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Ratha's Challenge
“In some ways, Ratha's Challenge is classic first-contact science fiction, with True-of-voice and his face-tail hunters as aliens. Physically the face-tail hunter resemble the Named, but have very different minds. I have long been fascinated with how human minds and conscious awareness began. When I found Julian Jaynes idea that early civilized humans had minds that were divided in two (bicameral, meaning literally 'two houses') and existed in a dream-state rather than our present self-awarenesss, I found my inspiration. His book, The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, theorized that, in order to focus on long-lasting tasks, humans internalized the commands of a leader or god (deified leader). These directives became a 'god-voice' from a 'god' part of the mind, speaking to the 'human' part in poetry and song.
“What better contrast to the fiercely individualistic Named than beings that exist in a semi-trance, directed by the internal song derived from their leader? What greater challenge to a writer than to depict an encounter between such strangers and Ratha's clan?
