Human-Merseian Interactions

A Circus of Hells, CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

As later in A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows, we see welcome peaceful interactions between human beings and Merseians. Flandry and Djana have a room in the same building as Ydwyr's scientific team and share the mess where they enjoy and receive nutrition from the food and ale. Merseian civilians are cordial and interested. Djana had not been treated well in the Empire and might be better off, like some other human beings, in the Roidhunate. Using the translation computer, she has long conversations with more than thirty Merseian scientists. Flandry working to please his new master, Ydwyr, as well as to learn as much as possible, accompanies a team that visits the native Domrath. Like Terran scholars known to Flandry, Cnif hu Vanden complains about lack of funds for purely scientific research, in this case on Talwin. Descended from southern Merseians of the Republic of Lafdigu, which had still existed in Falkayn's time, Cnif does not belong to a Vach and the language on the colony planet where he grew up was not Eriau. Clearly, Cnif and indeed the entire population of his home planet do not need to be ruled by a Roidhunate that aims to destroy the Empire. Later, in CHAPTER FIFTEEN, when entering a den of the potentially dangerous Domrath, Flandry can duck inside a protective square of Merseians if necessary. They treat him as an equal except that he is unarmed. Clearly, Merseian-human cooperation is possible both within the Roidhunate and, preferably, outside it as we see on Dennitza.