Ispravka

This image serves two purposes. It illustrates Poul Anderson's A Knight Of Ghosts And Shadows and it also presents a spaceship flying serenely above Dennitza where, as we have been reading, there is considerable political turmoil down on the ground.

I googled ispravka but found nothing in English.

After admiring the ychan demonstration, we continue reading and learn that human Dennitzans also take direct action but I have already discussed the ispravka here.

We have been taking a crash course in the direct democracy of Avalon and Dennitza. I move a recess.

Wind Boomed

In Dead Leaves and Explicit Pathetic Fallacy, we recognized extremely powerful use of the literary device of "pathetic fallacy" in a passage of Poul Anderson's A Knight Of Ghosts And Shadows. Here it is again. Although Dominic Flandry basically approves of the institution called the ispravka, he realizes that its use on this occasion might help the enemy. When Flandry articulates this concern, the author automatically underlines his words with a reference to the winter elements:

"'Maybe the firebrand who instigated that, uh, ispravka is a Merseian himself, in human skin.'
"The wind boomed between walls."
-Poul Anderson, A Knight Of Ghosts And Shadows IN Anderson, Sir Dominic Flandry: The Last Knight Of Terra (Riverdale, NY, 2012), pp. 339-606 AT XVII, p. 555.

Why did wind boom just then? Of course, we understand that it is booming anyway. But the author mentions it because it is appropriate that the threat from the heard but unseen wind parallels the threat from clandestine conspirators and enemies of the status quo.

March Through Zorkagrad

A Knight Of Ghosts And Shadows, XVII.

While four hundred ychani, led by Ywod and enclosing Flandry and Kossara, march into Zorkagrad, Flandry asks why the suburb that they pass through is deserted. Kossara passes the question on:

"Untrained humans could not have conveyed information accurately in that wise; but soon she told Flandry from Ywod..." (pp. 553-554)

- that local citizens have taken a form of direct action called an ispravka.

We admire the ychani's ability to pass information accurately back along the ranks of a march. When large numbers of human beings gather together, there is always the potential for utter confusion. Of course, many large events are orderly because they are sufficiently well organized and because most people know in general terms what is supposed to be happening but any new informational input has to be announced through a PA system. There is no ability to pass information accurately from person to person.

Once, when a crowd had congregated and was setting off to march through a city center, one man took it up on himself to stand beside the starting point of the march repeatedly shouting, "He's not letting you through up there!" Who was not letting us through? A policeman? A march steward? Someone else? Where was he not letting us through to? As we proceeded, we were able to march unhindered along the intended route. What were we supposed to do? Stop marching to ask that guy to explain himself or just continue marching? We did the latter.

At a trade union conference, the General Secretary, in the chair, announced that there was a bomb alert and asked us to leave the building. While we were leaving, he said, "I can see some people at the back of the hall waving their arms as if to tell me that the alert is over but I have not yet been told this by building security so could people please continue to leave the building?" Almost immediately, he said, "I have now been told by building security that the alert is over. Could people please return to their seats?" Needless to say, I heeded the Secretary, not anyone taking it up on themselves to flap their arms from the back of the hall!

Empty Streets In Zorkagrad

A Knight Of Ghosts And Shadows, XVII.

From:

"...a parking lot at the edge of Zorkagrad..." (p/ 551)

- the four hundred ychani, concealing in their midst the cowled and cloaked Dominic Flandry and Kossara Vymezal, march through:

"...a new district of private homes and clustered condominium units..." (pp. 552-553)

- which is deserted apart from:

"An occasional militia squad..." (p. 553)

- because the residents have sought the protection of the inner city forcefield generators.

Older streets are also quiet because Dennitzan citizens:

"'...under discipline, often in their regular Voyska units...'" (p. 554)

- have confined Imperials in certain buildings as hostages for the release of the arrested Gospodar:

"'...and the good behavior of their Navy ships.'" (ibid.)

