In "The White King's War," when Flandry says, "Right? Right," the flashback finishes and the scene shifts back to Wayland whereas A Circus Of Hells adds a paragraph about Flandry's thoughts. He came to Ammon on a hunch. Now he is held by money, risk, enjoyment and something else:
"...a vision...hazy, uncertain, and gigantic." (p. 212)
By enriching Ammon, he can empower and motivate that:
"...medium-scale vice boss on a tenth-rate frontier planet..." (p. 207)
- to lobby for the Empire to continue to defend this frontier.
By following the parallel between "The White King's War" and these opening chapters of A Circus Of Hells, we skipped past CHAPTER THREE where Rax recruits Djana to the Merseian spy ring.
The fates of worlds hang in the balance.
Kaor, Paul!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see Flandry doing the right thing, striving to strengthen the Empire, by illicit means by accepting that million credit bribe from "Brother Ammon." But I certainly sympathize with that "...hazy, uncertain and gigantic" vision Flandry had.
Ad astra! Sean