"Maybe old Nick van Rijn himself would hear about this David Falkayn, who was so obviously being wasted in this dismal outpost on Garstang's."
-Poul Anderson, "A Sun Invisible" IN Anderson, The Van Rijn Method (Riverdale, NY, 2009), pp. 263-315 AT I, p. 271.
This is the second mention of van Rijn in the Technic History. Van Rijn has appeared in a story, Falkayn has appeared in a story and now Falkayn is working for van Rijn's Solar Spice & Liquors.
We will see van Rijn four more times before Falkayn meets him. Then van Rijn will say:
"'I have watched you like a hog, ever since I hear what you did on Ivanhoe when you was a, you pardon the expression, teen-ager.'"
-Poul Anderson, "The Trouble Twisters" IN Anderson, David Falkayn: Star Trader (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 77-208 AT II, p. 97.
Falkayn was on Ivanhoe as an apprentice to another Master Merchant and was not yet working for SSL. Thus, van Rijn had heard of "...this David Falkayn..." even before the latter was on Garstang's. Van Rijn looks out for good men not only to promote but also to recruit. It is good that two stories establish Falkayn as a character before he meets van Rijn even though the latter gets far more stories.
I am reasonably impressed with van Rijn's tolerance. Having seen Eric Wace work hard on Diomedes, he offers Wace a job on Earth. Wace, assuming that any such job would be a sinecure, insults van Rijn and quits. Van Rijn does not defend himself. He merely asserts that the job would be important and hard, not a sinecure, invites Wace to insult him publicly, just not on company time, and leaves aimiably. It is left to Sandra Tamarin to explain to Wace that he has underestimated and misjudged van Rijn.
3 comments:
I don't think van Rijn expects all his employees to like him; he just expects them to do their jobs well.
Remember what van Rijn said in "Hiding Place" to Captain Torrance, an employee of his who'd not only been insubordinate, ordering Old Nick off the bridge of his own yacht, but then punched him in the gut:
"Don't tell anyone or I have too many fights, but I like a brass-bound nerve like you got. When we get home, I think you transfer off this yacht to command of a trading squadron."
Dear Mr. Stirling and DAVID,
Mr. Stirling, I agree!
David: I remember that! And Captain Torrance's punch was LESS than effective, bouncing off the hard muscle under the fat! And Old Nick's own blow knocked out the captain. And I like how van Rijn did not hold a grudge with Torrance!
Sean
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