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masterghandalf) wrote2024-02-29 04:52 pm
masterghandalf) wrote2024-02-29 04:52 pm
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MG Reads Embers: Chapter Eighty-Four
Chapter Eighty-Four
We open with Huojin commenting that the air coming out of a particular vent doesn’t burn, even though it’s supposed to be venting gas from Asagitatsu. An elderly earthbender agrees that there should be a flame, and Huojin describes how some kids figured this out and if they need to start running. Zuko doesn’t think it’s a spirit, but also doesn’t want to breathe whatever is coming out of there; Langxue bends it a bit and thinks it feels like air, but somehow strange. Iroh asks just how, and Zuko says he thought Iroh was going to meet the newly arrived waterbenders. Right now Saoluan is handling things down there; Zuko seems to think that her being from Kyoshi will help calm down any tensions. Iroh thinks they’ll understand that they were called away to deal with spirits, but Zuko doubts it. Iroh thinks the Water Tribes live closer to the spirits than the Fire Nation does, but Zuko thinks all they know is how to hide from the world and need a giant water monster to save them. And if the Moon Spirit just had to hide out as a fish, why couldn’t she have picked a leopard shark instead of a koi? Iroh turns back to the topic of how the gas is odd, and Langxue thinks it moves weirdly, like it’s a stream full of rocks and feathers that keep drifting to the surface. It reminds Zuko of something, while the old earthbender complains how air isn’t anything like earth, so Zuko reminds him of how many different kinds of rocks there are. The old man still thinks air should be health outside of mines. Iroh doesn’t think that this will be dangerous, though it might be startling, and asks Langxue if he can bend the “feathers” together; he does, and Iroh lights it with sparks causing it to flash in many colors. Iroh wants them to close off the vent, since they can’t do anything about it now, but it might come in handy later. Zuko, thinking things over, asks if it’s sun-damp, and Iroh agrees it is. Huojin and Langxue still want to know what it is and if it’s dangerous. Zuko thinks its fine in the longer term, so long as you don’t breathe too much of it – in the long term, Iroh thinks it will be interesting…
We cut to Pakku, commenting on how this is where Amaya finally ended up. He thinks about how she followed in Kanna’s footsteps in leaving the North and remembers how the elders had disapproved of his proposal to Kanna because they wanted him to marry a waterbender. But Kanna wasn’t a bender, and knowing the elders would never change their minds, she finally left. Pakku thinks Kanna mellowed in her old age, but he doubts Amaya ever will. While Kanna had left for the south, when Amaya refused Pakku’s proposal, she went to the Earth Kingdom instead. He wonders why every woman he’s ever showed interest in seems destined to reject him. Finally, Amaya asks Pakku if he was even listening to Zuko; he thinks there’s not much to hear. If Ozai doesn’t wipe out Dragons’ Wings, the volcano will. And the Northern Water Tribe will be Ozai’s next target. He thinks Zuko might slow Ozai down a bit, buy the North some time to prepare, but that’s all he’s expecting. He is curious about this “sun-damp” they’ve found and if it’s something waterbenders can use. Iroh explains that this “damp” isn’t wet, it’s a kind of air. Pakku notices the tension between Iroh and Zuko, and also thinks about Iroh advising Zhao during the Siege of the North – Iroh helped save the Moon Spirit, but it’s also possible that Zhao wouldn’t have gotten as far as he did without Iroh’s help, and Pakku’s not sure what to think about his old friend. He’s also worried about the political situation in the North, since Yue’s sacrifice broke Arnook’s heart, and he hasn’t yet named a new heir.
