Day 586: Snakedance Part 3

Snakedance is, to a strong extent, about how one views history. The Manussan, who live on the planet where the Mara was first formed, have a strong and deep culture based around the Mara and their life around it. However, the way in which this culture and heritage is viewed creates some strong problems throughout the story.

Take, for instance, the character of Ambril. He's the official historian on Manussa, and spends much of his time looking at artefacts of the previous peoples who inaphabited the world, and how they were consumed by their fear of the Mara. But he takes little notice of anything that they have to say, as he believes it all to be superstitious nonsense, and disregards much of it on the grounds that it disagrees with his personal theories. And there's a bit more to it than just that. When he finds artefacts, he doesn't seek their true meaning, instead he just applies his own reading of them and leaves them as relics of the past, not seeking to truly understand the way in which their society worked.

Some examples of this are easy to come by. For instance, there is a scene partway through this episode where he is led into a cave filled with artefacts of the previous empire. He looks at them with excitement, but he only really sees them at face value, being excited only at the prospect of these being more things for him to have in his collection, and not as works that can help him gain a greater understanding of history.

So why does all of this matter? Well, it shows the lack of respect that the Manussans have for their history, and thus shows a way in which the Mara can return, as it is not taken seriously by any of the peoples, reduced to being a relic of a bygone age or a puppet to frighten youngsters. It's all part of an underlying message of Snakedance, which is about the respect that one must give to history in order to create a well functioning society.