The Suffering

Quite a varied story that has a lot of tones, but knows how to nail them all.

First things first, this is the first audio I’ve listened to with Peter Purves. I’m glad to say that he’s just as good at storytelling as Maureen O’Brien, which is a great sign for the audio’s that are coming up.

The banter of our two main characters also feels very natural and different now. We now have to future-people in the lead. That changes the way we look at history. A lot of comparatively recent history for us, is centuries away for them.

And this story hooks right on that fact. We land in the middle of the suffering, where women are pleading for the right to vote. Vicki and Steven are unaware of women ever having fewer right than men, and are baffled by the primitivity of it all.

Shortly after landing, the party finds a skull in the sand, but it seems to react quite strangely to Vicki and other women. Bringing out a strong, innate hatred for men.

It turns out the skull can create a psychic link for a creature that suffered in a society where men ruled, and she wants revenge. She does this by creating a web experiences among women (and Steven) and driving up the hate.

It’s a decent concept, although psychic links and webs are getting a bit routine now (The unwinding world, The fifth traveller and the web planet come to mind). But the way it is used here allows for some great insight in the history of both our main characters. Looking back on their own suffering as they remember their separate crashes and loneliness. They actually have a lot in common there, so that helps too.

The overall handling of the topic is done well too. This is a 60’s doctor, so feminist movements were not as widespread as they would later be. But the story never decides to take the ambivalent route. The doctor is completely in favor of equal rights, and that’s a good call. He takes people at face value, regardless of gender.

Of course our other leads do so too. They’re far more advanced than we, the listeners, are. And yet the story still makes it very clear why this subject matters. It’s a very serious topic that is handled astoundingly well. I dare to say it’s one of the most nuanced portrayals of a topic yet. Making clear what matters, while giving its own take without sounding preaching or disingenuous.

Frankly it has a lot more depth than I can explain. I am a white guy in my twenties. I have inherent privilege, and am probably not the person people want takes about feminism from. Just know that I am completely on board with equal rights. Hate is always foolish, and love is always wise, after all.

But the topic does have a lot of nuance here. It asks several important questions. Why equal rights instead of women above men? What should the role of violence be? What’s the difference between equal rights and complete equality? Tons of important questions are asked and answered. It genuinely makes me feel more aware of the topic.

And that’s what makes this story special. It has so many things it wants to do, and manages them all while giving them the layers they deserve. It hits emotional notes, is informative about the time period and gives its own perspective. It’s one of the deepest stories so far, but still has some fun sci-fi elements. The only downside, is that it is dragged down a little by the threat. Its powers of psychic links are generic, and the twist the story has about her origin falls a bit flat. This is relatively minor, though. It is still absolutely worth a listen for all it adds to the characters and the history of the event. It’s wonderful.