Iroh goes on to explain that sun-damp isn’t poisonous, though you also can’t survive by breathing it alone, and it doesn’t burn, but it is much lighter than air. So light that a war balloon filled with it might not sink even if sheathed in ice. Pakku considers the situation, and then asks Zuko if he really thinks he can face his father. Zuko’s not sure, but he has people with experience at hitting flying targets, and if Ozai rises up out of range, he’ll be in Air Temple territory. Teo hopes Aang already took down the fleet, but if he didn’t – whatever’s in those airships may be strange, but it’s still air. Pakku’s head hurts as he considers that Aang isn’t the only airbender in the world anymore. He’s not sure if Teo can train enough people in time, but Teo says that Langxue’s helping them out, which proves air and water aren’t so different. Zuko’s heard that Pakku is a master of the waterspout technique – that’s air and water right there, if he’s willing to help instead of spending all his time here doing research. Pakku retorts that he’s looking for knowledge that could help restore balance to the world. Zuko agrees that the knowledge in the White Lotus cache is important, and they need to get it somewhere safe – but it’s on his land, and one of his friends is a yaoren who died protecting it in a past life. Zuko wants copies. Pakku thinks there’s not enough time, but Zuko wants at least some of it. Pakku can name someone to deliver the rest if they survive; if he promises that, Zuko will let him take what he needs. Pakku and Iroh are both struck by a sense of foreboding; Zuko asks if there’s something he should know, and Iroh says there are many things. Pakku realizes there’s something very important Iroh hasn’t told Zuko… and then a Fire Navy sailor bursts in to say that there’s a sky bison coming their way.
We cut to Sokka, hoping he can someday meet the person who taught Zuko to always have maps on hand so he can hug them – at least, so long as that wasn’t Ozai. Zuko is surprised the invasion fleet will be flying right over them, and Sokka admits Aang’s maps might be out of date – he thinks Toph might rib him over that, if she was here, but she’s currently with Katara helping get the airsick Shiyu to Amaya. And Katara does want to consult with Amaya, even if she doesn’t agree with her about anything. Sokka goes on to add that Aang’s always been able to get them places fine, so the wind patterns don’t seem to have changed much. He and Suki point out the high wind road on the map and Zuko curses, while Suki thinks he looks as bad now as he did when he shunned Aang. Zuko admits he didn’t know anything about winds at that altitude, and grudgingly thanks them for the warning. Sokka thinks that if they’re going to make an alliance, they need honesty and explains that he hopes Aang’s at least managed to throw the airship fleet off course. If he’s lost, though, it might take a miracle to find him after that storm. Especially if the Avatar Spirit has decided to lie low and wait for Asagitatsu to blow. After all, if the Avatar Spirit thought it was important to keep people from dying, it would have woken Aang up long ago. Sokka admits to himself that he’s come to terms with the fact that his mother’s death wasn’t Aang’s fault, or Zuko’s fault, or Sokka’s own fault – but it was the Fire Lord’s fault, so Sokka’s almost looking forward to going up against him. Almost. Sokka thinks that to stop Ozai, they need to hit the fleet before the Comet returns. Zuko thinks that if firebenders fight at Asagitatsu, the whole caldera could go up. Sokka knows that; he also knows Zuko knows Ozai better than he does and wants to know what he thinks he’ll do. Zuko thinks a lot of people are going to die and wants to know if the Mechanist’s people can help. Sokka will see what he can do and asks if Suki’s ready to meet a bunch of airbenders, though he’s not quite sure “bunch” is the right word. Suki wonders if he should just ask; Sokka wryly comments that she’s smarter than he is, and that Gran Gran will never believe he was so lucky. She swats him with a fan, Zuko snickers, and Sokka decides it’s time to go do this.
We cut to Pakku as he observes that the people of Dragons’ Wings aren’t quite of the quality he’d imagined would follow the heir of the Fire Nation; Iroh thinks the spirits decided Zuko would serve another purpose. He tells Pakku to bear with Zuko, who didn’t take becoming a waterbender easily. Pakku sarcastically comments that Zuko’s been told since he was ten by everyone, Iroh included, that he’d be the next Fire Lord – why wouldn’t he take it badly? Iroh rebukes him for sarcasm, while Pakku notes that he’s always tried to be polite when corresponding with Iroh, and maybe that was a mistake – Iroh wonders if that was polite, and Pakku tells him to stop being impressed with his own cleverness and start paying attention. Pakku notes that while healing is considered women’s work in the North, he has worked with Yugoda on occasion, and thinks that when a young boy says his sister tried to smother him in his sleep, you should believe him. Iroh admits that some of his family aren’t entirely sane, and wonders what the point is. Pakku says that he knows the spirits can’t turn a bender into a yaoren without permission, and he thinks the odds of Zuko praying to the Moon and Ocean for anything are very low – so it must have been Iroh. Sooner or later Zuko will figure that out, and Pakku doesn’t want to be around when he does. Iroh thinks Pakku picked his moment well – they’re both in the White Lotus cache now, away from most people who might interfere. Iroh comments that the current yaoren aren’t very pious, and Pakku thinks of course they’re not – ordinary people get to believe in the spirits, but the yaoren know. It’s easy to be impressed by a shark when you’re watching it from a ship, but less so when you’re in the water with it. Zuko will never believe, and he’s already lost so much – and he won’t let Iroh push him into losing more.
