Lily
asked
L.E. Modesitt Jr.:
I am a huge fan of your Imager Portfolio! I've re-read the first three books many times, and every time I do, I notice new things. It was/is a huge influence on me and I've recommended your books to many people. I have two questions in particular: 1) How did you come up with the character of Rhenn? 2) How do you decide how characters will act in ethical dilemmas?
L.E. Modesitt Jr.
Rhenn was based on several people, including a noted businessman and entrepreneur who came from Greece as a grad student, who put himself through grad school as a pop pianist, and later founded a successful Silicon Valley tech start-up later acquired by Xerox. The painting part came from my own early training as an artist [although my fine motor control was never good enough for me to be successful as a fine artist].
Rhenn's ethical behavior is based on the principles that (1) usually ethical behavior is the the best solution, and (2) you can't behave ethically if you don't survive. That also means that you can't put yourself in many situations where you have to do the unethical to survive.
Also, not lying makes life much simpler, because Rhenn doesn't have to remember where he didn't tell the truth.
Rhenn's ethical behavior is based on the principles that (1) usually ethical behavior is the the best solution, and (2) you can't behave ethically if you don't survive. That also means that you can't put yourself in many situations where you have to do the unethical to survive.
Also, not lying makes life much simpler, because Rhenn doesn't have to remember where he didn't tell the truth.
More Answered Questions
Ben Cohen
asked
L.E. Modesitt Jr.:
Hi. I've been a faithful reader of all your works since I first got "The Fires of Paratime" through the SFBC longer ago than I would want to acknowledge. One thing that I've always enjoyed with your series is the way you start with a book or few and then "fill in" with extensive back story through prequels. When you're starting new series, how much of the backstory do you actually have, even if just in your head?
Randy
asked
L.E. Modesitt Jr.:
Have you ever considered using other polarized concepts than chaos/order in your writing, perhaps something like a structure/flow opposition or a liquid/solid dynamic? The reason I ask is that I do system engineering, and these perspectives are very helpful when diagnosing non-functioning applications.
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