the Chaos
the transition from Western to Technic civilization
the Breakup, including the colonization of Hermes
the first Grand Survey, including first contacts with Ythri and Merseia and the discovery of Gray/Avalon
When a Grand Survey ship visited Merseia, an industrial revolution was already under way, causing social dislocations that generated the Gethfennu. The visit accelerated these changes and caused others. Falkayn's much later visit had bigger effects. It makes sense to trace out the parallel human and Merseian trajectories that will culminate centuries later with the Terran Empire and the Merseian Roidhunate grinding each other down.
7 comments:
The historical analogy there is East Rome vs. Sassanid Persia.
Parthia had been a tolerable enemy; there were occasional wars, which the Romans usually won, but they weren't life-and-death.
The Sassanids were Persian nationalists and convinced that Ahura-Mazda had commissioned them to recreate the Persian Empire as it had existed before Alexander the Great.
That meant they were deadly serious about conquering everything up to the Bosphorus -- at one point they did overrun the Middle East, including Egypt for a while.
In fact, the last war between Byzantium and Persia exhausted both so thoroughly that it strongly facilitated the early Arab conquests of the 7th century.
Fortunately, the Technic History does not seem to have had an equivalent of Arab conquests.
Kaor, Paul and Mr. Stirling!
Paul: I think the first Grand Survey was sent out from Earth so soon after the invention of the hyperdrive that the Breakup was barely beginning. So I would list the Survey before the Breakup.
Mr. Stirling: I agree, and it does make me wonder what might have happened if a strong and able Emperor like Maurice (r. 582-602) had not been overthrown by a cruel and incompetent usurper, Phocas (602-610), whose bungling tempted Chosroes II of Persia into starting that exhausting and ultimately disastrous war with the Eastern Empire. If Maurice had not been overthrown Chosroes might have decided it was too risky to attempt conquering the East Romans. Meaning both States would be better able to squash Islam after Mohammed began his rise to power.
Paul, again: But don't forget THE DAY OF THEIR RETURN, where we see Aycharaych using an invented religion and a "conditioned" prophet as part of his scheme to trigger a jihad that would have left the Empire "convulsed and shattered." Aycharaych had the precedent of Islam in mind.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
On your first point, "Wings of Victory" refers to an already established colony on Hermes.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Well, I did try to hedge a bit with that "barely beginning! (Smiles) It might have been so early that Hermes had not yet become a Grand Duchy.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: if Maurice hadn't been overthrown, events would have been unpredictably different, probably as far as Arabia.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I agree! And I like to think that would have included Islam either not existing or not amounting to much. Better for the world if that had been the case.
Ad astra! Sean
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