(i) Half the Avalonian ships fall back toward the planet. Cajal intends to follow and dispose of them and thus control Avalon.
(ii) Half scatter to wage hit-and-run war and will be recalled (he thinks) when Terra occupies Avalon.
(iii) Hyperdrive ships will leave the system to reinforce Ythrians elsewhere.
Planetary defenses will cooperate with the retreating ships but:
"'God grant, more for their sakes than ours, most especially for the sakes of innocent females and children of both races, God grant their leaders see reason and capitulate before we hurt them too badly.'" (p. 526)
No, Cajal. You are the aggressor. You threaten innocent females and children. You will be responsible if you hurt the Avalonians badly.
Before launching the attack, Cajal had prayed, indeed "begged":
"'Father, forgive us what we are about to do...'" (VII, p. 515)
That is asking a lot. And:
"'Father, have mercy on all who die. All.'" (ibid.)
Better still, have mercy by not killing.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I don't entirely agree, both because I don't believe the Empire to be entirely at fault for the war breaking out and because the Avalonian leaders as will have to share the guilt for putting their females and children at risk if they had miscalculated in estimating their chances of winning.
As for "Better still, have mercy by not killing," first contending powers will first have to agree not to take recourse to war. This bit from Anderson's Forewordd to SEVEN CONQUESTS seems apt: "The violence of the state remains legitimatized, and often glorified, because it serves the ends of the state. And these ends are not always evil; ask anyone whom Allied forces liberated from Nazi concentration camps. Such considerations demonstrate the fallacy of pacifism."
Sean
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