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| [[Image:lighterstill.jpg]] | | [[Image:lighterstill.jpg]] |
| [[Image:Helianx21.jpg|center]] | | [[Image:Helianx21.jpg|center]] |
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| + | '''<center>Commentary</center>''' |
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− | '''<center>Commentary</center>'''
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| + | It had taken a long time for the [[Helianx]] to get used to life aboard the Great Ship. |
− | It had taken a long time for the Helianx to get used to life aboard the Great Ship. | |
| Although they had taken care to fashion the enormous craft, | | Although they had taken care to fashion the enormous craft, |
| as far as they could, to emulate conditions on Womb Planet, | | as far as they could, to emulate conditions on Womb Planet, |
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| However, and this had been quite shocking to the Elders, the computers had insisted | | However, and this had been quite shocking to the Elders, the computers had insisted |
| on the inclusion of dry chambers representing the planet after the seas had receded. | | on the inclusion of dry chambers representing the planet after the seas had receded. |
− | The horror of their recent experience had colored their emotions so deeply that it became | + | The horror of their recent [[experience]] had colored their [[emotion]]s so deeply that it became |
− | as a consequence, an unsung taboo, never to visit, or raise in discussion, | + | as a consequence, an unsung [[taboo]], never to visit, or raise in discussion, |
− | the arid, storm-blown simulacrum lodged deep within the bowels of the ship. | + | the arid, storm-blown [[simulacrum]] lodged deep within the bowels of the ship. |
| It was doubtless this impulse that had also led to their gradual acceptance | | It was doubtless this impulse that had also led to their gradual acceptance |
| of a more sedentary existence spent largely in the nutrient domes, | | of a more sedentary existence spent largely in the nutrient domes, |
− | and of the many obvious restrictions imposed by a peripatetic life in interstellar space. | + | and of the many obvious restrictions imposed by a peripatetic life in [[interstellar space]]. |
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| Galactic historians have stressed the need to understand | | Galactic historians have stressed the need to understand |
| the enormous timespans involved when studying these strange creatures. | | the enormous timespans involved when studying these strange creatures. |
− | It has always been hard for short -lived entities to grasp the psychological mindset of beings | + | It has always been hard for short-lived entities to grasp the [[psychology|psychological]] mindset of beings |
− | whose long lives could best be expressed in geological time. | + | whose long lives could best be expressed in [[geological time]]. |
| Do their thoughts move more slowly through those vast neural networks? | | Do their thoughts move more slowly through those vast neural networks? |
| Do their immensely long lifespans allow them to view universal philosophical questions in a profoundly different way? | | Do their immensely long lifespans allow them to view universal philosophical questions in a profoundly different way? |
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| The changes the Helianx underwent as a species | | The changes the Helianx underwent as a species |
| occurred over millions of years and many generations of life on the Great Ship. | | occurred over millions of years and many generations of life on the Great Ship. |
− | Much of their placid lives had been spent floating in Dreamtime, and by the time the computers started spitting out their new prediction for the demise of the superuniverse, | + | Much of their placid lives had been spent floating in Dreamtime, and by the time the computers started spitting out their new prediction for the demise of the [[superuniverse]], |
| the frightful memories of their unfortunate exile had all but dissipated. | | the frightful memories of their unfortunate exile had all but dissipated. |
| They had even grown to enjoy the indolence imposed on them by circumstances, | | They had even grown to enjoy the indolence imposed on them by circumstances, |
| broken only by occasional meetings with diplomatic missions, who often seemed unreasonably resentful of the Helianx for the news they brought. | | broken only by occasional meetings with diplomatic missions, who often seemed unreasonably resentful of the Helianx for the news they brought. |
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− | As a result of the increasingly Skeptical animosity amongst those they were merely trying to wam, | + | As a result of the increasingly [[skeptic|skeptical]] animosity amongst those they were merely trying to wam, |
| the news that the Helianx were to place themselves in suspended animation | | the news that the Helianx were to place themselves in suspended animation |
| for an undetermined period in the future, became a considerably more attractive prospect | | for an undetermined period in the future, became a considerably more attractive prospect |