Killed:
the defector;
two Draka;
one ghouloon;
unfortunately also one serf/underground contact.
Immediate escape in a stolen aircar.
Serfs, over 93% of the population, work as:
fieldhands
miners
factory operatives
domestic servants
soldiers
police
foremen
bossboys
machinists
clerks
bureaucrats
administrators
The top echelon of serfs in the Combines and the State have:
education
more interesting work
shorter hours
leisure
power
a living standard comparable to the wealthy in the Alliance
large homes
privacy
servants
the continual attention of the Security Directorate
death for a single slip
Nothing lasts forever. When the Domination ends, it will end quickly. Might the top echelon of the serfs simply replace the Draka? Some would want to. But no group of serfs would be able to match the arrogant mentality of the Snakes. And a general uprising that killed the Draka would not be easily persuaded to accept replacement Draka.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Commenting on your last sentence. I am not sure that a general uprising which succeeded in overthrowing the Draka would NOT end with a system much like that of the Draka. Why? Because the ONLY socio/political system the rebels would have been familiar with was that of the Draka/Domination. So, since SOMETHING would have to arise to restore order, I can imagine new leaders adapting or taking over much from the Domination. What I would hope for, at the very least, would be an end to the impossibility of any real manumission from slavery and abolition of the worse horrors used by the Draka. That would at least be a basis for continued reform and amelioration.
Sean
Kaor, Paul,
Whatever one might wish, this isn't the alternate history Stirling writes. There is a sequel set several centuries after THE STONE DOGS, and there's a collection of Draka stories by other authors.
Best Regards,
Nicholas D. Rosen
Kaor, Nicholas!
I understand, you are referring to DRAKON, set centuries later, in which a genetically modified Draka was thrown either into OUR world/timeline or one very much like it as a result of a wormhole experiment going awry. And I've also read DRAKAS, the collection you alluded to. Some of the stories in that book are, IMO, worthy of Stirling!
Sean
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