Odin and Thor die at the Ragnark;
the Bible ends with a cosmic "afterwards";
King Arthur goes elsewhere;
Robin Hood shoots a last arrow;
Travers, Bowie and Crocket die at the Alamo;
Frank Miller's Dark Knight ends his career in a staged fight with Clark Kent;
van Rijn travels in Muddlin' Through, trying to hold the Polesotechnic League together, then leads an expedition outside known space;
David Falkayn leads the colonization of Avalon;
Adzel and Chee Lan stay in touch, preparing their people for what is to come;
Dominic Flandry becomes an informal Imperial adviser (I think he should become Emperor);
Manse Everard must soon move house but otherwise continues his indefinitely extended lifespan in the Patrol;
I do not yet know what becomes of SM Stirling's Sir Nigel Loring.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
We've talked about this before, but the point is that Flandry had no ambition or wish to become Emperor. And certainly not by a violent usurpation of the throne. Sir Dominic had spent his entire career trying among other things, to preserve orderly, lawful, and peaceful means of transferring power.
Sean
Sean,
Oh, yes. Dominic could only become Emperor if there were a break in the succession and he if he were asked to do it. Since there is a healthy young heir, this is unlikely.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Exactly! Altho I would have far preferred if the Wang Dynasy had not collapsed after the death of Josip. Hans Molitor was a usurper, after all, even if he was a reluctant usurper. But I certainly Emperor Gerhart's son Karl will be a strong and able ruler. The fact the young man LIKES Flandry is a very good sign.
Sean
Paul and Sean:
Terry Pratchett's *The Last Hero* has a typically satirical take on "what happens afterwards":
Six outrageously tough elderly men, the Silver Horde, "barbarian heroes" in the Conan mold — though nowadays they need to use canes to get around — have an experience that ought to be enough to kill even them (and they're saving the world doing it, too!). But they refuse to accept they're dead, out of pure orneriness. So they "horse-jack" the Valkyries who came to get their souls, and ride off on the winged steeds through the cosmos, looking for more adventures. And a minstrel creates an AWESOME song about them.
I'm fairly sure Nick van Rijn, at the very least, would approve.
Kaor, DAVID!
Oh, I'm sure Nicholas van Rijn would heartily approve of these ornery old coots! Horse jacking the steeds of the Valkryries reminded me of that last really far wandering voyage of exploration Old Nick wanted to take after he finally let go of running Solar Spice & Liquors.
Sean
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