Americans have a majority among the Thirty. Early land distributions near the Gate went to:
the American majority;
the English;
German-Balts;
Franco-Algerians;
British-Africans.
Granted committee-status only in the 1990s, the Russian Batyukovs got the Pajaro Valley and the Afrikaner Versfelds got Santa Monica.
The Collettas' power is based on:
their share in the oil wells, factories, power stations and gold, silver and mercury mines;
their affiliated Settlers;
their influence on the Central Committee;
their share of the Gate revenues and of the FirstSide corporations.
What's not to like? The Rolfes and their allies, dominating the committee and the Commission, impose policies of caution that are irksome to Giovanni Colletta who sees two worlds to conquer.
4 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Commenting on your last sentence: I certainly DO recall how Salvatore and Giovanni Colletta wanted to expand the Commonwealth of New Virginia as rapidly as possible by military force. And how the Rolfes and their allies opposed this as reckless madness. But I don't recall the Collettas aspiring to conquer FirstSide Earth. Unless I missed something in all three readings of CONQUISTADOR, that is new to me!
Sean
Sean,
"We must learn to dream more grandly. There is a WORLD awaiting us - two!" (p. 86)
Paul.
Kaor ,Paul!
You're right! I checked my copy of CONQUISTADOR and found exactly what you quoted. Since this brief comment, rather early in the book, is probably the only time Giovanni Colletta said words like this, it's no surprise I did not remember them.
I can see the Collettas and their allies seizing control of the Commonwealth and expanding it rapidly by conquest, but NOT them conquering FirstSide Earth. For one thing, an old, powerful, and massive nation with immense military resources, the US, already controls the land beyond the Gate on FirstSide. I can't see a Colletta ruled Commonwealth being ABLE to do that! And the bottleneck of only a SINGLE Gate would make it impossible to pour out the necessary forces and supplies for such an attempt.
Sean
Sean,
But Colletta would press for more aggressive, acquisitive and risk-taking business practices on FirstSide.
Paul.
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