"...spent the next week drilling his crew to a degree that would have appalled Captain Bligh. The men didn't really mind..."
-Poul Anderson, Satan's World IN Anderson, David Falkayn: Star Trader (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 329-598 AT VI, p. 383.
What is important here is that the men do not mind. This is a sporting event, engaged in voluntarily.
"...except that he acted hurt when they declined to carouse with him every night." (ibid.)
He acted hurt. Much of van Rijn's performance is an act. He can work hard and carouse every night. Lesser mortals cannot.
When he complains about his own business work-load, his chief secretary fearlessly points out that van Rijn could sell the company for more money than he would be able to spend and also that he could do the work in half the time without the whining. Van Rijn, knowing all this, states his reasons for keeping the company and gets on with the work.
Apart from the obvious fact that van Rijn is their highly qualified and talented employer, these beings interact with him as his equals.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I sure as heck don't claim to be as physically tough as van Rijn! (Smiles)
That part of Chapter 6 of SATAN'S WORLD, and the dialogue between Old Nick and his non human secretary, always makes me laugh!
Ad astra! Sean
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