-Poul Anderson, Mirkheim IN Anderson, Rise Of The Terran Empire (Riverdale, NY, 2011), pp. 1-291 AT Chapter XIII, p. 184.
Well, which of them did propose? Here is where it happened:
Sandra: "'...I wish Eric were legitimate. That his father were a man who could bide with us.'"
Peter: "'Something of the kind might be arranged...'"
-op. cit., Prologue, Y minus 24, p. 7.
Returning to the incident discussed here, Sandra realizes that a rally in a town square or park is more powerful than a televised speech because:
"Then the ancient ape awoke."
-op. cit., Chapter XIII, p. 188.
The ancient ape awakes? The "...old and protean enemy..." of Anderson's Psychotechnic History? See here. I think that this statement denigrates humanity. When people rally, they do more than return to animality. They can also become more human by articulating dissatisfactions and collectively addressing injustices.
Finally, the aftermath of the rally displays again the importance of the correct positioning of a comma. (See God And Guru.) When Peter apologizes to Sandra, the probable next Grand Duchess, for unintentionally leading her into a confrontation with the Liberation Front, she replies that it was interesting and adds:
"'No, more than that.'" (p. 190)
2 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Or a demonstration can just as easily become a riot or a baying lynch mob killing people and destroying property. I've heard of too many demonstrations which became precisely those things to regard them with anything but WARINESS.
Sean
Sean,
I have been on enough demonstrations to have a different view! There have been times (only SOME times) when the problem was definitely police aggression. Once, many of us, standing still, surrounded by police, were pushed, shouted at, intimidated by barking dogs, then arrested but released without charge because the police realized that they had no evidence that we had broken the law - whereas they clearly had.
At other times, the police are friendly and cooperative, helping us to march peacefully through London or Manchester. And they all act the same way. Clearly, they receive orders as to which approach they should take.
Paul.
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