Saturday 12 June 2021

One Man And His Reardonite

"The Pirate."

On the surface of Good Luck, Trevelyan Micah alone faces Murdoch Juan and his armed crew. He demands that they let him return to his spaceship and leave the planet. Apart from Faustina's snicker, they do not reply, although a breeze whispers. In Anderson's works, the wind often underlines significant silences and seems to comment. Murdoch and crew are now guilty of an arrestable offense, interfering with a Stellar Union officer performing his duty. By refusing to be arrested, they justify Trevelyan's use of force. Only now does he reveal that his partner, Smokesmith the Reardonite, is concealed nearby with nukes and has been listening. Smokesmith demonstrates. Trevelyan notes that his own physical reaction to the explosion overhead is unintegrate and that he needs further training. Murdoch surrenders. Nice one, Trevelyan. This narrative does not require any more violence. The unseen narrator spells out the reasons for Trevelyan's intervention and the moral of the story.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Murdoch Juan should have smelled a rat and realized Trevelyan would not have behaved like that if he didn't have SOME kind of backup. The smart thing for Murdoch to have done would be saying: "Of course you can go, Mike. I would not dream of preventing you from leaving." And then make a dash to collect as many friends, supporters, and would be colonists as quickly as possible, to dump pell mell on Good Luck.

Ad astra! Sean