the Imperial Naval Intelligence Corps is better than Scotha's;
if the war is prolonged, then Intelligence will become of prime importance;
even if a Scothan victory is quick, an Imperial remnant will wage a covert struggle;
Merseia might help Scotha but will then turn against it and Ythri might intervene so Nartheof needs intelligence on both those domains as well as on Terra;
when Scothan Intelligence is reorganized, noble birth should not count in promotions and commoners who did well in the ranks might not make the best officers (the first point is made by Nartheof; the second by Flandry; both should cause dissension).
Flandry also advises on the reorganization of fellow services. According to Nartheof, Nornagast the Quartermaster is inflexible but is the king's cousin and saved his life so the king "'...cannot dismiss him without betraying honor.'" -Poul Anderson, Captain Flandry: Defender Of The Terran Empire (New York, 2010), p. 260.
Flandry's advice: Nornagast must have enemies who might include an excellent swordsman who would kill him in a duel, having made a prior arrangement with Nartheof who could immediately advise the king on Nornagast's successor while protecting the swordsman from the king's wrath. This vile suggestion from a low, dishonest, treacherous Terran is indignantly dismissed but it is enough that the suggestion has been voiced.
Acknowledging that (he has been told that) Terrans are low etc, Flandry adds that they conquered widely once and expands on the theme of the pitchfork. Warriors do not handle muck but pitchforks do and he who orders the use of a pitchfork need not think about how it is used. Having again given offense with such an indelicate comparison, Flandry offers amends by disclosing the location of a secret but unguarded Imperial arsenal. Of course, Nartheof need not tell Prince Cerdic about the arsenal but can advance his own power and glory by himself dispatching the expedition, explaining afterwards that there was no time to lose...
So far, Flandry has managed to:
delay the attack;
cause dissension in Intelligence;
initiate a plot against Nornagast;
incite Nartheof to act independently of, thus against, Cerdic;
strengthen Nartheof and gain his protection.
This process continues in subsequent conversations until Scotha is rent by civil war when the Terran Fleet arrives.
4 comments:
Hi, Paul!
The fact is, both Nartheof and Flandry were right in what they said about officers of either aristocratic or commoner origins. The trick lies in selecting for able officers in such a way that people of either class will not feel themselves unduly barred from advancing. Flandry was counting on Nartheof and Scotha being unable to handle so delicate a process without creating serious offense and friction. Even for old, civilized nations it often takes TIME for such a system to be worked out reasonably well.
And, of course, Flandry's insinuating suggestions to Nartheof on how to handle Nornagast shows how hollow were the Scothan boastings about honor and virtue. As he told Queen Gunli later, a truly honorable person would have immediately Flandry's suggestions about Nornagast and removed him at once. A truly civilized official would have wondered if Flandy had been intriguing with others and reflected that two or more could play Flandry's game, till it became so complex that the whole thing (that is, Scotha) collapsed.
Sean
Darn! I omitted a necessary word above. I should have added here: "... a truly honorable person would have immediately REJECTED Flandry's suggestions..."
Sean
As Flandry said, Scotha -- or the dominant culture thereof -- had gone straight from barbarism to decadence; they'd been pitchforked into a setting in which their social organization and values were inadequate (and at least privately, they knew it) but they didn't have any other accessible alternative.
Dear Mr. Stirling,
There you go, using that pitchfork metaphor yourself! (Smiles)
But, I agree, Scotha had gone straight from barbarism to decadence. I think the only way she could have avoided the fate Flandry was engineering for it would have been to be content with the gains Scotha had made up till then.
Sean
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