Captain Telander has effectively abdicated in favor of the constable, Reymont, whose gun is "...the ultimate emblem." (p. 173) He fires a blank as:
"'Better than a gavel.'" (p. 174)
Everyone understands. He can use force and doesn't want to have to. As he speaks, the ship trembles and bells, a passage through an entire cluster of galaxies, adding a few per cent to her acceleration.
The universe expanded fully in one or two hundred billion years and will collapse in a comparable time. Can the ship acquire enough tau to outlive that cycle? They can try. The condensation of matter will increase the acceleration. They will be able to circumnavigate the shrinking universe repeatedly whereas it would not have lasted long enough before.
(Interruption for food.)
3 comments:
Paul:
One of the Ciaphas Cain books I've mentioned before includes the minutes of a meeting between two Imperial Guard officers who are Cain's friends and some civilian authorities who haven't yet grasped that there's a serious alien threat (in the end, they have to completely abandon the planet)...
"Proceedings:
"Colonel Kasteen called the meeting to order. Then she called it to order again. Major Broklaw fired his bolt pistol into the ceiling, and the meeting came to order."
Broklaw wasn't using a blank — and bolt pistols fire rocket-propelled armor-piercing grenades. "Better than a gavel," indeed.
A bit earlier in that book, Cain himself used a pistol as a gavel of sorts, although he simply pulled it from its holster, dropped it onto the table "from just the right height to produce a nicely resonant thud..." and pointed out that as a commissar he had the authority to order summary executions.
The scepter kings carry is descended from a mace -- a club. Similar symbolism.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Are you sure scepters began as maces or clubs? According to Wikipedia (which I agree is not always reliable), scepters were always rods, staffs, or staves. And could be either fairly short or full length. I saw no mention of them originating as MACES.
I'm sure MACES can be or were used as symbols of authority, but that was/is also true of short or long rods.
Sean
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