Monday, September 10, 2012

No Woman B.orn by C.L Moore (pg. 21-41)


            “I believe there’s an affinity between men and the machines they make. They make them out of their own brains, really, a sort of mental conception and gestation, and the result responds to the minds that created them and to all human minds that understand and manipulate them. (32) ”
            When Deirdre says this while reflecting on her body, it seems as if she is not truly her own self anymore.  Of course, it seems that she has the power to think whatever she chooses to, judging by the fact that her brain is intact and she spends this time talking about her feelings over the matter.  However, when she describes the “affinity between men and the machines they make,” it is almost as if it is implying that machines must be owned, and the creator is always the closest person to his or her machines.  Therefore, it seems as though the creator is being a good parent, yet it also seems that is implied that such a relationship is stifling for whatever or whoever is on the receiving end of the attention, in this case Deidre.  Therefore, although it seems that Deirdre is her own self, she seems to belong to someone else and her freedom is almost as artificial as her body.  Would she really be able to live knowing that her physical being practically belonged to someone else? She already was not given a choice when it came to whether or not to preserve her brain and try to rebuild her.  It is almost as if keeping her alive was definitely a mistake, for it was a first breach of her right to her freedom before she was even conscious again.
            Therefore, although the feat of rebuilding Deirdre is a huge leap for science, it seems like a huge step backwards for human rights and liberties in general.  Of course, it would be understandable to anyone that the scientist who has worked long and hard to be protective of his work, and will go to many lengths to protect the experiment as a success.  However, I feel that if some scientists indeed were to be so attached to their work, they would reach out the the rest of society to become more accepting of the work they do. Perhaps then, the bridge between alternate life forms and human beings could be linked.
            Therefore, it seems that freedom will remain a big issue in the rest of the short story to come, and the morality of the entire situation seems like it will have to come to a clash soon.

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