Group B/F should answer TWO of the following:
Q1: Pronouns are interesting in this story: the ship refers
to itself as “she,” the android on board is always “zir,” and the stowaway, Li
Sin, is “they.” Why does only the ship get a specific gender, while the other
two are either indeterminate or something alien? What might this say about how
the ship views other beings in relation to itself?
Q2: At one point, the narrator reflects that “The ship is
perfect obedience and nothing more” (106). What does the ship understand about
its identity and how is this identity questioned in the story? Where is the
first time the ship questions what it’s been told to think about itself?
Q3: Why does the ship agree to take the “ghost” (Li Sin) under
her protection, but allows the refugees from Aes August to be destroyed?
Technically, protocol should have her deny sanctuary to anyone not decreed by
the Sun Lords. What makes Li Sun worth defying its programming?
Q4: In this story, the ship and the android quickly begin
showing signs of humanity, though neither one is technically human. Though some
might deny that a robot could even be human, according to this story, what
makes something ‘human’? What trait or clue does each one exhibit to show that
they’re more than circuits and protocols?
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