Paul Guyer Audience Profile Text: Sideshow Author: Sheri S. Tepper Date of first publication: May 1992 Class: Upper Middle Class Professional Gender: UMCP - Strong female characters (Fringe) combined with wise female characters (Nela) give the story a nice sexually neutral feel Ethnic Background: UMCP - No Ethnic biases, aside from differences in "beliefs and practices" between different provinces and times/ages. Age: UMCP - No age assumptions made. Plot Outline 1. Main Plot There have been a series of mysterious requests made by an unknown entity, asking the citizens of Elsewhere to join the rest of the universe. Council Leader Boramus assembles a group of three Enforcers and a Siamese twin to investigate strange occurrences in a remote area known as nowhere. While investigating, the group experiences strange encounters which lead them to believe that the ensuing chaos is being created by the Hobbs Land Gods, a group that assimilates races into a collective. 2. Secondary Plots Fringe asks for Zasper's support of her entrance into the Enforcer Academy. After spending some time there, she answers the call of her father, who feels that she should leave the Academy because it disgraces him. Fringe later accepts a job as an Enforcer, only to find out that she is not capable of accepting the Enforcer's role as an observer when it comes to the everyday customs and practices of the individual provinces. Fringe realizes that she is more concerned with an individual's life than with the rules of non-interference set up by the Council. Fringe meets Danivon. Fringe is attracted to Danivon. The two make love. Fringe realizes that Danivon is an egotist, interested only in upholding his responsibilities as an Enforcer, as opposed to acting with compassion and empathy. Topics Siamese Twins Time travel and space travel via "non-traditional" Sideshows methods Individuality/identity Collectivity and the fear that comes from it Slavery Respect for another nation's/province's beliefs and practices Enforcers employed to ensure that individual societal rules are enforced Female excelling in male occupation Weapons Turtles Circus life Acting out of moral disapproval vs. acting out of legal disapproval Mysterious messages Traditional religious (Catholic) values vs. futuristic Diversity at the cost of individual rights belief in the Hobbs Land Gods Conformity Deadly foreign germs added to society through Adoption contact with an alien race Social classes/castes Change your name - change your identity Gift of a BOON to honor a dead friend Male and female in one package Ritual sacrifice Role of sex in a professional relationship Collection of dead leaders - CORE Universal pass is a sign of power - the ability to travel is valued Good ales vs. bad ale/symbolism of ale w/in a relationship Gunfighting, old west style Slavery = removal of individuality Dragons Scale for rating a province's technology level Plagues as a method of population control Themes Diversity is an aspect of a society that is important, and great sacrifices must be made to preserve it. Individuality is important, and losing it is a terrifying prospect. The creation of laws with the express purpose of protecting an individual's customs vs. the creation of laws with the express purpose of protecting an individual's rights. Suppression of one's natural feelings for the sake of completing a job. Humans are like turtles. Main theme: Living as part of a collective entity means not being able to recognize yourself as an individual being, and to avoid becoming part of a collective entity, an individual group's beliefs and practices must be respected, regardless of how cruel and unusual they may seem. Quotations "Could you separate us?" The creature before them shivered all over, as though stricken by cold. It made a gagging noise and bent awkwardly in the middle, shaking again, then composing itself with seeming difficulty. "No," it gasped. "We would regard that as an obscenity. We came to you because you are, as we are, multiple. Would one of us willingly separate? Would we commit such an atrocity of isolation upon one of our kind? We cannot even discuss matters with separated persons!" (76) Bertran said, "You're talking about some kind of hive mind? People lost their own personalities? Their own minds?" Fringe nodded slowly. She hadn't thought about it in those terms before, but that sounded right. "No diversity," she added. "They were all alike." All of Enarae - all of Elsewhere - believed this was true. It was the ultimate horror. "They all thought, believed, acted the same." (185-186) Those taken over by the Hobbs Land Gods were no longer men, no longer children of God (by whatever title), no longer the concern of heaven (of whatever type). Though the people who had fled to Elsewhere disagreed about virtually everything, about this one thing they agreed: To be taken over by the Hobbs Land Gods was to lose one's sole, one's chance at salvation, one's hope of eternal blessedness - or the equivalent. (145) "Our job is to protect diversity," he said through gritted teeth, "the very diversity from which the answer to the Great Question will emerge, the very diversity that is the essence of humanity." In that diversity children are always being killed for any number of reasons. If the killing is proper to that place, then it is proper. But this old man took children across borders. He interfered in the affairs of a province! Here on Elsewhere, we let one another alone." (207) "They are put into a reed basket and sent downstream." "Into the ocean? To drown?" "Except for the few picked up and adopted by Curward sailors, more likely they are eaten by large gavers, many of which throng the delta and middle reaches of the Fohm. A quick death, and sure." "But . . . but . . ." Fringe wanted to say, "That's dreadful. That's terrible." She said nothing. It was not dreadful, not terrible. It was only diverse, he indoctrination told her. Diversity. Holy diversity. She shut down her momentary disapproval and focused on one of the mind-realizing exercises she'd learned at the Academy. "Difference is always disturbing," her instructor had said. "Learn to calm yourselves and accept." (220)