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Identity In John Sandford's Saturn Run

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How does one have first alien contact, without having first alien contact at all? How would one go about an impromptu space race with the Chinese to Saturn? And, most importantly, how would this landmark endeavor challenge the very humanity of the people involved? John Sandford and Ctein explore all these questions in Saturn Run, a novel set in the mid-twenty-first century. In a happenstance of astronomical proportions, a satellite in Earth’s orbit captures images of alien technology. This prompts a cutthroat space race between the American and the Chinese space programs to the site where the activity was spotted, in the rings of Saturn. On the American side, from which the book is mostly told, this sojourn of epic proportions brings together …show more content…

The most egregious of these were the political relationships, namely, hierarchies of command, and bureaucratic interactions between powerful political figures. Many of the book’s events take place upon a spaceship, which is run like any naval vessel; Admiral Naomi Fang-Castro is often depicted commanding her ship with authority and poise, in directing personnel and overseeing the workings of the ship. Fang-Castro is an extremely adept commander, as evidence by one scene in the book, in which “From the corner of her eye, Fang-Castro saw Johansson about to jab back. Without taking her eyes from the monitor and the engineer, she waved one hand at the blonde in a way that said, Wait. I’m the referee. Let me ref” (Sandford 89). She simultaneously is receiving her own orders from Washington, as she herself is a subordinate to the President. It is worth noting that Fang-Castro’s unique position so far from home, in a situation impossible for the think tanks back at Washington to fathom, gives her some autonomy that she wouldn’t have elsewhere; on several occasions Fang-Castro is give latitude due to the fact only she and those on the ship can truly appreciate their situation and act in the best interest of the mission and the crew. This unique situation is what also propels some characters to Fang-Castro’s level, as her advisors. Security personnel like Crow and engineering

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