The good behavior of the Navy! I like the Khruaths (fully participative democracy) on Avalon and the ispravkai (citizens' direct action) on Dennitza. In fact, this ispravka traps a Merseian agent whom Flandry is then able to interrogate with crucial consequences.

Dennitzan Democracy

I am very impressed with Dennitzan democratic institutions. What I want to see is customs and practices whereby the population can take action not only against unelected officials but also against their own elected representatives if necessary.

Each of the two species has brought organizational forms from its home planet: human Parliament; Merseian Vachs. The Merseians, although more recent immigrants and a planetary minority, are represented in a third House of the Parliament but sometimes also a large demonstration of zmayi (citizens of Merseian descent) has marched into the Chamber, demanding to be heard.

"...no clash came. Despite what they told [Flandry] when the move was being planned, he'd more or less awaited behavior like that when a gaggle of demonstrators wanted to invade a legislative session on any human planet he knew - prohibition, resistance, then either a riot or one of the sides yielding. If officialdom conceded in order to avoid the riot, it would be grudgingly, after prolonged haggling; and whatever protesters were admitted would enter under strict conditions, well guarded, to meet indignant stares."
- Poul Anderson, Sir Dominic Flandry: The Last Knight Of Terra (New York, 2012), p. 558.

I have never been in Tahrir Square but I have participated in enough sieges of local City Council or management-union meetings to know that what Anderson gives us is (as good as) an eye-witness account.

Dennitzans have also institutionalized, without fully legalizing, the ispravka, direct citizen action, without riots or lynching. Since every able adult is a reservist, they are able to move under discipline either to expel offenders or to detain them while spokesmen demand action from the authorities. Such actions can bring down governments. When Imperials arrest the Gospodar, Terrans and other servants of the Empire are rounded up into certain buildings as hostages. Although the civil authority denounces the action and sends in police, the people guard the buildings and no shots are fired (yet) while hundreds march to intervene in a joint session of Parliament.

Thus, individual Dennitzans participate in an action affecting planetary policies.

Demonstrations In Zorkagrad, Fleurville And London

In Poul Anderson's History of Technic Civilization, the colonized planets, Hermes, Avalon, Aeneas and Dennitza, are concretely realized in terms not only of their physical environments and sometimes combined ecologies but also of their diverse social strata and political positions/platforms/programs/parties/personalities etc.

Avalon has the popular democratic institution of Khruaths, derived from the mother planet, Ythri. On Dennitza, a demonstration of zmayi, always more self-controlled and disciplined than a comparable human gathering, can march into the Shkoptsina (Parliament) and be heard and ordinary citizens can also take action in an ispravka.

A Technic colony less in the spotlight is Esperance which was a pacifist experiment built on the premise that, if we help other intelligent species, then they will have no motive to attack us. When a Terran fleet gathers at Esperance to attack the Domain of Ythri, some Esperancians demonstrate against the war but this happens off-stage. I would have preferred if Anderson had shown us the demonstration as he does with the turbulent events on Dennitza. To many people, a demonstration is just something that happens elsewhere but, to the demonstrators themselves, it is not. One such demonstration in London numbered a million according to most of the media or two million according to one section of the alternative press.

I was prompted to reflect on Anderson's dismissive reference to the Esperancian demonstration by a vivid passage in John Le Carre's most recent novel. First, he describes the sights and sounds in central London, then, not packing any punches, he tells it like it is to many people and like it is not to many others:

"The streets of London may be languishing in the record heatwave, but they are swarming with angry marchers with banners, Prue and her left-leaning lawyer friends among them. Improvised bands pump out protests. Gas-filled effigies sway above the crowds. Police and ambulance sirens scream. The City of Westminster is unapproachable, Trafalgar Square uncrossable. And the reason for this mayhem? Britain is rolling out the red carpet to an American President who has come to sneer at our hard-won ties with Europe and humble the Prime Minister who invited him."
-John Le Carre, Agent Running In The Field (London, 2019), 13, p. 160.