Reflections On The War On Diomedes II

Since we have recently mentioned demons, it is appropriate to remark that bat-winged Diomedeans wielding flame-throwers are very like demons.

On Earth, when a half-ton stone from a ballista sinks a canoe, its crew goes into the water. On Diomedes, they whirl up - but then the aerial command pounces. Van Rijn dances with the ballista captain, bawling:

"'Du bist mein Sonnenchein...'" (XII, p. 466) (For full reference, see here.)

I did start to deduce the meaning of that phrase as I was googling it.

Posting while rereading, I now find that Anderson writes:

"Bat-winged devils sought each other's lives through one red chaos." (p. 469)

Not only are the Diomedeans devils but "...one red chaos..." sounds like Hell and particularly like Anderson's chaotic Hell in Operation Chaos. (Scroll down the post, past the long Milton quote.)