It had to happen. Targovi and his team, Axor and Diana, have a problem. They are fugitives on the island of Zacharia and it can only be a matter of time before they are apprehended. So what does Targovi do? He has an Andersonian moment of realization. Thus, he ponders the problem, then suddenly, dramatically realizes the solution but does not articulate it yet. We will learn what the solution is when it is implemented.
"Still the Tigery prowled. 'I am thinking, I am thinking -' Abruptly he halted. He drove the knife into a bole so that the metal sang. 'Javak! Yes, it was on my horizon - But we must needs hurry, and not give the foe time to imagine we are crazy enough to take that way.'" (p. 427)
Some action or gesture like driving the knife into the tree is necessary at the moment of realization. Needless to say, they will escape from Zacharia. The only question is how.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Yes, that was an Andersonian moment of realization by Targovi.
But, I did not have that "Needless to say" moment the first time I read THE GAME OF EMPIRE. In fact I might have been wondering if the Zacharians would trap and capture Targovi, Diana, and Fr. Axor. That would have turned GAME into dystopian SF.
Science fiction has its share of dystopian works, such as Aldous Huxley's BRAVE NEW WORLD and George Orwell's ANIMAL FARM and 1984. To say nothing of how Anderson himself has written such grim stories as "Welcome," "Eutotpia," "Murphy's Hall," "The Pugilist," and "For The Duration."
And Stirling gave us his four grisly Draka books!
Ad astra! Sean
Targovi is a member of a highly aggressive species, on average more so than humans -- but then, most Andersonian humans are above-average in that respect.
It is in fact often the safest course of action -- letting your enemies have the initiative and only responding to what they do is not generally a successful course.
OTOH, you also have to avoid making this a mechanistic, universal principle, as many generals did in WWI.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
While I agree, I also have in mind how Steven Matuchek said in OPERATION CHAOS that humans NEED a touch of timidity. But not too much, of course!
Ad astra! Sean
Post a Comment