The conversation between Brechdan Ironrede and his son, Elwych the Swift, serves two fictive purposes. First, it imparts information about their planet, Merseia. Secondly, it unobtrusively prepares the reader for later plot developments.
Elwych mentions both a "rogue" (sunless) planet and the planet, Saxo V. His father is taken aback by the mention of a rogue planet but they have different rogues in mind. Elwych's ship called at the Merseian base on the rogue planet, Vorida. Saxo V is Starkad. Elwych thinks that the Merseian mission on Starkad is scandalously undersupported but, of necessity, is unaware of his father's longer term plans for that planet. "Rogue planet" and "Saxo" will collide explosively later in the narrative.
When they meet, Elwych, in Naval black and silver with a captain's dragon on his sleeve, gives his father a service salute. How many kinds of Merseian salutes have we seen so far?
On Starkad, the Terrans' "'...fiendishly good Intelligence chief...'" (p. 26) got the landfolk to bomb a submarine base, thus killing several Merseian technicians. This glorious "game" of empires kills and destroys and should be relegated to the level of a computer game or simulation.
Brechdan describes the long term conflict between the two empires. On one level, we read an alien assessment of humanity:
"'That race still bears the chromosomes of conquerors. There are still brave men in the Empire, devoted men, shrewd men...with the experience of a history longer than ours to guide them.'" (p. 28)
(We know some of those men.)
On another level, Anderson projects human history onto an interstellar, multi-species scale - which he stopped doing in some later works.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I think Brechdan was momentarily alarmed by what Elwych said, thinking he might have learned about THE rogue that was going to play so momentous a part in ENSIGN FLANDRY.
I agree with how S.M. Stirling described Merseia as being in some ways like Japan. That would include Wildwidh Ocean Merseians being as ceremonious as the Japanese can be. And I see nothing with ceremony, per se. It can add structure and dignity to every day life.
I have next to ZERO expectation of the strife caused by the rivalries between great powers (or little powers trying to get bigger) to ever end before the Second Coming! When contending nations have opposing ambitions, ideas, beliefs, etc., then you have to expect something like "the game of empire" to happen.
I think you should have included in the quote of Brechdan's warning to Elwych about not underestimating the Terrans the bit about how, if prematurely faced with the threat of utter ruin by Merseia, humans and their Empire would fight back as ferociously as demons!
Ad astra! Sean
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