Port Eternity

Port Eternity (1982) is standalone SF novel set in the Alliance-Union Universe. It starts on the planet Brahman, where the rich are rejuvenated and their servants are genetically designed humans -- the azi -- grown in artificial wombs and indoctrinated by sleep learning. The azi are normally terminated when they reach forty, but some few are rejuved and live as long as their masters. In this novel, Lady Dela Kirn is a descendent of a founder of Brahman and is very rich. She owns many azi, but only a few are allowed aboard the Maid of Astolat, her starfaring yacht. Four are the crew and the other three are her staff. All are named for characters in a drama tape about King Arthur. The narrator of this story is Elaine, named for the original Maid of Astolat. Elaine is probably the most independent of the azi. Her household function is personal companion and she performs a variety of personal services for Lady Dela. Lance is the steady lover of Lady Dela, available for times that she lacks other lovers. He has been with her for twenty years and is coming up on the age limit. Lance is Elaine's best friend, but he has been conditioned to only love Lady Dela. Vivian is Lady Dela's accountant and estate manager. She is the most narrow of the azi, focused on her job and obtaining rejuv. She treats the other azi as if she was a born-man and too important to do menial work. Gawain, Percivale, Lynette and Modred are the crew. They are closely focused on their jobs whenever the ship is activated. Modred is the most narrowly focused, operating by reason only and insensitive to his own and other's emotions. Modred is named such for his dangerous appearance; even born-men step aside when Modred approaches. Griffin is Lady Dela's current born-man lover. He is young, having never been rejuved, and is full of energy. He and Lady Dela are in love, which is unusual for Dela. Even Lance is convinced that they will be married. In this story, the crew takes the Maid of Astolat out of the Brahman station and start lining her up for the first jump. Before the ship reaches that point, it is subjected to wild strains and enters jumpspace. Although most everything has been secured for the jump, various fixtures and ornaments are thrown around and some are shattered. The crew and passengers secure themselves when the alarms sound, but the forces tumbling the ship break even such restraints. None are hurt, but they are all very frightened. The environment terrifies them even more. Their eyes are subjected to weird visions, such as seeming to see through the ship out into the strange void. The visions make them dizzy and nauseous. The azi appear to recover faster, since they have more experience with virtual reality. The ship instruments are erratic, changing readings moment by moment. The void itself is filled with strange colors. However, they seem to be approaching another object. When they arrive, the object is moving below them and the

Arthurian clones in space--it sounds like a third-rate SF movie, but instead is a very moving and intriguing SF story by C.J. Cherryh. Though hardly perfect, this is a solid story for Arthuriana and SF fans alike.An extremely wealthy woman named Dela owns a luxurious spacecraft called the "Maid of Astolat," which is decorated with swords, spears, medieval banners, and other trappings reminiscent of Arthurian legend. As if that weren't enough, she has specially programmed clones ("made people") whom she has fashioned and named after characters in Arthurian legend: Sweet, meek Elaine; handsome, sad Lancelot (Lance); dark, brooding Modred; handsome lithe Gawain (Wayne); sharp, efficient Viviane, and lesser characters Percival and Lynette. Elaine narrates, a rather flat character who apparently gets her "dreams" by using special tapes that Dela owns.These clones help to keep the ship running, except for Lance who is something of a slave boy-toy for Dela. She often brings her lovers to the "Maid", and after she tires of them she falls back to Lance. But one day she brings in a new lover, Griffin--young, handsome, kindly, and she may actually marry him. This worries the clones, who fear that they will be put down or reprogrammed.But their worries become irrelevent when the ship is yanked into a sort of space-wasteland, and clamped onto an alien ship. The clones begin to freak out (or "blank out," as they do when they're upset), Dela decides that they are all dead, and Griffin tries to help the clones free the ship. But something strange is drawing nearer to the "Maid," and will draw them into a situation that no one can truly understand--and the question of what being a person is.This novella initially seems like a simple Star Trekkian adventure, but also introduces some intriguing moral questions. Do programmable clones have souls? What does it imply about the morals of a person who uses clones like wind-up toys? If they have stunted abilities to feel, and are "programmed" to obey a person, does that make them any less human than a "born man"? These questions are raised and answered without preachiness, but through effective demonstration.Anyway, the characters were excellently made. The selfish, hedonistic Dela is forced to see the clones as people, and to act as a better person, and Griffin is definitely a "nice guy," though a little less so at the beginning. Lance is broody, Modred is sinister (yet, somehow, I like him!), Viviane is effective as the ice-queen with a head for figures. Percival is a sweetie some of the time. Gawain and Lynette don't register as much, but perhaps the biggest cast flaw is Elaine. She seems too passive as a narrator, doing too much telling and not enough doing, in a crisis situation. But her stunted love for Lancelot is very effectively shown.Though there is minimal profanity, hardly any violence and just a little gross imagery (the attack on Modred), there is a fair amount of sex-related info in this. Dela brings man a