We quoted Lord Hauksberg's and Max Abrams' assessments in Phosphorescent Cloak. Vice Admiral Sir Ilya Kheraskov adds his identical assessment:
"'You'll either be killed, young man, or you'll do something that will force us to step on you, or you'll go far indeed.'"
-Poul Anderson, The Rebel Worlds IN Anderson, Young Flandry (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 367-520 AT Chapter Two, p. 384.
And later:
"'...you're off the hook and your brevet rank of commander will be made permanent. Till your next escapade gets you either broken or promoted, that is. I'd call the odds fifty-fifty.'"
-op. cit., Chapter Sixteen, p. 516.
Ydwyr's assessment is in two stages:
"'You are either very capable, Dominic Flandry, or else very lucky, and I wonder if there may not be a destiny in you.'"
-Poul Anderson, A Circus Of Hells IN Anderson, Young Flandry (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 193-365 AT Chapter Twelve, p. 283.
And later:
"'It becomes clear that your prior achievements were no result of luck. My compliments, Dominic Flandry.'"
-op. cit., Chapter Eighteen, p. 342.
Guion said here that Dreyfus was competent but became significant because of events. Anderson makes clear that Flandry is much more than "competent." In A Circus Of Hells and The Rebel Worlds, he displays Nicholas van Rijn's ability to satisfy apparently conflicting interests. Thus:
he works for the criminal, Leon Ammon, while serving the Empire in the process;
he defeats the McCormac Rebellion but also lets Kathryn McCormac kill the corrupt Governor of Sector Alpha Crucis, then helps the rebels to escape.
Thus, Flandry is guilty of murder and high treason.
8 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And it's plain a man as shrewd as Admiral Kheraskov had a very good idea of what Flandry had been up to in both A CIRCUS OF HELLS and how he connived at having both Aaron Snelund killed and the chief rebels fleeing the Empire. But the admiral concluded that despite his unorthodox methods, what Flandry had done was beneficial to the Empire. Which was why he argued and politicked to get Flandry off that hook.
Sean
There's an old military saying that a good officer has to know when not to notice things. "No names, no pack drill."
Conversely, any organization will screech to a halt if every regulation and mandated process is carried out to the full -- hence "work to rule" is a form of strike.
It makes me apprehensive about robot automobiles. They'll follow all the traffic regulations... 8-).
There are already complaints from areas near Google's HQ that all their autonomous cars "drive like your grandmother".
Dear Mr. Stirling,
Re how a sensible military knows "when to look the other way" as regards a good officer, I agree!
Aw shucks, short of having an actual flying car, I thought computerized self driving cars rather cool! I rather fancied the idea of going on a long and letting the car drive itself while I did other things like reading, napping, or just appreciating the scenery.
Sean
More seriously, when cars are self-driving people probably will be much less likely to own them. Cars spend over 90% of their time sitting parked. If they're autonomous, it'll be easier (and much cheaper) to buy a ride from a service. The cars will go off and part themselves somewhere when not needed, and can automatically go to a service center to charge and get repairs, so they'll be used a lot more of the time. More economical all 'round.
One of the retrospective faults of Poul's work is having things like flying taxis... with human drivers. Heinlein got the automatic guidance right, btw.
Dear Mr. Stirling,
Very interesting comments, and I would not be surprised that many people will simply rent self driving cars as and when needed. That said, I still think many will prefer to own self driving cars as well.
I do see what you mean about flying taxis not needing human drivers. And I do recall incidents where Flandry entered an air taxi, inserted his credit/debit card in the scanner to pay for a ride, etc. No human drivers in those cases.
Sean
Sometimes economic arrangements (who is paid to do what) lag behind technological possibilities (whether a human agent is necessary.)
Kaor, Paul!
I agree, that too can happen.
Sean
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