Iroh, thinking about Lu Ten’s death, asks if Pakku thinks he’s never lost anything. Pakku knows he has, but Lu Ten died because of human actions. Thanks to Iroh’s prayers, Zuko lost his future. Now people have chosen to follow him, and they need him. Pakku’s no firebender, but he can tell Asagitatsu needs Zuko, too, and Zuko won’t abandon his people to the volcano to sail to the North just on Iroh’s say-so. Iroh thinks the Avatar will need them, and Zuko will put the world’s needs first when it comes to it. Pakku’s not sure – if Zuko really cared about the greater good of the world, he’d have killed Azula when he had the chance, rather than risk that she might become Fire Lord. But Azula is family – does Iroh really expect Zuko to abandon his duty just for a chance to fight his father? Especially when the people of the North know he kidnapped Aang and left the spirits vulnerable to Zhao? Iroh protests that’s not the way it happened, and Pakku reminds him that Chief Arnook lost his daughter, much more recently than Iroh lost Lu Ten. Arnook follows the will of the spirits, but he’s still human, and if word gets out at the North Pole of who Zuko is, people will kill him. Iroh protests that the balance of the world requires it, but Pakku thinks that Zuko is a waterbender, and the day he fights his father when it’s not to protect his own people is the day Pakku becomes a firebender. Iroh says Zuko broke loyalty to Ozai, but Pakku says this is about family, not loyalty. But he wonders – Iroh was already a soldier when Ozai was born, and he’s never spent much time around him. Does he really feel that Ozai is family? Or just Azulon’s spare? Iroh nearly loses his temper but masters himself, and says that yes, Ozai is his brother. Pakku adds that he’s also Zuko’s father, and there are things you can’t ask a person to do. Iroh says that Sozin’s line has done a great wrong to the world and must atone for it – Zuko knows his duty, and Iroh thinks this will work.
We cut to Aang, having washed up on an island and glad to be alive. There’s solid ground under him and jungle all around him, and he has no idea how he got here when the last thing he saw was an ocean full of ghost ships. He wonders where he is…
We end with a long author note. A/N: When it comes to dealing with the spirits, the White Lotus masters and the yāorén are a bit like politicians versus beat cops. Politicians make stirring speeches, negotiate, ratify laws, etc. Cops have to deal with the squabbling neighbors, the law-breakers, and the inevitable body on the floor. And cops who deal with homicide (much less get shot at themselves) tend to end up with a very cynical attitude.
It's taken me a while to figure out, but one of the things that's been blocking me for the past few chapters is the darn airships. Fortunately or not, I happened to know something about rigid airships/dirigibles/zeppelins/pick your favorite term, before I ever saw ATLA. Which means... well. Long story short?
Hot air balloon does not equal airship.
Seriously. The fuel required to keep that much regular air hot, and lift the cabin mass, and the crew, and the bombs, and fly across the sea from the Fire Nation with no apparent chances to refuel... No. Not happening. Word of God says bending is not magic. Based on the amount of sustained bending we see in canon - no. Firebenders as the fuel for a small war balloon like Zuko steals in canon? Maybe. Might work. For the rigid airships, it just won't. You need a lifting gas, lighter than air. We generally have two good candidates, hydrogen and helium.
