After today’s class, type a summary of your notes and a summary of Le Guin’s “Nine Lives” story. Copy-and-paste your summaries into a comment to this blog entry before next week.
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Mike Paar
After Class Summery
5/9/16
For class we read Ursula K LeGuinn’s short story, âNine Lives.â The story takes place on the planet Libra in which two men, Martin and Pugh, had been surveying the planet for resources to extract and are awaiting the arrival of an excavation team to assist them in the mining of it. When the team arrives, it turns out that it is a team of of 10 clones, 5 men and 5 women, all copies of a single man, John Chow. The team explains that Chow was a man of considerable talent and genius and for that reason he was chosen to be cloned after his unexpected death. Clones, which are commonly used for extreme manual labor such as the case of mining an entire planet of it’s uranium, are all raised together and trained together. For this reason, plus because they are all derived from the same individual, they are capable of working as a close knit group typically not even needing to use verbal communication as they usually come to the same conclusions almost instantly. Because of this, Martin is bothered by their nature, seeing them as more machine than human.
Excavation of the uranium began taking place in a deep cave known as the Hellmouth, a dangerous area due to the seismic activity on the planet. One day when the clone team was working in the cave, a massive earthquake struck killing the entire team except for one of the clones. Martin and Pugh bring him back to their base, but struggle taking care of the clone because he was experiencing all of the deaths of each of his partners one by one. After he comes to, the clone, Kaph states that he would rather have died, as he is no longer part of a whole with out his nine other counterparts. Martin and Pugh, though, continue to treat him for his injuries, though they argue among themselves as to the nature of Kaph without his other clones and also due to the strain of years living alone together on this planet.
Towards the end of their service on the planet, Martin takes a day to survey the Hellmouth alone, leaving Pugh and Kaph back at base. Another earthquake strikes and Pugh rushes out to find Martin. Pugh stays behind to await any sort of distress call, although one does come, he is unable or unwilling to do anything. Assuming they are dead, Kaph goes about his business for the day. Eventually Martin and Pugh return to base, Martin, injured and exhausted retires to his bed. Pugh is asked by Kaph about his feelings for Martin. Pugh explains that he does care for him deeply as he’s his partner and hopes that Kaph would feel the same way about them and continue traveling with them. The story ends with Kaph silently wishing Pugh a good night as he contemplates about his future.
For the lecture, we discussed the life of Ursula K LeGuinn, who was born in 1929. She was raised in a family of anthropologists, which has influenced her style of writing in both the SF and Fantasy genres. The characteristics of her stories typically follow familiar plot structure of a man traveling on an alienating world on a quest, often during winter, which leads to a conceptual breakthrough that benefits disinfected groups of people. Her stories are also interested in the social, political or cultural structures of the world it takes place in. And finally, she is often incorporating eastern Taoist traditions into her stories, similar to the works of Phillip K Dick.
ENG 2420
Kevin A. Gaul
âNine Livesâ is a story written by Ursula K. Le Guin and was first published in Playboy Magazine in 1969. The story is about two workers, Alvaro Guillen Martin and Owen Pugh, who are stationed on a planet called Libra to search for mining deposits. The state of the planetâs geography is barren, with earthquakes occurring frequently. Martin and Pugh, used to each otherâs presence, are looking forward to the arrival of new workers, who come in the the form of ten clones called Tenclones. The group consists of five male and five female clones, based off the genetic material of John Chow, the person theyâre originally named after. Each are distinguished by different middle initials, but they all function as a single entity, working together to solve problems better than any regular group of individuals. They also support each other, such as providing sexual pleasure to each other, and display impressive levels of synergy, like finishing each otherâs sentences. Entertaining to Martin and Pugh at first, the pair eventually grows tired of the clones due to feelings of exclusion. One day, the clones go out to explore a mining site, during which, an Earthquake occurs. After a while of no contact from the clones, Martin and Pugh go out in search of them. When they arrive at the mining site, they find out that the earthquake killed nine out the ten clones, with one surviving clone, John K. Chow. When the duo transports Chow, or Kaph, back to the base, he âdiesâ nine times, reenacting the death of his other clones. He also falls into a depression over the loss of his clone counterparts, despite Martin and Pughâs efforts to make him feel better by including him in their group. Later in the story, during another earthquake, Kaph witnesses Pugh risking his life by leaving the base to look for Martin, and returning with him. This changes Kaphâs outlook on relationships with other beings, as Pugh displayed genuine concern for Martin.
In todayâs lecture, we continued our discussion of Feminist SF by talking more about the author of âNine Livesâ, Ursula K. Le Guin. We talked about her achievements, like her five HUGO and six Nebula awards, her connections to other authors, like attending the same high school as Philip K. Dick, but never meeting each other until years later. We even talked about her writing characteristics, like her plots mostly being about a man in an alien world whose breakthroughs unite disaffected groups, her works usually being Anthropological Fiction, and their use of eastern Taoist traditions over western philosophical traditions.
