Early Empire

It is good to have the History of Technic Civilization collected in chronological order of fictitious events in the seven uniform volumes of Baen Books' Technic Civilization Saga. Everything is there that we would previously have had to seek out in different places - most of us did not even have access to the never before reprinted "Sargasso of Lost Starships" - and the sequence of events is clearer.

Tabitha Falkayn says:

"...the Empire's been growing vigorously since Manuel the First." (Rise Of The Terran Empire, New York, 2011, p. 468)

We saw Manuel I in "The Star Plunderer," saw the Empire growing in "Sargasso of Lost Starships" and now see Tabitha in The People Of The Wind. These two short stories and one novel are the fourth, fifth and sixth of the six works collected in Volume III, Rise Of The Terran Empire.

Tabitha says that the Empire grows by partnership, purchase, exchange or conquest. The planet Cynthia, which is known to us, is an example of partnership ("'...the Cynthians found it advantageous...'" (p. 468)). We saw Ansa conquered in "Sargasso of Lost Starships" and now see the Planet-class cruiser Ansa as part of the fleet mobilized against Tabitha's planet. The Ansans would not have been flattered by her description of Terran conquests:

"' - always of primitives, or at most of people whose strength in space was ridiculously less than Greater Terra's.'" (p. 468)

In another conversation, the Imperial governor mentions that one issue between Terra and Ythri is:

"'...which of us shall absorb the Antoranite-Kraokan complex around Beta Centauri?'" (p. 473)

Tabitha's ancestor, David, had interacted with that complex two Baen volumes previously.

The governor adds:

"'The Ythrians have already gained more power, by bringing Dathyna under them...'" (p. 474)

I think that "Dathyna" should mean something to those of us who have read the History?

Finally, the governor argues that rectifying this Terran-Ythrian border will help to defend Terra against Merseia:

"'...the Rhoidunate is far off and not very big. But it's growing at an alarming rate, and aggressive acquisitiveness is built into its ideology.'" (p. 474)

David Falkayn helped Merseia in Volume II and Dominic Flandry will fight it in Volumes IV-VII.