The captured kzinti tug tows an asteroid. The Saxtorph's last act in the red dwarf system is to hurtle the asteroid at the kzinti surface base before returning to human space. It does seem very easy to kill kzinti in this story. It is assumed that the traitor, Markham, dies with the base but surely there is scope for an escape and return?
At the very end of this story, Saxtorph delineates two contradictory human capacities: for "'...wishful thinking...'" and "'...muddling through.'" (ibid.)
Human muddling through in the face of multiple threats is so spectacular that the Puppeteers attribute it to luck and secretly organize the Birthright Lottery, thus changing human nature. Maybe Poul Anderson remembered these future events when writing Saxtorph's remark about muddling through. Either way, we are conscious of the Known Space history stretching ahead beyond the end of the Man-Kzin Wars period. Meanwhile, we contemplate multiple multi-authored volumes set during that period and there are two further stories by Poul Anderson.
4 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Maybe humans have no choice but to practice "muddling thru" sometimes. But it can lead to disastrous long consequences. The real world example I'm thinking of being Alexis de Tocqueville's discussion of how, during the chaos of the Hundred Years War, the Kings of France of that period often had to desperately improvise laws and policies to grapple with the crises they had immediately on their hands, with little thought to their long term effects. De Tocqueville, in his book THE OLD REGIME AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, actually thought well of these kings, whom he considered brave and able men. But his opinion was that many of these ad hoc, hastily drawn up laws and administrative structures had baleful long term consequences for France.
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Paul!
Another thought I had was that it was a fatal mistake for France that the parliament of the Old Regime, the Estates General, fell into disuse after 1614. The existence of some kind of legislature would have provided the kings and their ministers with some kind of FEEDBACK on what people thru out France thought of their ideas and policies, good or bad. And the need to get assent for how much could be collected in taxes would also had been good.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
No feedback and no assent certainly explains maximum dissatisfaction, to say the least.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Exactly! The Estates General would have provided a legitimate and official means for people to express their OPINIONS. Opinions the Crown would have to take into account.
Ad astra! Sean
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