Zalat makes a point of conversing in his limited and accented Anglic although Flandry would have preferred to practise his Altaian. Betelgeuse is a buffer state between Terra and Merseia but not therefore isolated, Zalat seems to imply. He visits Altai:
- to buy furs. Other Betelgeusean merchants buy:
"'...gemz, mineralz, hides, variouz organic productz, even dried meatz...'" (ibid.)
Thus, there are usually one or two Betelgeusean ships at the Altaian capital, Ulan Baligh. Zalat hopes not to be detained there long because there is only one pleasure house for his species. However, "'...de dizturbanzez...'" delay the "'...caravanz...'" (ibid.) Flandry conceals his professional interest in "'...de disturbanzez...'"
Altai was isolated for six hundred years before Betelgeusean trade began and the Kha Khan has recently forbidden most:
"'...of his zubjectz from leaving de planet...'" (p. 343)
De plot thickenz.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Captain Zalat was unwittingly amusing, with his slightly prickly insistence on speaking Anglic with Flandry, to show Alfzarians were not isolated from the galactic mainstream!
Yes, "de disturbanzez" would be of keen interest to Flandry.
Ad astra! Sean
It also illustrates how -big- the space the Technic series covers is. Things brew unnoticed.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
And we see Flandry fretting about precisely that "brewing" problem in Chapter II of THE PLAGUE OF MASTERS.
Ad astra! Sean
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