Life in the Stillness is plagued by uncertainty. When the Earth itself is unstable, so is everything built upon it, including knowledge. The incomprehensibility of various “deadciv artifacts” mentioned throughout the text, most notably the obelisks, renders it quite clear that much human ingenuity and understanding have been lost through the ages in Jemisin’s world. However, there is one universal text which seems to endure, guiding humanity season through season: the stonelore. A ubiquitous doctrine, the stonelore seems so completely integrated into the structure of Stillness society that it would collapse were it removed. Yet certain characters, particularly Syenite, are at points made to question this venerated collection of documents–both its completeness and its validity Continue reading “Philosophical Razors and the Instability of the Stillness”
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