Coming in late, because I didn't realize I could comment on this thread:
I think that while the relationship itself is obviously in the past, and Rodney has grieved and is moving on, the relationship is still present throughout the story by its very absence. By which I mean: I think the story is fundamentally about Rodney moving on after the loss of Atlantis, the loss of that ideal, and what he had to do to the city. He's trying to find a purpose to replace the purpose that the Atlantis mission gave him, and to leave the world a better place than he found it. But -- and this is important, and removing this aspect would alter the story greatly IMO -- he's having to do it alone. Without all of his friends and colleagues from the Atlantis expedition, yes, but the most palpable absence is John's. He does not have his lover by his side and, even though in a sense he never expected to, he still feels that absence, that hole, every day. The relationship isn't what the story is about, but it colors everything.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2006-03-15 08:27 pm (UTC)I think that while the relationship itself is obviously in the past, and Rodney has grieved and is moving on, the relationship is still present throughout the story by its very absence. By which I mean: I think the story is fundamentally about Rodney moving on after the loss of Atlantis, the loss of that ideal, and what he had to do to the city. He's trying to find a purpose to replace the purpose that the Atlantis mission gave him, and to leave the world a better place than he found it. But -- and this is important, and removing this aspect would alter the story greatly IMO -- he's having to do it alone. Without all of his friends and colleagues from the Atlantis expedition, yes, but the most palpable absence is John's. He does not have his lover by his side and, even though in a sense he never expected to, he still feels that absence, that hole, every day. The relationship isn't what the story is about, but it colors everything.