When Jack Havig knows that the Eyrie are on his case, he closes down his public persona in the twentieth century. He knows that the Eyrie cannot attack him in his personal past because they did not but he is vulnerable and must take precautions in his personal future which is partly with his wife in thirteenth century Constantinople and partly investigating the Maurai Federation in the twenty-third century.
When Havig snuck out on Leonce in a Paris hotel in 1965, he could, if events had gone differently, have returned to her within the hour even after two intercontinental plane flights and a time journey through seven centuries. We have to learn to think like time travellers in order to appreciate this narrative.
Regarding the Maurai, one of them assures Havig, who is posing as Brother Thomas from a Merican stronghold, that the Federation does not want to impose global uniformity:
"Lohannaso smote the rail with a mighty fist. 'Damnation, Thomas! We need all the diversity, all the assorted ways of living and looking and thinking, we can get!'" (p. 119)
We are certain that, on this occasion at least, the author, Poul Anderson, speaks directly through his character, Captain Rewi Lohannaso, engineering graduate of the University of Wellantoa, N'Zealann. Anderson's two values were freedom and diversity.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Except the Maurai did try to impose on the world the kind of structure they preferred, an anti-technology structure. And as more nations arose from the Judgement that structure became harder to maintain and more and more resented.
Ad astra! Sean
Yeah, Poul brought out how the Maurai were resented in a number of stories -- their respect for 'diversity' turned out to be a liking for quaint traditional dances and handicrafts. In terms of actual -policy- they tried to impose uniformity.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Exactly! The only kind of "uniformity" that might have worked long term for the Maurai would be by letting technology be reinvented under some kind of Maurai hegemony. And by coopting other nations into that hegemony.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: that might have worked, not least by the new technology increasing their power.
The strategy they tried might have been calculated to arous opposition they'd lack the power to crush.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Because the coopted nations would have a stake in the Maurai imperium, and be willing to adopt some Maurai POVs.
Agree, the strategy we see Anderson showed the Maurai actually imposing would inevitably arouse fierce resentment and opposition.
Ad astra! Sean
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