"A footfall sounded. Brechdan turned. Chwioch, his bailiff, approached, in red tunic and green trousers and modishly high-collared cape. He wasn't called 'the Dandy' for nothing. But he was loyal and able and an Ynvory born. Brechdan exchanged kin-salutes, right hand to left shoulder." (p. 23)
One paragraph conveys several data. The concluding datum is a new salute, this one described. Are Merseians right-handed, like most human beings?
What a pity that we have a picture of a Merseian but not of one dressed like Chwioch! I googled "Chwioch the Dandy" but all that came up was Poul Anderson's texts. Red tunic, green trousers and high-collared cape on a large, green, tailed body! Nicknames can change. If Chwioch were to dress more soberly in later life, then his nickname might become "the Loyal" or "the Able." Does he have to be an Ynvory to be employed by Brechdan? How rigid or exclusivist is the Vach system?
Dandyism seems inappropriate for a Merseian. However, we must never forget that every single member of an intelligent species is a unique individual, resulting from a unique combination of genes followed by a unique sequence of organism-environment interactions, also that the environment is both natural and social. Somewhere in Chwioch's genetic or social inheritance is an advantage to brightly garbed Merseian males.
Although I meditate, I do not include either reincarnation of a soul or "rebirth" of karmic dispositions/consequences among the factors determining individual motivations. However:
"karma" means "action";
actions have consequences;
we can see this in a single life;
our character is a disposition to act in a particular way from the earliest age;
this disposition is our "karma," although it is not a consequence of any particular "previous life" - in my opinion, of course.
2 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
We do see mention of Chwioch many years later, in THE GAME OF EMPIRE, by which time he had become the Roidhun's ambassador to the Empire. Tachwyr the Dark reflected that while in his youth Chwioch was known as "the Dandy," later on he would have been better called "the Shrewd." Ambassador Chwioch was still fond of modestly bright attire even then, as he was getting old.
It might have been mandatory for members of the Vach Ynvory to be bailiffs or stewards for the Hands, but we don't know that. Perhaps there was only a preference for that, if a Ynvory of suitable age and ability was available for that office. If that was all, I see nothing objectionable in Chwioch being the bailiff.
Yes, I think it might well be possible for most members of non human intelligent races to be either left or right handed by a kind of accidental genetic preference (if they had hands and arms!). By itself, I think this a minor matter.
As you may recall, I like how the artist who did the illustrations for the Ace Books edition of A STONE IN HEAVEN depicted the characters in that story. Not only did he give us convincing images of the human characters, that was also true of non-humans like Chives. It would be good if that artist did similarly excellent illustrations of stories with Merseian characters, including Chwioch the Dandy!
Ad astra! Sean
Character is a complex mosaic of genetics and environmental influences and the unpredictable ways they interact. Identical twins tend to be strongly similar in character — and in tastes and opinions — even if raised separately; but they’re not carbon-copies.
My eldest brother and I are closely similar physically, and in voice and mannerisms, even though 12 years separate us — we have similar senses of humor, too. On the phone we were often mistaken for each other, even by family members.
Post a Comment