Inversions
Inversions (English title: Inversions appeared in 1998 ) is the fifth science fiction - novel from the culture cycle of Iain M. Banks .
The book presents an intervention in a pre-industrial civilization by culture from the perspective of the society it manipulates.
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The book tells the stories of two influential strangers, each residing in one of two rival states. These states in turn belong to a civilization that roughly resembles Europe at the end of the 16th or beginning of the 17th century. The main characters of the two interwoven stories are on the one hand Vosill (also called "The Doctor"), who is the personal doctor of the absolutist monarch King Quience of one kingdom , and on the other hand the bodyguard DeWar , who is the protector general reminiscent of Oliver Cromwell UrLeyn protected in a rival, somewhat more "progressive" state. Vosill believes that by reasoning she can influence and tone down the king's conservative stance. DeWar comes to the conclusion that someone from UrLeyn's entourage is trying to murder him. As it turns out, they are both mysterious strangers, who have come from far farther than the King or Protector could ever imagine.
Like many other Banks books, Inversionen has an interwoven narrative structure: the grandson of the author of the account of the events surrounding Vosill introduces the reader to his grandfather's story and another author's account of DeWar, making three (or four) Narrative levels emerge: the two fictional authors, the equally fictional editor and Banks himself.
The two outsiders whose story the book tells were previously close friends in the culture before they began to intervene in the events of the world described in the book. The two have different ideas about the extent to which it is morally justifiable to impose changes on an unsuspecting, “weaker” society. Their different views are subsequently reflected in the way the two choose for themselves to intervene in the respective societies they influence.
Context within the culture cycle
The book stands out from the other novels in the culture cycle, among other things, because of its very narrow framework - the other books tend to be set on many different worlds and often cover much longer periods of time. Inversions thus represents the most intimate and detailed representation of the way in which an inhabitant of the culture can influence the development of other societies.
It's not obvious at first glance that Inversionen is a novel about culture . A reader familiar with the other books in the cycle, however, quickly reveals that the story is about a mission for special circumstances , which is told here from the perspective of those who are manipulated by the culture . To quote Banks himself: “ Inversionen was an attempt to write a cultural novel that wasn't.” In addition, the hardcover edition of the book has the following short foreword [emphasis added.] :
“A Note on the Text
This Text, in two Parts, was discovered amongst the Papers of my late Grandfather. One Part concerns the Story of the Bodyguard to the then Protector of Tassasen, one UrLeyn, and is related, it is alleged, by a Person of his Court at the time, while the other, told by my Grandfather, tells the Story of the Woman Vosill, a Royal Physician during the Reign of King Quience, and who may, or may not, have been from the distant Archipelago of Drezen but who was, without Argument, from a different Culture . Like my much esteemed Grandfather, I have taken on the Task of making the Text I inherited more comprehensible and clear, and hope that I have succeeded in this Aim. Nevertheless, it is in a Spirit of the utmost Humility that I present it to the Society and to whomever might see fit to read it. "
“A note on this text:
This text, in two parts, was found among my late grandfather's records. One part deals with the story of the bodyguard of the protector of Tassasen at the time, a UrLeyn, told, as is insured, by a person from his court at the time, while the other part, told by my grandfather, tells the story of Mrs. Vosill, one of them royal doctor during the reign of King Quience, and who may or may not have come from the distant Drezen Archipelago, but indisputably from a different culture. Like my esteemed grandfather, I have taken on the task of making the text I have inherited clearer and easier to understand, and I hope that I was able to achieve this goal. Nevertheless, it is with a feeling of the greatest submission that I present it to society and to everyone who wishes to read it. "
Although this foreword was deleted from the later paperback editions, inversions contain many other indications that the two main characters are inhabitants of the culture :
- Vosill has the best medical knowledge on the planet. She also influences King Quience in a subtle way in order to lead him to democratic and civilized values - just like the modus operandi of Special Circumstances . In Chapter 7 she explains, albeit in a veiled form, to her apprentice the philosophical worldview of culture . In addition, she is able to overhear the confidential conversations of others indoors, and some of her enemies die in mysterious circumstances. When she is tried to be tortured , she manages to break free from her chains and kill three men within seconds. There are also strong indications that the “enchanted dagger” (as Banks jokingly calls it in the interview mentioned above) that Vosill carries with him is actually a so-called “knife missile” or a similar technology of culture . (A servant observing the death of Duke Walen describes the object as a “dark bird”.) Finally, while inexplicable atmospheric phenomena take place, Vosill disappears from her locked cabin on the high seas after receiving the invitation to the captain's table to dine, because she was " indisposed due to special circumstances ". (Emphasis added.)
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DeWar, on the other hand, tells Lattens (the young son of the Protector and General) stories that relate to culture . In Chapter 6 he says of one of these stories, “[...] that more than just the language had to be translated. Some of the ideas and ... the way people do things and behave also had to be changed to make sense. "The phrase" the way people do things and behave "he uses after hesitation, is basically the definition of the term " culture ". From DeWars stories one can infer that he is the character Hiliti while Vosill is Sechroom .
Sechroom (or Vosill), who believes that culture has a duty to help less developed civilizations where possible, seems to be an agent for special circumstances (BU) in his stories as well . (In DeWar's words: “Maybe more missionary , or even spy , than soldier.”) It also seems that Hiliti (or DeWar) - because of his aversion to cultural interference - cannot be a BU agent. Instead, it would appear that he followed Vosill to this planet for his own reasons and with no intention of returning to the culture . (In Chapter 16 he says of Hiliti: "He banished himself forever from the luxury of Lavishia . (So the culture .) Sechroom and Hiliti will never see each other again.") If one follows this interpretation, it may even be that he tries to compensate for Vosill's support for King Quience, who in turn plans to overthrow and discredit the Protector, whom DeWar is tasked to protect. However, other interpretations are also possible. DeWar does not use technology from culture like Vosill does in the form of her dagger. Nevertheless, he knows a lot about the "half-hidden" kingdom of Mottelocci (where he will eventually retreat into exile), although it is very far away and he has never been there.
literature
- Iain M. Banks: Inversions . Orbit, London 1998, ISBN 1-85723-763-3 (English, original edition).
- Iain M. Banks: Inversions . Heyne, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-453-16198-X .
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- ↑ Interview with SciFi.com ( Memento of the original from May 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English).
- ^ Iain M. Banks: Inversions. (Hardcover edition).
- ↑ Simone Caroti: Note on the text . In: The Culture Series of Iain M. Banks: A Critical Introduction . McFarland, 2015, ISBN 978-1-4766-2040-4 , pp. 141 ( books.google.de - printed here).
