and for all". Leith says that the opposition of cultures has an "impressive simplicity". The Terrans are technologically advanced, liberal and imperialist. Darkover is non-technological (as far as the Terrans know) and feudal. The rational, scientific, and utilitarian Terran society, aimed at efficiency and practicality, placed on Darkover, which lacks these qualities, creates tension. First, these two opposing cultures prove to have more in common than one suspects at first. Second, the contact between them brings about growth or a maturing process in each of them. Leith expresses the meaning of this cultural clash as "to grow or to mature ultimately means to accept the element that has hitherto been missing, in short to reconcile the opposites in oneself". As an example, in The Forbidden Tower, Callista, a virgin untouchable Keeper who has renounced all family ties for the sake of being a Keeper, becomes Andrew's wife. Damon's challenge of the Tower norms and the rules that Keepers must follow helps Callista free herself from her rigid training. In addition, Andrew Carr must accept Darkovan culture and the fact that his relationship with Damon must be a closer one than Terran culture would allow. The "hope" (Bradley's hope, or the hope of the books) is that the opposites will merge and grow. In other books, Bradley creates more characters capable of crossing the gap between cultures, some of whom have mixed Terran-Darkovan parentage, or were removed from Darkover at a young age (Jeff Kerwin in The Bloody Sun), or Terrans who are able to join Darkovan society. Leith's opinion is that Darkover is presented as weak compared to the Terran Empire. Darkover is the society that changes in response to Terran pressure, and it slowly but surely becomes less Darkovan. Fate In The Shattered Chain there is a brief mention, or appeal, to the theme of fate. In later books, both Darkovan and not Darkovan, Bradley explores her ideas in greater depth. In The Shattered Chain, Peter Haldane, a Terran, looks exactly like Rohana Ardais's son, except for the lack of a sixth finger. When attempting Haldane's rescue, disguised as a Renunciate on Rohana's advice, Magdalen Lorne meets Jaelle, who is a Renunciate and Rohana's niece. Jaelle is the one person who can expose Magda as a fake, because Magda claims to have the same oath-mother, which Jaelle knows is a lie. The remedy for masquerading as a Renunciate is