Форум Подкарпатской Руси. Официальные заявления и мнения.

Immortality - what is it? A gift or a punishment?
Sergej Pavlovskij,
Moscow

Last year in May, as promised by the author, the first book out of the trilogy “Gardens of Chaos” was published under the title “Law of necessity”. An unsteady boat with a brave captain and mixed crew on board entered into the rough and unpredictable sea of fantasy. The heroes Phaets and Martians , little animals kalises and harhar birds are in a hurry to make themselves known while the captain takes care of them with moving sincerity and learns how to navigate his small boat.
This year, in January, the second volume out of the trilogy was published under the title “Games of the Wise” and it became obvious that somehow the small boat was unnoticeably transformed into quite a strong and reliable ship, and the crew developed their skills considerably. But what is of interest to me is the clearly identified orientation which is pure fantasy.
Fantasy is naturally determined brainchild of Postmodernism, when it comes to collecting stones and organizing them into fanciful figures, pyramids and bridges, as one wishes. It has been like that and it will continue: after rigorous and detailed analysis and a dissection there surely will occur a new quality. Out of blocks and fragments of the old and tested by time legacy there arises the new which is synthesized on basis of previous experience and quality. In literature this duty was taken by fantasy.
In our country domestic fantasy shyly and with some fear is called either science fiction or a mystic novel, sometimes a fairy tale which, by the way, is subdivided into subgroups (tales based on folk motives, mystic tales and mythological tales). Oh, I almost forgot: there is also a detective story with elements of mysticism, retelling of legends with some new interpretations and, as is the custom, there is a historical fantasy. Something like: He fell to the ground, got frozen and when he came to his senses a thousand years had passed.
Probably as the author Mihail Temnov himself didn’t fully understand that even in the first book of his trilogy his creative intuition led him in the direction of fantasy. But the readers felt this and to the surprise of literary circles they fell upon the work of literature of the young and inexperienced author because we do not have this kind of literature in our country.
Concerning its importance and total amount of questions raised “Games of the Wise” accumulates things which affect each of us but we brush their answers aside as a means of self-protection and peculiar rationality. It is common knowledge that the tiger is strong but the one who survives is the chameleon. Temnov’s questions are eternal and not very simple. His heroes try to find the answers to those questions.
Immortality – what is it? A gift or punishment? The answer to this question is given by the president of “Immorality” concern Tarti Tatkh and his immortal clients who seemingly got the most desired thing, eternal life in flesh and usual conditions.
What is happiness? Is it wish fulfilment? Or something intangible which everyone chooses for themselves?
Happiness of the Martian emperor Ashi Shora XV, who is obliged to have his son executed and the capsule with his alive immortal soul to drown at the bottom of an ocean, thus dooming it for millions of years of imprisonment and suffering? Or the family which hadn’t had an insurance policy from the Immortal concern and thus lost their beloved boy who was replaced by a clone?
The nature of liking and friendship, what is needed more? Cyber friend fulfilling all your whims and wishes whom you can return to the store and buy another one and he will render the same services and with the same diligence for the one who has bought him or a big animal, a sabre-toothed Honh which has to be tamed as santar Trian tamed Shiha. This animal waited 25 years for its friend on the walls of the stronghold in Shatre, which is the capital city of Phaethon, and cried into the darkness of the stretching road which took its favourite master away.
And, after all, what is happiness? It is all about power and comfort connected with your position, or about buying captured birds and setting them free from their cages? How does the author answer this question. I quote:
“Do you know what I like most in life, what I dream about?” whispered the weakened girl.
“Be silent, Petris, save your strength!”
“I’m praying and talking to you. I am still alive as long as I’m speaking…
The Queen lapsed into silence. She gathered her strength.
“In this life,” she said, “I really enjoy giving freedom to birds and animals. All the money I’d gotten from shooting competitions I spent on birds and little animals which bought at the marketplace and then brought to a field or forest and set them free from their cages. They flew and ran away … I was so happy at those moments! It was as if I was flying and running together with them. It was my secret and nobody knew about it, even my father! Only Atres knew. He helped me to buy out the prisoners and we granted them freedom together... It was wonderful!”
Queen Petris wheezed.
“In Shatre I was known as a santar, the leader of the first girl’s unit. And many would consider it to be my weakness…”
She smiled and let out a sob.
“Now you know the biggest secret of King Artes and Queen Petris...”
Sionoko felt something falling on his shoulder. The girl was crying.
“Some Queen! How magnificent, funny and at the same time sad it is!” she said out of a sudden. “Atres and I don’t need any kingdom. Giving orders to the unit of Akentars and demanding their dedication, he didn’t think about his title. His thoughts were only about Phaets, mother Phaethon and worthy life… or death.”
Indeed, there are many scary and bloody scenes in the novel. They include murder of old santars who dared to see the captive king off with flowers into an exile and death of hundred thousand slaves on Mars whose soul energy the priests of the Dark worlds used for breaking the interplanetary space and ensuring redeployment of the Martian imperial legions to Phaethon. And all those elements of terror do not violate the bright orientation of the novel but rather cast some shade on it.
I would like to remind you that the title of the second book is “Games of the Wise” or those who consider themselves so. And, indeed, what is reason? Is it about adapting the environment for one’s specific purposes or fitting into it without leaving any traces of one’s intrusion on the face of the planet? The author does not moralize about difference between reason and wisdom; it is a leitmotif of the subtext.
What the author has written is interesting and quite unusual for our, let’s say, fantasy literature. A hope has sprung up that Mihail Temnov will succeed in fulfilling his idea with greater mastery in the third and final part of the “Gardens of Chaos” trilogy.
I have to admit, whether I like it or not, that in his novels the author will need a lot of courage in order to raise painful, inappropriate and unpleasant questions on which people turn their backs because not only they do not want to see their mistakes, but also to admit them, to say nothing of correcting them.
If it goes on like this, then it is very likely that the ship of Miahil Temnov will gradually turn into an arc which will save those who kept their honour, conscience and faith.