Monday, 22 June 2026

DMZ And M7

 

In 49 AD, Manse Everard and Janne Floris of the Time Patrol:

"...had established themselves farther north, in the uninhabited stretch - the American called it the DMZ - between Langobardian and Chaucian territory."
-Poul Anderson, "Star of the Sea" IN Anderson, Time Patrol (Riverdale, NY, December 2010), pp. 467-640 AT 11, pp. 562-563.

When Artorius compares their surroundings to a DMZ, Filipa looks puzzled:

"...showing that she hadn't actually been born in Korea."
-To Turn The Tide, CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE, p. 371.

He explains:

"'Demilitarized zone. Buffer territory. The German tribes keep an unpopulated area around their core lands, nice and natural for hunting...and hunting each other, and hiding raiding parties to keep life on the farm from getting dull.'" (ibid.)

When, having penetrated the buffer zone, Artorius ambushes a band of barbarians by using a crossbow, he thinks:

"This is where an M7 would have come in really handy and Fuchs was a fool..." (p. 376)

"I could have finished off all the ones we don't want to take alive nice and quick and safe with one magazine of six--point-eight." (ibid.)

Why did Fuchs not pack M7's? He could not get hold of them? He did not want to take anything that destructive? The author wanted to see how much could be achieved using Type A technology alone?

15 comments:

S.M. Stirling said...

It probably simply didn't occur to Fuchs.

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

I didn't think of that one!

Anonymous said...

Kaor, to Both!

Paul: I agree with Stirling, Herr Doktor Fuchs simply didn't think of tucking in 2 or 3 M7s with an appropriate amount of ammo.

Mr. Stirling: It still seems odd Filippa did not know what "DMZ" meant, if she was a Korean American with family in S Korea, that she was close to. Everyone in S Korea would know what the DMZ is, I did!

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

Sean: Yeah, but Filipa grew up in San Francisco...

S.M. Stirling said...

Sean: also, her parents were sort of distant.

Anonymous said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

Ugh, any mention of San Francisco reminds me of how it's a hotbed of woke, Politically Correct insanity--and, unsurprisingly, geostrategic ignorance.

Parents distant from their children? That is bad and sad.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Woke insanity. Come on!

Anonymous said...

Kaor, Paul!

Absolutely YES, weird woke insanity! If you want to get some idea of the revolting way many San Francisco area leftists think and talk, reread Chapter 3 of THERE WILL BE TIME (Nelson Doubleday, 1972). And it has gotten even worse since then.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

I have read Chapter 3 of TWBT more than once and dismissed it as hopelessly biased. I have reread the book several times but USUALLY skipped that chapter although I have also discussed parts of it on this blog.

No! I could equally talk about MAGA "insanity" but just using that word does not get us very far. MAGA violence led to a riot in which people were killed. Perpetrators have been imprisoned, then pardoned! Trump wants a fund to compensate people successfully prosecuted under the previous administration!

"Insanity"?

Paul.

Anonymous said...

Disagree, Chapter 3 of THERE WILL BE TIME is a factual description of how many San Francisco leftists think/talk, from Anderson's personal observation of them.

I've seen far more violence from leftists and of how many other leftists make excuses for it. E.g., the assassination of Charlier Kirk and its aftermath.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

Disagree. Chapter 3 is a travesty.

Your response to comments about the Capitol Hill riot is that you have seen more violence from leftists?

Paul.

Anonymous said...

Kaor, Paul!

Yes, you are overlooking the violence of the George Floyd riots, which many leftists made excuses for. Or how other leftists made excuses for Luigi Mangioni gunning down that insurance executive. I could go and on!

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

No. I am not overlooking the violence of the George Floyd riots or how some leftists made excuses for someone else. I am talking about a riot and deaths instigated by the President of the United States.

Paul.

Anonymous said...

Kaor, Paul!

My point being that the horrible American leftists' barely concealed approval of the Floyd riots inevitably provoked counter violence.

And responsible conservatives, as represented by those who read NATIONAL REVIEW condemned 1/6. And righty condemned.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

I am not even discussing that. I was talking about a riot and deaths instigated by the President.

Paul.