"This world had been more or less independent until a few months ago." (I, p. 304)
So Brae was in Imperial space but otherwise had no direct contact with the Empire until it was invited to host a military base?
"The Braean High Temple, which had long watched its old culture and religion sapped by Terran influence, declined." (ibid.)
No doubt the Empire practices church-state separation. However, if another planet is represented by a "High Temple," then that is who the Terrans deal with.
Finally, for now, what do Braeans look like? We do not see them but a statue is described as not quite human: long legs, tail, pouch and fur. As with Tametha and with many other planets visited briefly in the Technic History, there is a long potential story here. Ythrians and Merseians become important on the interstellar stage whereas many other intelligent species do not.
12 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And I was reminded by this of "A Little Knowledge," showing us the Trillians, a species we see only once, in that story.
I would guess Brae was on the very edge of the Empire, and Terra never felt any need to annex it till the sector governor got INSISTENT. What I remember is that base did not have to be on Brae, another planet could have been chosen. And a more humane governor would not have insisted on Brae.
Ad astra! Sean
Probably Brae was a blunder. OTOH, a great empire can’t allow open defiance to succeed; that would create a very bad precedent, and probably result in more conflict down the road.
There was a very bad film about Masada, in which Peter O’Toole played a Roman general woh did have one good line. He’s explaining how empires work, and does so by grabbing the other man by the throat holding his clenched fist in front of his face and barking: “Dog, here is my fist. Do what I want, or Iwill hit you with it.”
Which is an adaptation of an actual Roman saying: ‘Debellare superbos, pacere subjectis.’ In English, ‘Spare the subject, wallop the snot out of the proud.’
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I have to agree. Which is not to deny Brae was a blunder needlessly caused by a callous and incompetent sector governor. I also thought of how, in the real world, the southern borders of the US are being defied with insolent impunity. Needlessly so, because of the blundering incompetence of "Josip."
And I have heard of that Roman saying!
Ad astra! Sean
"The Game of Glory" gives the impression that the invasion of Brae is a routine operation. Only the rest of the series makes us ask whether it is unusual.
Kaor, Paul!
Except it was not. The Brae affair was an aberration and contradicted an Imperial policy going centuries back, to Manuel Argos himself, the Founder of the Empire. This is what I found on page 257 of Baen Books RISE OF THE TERRAN EMPIRE, from "The Star Plunderer," Manuel himself speaking: "Oh, the empire won't have to expand forever. Just till its big enough to defend itself against all comers." And we see Flandry confirming this centuries later in Section III of "A Message in Secret," speaking to Oleg Khan: "We are no longer interested in conquest for its own sake, your majesty," said Flandry. "And our merchants have avoided this sector for several reasons. It lies far from heartland stars; the Betelgeuseans, close to their own home, can compete on unequal terms; the risk of meeting some prowling warship of our Merseian enemies is unattractive. There has, in short, been no occasion, military or civilian, to search out Altai."
There were times when the Empire felt compelled by military necessity to take over a planet. The Jihannath business, mentioned by Admiral Kheraskov in THE REBEL WORLDS, occurred when the Empire refused to allow a once independent Jihannath to be taken over by Merseia. Probably because its galactographic location would make it a threat to Terra if occupied by a hostile power. And the Empire even fought a sharp but short war with Merseia to drive it out of the Syrax cluster in HUNTERS OF THE SKY CAVE, late in Josip's reign.
Ad astra! Sean
Note that Roman imperialism was universalist by aspiration - it didn’t regard any other sovereignty as legitimate, even if it was expedient to pretend otherwise for a while.
Like the Draka.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I remember the FEAR and loathing with which the Draka regarded the existence of independent non-Draka powers, either the Alliance or Samothrace. Grimly fascinating dystopian books, your Draka series!
But I thought the Roman Empire did come to accept the legitimacy of the existence of at least Arsacid Parthia and its Sassanid successor?
Ad astra! Sean
Sassanid Persia.was an eventual, partial exception — though up Neil Hadrian’s time it was expected among educated Romans that they’d eventually follow in the footsteps of Alexander and overrun them. Trajan certainly gave it the old college try.
The attitude persisted for a long time. During the crusades, it was noted that calling the Byzantine emperor “King of the Greeks” drove the Imperial court wild with fury. The emperor wasn’t ruler of a specific place or people; he was THE ruler, above all others.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
It does make me wonder what the consequences would have been if Hadrian had not abandoned his adoptive father Trajan's Mesopotamian conquests?
I agree, the Eastern ROMAN Emperor was more than the ruler of a specific people. He held a unique, special status, far higher and grander than that of a King of England, France, Hungary, etc.
And I can see the Terran Emperors coming to have a similarly august and exalted status!
Ad astra! Sean
IMHO, Trajan was right. Not because Mesopotamia was so desirable in itself, but because it was the source of most of the Parthian and Sassanid kings’ revenues. Without it, they were only a feudal rabble from the Iranian plateau, unable to support a standing army and civil service.
So it was worth any amount of trouble and expense to hold.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
A good point. You reminded me of how fertile and rich Mesopotamia was. Yes, I can see how Hadrian's abandonment of Trajan's conquests there was a bad mistake.
Ad astra! Sean
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