One of his most cherished achievements is his estate at Lythe in the center of the single Hermetian continent of Greatland: an eyrie with ornamental battlements on an extinct volcano above a formerly arid steppe now transformed by canals, imported plants, birds and game animals and a town made prosperous by commerce. From Lythe, Cairncross governs the globe and beyond, receiving electronic reports from a dozen elite secret agents, bypassing their nominal superiors.
He enlarged the industrial operation in the Ramnuan system and held successive political posts before forcing his half-brother's abdication and his own election. Then, as Duke, he implemented popular public works. Now, half the Hermetian adolescents are Cairncross Pioneers for sports, outdoormanship and patriotism focused on him.
As Emperor, he will:
organize research to extend instantaneous communication beyond its current limit of one light year, thus "...rous[ing] enterprise again in the human race" -Poul Anderson, Flandry's Legacy (New York, 2012), p. 132;
reverse the glaciation on Ramnu, thus gaining the reverence of an entire race "...for as long as their sun endures" (p. 134);
do much more than this, thus possibly being "...remembered through the lifetime of the universe." (p. 134)
Hey, steady on there, old chap! Can any one person possibly be remembered through the lifetime of the universe? He only stops short of imagining that he will be "renowned throughout the cosmos." I read this last phrase decades ago in a comic book loc (letter of comment). The loccer commented that Kal-El is renowned throughout the cosmos whereas the Green Lantern is known only in his own space sector.
I think that only the combination of antithanatics and instantaneous space jumps in Anderson's World Without Stars would give anyone the slightest possibility of being renowned throughout the cosmos. And, even then, he would be famous in some places but not in others as a man working for Babur tells the celebrity David Falkayn in Mirkheim.
1 comment:
Hi, Paul!
The pity of it was there was much to admire in what Duke Edwin did or aspired to do, such as his speculation on how there MIGHT be a way to build a FTL communications system. The problem, of course, being the MEANS Cairncross used or would have used--most especially his conspiracy to rebel against Emperor Gerhart and usurp the throne. Rebellion and civil war are not RIGHT. See as well Flandry's comments about the need for legitimacy in Chapter VI of A STONE IN HEAVEN.
It would have been far better of Duke Edwin had been content with remaining Duke of Hermes and work for the stability and prosperity of Hermes and the Empire. In that case, he very well might not have tried to stall or delay the plan worked out by Miriam Abrams and her colleagues on how to reverse the glaciation of Ramnu. But, in that case, Miriam most likely would never again have met Dominic Flandry (and thus they would not have eventually married).
Sean
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