Comments on “Visions in the charnel ground”
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The vice-chancellor of Nalanda
Certain institutions other than my own appear to have gone even further down the Lich King route: “Hey, students, we need you to be here in person so we change charge you rent for your rooms. But we’re going to put you under house arrest so you can’t go outside.”
The pandemic handling is merely a symptom … there also the question of research grants…
Some mild spoilers...
So, <mild_spoiler_warning>,
It shows things that were, and things that are, things that yet may be
—is meant to suggest that each of the visions refers to a scene within the novel that hasn’t been explained yet.
Like the dakinis, you also apparently exhibit precognition (slightly distorted). The Acting Interim Chancellor of Nalanda University shows up two scenes into the future from the episode I most recently published.
I’m hoping to get another one done Real Soon—it shouldn’t be as difficult as the sex scene—and the one with the Chancellor is also reasonably straightforward. I think. Oh, actually, also that same one will explain the blue-black silk dress!
For small values of
also that same one will explain the blue-black silk dress!
For small values of “explain.” Readers who are familiar with the background mythology will understand the implication. Bits of backstory are supposed to get progressively revealed, so that at the end everything makes sense even if you don’t know any Buddhist history, but those who do can have fun realizing “OH! I see what’s going on here!” when it’s not yet explicit. (Pulling this off may be slightly tricky.)
Zombie apocalypse
I have just realised that the zombie apocalypse can be read as a commentary on the present-day state of our universities. Though, if that is the allegory, the Lich King would be the vice-chancellor.
At a nameless institution, towards the start of our current pandemic.
Vice-chancellor to faculty: you’re going to be doing in person teaching, because that’s what the government wants.
Faculty (and students) to vice-chancellor: nope, that is not happening.
I have a question about the following part. Are we supposed to recognise the costume from somewhere:
“Her dress was silk, the blue-black of the center of the sky as night falls. Two silver bats clasped shoulder straps, gathering folds of cloth that held her breasts high. “