Tachwyr the Dark addresses Lannawar Belgis as "Yqan Belgis." Since "Yqan" is a rank, it is a safe bet that "Belgis" is a provincial surname and we learn one other: Belgis refers to his friend from training days, Ralgo Tamuar.
Touring with the young Merseians, Flandry is learning how to play a role while gathering intel: not fatuous on this occasion because he needs their respect although he will deserve Oscars for the fatuousness act in his later career. His current role is:
naive;
wide-eyed;
impressed by Mersia;
eager to serve Mother Terra.
Not really a role, as he acknowledges to himself.
(Poul and Karen Anderson's Gratillonius serves "Roma Mater.")
Flandry learns that Runei the Wanderer had explored far but had not been involved in the discovery of Starkad although he was deployed there as Intelligence chief when a base was established. Tachwyr steers Belgis away from this subject. There is some secret about Starkad, known to very few Merseians.
Flandry also recognizes that:
"The Merseians were not the antlike monsters which Terran propaganda depicted."
-Poul Anderson, Ensign Flandry IN Anderson, Young Flandry (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 1-192 AT Chapter Eleven, p. 107.
Popular fiction within the Empire might show characters like Flandry fighting propagandistic Merseians.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
We are even given two examples of popular fiction within the Empire in Chapter 15 of ENSIGN FLANDRY, as Persis d'Io was complaining about the paucity of reading material aboard the "Dronning Margret's" auxiliary boat. Persis had found only two novels: OUTLAW BLASTMAN and PLANET OF SIN. Persis complained that she had them memorized and they were even coming into her dreams. A nice, sardonic touch by Anderson!
Sean
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