One of the things that stood out for me in Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand was the impact that sheer size in population can have on life (I saw one other blog post on this but I did not read it so hopefully there is not any overlap). One instance in which this is exemplified is the initial matching of Rat Korga and Marq Dyeth. When we first find out that Rat Korga and Marq Dyeth are supposedly fit for each other, the two men have been characterized in ways that made them radically different from each other. The entire prologue followed Rat Korga and described life on Rhyonon.