ERB's Captain John Carter arrives naked on Mars but then becomes a chieftain of Thark, a Prince of Helium and, later, Jeddak of Jeddaks, Warlord of Barsoom, even though that last title had not existed before.
SM Stirling's Rudi Mackenzie, tanist of his Clan, realizes that he must become the High King of Montival even though that country does not exist yet.
In Virgil's Aeneid, Caesar's soul waits in Hades...
In John's Gospel, the Word was in the beginning...
Usually, a country comes first, its name second, but some times are different. Stirling, Virgil and John imagine supernatural antecedents of historical events:
the founding of Montival;
the founding of Rome and its Empire;
the ministry of Christ.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
If the Church Universal and Triumphant had not arisen to become such a deadly threat, the successor states in the old states of Washington and Oregon would have been far less likely to unite to form the new Kingdom of Montival. Their lingering fears, jealousies, and clashing ambitions would have prevented that!
Sean
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