Iwa ni Hana

Comments with spoilers in no particular order as usual:

1) There are many shadow statements in Level E.

 i) Mankind being seen by aliens of advanced civilization as backward and therefore warrants statutory protection under interstellar law
-> Aboriginal peoples being seen by developed countries as backward and therefore warrants statutory protection under national law

The above is an interesting rebuke of the SF tradition of aliens as invaders.

ii) An alien species which reproduces itself by the male devouring the female has intellectually evolved to the point where the concept of love becomes an obstacle to pure act of reproduction
-> The human species which reproduces itself through sex has intellectually evolved to the point where the concept of love becomes an obstacle to pure act of reproduction

From the perspective of biological survival and/or maintaining population growth (which is a great social issue in Japan, among other places), the idea that you should have babies only with The One is a bit of a drawback.

iii) God -> The Idiot Prince

The Idiot Prince remains unnamed to the end – very much in the tradition of the Biblical God whose name is not known.

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