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From: Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: (Worst) Song of Kali by Dan Simmons
Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2024 09:33:53 -0700
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On Tue, 22 Oct 2024 07:53:59 -0700, Bobbie Sellers
<bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> wrote:

>On 10/22/24 06:16, James Nicoll wrote:
>> Song of Kali by Dan Simmons
>>=20
>> Before Simmons scare-mongered about Eurabia (and maybe Nunavut, too),
>> he wrote a World Fantasy Award-winner denouncing non-assimilated
>> Indians' scary religions. What could go wrong? Aside from the call
>> for mass murder, I mean?
>>=20
>> https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/something-evil
>
>	I am hardly a serious worshipper of Kali but Simmons rubbed
>me wrong with that story. If he has written in in Pre-WW II days
>he might have gotten away with his Euro-Prejudice. Kali is merely
>a personification of Time much like Chronos in Euro-myth. The
>robbers called Thugs usered her as an excuse for their murderous
>banditry.

I've been wondering if the Supreme Court, as presently constituted,
would allow the Thuggee to pursue their undeniably both religious and
appalling behavior as being protected by the 1st Amendment. Or if
there does exist some limit to what they will accept a religious
excuse for.

>	According to all the signs we are living in the Kali-Yuga
>when all the work of man will be depreciated and the natural
>world from which we emerged will resume dominance.

I recently saw a film (/Kalki 2898 AD/) which appears to be set in
that idea: it starts with the end of the prior age and the start of
the Kali-Yuga and then, in 2898, a child appears who will replace
Kali.

Well, appears as a fetus. The film amounts to various very long-lived
ancient heroes finding their magical weapons (with everyone using very
modern weapons) and the good guy identifying the mother and rescuing
her from the Bad Guys. It may take a few films before Kali is actually
replaced -- heck, it may take a few before the baby is even /born/.

Those weapons get used a lot, BTW.=20
--=20
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"