Fights

"Sargasso of Lost Starships."

Poul Anderson learned how to write fights for pulp magazines and they stayed with him in later novels where they were less necessary. "Sargasso..." is full of fights. In the climax, Wocha, half-blinded, takes a lance between his ribs but breaks it off and throws it at Valduma, killing her. Thus, Donovan's slave and temptress both die. The Arzunians can be tired or distracted and thus cannot use their psychic powers all the time any more than a man can continue to exert himself when physically exhausted. Although the Arzunians seem to tap "'...some unknown cosmic energy source...'" (p. 425), "'...it takes a lot of nervous energy to direct that flow...'" (ibid.) Thus, an Arzunian will sometimes teleport away from a sword thrust but not always.

Donovan thinks that the defeated Arzunians will teleport to fringe Nebular planets, then:

"'...scatter, and try to pass as harmless humanoids.'" (p. 435)

Are we to understand that there are several other intelligent species indistinguishable from Terrans? No such species appear anywhere else in the Technic History. But then we already regard "Sargasso..." as a "play within the play," to use Shakespearean terminology.