"Someone laughed like a raucous bird, down in the joyhouse. But the rain was louder, filling all the night with a dark rushing. Luang did not smile at Flandry. Her mouth held a bitterness he did not quite understand, and she switched off the light as if it were an enemy."
-Poul Anderson, "The Plague of Masters" IN Anderson, Sir Dominic Flandry: The Last Knight Of Terra (Riverdale, NY, 2012), pp. 1-147 AT VII, p. 62.
We expect Poul Anderson to underline the significance of Luang's decision by describing background sounds and the elements but this time the signals are ambiguous. A laugh sounds good but not a raucous one. The rain, louder than the laugh, fills the world with a "dark rushing" which means that something is happening but we do not know what. Luang: a bitter, unsmiling enemy of light. Flandry is succeeding but in extremely unfavorable circumstances.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And perhaps Luang was angry because meeting Flandry showed to her how limited and narrow her life had been compared to what Sir Dominic had seen and done.
Sean
Sean,
Flandry had also put forward the idea of overthrowing Biocontrol which had been totally outside Luang's mental parameters.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I remember that as well. And Luang could not think of a way to be rid of Biocontrol without first getting everyone on Unan Besar killed. Something she refused to have anything to do with. Or at least tried to.
Sean
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