Wednesday 28 March 2018

Bellatrix And The Milky Way

Bodin Miyatovich, whom we have seen conversing with Kossara Vymezal and with Dominic Flandry, is the viewpoint character as he leads a Dennitzan raid into Merseian space. To stimulate his crew:

"...it was cool here, with a thunderstorm tang of ozone."
-Poul Anderson, A Knight Of Ghosts And Shadows IN Anderson, Sir Dominic Flandry: The Last Knight Of Terra (Riverdale, NY, 2012), pp. 339-606 AT XIX, p. 579.

I mention this because, in an Ythrian ship:

"The air blew warm, ruffling their plumes a little, scented with perfume of cinnamon bush and amberdragon. Blood odors would not be ordered unless and until the vessel got into actual combat; the crew would soon be worn out if stimulated too intensely."
-Poul Anderson, The People Of The Wind IN Anderson, The Rise Of The Terran Empire (Riverdale, NY, 2011), pp. 437-662 AT VII, p. 518.

In one of Bodin's viewscreens:

"Glory brimmed the dark, stars in glittering flocks and Milky Way shoals, faerie-remote glimmer of nebulae and a few sister galaxies. Here in the outer reaches of its system, the target sun was barely the brightest, a coal-glow under Bellatrix." (ibid.)

And a second Ythrian ship presents yet another image of a significant object outlined against the Milky Way. Captain Hirharouk is:

"Poised on his perch, crested carnivore head lifted against the Milky Way..."
-Poul Anderson, "Lodestar" IN Anderson, David Falkayn: Star Trader (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 631-680 AT p. 663.

3 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Now that was interesting, the mentioning of Bellatrix, a star about 250 light years from Sol. Since the sun of Chereion was near Bellatrix, it too was about the same distance from Sol. I'm reminded Aycharaych discussing with Flandry how some accident might have "flung" the Empire, rather than the Roidhunate, around his home sun. I know 250 light years was further than Terra wished to claim suzerainty over, but maybe not too impossibly far? How would Aycharaych have reacted if the Empire, rather than the Roidhunate, had englobed his sun? My hope would have been that the Empire would treat the heritage of Aycharaych's extinct race with respect. And not with the ruthless greed Aycharaych expected from the Merseians.

Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,
Also, Chereion cannot have been too far into Roidhunate space or the Dennitzans would not have been able to mount their quick raid.
Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Avery good point, one I should have thought of as well. The Dennitzans simply would not be able to raid DEEPLY into the Roidhunate.

Sean