The short story âNine Livesâ by Ursula K. Le Guin starts off with two workers stationed at planet Libra, named Pugh and Martin. Theyâre responsible for searching for mining deposits and the planet itself is gaseous and earthquake-prone. A ship filled with 10 clones comes down to the pattern in a ship, later revealing that the two workers requested for some additional crew. The 10 clones has a very similar mindset, where they can finish each other sentences and do things for one another without the need of using verbal communication. The clones are sometimes referred as âtenclone.â Individually all called John Chow, but all have different middle names. One day, while the clones were out in the field, an earthquake happened. Martin and Pugh goes to where the earthquake happened, only one clone is alive. When the clone arrives back to base, the clone âdiesâ 9 more times, like reenacting each death of the clones that occurred during the earthquake. That one remaining clone was John K. Chow, also called Kaph, is depressed and doesnât what to know anymore. When Kaph watches Pugh rescue Martin by risking his life, Kaph came out of his depression. Then, another ship of clones comes down, this time with twelve clones.
In this class, we learned about Ursula K. Le Guin, she was born in 1929 and is currently alive. She has won 5 Hugo awards and 6 Nebula awards. Her 3 characteristics are: 1. Plot of novel usually follow this trajectory: a man in an alien or alienating world, goes on a quest often during the winter season and during the journey, makes a conceptual breakthrough that enables him to bring together disaffected groups, 2. Is anthropological (culture, people, politics) and throughout her fiction, always trying to understand alien Others, 3. Her fiction is informed by eastern Taoist tradition, more than western philosophical tradition. She wrote a series of science fiction and high fantasy stories.
Nine Lives, a short story written by Ursula K. Le Guin, itâs oddly that it was first published in Playboy Magazine in 1969. The story starts off on a setting of a far-off planet named Libra. Positioned on Libra workers, named Martin and Pugh, have a mission to man their post and search for any mining credits or deposits, send unusual occurrences they may come across with back to Earthâs Exploitation Corps organization. Martin works as the baseâs technician and cartographer, and Pugh serves as the base commander and geologist on Libra, where new workers will soon arrive. Workers aka ten clone of John Chow, there are equal clones of both males and females, which different middle initials. The Clones have a complete mutual relationship with each other. Together using their intellectual and problem solving skills better than one individual or a team working together. Though strangely they talk among themselves they even offer each other sexual satisfaction to one another; Martin and Pugh find them sort of interesting at first but annoyed as time moves on. Libra the planet is sort of dry, harsh, and easily expose to earthquakes from time to time there would be gasiform craters that have a long distance over the surface. In fact when an earthquake hits Libra and one thereâs no contact with the clones in some hours hours both Martin and Pugh get worried and search for them. Though what they find is that one of the male clone, hardly holding on to life, and one of the dead female clone body. Arriving back to the base, the last clone of John Chow somehow dies nine times, apparently by the effect of the other clones deaths. Now knowing he is truly alone live clone, John K. Chow aka Kaph, is overcome with depression. Though Martin takes him in with as one of the crew and Pugh he still feels alone. Until one day when Martin is working outside an earthquake happens and Pugh risks his life to save his friend, but is at that same time where John K. Chow witnessed this. In the end he learns that the true lesson on relationships is, outside of what he knows as a part of the collective. Ursula K. Le Guin in lecture class we discuss her achievements of her five HUGO and six Nebula awards, her connections to other authors, like being in the same high school as Philip K. Dick, and meeting him years after. Writing characteristics of hers were in her plots of stories where it was mainly about a guy in an alien world who has breakthroughs mix disaffected groups, works were usually Anthropological Fiction, and had Eastern Taoist traditions over western philosophical traditions style to it.
Ursula Le Guin ,âNine Livesâ takes place on a remote planet known as Libra. Stationed on Libra are two workers, named Martin and Pugh, whose mission is to man the outpost and search for mining deposits. The planet is arid, barren, and. The national governments no longer exist and many countries have been wiped from the face of the Earth, Martin works as the baseâs technician and cartographer, and Pugh serves as the base commander and geologist. Pugh and Martin send infrequent reports back to Earth, to an organization known as The Exploitation Corpsâ, with recommendations for new excavation sites and requests for additional support.
The Exploitation Corpsâ send ten clones, to answer their need for additional support. The ten clones is comprised of an equal number of males and females, having perfect symbiotic relationship with each other the clones have abilities and problem solving skills which surpass those of an individual person, or even a small team working together. Martin and Pugh both express feelings of exclusion that is rooted from watching the tencloneâs closed group dynamic.
