In troubled times, people march:
Flandry and Kossara march with Merseians to the Dennitzan Parliament;
Fireball people in L-5 defy the Sepo and march to occupy the dock so that one of their ships can go free.
"No single glittering shop window suffered as the mass of them streamed down the passages." (p. 342)
Of course not. This is a disciplined march, not a riot. There are regular mass gatherings in London (see image) when no one thinks of breaking windows or looting any more than they do when walking down the high street on a weekend when there is no demonstration.
Because the march is determined and just keeps coming, the Sepo who have been ordered to stop them step aside. This can happen. It turns out that the leader of the march has persuaded the captain not to order his men to open fire.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
A disciplined march of this kind can work IF the opposition loses self confidence and backs down rather than use force. But not always--as the Tienanmen demonstrations proved in 1989. The Maoist regime in Peking used merciless force to crush the demonstrations. It depends on so many factors what might happen in these cases.
Sean
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