Study Guide for COVENTRY 2091. Part 3. Chapters 4-7

The Founding of Coventry

Special thanks to a friend for her help with the counseling content of the next chapter(s)

When I first wrote about the sessions between Giesbrecht and Jacob, I was primarily driven by a desire to fill in Kraiser’s backstory, reveal some of Jacob’s character, and, in an unobtrusive way, present some of the details of the founding of Coventry.

I have no expertise in counseling. A friend of mine was very helpful in removing some of the obvious counseling missteps in the dialogue. However, I could not implement all of her advice, so I expect many aspects of the dialogue are likely “sub-best-practice.” These deficiencies are mine.

Chapters 4-7 The Founding of Coventry

As a writer of fiction, I’m supposed to “show not tell,” but sometimes my showing can either be too obvious or too subtle. So some of my questions have to do with my show-not-tell success.

Why do you think Jacob’s nightmares began to surface now, years after the traumatic deaths of parents and siblings?

It’s been a long while since I read Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. I think the dystopia I’m imagining is much more along Huxley’s line than Orwell’s in 1984.

Do you agree or disagree?

One theme here: when God is working to repair us, things often get worse before they get better.

Is this generally true? Have you experienced this in your own life?

Books, especially fiction, have played a significant role in my life. Here I’m relating to George MacDonald’s Curdie children books.

Has anyone read them?

Plausibility of the events leading to the 2051 peaceful protest

It’s important to the success of the story that this peaceful protest and subsequent government reaction is plausible.

Part of the political background to this peaceful protest was the assumption that politically, governments in Canada are chosen and maintained by the votes of the urban population, while the protest was fueled by the sentiments of the essentially disenfranchised (they can vote, but their vote never makes a difference) rural population.

Is this plausible?

Even today, do you think the views of urban voters and rural voters in Canada are sufficiently different to set this kind of dichotomy? Why or why not?

What was the imaginary drug Cerebretocin-21 in the story? Why do you think some were strongly in favor of its use and others strongly opposed?

Was the government’s response reasonable to the unpopular Cerebretocin-21 protests?

Without digressing too far into the arguments in favor or against the justification of the recent Trucker’s Convoy to Ottawa, when it happened, were you surprised by the determination of the convoy participants to stay the course? Were you surprised by the government’s response? Why or why not?

Any other thoughts on the backstory plausibility leading to the founding of Coventry?

Another question relating to the story line in Coventry 2091: we have had many hours of testimony and thousands of pages of documentation released by the ongoing Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC) which has shed the light on government thoughts and motivations leading up to the imposition of the Emergencies Act last February.

If you have been following some POEC revelations, have these revelations made the Coventry 2091 plot more or less plausible? Why or why not?

I think, it’s fair to say that most Christians, particularly in a democratic society that expects her citizens to participate in governance, feel a tension between obedience to the government, support of freedom, support of justice, and yet not letting political action become our substitute for building Christ’s Kingdom.

How do you resolve this tension in your life?

How do you relate to Christians who have radically different views on resolving this tension?