"[Tatiana's] pet, in her lap, seemed touched by the same air, for it perched quiet and kept its gaze on the visitor."
-Poul Anderson, The Day Of Their Return IN Anderson, Captain Flandry: Defender Of The Terran Empire (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 74-238 AT 21, p. 232.
The outside view is more hopeful:
"The window behind them framed a spire in an indigo sky. It was open and the breeze which carried the tones entered, cool, dry, pungent with growth odors." (ibid.)
Four senses:
indigo sky;
bell tones;
cool, dry breeze;
pungent odors of growth.
The spire points up. The sky is bright. The window is open. The breeze is cool. There is growth.
When Desai leaves, Tatiana thanks him and he hears:
"...the tadmouse begin singing."
-op. cit., p. 236.
We have seen how the novel ends for Jaan. See here. Before "...the sudden Aenean dawn..." (p. 238), the stars thronging the darkness:
"...melted together in the cataract of the Milky Way." (p. 237)
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
One thing I remembered from this meeting of Commissioner Desai with Tatiana and Ivar was how the last named STILL had trouble accepting that Merseia was the implacable enemy of the Empire and the human race. Ivar also had difficulty understanding how the Domain of Ythri could be an ally of the Empire, despite being defeated by Terra in a war two centuries before. Desai had to tell Ivar he needed to dismiss illusions and wishful thinking if he was to be a worthy leader.
Sean
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