Ivar's parents, Edward and Lisbet ne Borlund, taught at the University of Nova Roma on the planet Aeneas in Sector Alpha Crucis of the Terran Empire. The family, also including Ivar's sister, Gerda, lived in a house just outside the city of Nova Roma. As hereditary members of the University, Ivar and Gerda were educated there from infancy. Ivar accompanied his zoologist father on field trips and aimed to study planetology.
Because Edward's sister, Kathryn, had married Fleet Admiral Hugh McCormac, hereditary Firstman of Ilion, the family frequently vacationed at Windhome, hereditary seat of the Firstman, where they sometimes met McCormac. During the period when the rule of Sector Governor Snelund became oppressive, Ivar "...began to specialize in his studies and to have off-planet classmates." (p. 104) When McCormac led a revolt against the Empire, military training, already part of the University curriculum, became almost full time.
However, when McCormac, defeated, led his fleet out of known space, Aeneas was occupied, the University was closed, Edward succeeded as Firstman and the family moved to Windhome, there to live "...in poverty-stricken grandeur..." (p. 105). While at Windhome, Ivar improved his desertcraft and became identified as the future leader of the Landfolk. When the University reopened, under Imperial observation, Ivar returned to Nova Roma but, because he "...was soon involved in underground activity..." (ibid.), avoided his family's suburban house and instead lived in a cheap room in the least respectable part of the industrial "Web" where he met members of the new criminal class - thus, significantly, men who did not respect the law - and had "...formative experiences." (ibid.) Maybe there could in theory be an entire sub-series about these "experiences"? This part of the narrative suggests that Ivar is not quite as naive and inexperienced as we might have thought. However, this part of his life is so summarized that it is hard to keep it in mind as we read on.
When the Landfolk are ordered to surrender all weapons, Ivar and his group keep theirs. He returns to Windhome, supposedly for a break from study. Others charter an airbus, supposedly to camp in Avernus Canyon. But they rendezvous at Helmet Butte in order to ambush a regular Impy patrol and steal its weapons. Ivar knows of oases in Ironland with trees, caves and ravines to conceal them from searches by air. The Day Of Their Return, Chapter 2, opens just before the ambush. Ivar, the leader, "...gave the hunting cry of a spider wolf, and heard it echoed and passed on." (p. 77)
- and I hope that this summary demonstrates that an entire extra novel could have led up to this moment.
No comments:
Post a Comment