Cerdic was probably the first king of Anglo-Saxon Wessex, in the sixth century. Penda was a seventh century king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia.
In the original version of the first Dominic Flandry short story, "Tiger by the Tail," Poul Anderson used these names for two alien barbarian chiefs. Penda is king of the planet Scotha and Cerdic is his son.
When he revised the story, Anderson ingeniously rationalized the names. We must understand, in any case, that the English language story that we read is a translation from Flandry's Anglic and that names may differ in pronunciation. Certainly, the Scothans do not write their names in Roman letters.
The revised text of the story informs us that Cerdic "...was not quite the prince's name, but near enough to catch Flandry's fancy; he was a bit of a history buff." (Captain Flandry, Riverdale, NY, 2010, p. 249) And "Penda" is "...another word-play by Flandry..." (ibid.)
The Terran Empire has deteriorated by the time of the revision. When Cerdic knocks Flandry down twice, Flandry reflects, in the original, that "...slaves in the Empire could be treated similarly." (Agent Of The Terran Empire, London, 1977, p. 14) but, in the revised version, that "...a slave in the Empire is subject to worse." (p. 247) This makes us ask whether an interstellar empire could really have badly treated slaves and, if so, why does Flandry defend it?
3 comments:
Hi, Paul!
The mere fact that slaves could be badly treated does not seem to me something which should forever condemn the Terran Empire. After all, the Empire tried to restrict slavery as a punishment for crime. If slavery was used for other purposes, that "was contrary to Terran law and pracice," as we see in "Warriors from Nowhere."
As for why Flandry struggles so hard to defend the Empire, let me direct you to his thoughts after Cerdic had stopped boasting about how great and noble the "young peoples" were. I quoted this text from "Tiger by the Tail," in AGENT OF THE TERRAN EMPIRE: "Only, thought Flandry, first comes the Long Night. It begins with a pyrotechnic sunset across thousands of worlds, which billions of sentient beings will not see because they will be part of the flames. It deepens with famine, plague, more war, more destruction of what the centuries have built, until at last the wild folk howl in our temples--save where a myriad petty tyrants hold dreary court among the shards."
So, yes, Flandry was right in both defending the Empire and the methods he used to undermine and subvert Scotha.
Sean
Agreed Flandry right to defend Empire although my concluding question was a legitimate one to ask in the circumstances!
Hi, Paul!
I agree, given advanced technology, there would not be even a morally bad economic justification for slavery. I can only point out that Anderson himself outlined to me how taking certain libertarian ideas to extreme conclusions could lead to a revival of slavery. Which might have been what happened in the late Polesotechnic League era. And, later, the Empire sought to restrict slavery to being a criminal penalty only. With most convicts being sentenced to limited terms. Persons convicted of murder or treaon could be sentenced to life slavery.
But, I agree, we are better off without legalized slavery. Something Anderson agreed with as well.
Sean
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