Van Rijn's dialogue is not as full of malapropisms as we might expect. Feigning naivety, he theatrically mis-speaks in one of the Diomedean languages:
"'My good friend... um... er... pokker [?], what is the word? - my admiral, we, ahem, we talk-um like good brothers - good brothers, is that how I say-um, Tolk?'
"Wace winced."
-The Man Who Counts, VII, p. 377.
When explaining what he is doing with the languages, van Rijn makes one semi-pun:
"'You think just because I make so much trouble, and still sit hours every day taking special instruction from Tolk, it is because I am a dumb old bell who cannot learn so easy? Horse maneuvers! Half the time we mumble together, he is teaching me his own Lannach lingo. Nobody on this raft knows it, so when they hear use say funny noises they think maybe Tolk tries words of Earth language out, ha?'"
-op. cit., VI, pp. 373-373.
Horse manure, horseplay and maneuvers all have their places in "Horse maneuvers!"
Van Rijn foments a civil war merely to give him cover to release the Lannach prisoner, Tolk, who will hopefully return with a rescue party. The Grand Admiral of the Fleet and his son, thinking that van Rijn is inexperienced in matters of diplomatic deception, are completely bamboozled by his elaborate act suggesting mutiny by their Chief Executive Officer.
The only safe course of action with van Rijn would have been to kill him at the outset but no one could possibly have known that in advance.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I agree, Nicholas van Rijn was far too dangerous for anyone to even try keeping as a prisoner. Either kill him or make an ally of Old Nick!
Sean
Van Rijn killing the prince by provoking a bite on the ass is sort of a classic.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Ha!!! I remember that grimly comic bit from THE MAN WHO COUNTS! Old Nick was taking advantage of how heavy metals would be poisonous to Diomedeans.
Sean
It's clear that O.N "Old Nick" is a master at understanding other people. How this is even remotely possible with beings who evolved for billions of years on a very different work is beyond me; i.e. "if they don't think like you and don't seem to be neutrally objective or in a very limited situation, how can you possibly imagine what they'll do?". Sophonts from Ikt'hanis AREN'T "Winged Men" they're sophonts from Ikt'hanis.
-kh
Keith,
The League bypasses completely incomprehensible races but there are are so many races that some have things in common. This is explained in one of the introductions in "The Trouble Twisters."
Paul.
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