I agree about the link being integral to Caprice's identity ... it really is like losing half your brain. She seems like a very resilient person and I could see her adapting eventually (assuming she could actually survive the physical shock of a permanent separation) but she might be ... well, a *different* person. Personally I don't think it'll come to that -- I do think she'll get it back, but I don't see it being an easy thing.
The idea of Benjamin being hooked into the collective -- that one had never occurred to *me*. I dunno ... Ben is SO private that I'm not sure if he could handle it. Dealing with Caprice on both levels (individual/collective) is hard enough for him. I think I'd actually like it better if he never did, because to me it's more interesting for two characters to have to deal with each other's differences instead of making the difference go away and becoming alike -- if that makes any sense.
I do like the Martian collective, though. I've always had some trouble dealing with the idea of being hooked into a collective, personally ... because of the submerging of personal identity, and I like the way that the Martian duality of personal identity and collective identity is just not even an issue for them: they are individuals, AND members of the collective, and it's no problem. Another fairly cool, fictional collective is the "afterlife" in Spider Robinson's novel Time Pressure.
I haven't read ELG, though it's on my "to read" list and it's been recommended to me a few times, so maybe I'll sit down and read the archives sometime soon.
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The idea of Benjamin being hooked into the collective -- that one had never occurred to *me*. I dunno ... Ben is SO private that I'm not sure if he could handle it. Dealing with Caprice on both levels (individual/collective) is hard enough for him. I think I'd actually like it better if he never did, because to me it's more interesting for two characters to have to deal with each other's differences instead of making the difference go away and becoming alike -- if that makes any sense.
I do like the Martian collective, though. I've always had some trouble dealing with the idea of being hooked into a collective, personally ... because of the submerging of personal identity, and I like the way that the Martian duality of personal identity and collective identity is just not even an issue for them: they are individuals, AND members of the collective, and it's no problem. Another fairly cool, fictional collective is the "afterlife" in Spider Robinson's novel Time Pressure.
I haven't read ELG, though it's on my "to read" list and it's been recommended to me a few times, so maybe I'll sit down and read the archives sometime soon.