Flandry to Persis:
"'...here's a job I'm fitted for, that serves a purpose. If I don't take it, what meaning has life got?'"
-CHAPTER EIGHTEEN, p. 190.
The job is Intelligence. Flandry has to be active. Defending the Empire is a purpose. We are all different.
My meaning of life has not depended on a job. I would have been fitted for academic work but now strongly suspect that life in an ivory tower would have been a bad idea. Jobs have been only a means to a livelihood and, fortunately, a comfortable pension. Meditation and understanding, which I value, have come from outside work although one teaching job did contribute to understanding.
Flandry's preferred career suits him. If I were alive in his era, then I would be on Terra trying to understand life and probably involved in sociopolitical activities that are not mentioned in Flandry's narratives.
Kaor, Paul!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Intelligence work suited Flandry's abilities and personality. Also, defending the Empire was a worthy cause, despite its faults.
How about working as an analyst for Naval Intelligence? (Smiles)
Ad astra! Sean