Plikt had a very memorable part in SFTD. I especially liked the conversation she had with Val regarding Ender's secret. I always thought Plikt would eventually play an important role in the Ender books but she never did. Sure she did the speaking at Ender's death, but Val or Jane could have done it just as well.
So I wonder if OSC had originally planned on giving Plikt a big role in the post-SFTD books but later backed out due to page limits or other changes in the story arcs. Now that a new book is pending in the Enderverse, perhaps OSC can finally let the other shoe drop?
Posted by ender_girl (Member # 2707) on :
It would be nice. Sometimes it's hard to relate to Petra and so there would be someone else that I could relate to more. But of course there's Bean who's become one of my favourite characters (okay probably not only for me) even though I didn't expect that.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
I definately didn't *miss* Plikt.
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
Ouch.
Does that mean 1) you do not like Plikt as a character, 2) Plikt did not add to the story, or, 3) Plikt's storyline was pretty much exhausted?
Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
See what happens when you blink? Tsk, tsk.
I have never quite understood the use of Plikt myself - I am sure there is some rational storytelling device her role was designed for, but . . .
Posted by Spike (Member # 6198) on :
There are so many main characters, maybe Orson had to have someone to be a supporting character. To quote Ambul: So you two just need soemone to salute you eh?" It is all about putting people in when they are needed.
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
Shan ~ Less talk, more cookies.
Spike ~ That might be true. But Plikt's usefulness pretty much ended after her conversation with Val. Why did travel all the way to Lusitania to speak at Ender's death? It is not as if there weren't enough characters already on Lusitania.
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
Shan to Beren ~ less talk more mowing...
Posted by MidnightBlue (Member # 6146) on :
I have to second what blacwolve said.
Posted by chx (Member # 3388) on :
I've always thought Plikt's part is impossible. Can you imagine Jane _not_ detecting it? We know (from First Meetings, in great detail, in lesser details I think it is mentioned elsewhere) that Ender's travels are buried deep. What else Ender did? Spoke. So the only way she could found out the truth would be to gather all. When she searches for "speech Wiggin" Jane would surely catch that.
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
That's a good point. Jane probably put all the people Ender interacts with on a daily basis on a high attention level within her attention hierarchy, so Plikt's research should have been picked up by Jane. Of course, sometimes Jane has her own agenda. Remember the satellite photos?
To all you Plikt-haters. Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
Truly an amazing man - you anticipated my comment about the mowing. Thanks! Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
Yup, tis my job to make your life easier. (That's my pitch and I'm sticking to it!) Posted by digging_holes (Member # 6237) on :
I did find the use of Plikt to be strange in the books. That goes for Jakt too (Valentine's husband...i think that was his name). Here are two characters which are introduced and presented as interesting people, they are given their own distinct personality, and you feel they will amount to something. Then, you suddenly realize that Jakt simply disappeared somewhere along the way, and Plikt was reduced to a stand-in character. Maybe OSC found himself in the uncomfortable position of not knowing how to continue weaving them into the story, and not knowing how to adequately get rid of them. While Plikt was an intriguing character in Speaker, she struck me as being simply filler in the the other books. Jakt was a character who I honestly like, and at one point I got the impression that OSC just forgot that he existed, and stopped mentioning him altogether. It was slightly disturbing...
Posted by Auron of Zanarkand (Member # 6257) on :
Plikt, eh? she was cool. I think you all should....be more..insightful. Plikt had a rather large role in the books. Or rather, a small part, that amounts to alot. Jane couldn't possibly know about Plikt, because since there is no dialogue between them, you have to assume that Jane knows nothing, or very little of her. Secondly, Plikt's importance is rather vital. As stated in the book, you could called her Andrew's "disciple", she worshipped him, loved him, and I would say more than anyone else, more than Valentine; she had Jakt, and her children, Novinha had her and Libo's children, and Plikt, the master observer stood alone, at all times, giving herself wholly to her career, to Andrew, Ender. xD Taking long walks through the fields always make me like this.
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
I think Plikt had a strong linke with Ender but I doubt that she loved him more than Val. Did Plikt ever go outside? I wonder if she could bring back a version of Ender with her? Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
Plikt was annoying in the fact that she was mentioned a lot but never got anything done. And her worship of Ender wasn't endearing, it was bothersome. I hope something really important happens with her, or else she disappears early on.
Posted by Auron of Zanarkand (Member # 6257) on :
It wasn't bothersome. It wasn't anything, at least of an obsession. She didn't love him for him. She loved him because of his understanding. his personality, one might say. That he could understand the Hive Queen, enough so that he loved her, the same with the pequeninos.
Plikt had to have loved Ender more than anyone, because she loved no one else. Old Val had Jakt, and her children, she other people to span her attention to, not her adoring little brother Andrew. But perhaps Sir Card might fill us in one of these days. Who knows?
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
quote: Plikt had to have loved Ender more than anyone, because she loved no one else.
This assumes that each person has a dose of love that must be dispensed to the people they meet throughout their life. I used to wonder how my mom could claim to love all 10 of her children the most. But now I believe the more people you love, the more love you have to give each of those people. Love is not a commodity, it's a muscle.
On the general subject of Plikt, who else could have given voice to what many of us (I, at least) thought of Novinha and then be made ashamed of it? Her role in COTM is very memorable to me.
P.S. And I think of Jakt as Valentine's husband. Some people are made more real by being quiet.
[ March 03, 2004, 05:32 PM: Message edited by: pooka ]
Posted by digging_holes (Member # 6237) on :
quote: P.S. And I think of Jakt as Valentine's husband. Some people are made more real by being quiet.
But he wasn't just quiet, he just stopped being mentioned at all.
Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
Ehh, I thought OSC carried over enough characters from SftD as it was. Having Gregor be both a demagogue AND a brilliant physicist who helps invent teleportation, having the daughter (Ela?) be a brilliant biologist who figures out the Descolada, and bringing Peter back... I think it's fine for an author to drop characters in a sequel, it's hard enough to write a sequel as it is without the book being too crowded with all the old characters...
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