Saturday, 13 February 2021

Implausible Escape

We Claim These Stars, CHAPTER XIII.

Two thirds of the way down p. 90, Flandry and Kit are unarmed prisoners in an Ardazirho spaceship, which is on the ground with its engines disconnected, in the company of four armed guards. Half way down p. 91, they have killed all four guards and are flying away in one of the ship's lifeboats. 

Implausible? Not half. A story had to be told to a word count so the fight and escape scene is at least brief. By the end of p. 96 and the beginning of CHAPTER XV, Flandry and Kit are back in space with the Terran fleet. For Flandry, planetary surfaces are interesting places, soon left behind. Tomorrow, we will follow him somewhere else.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I would also keep in mind how Stirling explained why Diana Crowfeather could successfully take on four men in THE GAME OF EMPIRE. The same kind of reasoning applies to how Flandry and Kit could take on four armed guards. In both cases the "weaker" parties behaved in ways totally unexpected by their opponents. The sheer need to mentally adjust unexpected resistance was fatal, giving Diana, Flandry, and Kit the time to even the odds and then to win these fights.

Ad astra! Sean