A Door into Ocean by Joan Slonczewski
"A Door into Ocean" is a science fiction novel that explores themes of colonization, gender, and humanity through the lens of an oceanic world called Shora, inhabited solely by women known as the Sharers. For forty years, the traders from the nearby planet Valedon have imposed their presence on Shora, leading to escalating tensions as they attempt to militarily occupy the planet. The Sharers resist this invasion through nonviolent means, seeking to understand and heal the Valans despite their differences in appearance and culture. The narrative unfolds around the arrival of Sharers Merwen and Usha to Valedon, where they aim to determine the humanity of the Valans, ultimately returning with two Valans who experience life among the Sharers.
As the story progresses, the Sharers' peaceful tactics, including a successful boycott of Valan traders, face increasing threats from Valan military leadership. The conflict escalates when Valans injured in a violent act are rescued by the Sharers, prompting reflections on humanity and compassion. The climax sees a critical transformation for both the Valans and Sharers, culminating in the Valans' withdrawal from Shora and leaving the Sharers to rebuild their society. Through this narrative, the novel addresses complex questions of identity, morality, and the potential for coexistence amidst conflict.
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A Door into Ocean
First published: 1986
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—alien civilization
Time of work: The distant future
Locale: The planets Valedon and Shora
The Plot
For forty years, traders from the planet Valedon have colonized the ocean planet Shora. The story concerns the increasing threat to the inhabitants of Shora and to the balance of life on their ocean home as the effects of colonization escalate and as they face the military invasion of their planet by the occupying forces of Valedon. The population of Shora—all females, who call themselves Sharers—resists the traders and soldiers by peaceful, nonviolent means. They also resist by trying to understand the Valans and by attempting to heal them both physically and spiritually. Although their advanced skills in life sciences might enable them to devise means of destroying the invaders, Sharers resist the temptation to destroy those who would destroy them. Influenced by their wordweaver, Merwen, they maintain the possibility that the Valans are human and that their healing will result in the survival of Sharers and Valans alike.
The story opens with the arrival of the Sharers Merwen and Usha in a port city on the planet Valedon. They have come to learn if the Valans are human in spite of their very different physical characteristics, actions, and values. They return to Shora accompanied by a young boy named Spinel and another Valan, the wealthy and noble Lady Berenice, called Nisi by the Sharers. These two Valans share the lives of Shorans who live on the raft Raia-el.
When Sharers boycott Valan traders, Spinel joins them. Although the boycott is successful in achieving the immediate demands of the Sharers, a worse threat takes the form of a plan to bring Shora under the control of Valedon. Realgar, the Valan to whom Nisi is engaged, arrives to head the military occupation of Shora. Pressures against the Sharers and their environment increase as a result of escalating Valan frustration with the Sharers’ refusal to capitulate. Sharers struggle with the question of the humanity of the Valans but remain steadfast in their decision to resist without killing.
The ultimate action against the Sharers is precipitated by Nisi’s attempt to destroy herself along with the Valan military headquarters. Some of the Valans have come to respect the Sharers, and their appreciation is intensified when Valans injured in the explosion are rescued and healed by Sharers. In a climactic series of conversations with the imprisoned Merwen, Realgar is forced to recognize his own fear and to face his endangered humanity. His defeat is complete when the High Protector of Valedon chastens him for the mutiny in his troops. Realgar resigns his position and, with all the trader and soldier Valans, withdraws from Shora. They leave the Sharers to the work of repairing their lives and their planet. Nisi remains to become healed of her double betrayal, and Spinel, drawn by his love for Merwen’s daughter, Lystra, remains as hope for a transformed future.