Expository Dialogue

Poul Anderson, "Cold Victory" IN Anderson, Seven Conquests (New York, 1970), pp. 74-94.

Finishing "Wildcat" and turning the page we find "Cold Victory," the title story of Volume II of Poul Anderson's Psychotechnic History, which we have discussed before as part of that series. See here. Again, the characters discuss war. In fact, they expound their history for our benefit. Captain Crane begins to tell a story:

"'This happened during the final attack on the Humanists -'" (p. 75)

The academic, Professor Freylinghausen, having invited the Captain to tell his story, promptly interrupts:

"'A perfect case of inevitability, sir,' interrupted Freylinghausen. 'May I explain? Thank you. Forgive me if I  repeat obvious facts. Their arrangement and interpretation are perhaps not so obvious.'" (ibid.)

Then this impossible man speaks without interruption, telling the other characters their own history, until three quarters of the way down p. 76: an introduction to the story for Anderson's readers but a very unrealistic conversation between his characters. 

Freylinghausen argues that the sequence of events from the failure of psychotechnic government to the Mars-Venus intervention in support of the anti-Humanist counterrevolution was inevitable whereas Crane replies that the success of the counterrevolution and the intervention was not guaranteed. His story is supposed to be what makes the difference. 

Needless to say, Freylinghausen, near the end, says:

"'But the broad current moves quite inexorably, I assure you.'" (p. 93)

He maintains that the Humanists will return even if under a different name and, as we continue to read the Psychotechnic History, we find that he is correct.

"'The war was merely a ripple.'" (ibid.)