems to have cleared up some of that.
I really like the grand scope of this story. Man hasn't just reached out for the stars, but has also shed it's old forms of government and society. This feels real to me.
Too many SF pieces lean heavily on some kind of instant communication across the galaxy, to maintain unity between all the places where man has settled. But what if we don't discover some way to transmit fast over such distances? Humanity would drift apart and we would become alien to each other. I think this story captured this idea well.
Also, does anyone else sense some of the same themes as in Frank Herberts Dune? Mankind spread among the stars, withdrawn into new, semi-isolated communities. An old race, vital like primitive man used to be (at least in the eyes of future man) is unleashed by an outsider and proceeds to conquer the galaxy. There are at least a few similarities.
PS: about the intro/outro thing, how 'bout we give it a couple of episodes and then make up our minds?