...I think we can all agree that gas bags full of hydrogen and cabins full of firebenders are a bad idea.
Believe it or not, helium is an option.
For over a century, we've extracted helium from natural gas wells using a series of techniques including fractional distillation (low temps and high pressures) and running the end result through activated charcoal.
Fire-breathing statues in town squares? Natural gas, check.
Coolers in Boiling Rock? Refrigeration and therefore low temps, check.
Coal-powered warships? Ability to create boilers capable of maintaining high pressures, check.
Activated charcoal... heck, if you can make steel, you've got this down.
So. It probably wouldn't be industrial-grade 99.9% pure helium like we use today. But pure enough to give good lift, yes. The main trick would be identifying helium as a separate gas in the first place. We first found it by examining spectral lines, studying the sun. In the Avatar 'verse... the characteristic that makes helium good for airships is the very thing firebenders would be able to latch onto to identify it. It'd be the parts of the gas vent that don't burn.
...Unless you're in the heart of a star, and I think we all agree firebenders aren't doing fusion. Or Azula would be even scarier.
Given all of the above, and a few firebenders with enough curiosity and time - yes. The Fire Nation could figure out helium as a separate, and very weird, gas. And they probably have been working on it for years. As Kryal pointed out, there is no plausible way you could make the jump from "can't make a hot air balloon work" in winter to "long-range working rigid airships" in that following summer.
Of course, airships brings home the "Fire Nation are Germany expies" idea even more, given bombs from airships launched a London Blitz most of us have probably never heard of... starting in January 1915, WWI.
Some books of interest:
Dr. Eckener's Dream Machine: The Great Zeppelin and the Dawn of Air Travel, by Douglas Botting.
Sky Ships: A History of the Airship in the United States Navy, by William F. Althoff.
Zeppelin! Germany and the Airship, 1900-1939, by Guillame de Syon.
Steampunk fans, write your congressman. Save the Strategic Helium Reserve!
MG’s Thoughts
Okay, this chapter is mostly more setup, and mostly continues on ideas we’ve seen before in preparation for the big climax. In terms of doing that, it’s not bad. There are some things that bug me, though. First off, Zuko treats the fact that Ozai’s airship fleet is coming for Dragons’ Wings as if it’s a new revelation… and yet, we’ve spent the last several chapters preparing for just that attack! Zuko didn’t know about the high wind road, but he did know that Ozai was going to hit Dragons’ Wings on the way to the Northern Water Tribe, so… how does this meaningfully change things? Then there’s the conversation between Iroh and Pakku. IMO, the conflict between Iroh and Zuko still feels extremely forced, and the whole argument here seems determined to shill Zuko at Iroh’s expense, presenting Iroh as the one making messes Zuko has to clean up. And of course, there’s the weirdness of Pakku, who’s never even met Zuko before this chapter, being treated like he knows him better than his own uncle, who’s traveled with him and been his father figure for years now. I can get the value of an outsider bringing a fresh perspective, but that’s a little ridiculous! Not to mention the implication that Iroh’s sort of faith in the spirits is naïve while Zuko, as a yaoren, is down doing the dirty work and knowing the way things really are, which seems a continuation of various themes we’ve had running. And, uh, I can’t help but notice Zuko’s weird swipe not only at the Northern Water Tribe but at the Moon and Ocean spirits for taking the form of koi fish (actually not the first time the fic has done this…). Has he maybe considered that the spirits can’t just take any random form they want? Because clearly, there’s nothing at all symbolically appropriate about a pair of complementary cosmic forces taking the form of black and white fish that circle each other endlessly in the pattern of the yin-and-yang symbol or anything…
As for the AN… I don’t think Vathara is the first person in the ATLA fandom to note that the war balloons and airships aren’t the same thing? It’s been a while, but I definitely remember when I first got into the fandom partway through the original airing of Book Three, long before this chapter would’ve been written, I ran across some discussion of how the airships and war balloons would’ve had to have been separate technologies with separate development cycles. Also, not sure where Vathara’s getting the “Fire Nation as Germany expies” thing from, especially when she herself is doubling down on them as Imperial Japan expies, much more so than in canon. Most of the parallels are pretty general “militaristic empire” tropes, IMO – there’s Zhao’s “the superior element” speech in “The Blue Spirit,” and I once saw a long forum thread, unfortunately now lost, comparing the Fire Nation school Aang attends to Prussian military schools… but beyond that, not really seeing it, unless someone else feels like weighing in.
