Ivar Frederiksen escapes in an aircar:
"The storm yelled and smote.
"He burst above, into splendor." (20, p. 231)
Passage through a storm into splendour recapitulates the trajectory of the novel. The splendour includes silvered and shadowy clouds beneath familiar moons and stars. The uncountable blazing stars are the Empire, its enemy and the universe beyond both. The Flone becomes the Linn, a waterfall thundering down from the high Ilian continental shelf. Ivar sees his people's world and resolves that no stranger will control it.
Earlier, he had said:
"'I've heard propaganda against Merseians till next claim about their bein' racist and territorially aggressive will throw me into anaphylactic shock.'" (16, p. 195)
Ivar is right as far as he goes. What he hears is propaganda and he should not accept it at face value. We happen to know that the current regime on Merseia is as described. I was pleased when Desai said:
"'Oh, I know how useful the Merseian threat has often been to politicians, military lords, and bureaucrats of the Empire. That does not mean the threat isn't real.'" (20, p. 235)
Two issues: it is good that the first is acknowledged as well as the second. Desai continues:
"'I know how propaganda has smeared the Merseians, when they are in fact, according to their own lights and many of ours, a fairly decent folk.'" (ibid.)
The folk, not the Rodhunate. We see fully sympathetic Merseians on Dennitza.
"'That does not mean their leaders won't risk the Long Night to grasp after supremacy.'" (ibid.)
The causes of supremacism on Merseia are outlined in "Day of Burning." Poul Anderson's Technic History is a future history series that really does show historical causes and consequences.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
The vach chieftains and national leaders we see in "Day of Burning" could be described as understandably wary of Technic civilization. If that had been all it could reasonably be called mere prudence. But, unfortunately, the xenophobia and racism of the Demonists got mixed into the warlike pride of the Wilwidh Ocean vachs, leading to that ideology of racial supremacism dominating the Roidhunate. To say nothing of how this ground out the more beneficial ideas of the Star Believers, Merseians who wanted to be friendly to non-Merseians.
I have wondered if some of the Merseians who settled on Dennitza came from the losers in the three-cornered struggle for supremacy between the vachs, rival Merseian nations, and the Gethfennu, preceding the rise of the Roidhunate. Including some Star Believers.
Ad astra! Sean
This is an analogy of the course of Japanese history, I think. A burning sense of humiliation and determination to reverse it was important in post-Tokugawa Japan. I know Poul had studied that.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I agree, but I think that "...burning sense of humiliation and determination to reverse it" only took really toxic forms during the Taisho era. Before 1912 Japan, or at least its then current leaders, seems to have been more cautious and far less chauvinist.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: more cautious, yes; not necessarily less chauvinist.
If you look at the "25 Demands" that Japan presented to China in 1915, it's pretty well identical to the Japanese policy towards China in the 1930's.
Somewhat to Japan's surprise, the Western powers weren't totally distracted by WW1 in 1915 and forced Japan diplomatically to back down.
The "genro", the elder statesmen of Japan, were cautious about confronting major Western powers through the 1920's, but that was purely practical.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I don't disagree plenty of nationalist aggressiveness could be found in the older generation of Japanese leaders, circa 1912-20.
But one history of Japan that I read stated that the Taisho era also saw signs of Japan becoming a mild constitutional monarchy. But that seems to have been reversed after 1926.
Ad astra! Sean
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