Propaganda

After Doomsday.

Within the local civilization-cluster, Kandemir and Vorlak, two planets orbiting different stars, are at war. The Kandemirians are:

"'Imperialists. They've already overrun a dozen worlds.'" (4, p. 37)

Maybe that bestows some spurious credibility on the wording of a secret treaty between Vorlak and the Soviet Union:

"-common cause of the peace-loving peoples against imperialist aggressors...unity in the great patriotic struggle-'" (5, p. 46)

The Vorlakka show this as evidence that it was not they that had destroyed Earth. Carl Donnan rightly:

"...didn't think that any nonhuman could have done the phrasing that exactly." (ibid.)

Poul Anderson, however, does a good job of reproducing Russian propaganda! That "...peace-loving..." is an empty phrase is shown by the terms of the treaty:

"'The Soviet Union was to produce for [the Vorlakka] a large amount of arms in certain categories, at a favorable price; and numerous of their military personnel were to serve [the Vorlakka] as auxiliaries, thereby gaining experience in modern warfare.'" (ibid.)

Donnan judges that the purpose was that:

"...the Soviets could quietly get ahead of every other country in the development of a really up-to-date war machine." (ibid.)

Add to all this that the treaty was signed not with representatives of any social class corresponding to a Vorlakkan proletariat but with "...Vorlak's warlords." (p. 42)

Peace-loving? War waging.

Donnan reflects that:

"The Communists never had given up their ambitions, even when the fluid situation after the Monwaingi arrived forced them to pull in their horns while they reassessed matters."  (p. 46)

Here "The Communists..." clearly refers to the group ruling the Soviet Union at the time of the Monwaingi arrival. Has this word ever referred to another group of people with other aims? It has. Do we want to revive old arguments? I think not. But the issues are always with us and Poul Anderson's works cover the issues.