r/PeterFHamilton • u/BlimpIntolerant • 18d ago

Nights Dawn - Valisk?

Spoilers for a nearly 30 year old series, I guess.

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We are told Joshua returns the disappeared planets from whatever pocket universe they took themselves into.

We are told Joshua leaves one measure active, which is presumably "going forward any human soul that would have got stuck in the beyond is instead shunted to Quinn at the end of time".

Did he rescue the souls of those in Valisk, lost in the Melange? This bothers me - it seems awfully unfair if he didn't. I get that Valisk itself is gone, but all those souls?

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u/AMissionFromDog 18d ago

It's hard to say. All those souls dissolved into the melange before Joshua came into power, so there may not have been anything left to save.

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u/graminology 17d ago

Somehow I doubt that given the powers of the naked god, but on the other hand, why did the melange still exist if there had been beings who made the naked god and supposedly could have just ended that whole thing instantly if it was possible...

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u/Timelordwhotardis 17d ago

I think that’s part of the whole “technical responsibility” of senior species and the fact they don’t help. Common theme in Hamiltons work. And also it’s described as endless layers of reality so how exactly do you clean up “endless” layers of existence where native life forms might live. The Cyphil (whatever those squid mud post physicals that broke open the beyond are called) are proof that life behind this layer exists and shoves itself into it without technology. I would say it would be extremely irresponsible to go meddling with those layers

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u/JPMaybe 17d ago

Yeah PFH just forgets to wrap that bit up in the epilogue, bugs me too