Fiction for Utilitarians: Thalia’s Musings

[feotakahari]

When I was a child, Greek mythology confused me. Human heroes tried to be like the gods, and they were cast down for their hubris. But gods acted like gods all the time. Why wasn’t it hubris when they did it? Thalia’s Musings is the first story I’ve read that examines that question.

First and foremost, Thalia’s Musings is a comedy of chaos. Centered around a minor goddess testing the limits of her powers, it sets up all sorts of neat, tidy plans, then watches those plans collide with reality. No matter how well the characters think they’ve prepared, there’s always something they’re overlooking, and they scramble like ants in a rainstorm as they try to steer events back in the direction they want. It’s playful, subversive, and sometimes much more vicious than the preceding events prepared you for.

TM is a story that’s well aware of what Greek gods and heroes were like, but it’s not one that relies on cultural relativism. When Zeus disguises himself to “seduce” some random woman, that’s wrong, even though he doesn’t care that she’s terrified and trying to escape. When Hera hunts that woman down and punishes her for the “affair”, that’s wrong, even though no mortal has the power to stand up to her. The people with the most power don’t see any problem, so long as they’re not the ones being hurt, but the people who’ve been hurt or seen their friends hurt have a chance to recognize that power isn’t the same as morality. Some accept this and try to help, while others turn their own power against even weaker targets, and still others hide away and hope they won’t be noticed.

Though it’s set up as a story about fate, TM cares much more about consequences. The distinction is small but vital. When mortals who’ve had a taste of power set themselves in conflict with gods, they don’t meet with fate, but with the consequences of their actions, consequences they thought their gifts or connections insulated them from. The gods, too, often think they live in a world where their actions won’t have consequences, or the consequences only apply to lesser people, or doing the same thing over and over will eventually have a different result. The ends they meet are as logical as algebra, A and B and C adding up to D(oom), and the greater their power, the more time they have to dig their own graves and invite everyone around them to push them in. It’s not just, it’s not karmic, and it’s certainly not fair, least of all to the people who are caught in the crossfire. But it’s what they would have predicted if they were self-aware enough to make such predictions.

TM is currently incomplete, but what’s there is both piercing and darkly hilarious. If you can handle the sort of stuff that shows up in Greek mythology (see tags), I highly recommend it.