In Mirkheim, the hydrogen-breathing Baburites, secretly backed by a cartel of Polesotechnic League companies, the Seven in Space, wages war against the Solar Commonwealth whose government is integrated with another cartel, the Home Companies. Babur also occupies the human colony planet, Hermes. We favor neither Sol nor Babur but Hermes and the independent League companies.
In The People Of The Wind, the Terran Empire, successor state to the Solar Commonwealth, tries to annex Avalon, a planet of the Domain of Ythri. Although Terra defeats Ythri, the latter has no authority to order Avalon to yield. We favor not Terra but Avalon although, later in the Technic History, we will prefer Terra to its rival, Merseia, but at the same time will be pleased to see Freehold assert its independence from Terra. This is realistic, if not real, history.
3 comments:
Hi, Paul!
Actually, the "outbackers" on Freehold were not trying, IMO, to make their planet independent of the Empire. Rather, their grievance was that they had not been a party to the negotiations initiated by the Cities asking the Empire to annex the planet. "Outpost of Empire" ends with John Ridenour mediating the process by which a new Charter defining Freehold's status, rights, and obligations, etc., in the Empire would be thrashed out. A Charter based on the needs and wishes of the Outbackers, the truly dominant culture on Freehold.
Sean
Sean,
Yes. The Outbackers did not leave the Empire but asserted their autonomy within it.
Paul.
Hi, Paul!
In addition, the peculiarities of Outbacker culture would make it difficult for Outbackers to defend themselves against a really determined attempt at conquest by, say, Merseia. I mean the Outbacker indifference to or even hostility to "mechanical" technology. Plus, the extremely decentralized, even libertarian organization of Outbacker society seems to me to make it unlikely it could successfully resist a determined attack.
So, the Outbacker resistance we saw in "Outpost of Empire" could only work because the EMPIRE itself acted with self restraint, a prudential resistance to exerting its full power. And since the Outbackers eschewed so much of "mechanical" technology and the institution of the state itself, as commonly understood, they needed the Empire to protect Freehold from outside attackers.
Sean
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