Falkayn And Magnusson

If fictional history is to be authentic, then it must present characters who sometimes express diametrically opposed perceptions and interpretations of a single set of events. Thus, David Falkayn on Polesotechnic League aid to Merseia:

"'We want to save you, because you are sentient beings. But it'll be expensive, and a lot of the work will have to be done by outfits like mine, which exist to make a profit. So, besides a scientific base, we want a reasonable economic return.

"'Eventually, though, we'll depart. What you do then is your own affair. But you'll still have your civilization. You'll also have a great deal of new equipment and new knowledge. I think you're getting a bargain.'"

-Poul Anderson, "Day of Burning" IN Anderson, David Falkayn: Star Trader (Riverdale, NY, March 2010), pp. 209-272 AT p. 221.

Centuries later, Olaf Magnusson on the same issue:

"'...the Terran rescue mission upset [the Merseian's] whole order of things and found ways to get rich off their tragedy-...'"

-The Game of Empire, CHAPTER EIGHTEEN, p. 397.

Thus, according to Magnusson, the Terrans provoked hostility and aggression from the Merseians! Maybe they should not have helped?

Magnusson also informs Flandry that:

"'...the Starkad incident caused relations to deteriorate entirely.'"

-ibid., p. 398.

Flandry and consecutive readers of Anderson's Technic History know what the Merseians attempted at Starkad - more than enough to cause a deterioration in relations. But we need more of this in future histories - not that I am keeping up with any current series, however.