Here is a detail that I have neither remembered nor posted about before. Dwyr the Hook, the Merseian cyborg spy turned by Abrams, cannot pass for a bodily whole Merseian but can disguise himself as a spacesuited human being or Iskeled. In Ardaig, such a disguise suffices. There are human beings in Merseian service. As for the Iskeled:
they must be bipedal and approximately humanoid;
they have become resigned to Merseian domination;
many have become loyal personnel;
more than a few have gained the privilege of Merseian citizenship.
(Because of Merseian supremacism, Merseian citizenship is not as advantageous as Terran citizenship for members of other species.)
That is all that there is about the Iskeled. When Dwyr lands on a flange of Admiralty House, he is challenged by an officer who has joined the sentries but who allows him to pass when he claims to be acting on direct orders from Brechdan and when he also cites the code, "'Triple Star.'" (p. 121) We are not told whether the Merseians think that Dwyr is human or Iskeled.
Imagine a Poul Anderson Quiz with the question, "What are the Iskeled?"
6 comments:
This sort of throwaway detail -- not necessarily explained -- adds density and conviction to a scene.
Kaor, Paul!
I would almost certainly have botched answering that question!
Ditto, what Stirling said!
Ad astra! Sean
Throwaway details, like all the mentions of stuff from millennia earlier in Lord of the Rings.
They added depth to the story even for anyone who never read the Silmarillion.
Kaor, Jim!
I agree! I must have read THE SILMARILLION at least four times, and THE LORD OF THE RINGS ten or 12 times. And I love THE CHILDREN OF HURIN, despite that story being so fierce and grim!
Ad astra! Sean
Besides Mersiean supremacism, I would say that citizenship doesn't mean as much in their empire because the dominant culture still has strong feudal elements -- blood relationships, and hereditary lord-and-vassal links, still mean a great deal.
They did with us: it's only recently that nepotism, for example, has come to be regarded as a form of corruption, rather than a praiseworthy "looking out for one's own".
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Then one way non-Merseian citizens of the Roidhunate might improve their status would be to enter a personal lord and vassal relationship with a Merseian aristocrat. Because a patron would be expected to look after the interests of his clients.
Ad astra! Sean
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