@RUTGERS.ARPA:Shiffman@WHITE.SWW.Symbolics.COM (02/14/85)
From: Hank Shiffman <Shiffman@SWW-WHITE>
> Beowulf Shaeffer ... father of Louis Wu ...
Well, not biological father. But say, if Bey was the "father" of
Louis (as I had always presumed), there is a passage that confuses
me. In the beginning of Ringworld they spend a great deal of time
discussing the Long Shot, and its previous flight. It seems strange
to me that Louis didn't know it was his own father that had made
that flight (I think his name is even mentioned somewhere, but I
couldn't find it).
I believe that it's explained in "The Borderland of Sol". Since
Shaeffer was legally prevented from having children on Earth, his wife
Sharrol had one with Carlos Wu. There's a scene in "Borderland" where
Shaeffer and Wu Senior run into each other. Wu is embarrassed over the
whole substitute father business, although Shaeffer can't see what he's
so upset about.derek@uwvax.UUCP (Derek Zahn) (02/14/85)
> > > Beowulf Shaeffer ... father of Louis Wu ... > What I mean is the following: Okay, Carlos fathered Bey and Sharrol's son Louis. Now, what bugs me is that when, in Ringworld, Louis is told of the maiden voyage of the Long Shot, he is either unaware or uncaring that his father was the pilot on that flight. Obviously Louis had either no curiosity about his father's past activities (unnatural for a son) or Bey never entertained his son with such stories (unnatural for a father). Or else so much time has passed since Louis's childhood that he no longer remembers or cares about his parentage. derek -- Derek Zahn @ wisconsin ...!{allegra,heurikon,ihnp4,seismo,sfwin,ucbvax,uwm-evax}!uwvax!derek derek@wisc-rsch.arpa