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Uh, that's not how religion works. Seeing the awe-inspiring might of the spirits ought to make yaoren more pious. After all, fear of the LORD is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
I don't really think the politicians vs. beat cops/White Lotus vs. yaoren comparison checks out. For starters, the White Lotus was never presented as having much if anything to do with spirits, what with Iroh being the only member who's had any known dealings with them outside of (presumably) normal religious observances. They're intensely concerned with obtaining world peace, but that's not really the same thing. Secondly, the yaoren don't do enough ground-level work. I honestly do not recall a single instance of any of the yaoren characters going out and looking to see if there's any trouble, which I believe is one of the duties of a beat cop? Be that as it may, the White Lotus and the yaoren actually seem to operate at the same level spirit-wise, the yaoren just have the dubious fortune of being easier to submit complaints to.
Actually, is it just me or does Vathara have trouble understanding religion and religious impulses? First she strips Koizilla of its religious significance, then she fails to understand important Air Nomad doctrines about non-violence and detachment, and now she's either completely forgotten or never knew about 'reverent fear', or the awe and trepidation natural to encountering something that much more then you. 'Then Job answered the LORD: "Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer Thee? I lay my hand on my mouth.' (Job chapter 40 verses 3-4)
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They definitely strike me as the kind of Atheist who doesn't get that religious belief is something that people have, and are projecting their beliefs on everyone, even those who explicitly don't share their beliefs.
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*shrugs* Beats me, on both counts.
I don't really think the politicians vs. beat cops/White Lotus vs. yaoren comparison checks out. For starters, the White Lotus was never presented as having much if anything to do with spirits, what with Iroh being the only member who's had any known dealings with them outside of (presumably) normal religious observances. They're intensely concerned with obtaining world peace, but that's not really the same thing. Secondly, the yaoren don't do enough ground-level work. I honestly do not recall a single instance of any of the yaoren characters going out and looking to see if there's any trouble, which I believe is one of the duties of a beat cop? Be that as it may, the White Lotus and the yaoren actually seem to operate at the same level spirit-wise, the yaoren just have the dubious fortune of being easier to submit complaints to.
Not helping is that we've never really seen the yaoren operating in the way that's "usual" for them - Zuko's new at this, and he's juggling a whole bunch of other protagonist stuff at the same time, Shirong's even newer than Zuko, and Langxue is more there as a repository of knowledge from his past life than anything. Trying to commune with Asagitatsu while dodging Koh and Makoto probably isn't what a yaoren's usual job is, but I don't think we've been given a good sense of what a typical day for a yaoren even looks like.
Actually, is it just me or does Vathara have trouble understanding religion and religious impulses? First she strips Koizilla of its religious significance, then she fails to understand important Air Nomad doctrines about non-violence and detachment, and now she's either completely forgotten or never knew about 'reverent fear', or the awe and trepidation natural to encountering something that much more then you. 'Then Job answered the LORD: "Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer Thee? I lay my hand on my mouth.' (Job chapter 40 verses 3-4)
Especially considering some of what's coming in the next chapter, when Zuko and Iroh's conflict finally has it's big blow up - no, I'd say it's not just you.
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That feels so so wrong and the exact opposite of Iroh's character. He never forces Zuko down a path he doesn't want; he does nudge, but when Zuko strongly rejects it, he backs off. I really think that if he had to choose between preparing Zuko to save the world and letting Zuko choose his own path, he'd pick the latter and look for another savior.
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Considering some of what's about to happen... someone really, really needed to remind Vathara of that.
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I’m coming to this a touch late, but is this implying that in the Embers!verse Gran-Gran didn’t leave the North because of sexism but instead because of authority figures preventing her from marrying Pakku? Because that’s a fairly big change for such a casual drop.