One day the clones go out on an exploratory mission to a mining site discovered by Martin, an earthquake occurs and hours go by without contact from the clones, Martin and Pugh become concerned and go out searching for them. They found one male clone, barely alive, and the lifeless body of one female clone. Returning them back to the base, the remaining clone actually dies nine times, reenacting the deaths of each of his lost companions. The live clone, called âKaphâ, struggles with depression from being alone for the first time in his life. The clones eventually learn how to be in relationships, outside of his experience as a part of the collective.
In class we talked about Ursula K LeGuinn, who was born in 1929. Raised in a family of anthropologists, Ursula K LeGuinn, style of writing displays both SF and Fantasy genres. Characteristics of Ursulaâs stories are plot structure of a man traveling on an alienating world on a quest, often during winter, which leads to a conceptual breakthrough that benefits disinfected groups of people.
Nine Livesâ takes place on a remote planet known as Libra. Stationed on Libra are two workers, named Martin and Pugh, whose mission is to man the outpost and search for mining deposits. The planet itself is arid, barren, and earthquake-prone with gaseous chasms that span its surface. National governments no longer exist and many countries have been wiped from the face of the Earth Martin works as the baseâs technician and cartographer, and Pugh serves as the base commander and geologist. In addition to their efficient work skills, they also provide social support for each other. The clones are capable of finishing each otherâs sentences to the point where Martin and Pugh begin to question whether the clones actually have some system of shared cognition, although the clones deny having this ability. To the clones, their self-sustaining almost ritualistic behaviors are the norm, but Martin and Pugh both express feelings of exclusion that stem from watching the ten cloneâs closed group dynamic. One day, while Martin is out working, another seismic event occurs. Pugh selflessly risks his own life to save Martinâs, and when Kaph witnesses this, he receives his first true lesson on relationships, outside of his experience as a part of the collective. The tale ends as the base receives a second shipment of workers, a twelve clone, to replace the lost workers.
In todayâs class we talked about Ursula K. Le Guin, she was born in 1929 and is currently alive. Her 3 characteristics are: 1. Plot of novel usually follow this trajectory: a man in an alien or alienating world, goes on a quest often during the winter season and during the journey, makes a conceptual breakthrough that enables him to bring together disaffected groups, 2. Is anthropological (culture, people, politics, socialism) and 3. Her fiction is informed by eastern Taoist tradition, more than western philosophical tradition.
This story is about 2 men, Martin and Pugh, on planet Libra. They went to this planet to look for mining deposits but they aren’t so awesome at their job so they ask for reinforcements. Their reinforcements are called Tenclones and its 5 men and 5 women who have something almost akin to a hivemind. They all come to similar conclusions and don’t quite need to communicate verbally. They are cloned from one man and are used for heavy work. Libra is a volatile planet prone to earthquakes and on a mission 9 of the ten clones die. Te last clone experiences each of the tenclones deaths when they get back to the base and becomes depressed. Martin and Pugh start calling him Kaph because all the clones had a different middle initial and his was K. Kaph is alone for the first time in his life and he struggles with depression and his individuality. When Martin and Pugh try to invite him to be a part of their group he resists because the struggle is real and they don’t know his life like the tenclones did. There’s another earthquake and Pugh saves Martin which gives Kaph a lesson on interpersonal realtionships away from the Tenclones.
in class we talked about the characteristics of Ursula K. Le Guin. She only has 3 characteristics and they are are: 1. novel plots usually follow this trajectory: a man in an alien or alienating world, goes on a quest often during the winter season and during the journey, makes a conceptual breakthrough that enables him to bring together disaffected groups, 2. Is anthropological (culture, people, politics, socialism) and 3. Her fiction is inspired by eastern Taoist tradition, more than western philosophical tradition.
âNine Livesâ by Ursula K. Le Guin starts off at a planet named Libra. Martin and Pugh are stationed on Libra, searching for mining deposits. Many countries and governments on Libra have been destroyed. Martinis the baseâs technician , as well as the cartographer. Pugh is base commander and the geologist on planet Libra. One of Martin and Pugh’s jobs is to report any unusual reports back to Earth, where The Exploitation Corps will determine if they need support, recommendations, etc. After sending a need for support, the Exploitation Corps send 10 clones to assist them. These clones have a perfect relationship with each other, are an equal amount of male and females, and can solve problems faster than the average human. The clones go out to an excavation site Martine discovered, but Martin and Pugh get worried after they don’t hear from the clones for a long time. They arrive on site and find two bodies, one of a male clones clinging to life and a female clone, who died. The two bring back the bodies, and the male clones dies 9 times, reenacting the ways the other clones died. After he comes to, the clone “Kaph” now lives with depression as he realizes he is the only clone left. This changes after Pugh risks his life to save Martin from an earthquake on Libra, which Kaph then learns the meaning of relationships outside of being a clone.
