These days I don't have much time to post FDK, but I loved this chapter, Rac. The Lois parts, which I have always loved, were positively riveting this time. And I found myself fascinated and moved by the Clark and the Krypton parts as well.
The scene with Ultrawoman in the Oval Office was horrible frustrating. I don't intend to quote much, but I have to quote this:
“Ultrawoman, I know why this is important to you. It’s a worthy cause. But you don’t have 300 million bosses, expecting you to do the job you were hired for. I can’t get bogged down in every problem in every small third world country.”
Well, that's pretty much it, isn't it? The President of the United States has 300 million bosses, the people who made it possible for him to become the President of the United States in the first place, and most of these people didn't vote for him because they wanted him to save helpless people in a third world country from being murdered wholesale. They wanted him to make things better for them in the States. And this is certainly not only an American problem, because it's the same in every Western democracy. The voters generally want their President or Prime Minister to take care of the problems at home first. So who speaks for the victims in Darfur or Kinwara?
I loved the kids who had read Lois's articles and wanted her to speak at their rally. Today is not like the happy sixties, because the world seems so much darker these days. It's hard to know what some college kids' rally can do to change the world today. On the other hand, if no one wants to fight for what they believe in, and for the welfare of others, what would be left to hope for?
I loved Clark's tortured need to talk about his horrible experiences with Talan. And I loved Clark's deep and true, somehow innocent love for Lois, which made him blind to Talan's erotic beauty:
Any other man would have noticed the commander’s striking presence. Her sparring uniform left her arms bare. Her long, slender limbs were perfectly toned, her body balanced between strength and grace. Her every movement was blend of elegance and power. Any other man would have noticed. But not Clark.
I loved it that Clark cried when Talan returned Lois's ring to him:
But here, he’d wept in relief for the first time in his life, when Talan had returned Lois’s wedding ring to him. Losing it had crushed him. How could he be anything but a failure as a man and a husband? He’d promised her he would keep it safe – as safe as his love for her. And he’d failed. So when the ring was returned to him, he couldn’t even try to contain his relief.
And I loved it that Clark couldn't help squeezing Talan's hand in his overwhelming gratitude:
He’d reached for his friend’s hand and she held on as tightly as he did, but he knew that she guarded and controlled her emotions tightly. Back then, he’d had no real choice – he’d been so overwhelmed that he could no more have controlled his reactions than he could have turned back time.
Again, the innocence and honesty of his emotions are so beautiful.
And I love this, how it really helps Clark to describe his horrible ordeal to Talan:
When it was over, he suddenly felt like he was able to take a deep breath for the first time in months. It wasn’t much, but it was more than he’d been expecting.
On the other hand, Talan herself has a horrible, horrible nightmare after listening to Clark's confession. I was very, very moved by this as well.
And I loved it how Lois managed to make some people come out in support of Kinwara. First it was the college kids, then it was a Canadian diplomat and apparently the Canadian government.
The description of the horror of the attacks in Kinwara was breathless and harrowing. Lois was frantically trying to help, and she
was helping, too. But will it ever be enough?
I can feel a wonderful good will shining out of this story. It's the story of people who want to help others and who face down horror all the time in their attempts to do good. There is such a realistic feeling to the horrors here, too: this is not comic book or LNC episode scary fun. It is true, true horror. And against such a backdrop, the true good will of truly good people shines that much more beautifully.
There are no clichés in your story. You don't
tell us that Clark and Lois - and others, such as Talan - are good people. You
show us that they are, and it is so beautiful.
Ann
)
So am fearing the worst, especially given your other comments. I've been very interested in Talan's characer but... 