"[Abrams'] aide, Flandry, looked alert; but he was young and very junior." (Chapter Ten, p. 94)
-copied from Quick Learners.
Decades later:
"Flandry was practiced at keeping vigilance behind a mask of bonhomie. Magnusson was not; when he felt such a need, he clamped down a poker face."
-Poul Anderson, The Game Of Empire IN Anderson, Flandry's Legacy (Riverdale, NY, 2012), pp. 189-453 AT CHAPTER EIGHTEEN, pp. 394-395.
Magnusson acknowledges that he has at least heard of Aycharaych. In fact, the Chereionite telepath conditioned him. After a convivial meal, Magnusson discloses that as a child he had accompanied his father on trading trips to Merseia. This is what Flandry is after. When he returns to Terra, he hopes to compare notes with spies who have been to Merseia. Can they compile evidence that Magnusson is working for Merseia? Unfortunately, the spies have been captured, Magnusson recognizes Flandry's leading questions and arrests him. A younger generation will defeat Magnusson.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Here we see Flandry stepping back into secondary roles, as was inevitable. He was getting too old and high ranking to any longer do field. I can imagine him, in his younger years, being one of those spies sent into the Roidhunate if the Magnusson affair had happened then. And, Flandry being Flandry, he might even succeeded in ferreting out the needed information and returning to the Empire.
Sean
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