Ann wrote:
But Natasha the cosmonaut would certainly not get into any sort of trouble with Russain authorities for showing her (presumably Russian Orthodox) faith by praying.
Natasha mused that religious beliefs were frowned upon "in some circles." She never thought about being in trouble with her superiors over those beliefs, just that "some" people still weren't very sympathetic to them. If people live with a certain mandated mindset for seventy years, it's hard to change on a moment's (or even a decade's) notice. Officially, Russian is an open society where religion is concerned, but in practice that's not always the case. Certain people in government still go after certain religious groups simply because they're certain religious groups. Other people in government don't persecute those same religious groups.
Aside from that, this chapter is just marvelous. Clark figures that if Lois is safe, he can come back and pick her up later, and in the meantime he can go play superhero. The Soyuz rescue is guaranteed to get international attention and push his existence into everyone's face. Shayne, I really like the way you drop in supporting characters like Nikolai and the Burmese sergeant in the previous chapter and make them real to the reader despite their brief "screen time." And the little details like Agent White referring to POTUS and Dr. Ledderman putting on his scientific blinders despite (or maybe because of) his lack of sleep makes your characters come alive.
I don't think this world's leaders will accept a Superman who can override their decisions on international politics. I know, that wouldn't be Clark's mission, but that's how he'd be perceived by world leaders. For that matter, I don't know how Lois is going to convince Lucy of the truth, especially with everyone's favorite agent Randal just outside the door.
I don't recall anyone commenting on the title of this tale. "Veritas" is Latin for "truth," and it certainly seems that the truth is being presented to people who don't want to believe it. Will Lucy believe Lois? Will Randal believe in Superman? Will Lois believe in love? Will Clark believe in himself? Is the truth really out there?
Where's the next chapter?
