"Honor be forever theirs whose deathpride preserved for us our right to rule ourselves!...
"Hloch of the Stormgate Choth
"The Earth Book Of Stormgate"
-Poul Anderson, INTRODUCTION IN Anderson, Rise Of The Terran Empire (Riverdale, NY, 2011), pp. 293-294 AT pp. 293-294.
"'The peace treaty remains to be formulated,' said the drained voice. 'I can tell you in strict confidence, Governor Saracoglu has sent to the Imperium his strongest recommendation that Avalon not be annexed.'
"Vickery started babbling. Liaw held stiff. Holm gusted a breath and sat back.
"They'd done it. They really had."
-The People Of The Wind, XVIII, p. 651.
The speaker is the Imperial Fleet Admiral Juan Cajal.
Saracoglu is the Imperial Governor of Sector Pacis.
Vickery is the President of the Parliament of Man on Avalon.
Liaw is the High Wyvan of Avalon.
Holm is the First Marchwarden of the Lauran System.
A high-powered meeting and a historical turning point.
4 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And it was ironically fortunate for the Empire itself that the decision was made not to annex Avalon, as the events seen in THE DAY OF THEIR RETURN would show some two centuries later.
Note the subtext, Avalon COULD have been annexed if the Empire had decided it was worth the cost and effort doing so. It was not, because the setback at Avalon did not change the outcome of the war, which was a defeat for the Domain. Ythri still had to make concessions and agree to the settling, in Terra's favor, of those pre-war disputes which had brought on the conflict.
Ad astra! Sean
Note that this was a limited war for limited objectives. Neither side was out to break and destroy the other; it was just about precisely where the border was going to be.
Hence it made sense for the Ythrians to accept the overall defeat, because refusing to do so -would- endanger their independence; if they were going to do that, it might well provoke the Empire to mobilize resources sufficient to destroy the Domain as a sovereign power.
Likewise, it made sense for the Empire to accept that Avalon was a step too far, since the overall result was favorable and pushing harder could raise the war to a whole newe level.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I agree. And you stated more clearly what I was trying to say.
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Paul!
I had been wondering how or what made Admiral Cajal's voice sound so "drained." Probably because of both physical and emotional exhaustion and despondency. We know, from his daughter, that he blamed himself for the Imperial setback on Avalon.
Ad astra! Sean
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