Tuesday 13 March 2018

Arrival On Altai: An Orluk On A Varyak

Continuing the narrative from here.

The Altaian introduces himself:

"'This person is named Pyotr Gutchluk, of the Kha Khan's sworn men.'" (II, p. 346) (For full reference, see here.)

Gutchluk:

tells the Betelgueseans to go to the yamen;
calls Flandry a great "orluk" (ibid.);
persuades him to travel on a varyak.

There is an ERBian "orluk" (see here) but this cannot be what Gutchluk means.

Varyak:

a large, two-wheeled vehicle;
powered by energy capacitors;
baggage rack aft;
machine-gun at front;
steered by the knees touching a crossbar;
manual controls on a panel behind the windscreen;
outrigger wheel for support when slow or stationary;
goggled crash helmet;
up to 200 kph.

Poul Anderson's account of the Technic History universe is endlessly detailed. 

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I still remember with smiles the comedy of this part of the story, when Flandry incautiously agreed to use an unfamiliar vehicle like the "varyak." He very nearly came to a heavily face losing fiasco the first time he used it!

Sean