-Poul Anderson, "Tiger By The Tail" IN Anderson, Agent Of The Terran Empire (London, 1977), pp. 7-36 AT p. 9.
"When Captain Dominic Flandry opened his eyes, he saw metal."
-Poul Anderson, "Tiger By The Tail" IN Anderson, Captain Flandry: Defender Of The Terran Empire (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 241-276 AT p. 241.
In both cases, this is the opening sentence. The earlier edition places the title on p. 7 and leaves p. 8 blank.
Johan asked here which version was original and which was revised. On rereading, I think it is clear that the 2010 version is the revision, containing as it does more careful auctorial thinking about background information, e.g.:
"Before long, space colonization began to give general relief, at first in artificial environments, later on planets in different systems." (p. 255)
In the 1977 version, the Scothani merely spread to "...other worlds..." (p. 19)
8 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And as Anderson deepened and expanded the universe of his Technic Civilization stories, he felt the need to revise at least one of his Old Nick stories and several of the Dominic Flandry tales. Both to eliminate some contradictions and make them fit better into the series.
Sean
Indeed! I noticed though when reading through HONORABLE ENEMIES (Baen 2010 edition) that such revision had not taken place, at least not fully.
Terran Intelligence knew about Ayaraych's telepathic abilities after the events in THE DAY OF THEIR RETURN (Desai even comments on the fact that the Merseians have given away this secret means they must consider the operation on Aeneas of enormous importance), which more or less kills the entire premise of the story (this might well be the reason for the omission). But even more, Flandry claims to never have met anyone who has been on Cherion, and in fact, he did - maybe even twice, if my memory does not fool me (I don't have my books right now to check) Once, in ENSIGN FLANDRY a Mersian serviceman described having visited the planet and described it as "the most eldritch place he had ever seen". Also, in A CIRCUS OF HELLS, not only does the Roidhun's nephew mention Cherion (I think he had been there too), he mentions Ayaraych - a fact mentioned, in fact in THE DAY OF THEIR RETURN!
So not only does the story ignore the knowledge of Terran intelligence about Ayaraych and Cherion at the time, it ignores even those parts of that knowledge provided by Flandry himself!
On the other hand, the revised edition (maybe the original too?) does foreshadow the creation of the telepathic screen used in the embassy reception in WE CLAIM THESE STARS!
Kaor, Johan!
Many thanks for offering us these interesting comments of yours. But, even off the top of my head, my belief is you made some mistakes here.
I'll start with something you said that was not a mistake. I agree the events seen in THE DAY OF THEIR RETURN could only have meant Terran Naval Intelligence definitively learned of the existence of Aycharaych and his abilities. BUT, we see Flandry being shocked and dismayed when he first met Aycharaych in "Honorable Enemies" (in both versions of this story). Logically, he should not have been astonished because I would have expected Flandry to have been briefed about the Chereionite before going to Betelgeuse.
I actually discussed this contradiction in one of my essays (which I called either "Finding an Unexpected Contradiction" or "An Unexpected Contradiction"). I tried to rationalize the contradiction as being due to an obsession within the highest ranks of the Intelligence Corps with keeping very valuable information secret at almost all costs (even during times when senior agents like Flandry would have NEEDED that information). I was puzzled over how Anderson could have missed the "contradiction" between THE DAY OF THEIR RETURN and "Honorable Enemies." I concluded Anderson had simply forgotten or never noticed it.
Flandry did not exactly "meet" Aycharaych, as discussed in the report read by Commissioner Desai in THE DAY OF THEIR RETURN. Rather, while with an Imperial delegation on a mission elsewhere, Flandry noticed the Chereionite and tried to find out more about him after getting a Merseian drunk (and more likely to be indiscreet). Very shortly afterward afterwards the Merseians and this mysterious being left before Flandry could discover more.
And I think "Honorable Enemies" does have Flandry and Lady Aline discussing how protective measures would nee to be devised before Terran agents could safely meet Aycharaych.
No, there was no mention, either directly or indirectly, of Chereion in ENSIGN FLANDRY (I checked Chapter 11 and found nothing there to make me think Chereion was meant). Rather, the great secret in that story were Merseians discovering how a rogue planet was going to impact with the sun of Starkad within a few years, triggering a nova which would have destroyed the planet. The then Protector of Merseia, Brechdan Ironrede, grasped how he could this facst and the conflict on Starkad to draw in the Terran navy into a trap.
I agree with what you said about Ydwyr the Seeker knowing of Aycharaych (and even meeting him at his home in Chereion) in A CIRCUS OF HELLS. But Ydwyr was one of the very few Merseians ever allowed to even visit Chereion (because of his influential family connections). And I don't recall Ydwyr mentioning Aycharaych was a telepath (THAT was a state secret of the highest category!).
Sean
Karo Sean!
You are correct, I have mixed up the stories. I blame that passage in THE DAY OF THEIR RETURN, which I thought referenced when Flandry was drinking with some Merseians officers in ENSIGN FLANDRY - but it did not.
Both conversations I remembered are in A CIRCUS OF HELLS, none of them in ENSIGN FLANDRY - and the most telling one, the one about Cherion being an "Eldritch planet" was Ydwyr speaking to Djana, not to Flandry. To Flandry, Ydwyr only mentions "Ayaraych's techniques" and for once Flandry is to slow on the uptake and doesn't play along. So he got only the name. Now, that should have rung a bell, but not necessarily helped him in HONORABLE ENEMIES.
The really big contradictions left are those you mention, that Flandry in HONORABLE ENEMIES acts as if he has never heard of Ayaraych before, much less seen him, and second, that he is ignorant of his telepathic abilities. This last problem is however almost impossible to rationalize, after the events of THE DAY OF THEIR RETURN - but on the other hand, it's in the very core of the plot of HONORABLE ENEMIES. Maybe Poul Anderson realized he'd have to rewrite the whole first part of the story, to accomodate to the events in THE DAY OF THEIR RETURN, and let the matter slide? Or maybe he simply revised honorable enemies before he wrote THE DAY OF THEIR RETURN?
Despite the inconsistencies with chronologically earlier stories, I enjoyed HONORABLE ENEMIES very much - and it's also nice to see that Flandry is not the only capable agent in Terra's service!
Kaor, Johan!
THE DAY OF THEIR RETURN was definitely written before Anderson revised "Honorable Enemies." I don't think it was necessarily a big contradiction in "Honorable" that Flandry seemed totally unfamiliar with Aycharaych when he had at least noticed him, as discussed in the report Commissioner Desai read. It was so brief and fleeting a "noticing" that it could have easily slipped to the back of Flandry's mind. Esp. when he had so many other things absorbing his attention.
Anderson HAD to make Flandy learn very little about Aycharaych in A CIRCUS OF HELLS precisely in order to prevent any glaring contradictions later in the series. That is, with "Honorable Enemies." But he most likely forgot to keep that in mind either while writing THE DAY OF THEIR RETURN or when he came to revise "Honorable."
It is a pity we only see Lady Aline Chang-Lei once, in "Honorable Enemies." She certainly had formidable talents as an intelligence officer!
Glory to the Emperor! Sean
Sean,
I thin your theory of fanatical ultra-secrecy in the upper echelons of Terran Intelligence explains why Flandry had not heard of Aycharaych's telepathy.
Paul.
k
Kaor, Paul!
Thanks! And it would "save the appearances" to think like that while reading "Honorable Enemies."
The problem of how to use valuable information is a real one for all intelligence agencies. Sometimes efforts at security can go too far, I agree.
Sean
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