In class we talked about Ursula K. Le Guin, born in 1929 and is still with us today. She has won 5 Hugo awards and 5 Nebula awards. There are 3 characteristics to her work, and 2 types of writing she practiced: SF and Fantasy. She also went to the same highschool as Phillip K. Dick, but did not meet him until much later after they were much more well known in their writing.
Mathew Tackett
5/24/16
Todayâs class discussion was about âNine Livesâ a story that takes place on a planet known as Libra. Martin and Pugh are workers stationed there to mine for minerals and man the facility that they are assigned to. You later find out that Libra is actually Earth years after catastrophe have left the planet barren, desert filled and earthquake laden. In addition to Martin and Pugh there are a group of clones that do the majority of the work and are basically a hive mind that share a group dynamic. They support each other emotionally, physically, etc. During a routine excavation and accident occurs that kills off all the clones but one henceforth known as âKaphâ. Kaph after his clone mates die, begins to feel depressed, and doesnât know what to do with himself because he can no longer feel the others who died. Later in the story Martin is out working when an earthquake occurs, with Martinâs life in danger Pugh selflessly risks his life to save Martinâs. Witnessing this event changes how Kaph understands human relationships and what his experience as an individual is life. The story ends with a new shipment of clones arriving to replace the lost ones, forcing the reader to wonder if Kaph will remain an individual or become part of the hive mind mentality once again. We then talked about Ursale K. Le Guin, who was the author of the story and the characteristics that are normally found in her writing. Such as an alienating worlds, anthropological and of eastern Daoist descent.
For class today we read and discussed Ursula K. Le Guinâs âNine Livesâ. She has won 5 Hugo awards and 6 Nebula awards. She was born in 1929 to parents Alfred Louis Kroeber and Theodora Kroeber. Both of her parents were famous anthropologist, her father studied Native Americans and her mother wrote âIshi in two worldsâ (1961). Many of Le Guinâs writing have an anthropological viewpoint/point of view and often look at social systems, social norms and communication.
Characteristics of Le Guinâs work
1. Plot usually follows the following trajectory â A man in an alien/aliening world goes on a quest, often during the winter season, and during the journey makes a conceptual breakthrough that enables him to bring together disaffected groups.
2. anthropological â culture, people, politics, trying to understand the alien other.
3. Her fiction is informed by eastern transpositions, more than the western philosophical traditions, balance, whole etc.
Nine Lives takes place in a remote planet known as Liba. Earth has been decimated by war and famine and many have left. Station on Libra are two workers Martin and Pugh. They request help and help arrives in the form of 10 identical clones and collectively are called John Chow. The clones work very well with each other, the are very efficient almost acting as a hivemind. An earthquake occurs and kills all but one clone. The last clone alone for the first time is confused about his existence and individuality. The two try to comfort him. In the end 12 new clones arrive.
âNine Livesâ is a story written by Ursula K. Le Guin in 1969. It was first published in Playboy Magazine. The story is about two engineers, Alvaro Guillen Martin and Owen Pugh. They are sent to a planet called Libra for mining operations. The planet has frequently occurring earthquakes. Martin and Pugh soon meets new workers. They are ten clones who consists of five male and five female clones, based off the genetic material of John Chow, the person theyâre originally cloned after. Each clone are distinguished by different middle initials. They all work together to solve problems better than any regular group of individuals. Martin and Pugh were shocked at the sexual activities of the clones and the pair eventually leads to feelings of exclusion. After receiving no contact from the clones for a period of time, Martin and Pugh go out in search of them. When they arrive at the mining site, they find out that an earthquake killed nine out the ten clones, with one surviving clone, John K. Chow. When the duo transports Chow, or named Kaph, back to the base, he experiences the death of the nine other clones. He then falls into a depression over the loss of his clone counterparts, despite Martin and Pughâs efforts to make him feel better by including him in their group. Later in the story, during another earthquake, Kaph witnesses Pugh risking his life by leaving the base to look for Martin, and returning with him. This experience changes Kaphs views on relationship.
âNine Livesâ written by Ursula K. Le Guin, published in Playboy, is set on a planet called Libra. On Libra Martin and Pugh are trying to establish suitable life existence for other human beings to colonize. 10 clones to assist them in their research join them. These are 5 clones that are men and 5 clones that are women of the intelligent John Chow. Each clone has acquired different focuses within the hard sciences. Then an earthquake killed 9 of the 10 clones. Kaph survived when he chose not to save the other. He became depressed, as his counterparts were not there as support, to converse, or spend time. Pugh and Martin tried to cheer him up by stating that he did not need the other clones and he was right in not trying to save the others. The same situation occurred with Pugh and Martin but Pugh faced the earthquake and saved Martin.
3 characteristics of her works are the plots of novels usually follow this trajectory⊠a man in an alien or alienating world goes on a quest during winter and during the journey makes a conceptual discovery which brings together two worlds and anthropological.