How many changes of clothes is Dominic Flandry able to carry with him when he travels as a passenger in an interstellar spaceship? For his arrival on Altai, he chooses to wear:
shimmerite blouse;
green embroidered vest;
gold-striped purple trousers;
tooled-leather half boots;
crimson sash and cloak;
rakishly slanted black beret.
What a pity that there is no picture although maybe the attached cover for We Claim These Stars partly corresponds?
In Flandry's period, faces can also conform to fashion. His face is long with high cheekbones, straight nose, gray eyes and mustache but this is because he patronizes the best biosculptor. Elsewhere, we are told that he has only ever had one biosculpt.
He has heard that Altaians like colorful garments and is not disappointed. The portmaster wears:
a wide-brimmed fur hat;
an intricately lacquered leather jacket;
thick felt trousers;
fleece-lined boots;
holstered machine pistol and knife.
Oleg Yesukai, Kha Khan of All the Tribes, wears:
gold rings;
a thickly embroidered robe;
a silver-trimmed fur cap;
a gun that has been used.
I notice these details mainly because I reread in order to record them.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
This is as good a place as any to again say I found "A Message in Secret" the funniest of the Flandry stories! More than once we see Anderson having some good natured fun with Flandy, esp. at his most Bertie Woosterish moments. And of course when he tries to indulge in his fondness for colorful clothes. I recall how, as he left the space ship, he was sheathed in ice and the wind blew his beret off his head.
One thing I remembered about that description of Oleg Khan was that he wore those jewels and embroidered robe with an air of impatient concession to tedious custom! As khan Oleg had to yield to expectations that he dress and look like a king. Apparently he would have preferred a plain, businesslike military uniform.
Ad astra! Sean
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