On Mon, 19 Jul 2004, Chris Turkel wrote: > >On Jul 19, 2004, at 12:13 PM, erik at debill.org wrote: > >> On Mon, Jul 19, 2004 at 10:11:39AM -0400, charles_sumner at harvard.edu >> wrote: >>> At 10:22 PM 7/18/2004 -0400, you wrote: >>>> First, the Please-don't-flame-me disclaimer : I've been afk >>>> from the list for a while now, so my apologies if this has >>>> been discussed already -- ran a couple of relevant key-word >>>> searches, but couldn't find the following discussion if there >>>> was one. So...question is below >>>> >>>> >>>> MINORS SPOILERS IN QUESTION BELOW: >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>>> . >>> he is). On the left hand, it's unlikely that Piro could rise through >>> the ranks of the Jhereg quickly enough to get a council seat when the >>> Demon supposedly did. >> >> Are you forgetting Mellar? 10 years from joining to council seat. >> Very unusual, yes, but it HAS been done. >> >> Vlad's age estimate probably rules it out, though. I can't see him >> being THAT far off. >> > >While I'm inclined to agree, you can't rule out Vlad being wrong. He >has been before. He's not the most trust worthy narrator. > But even if the Demon were the right age, the question arises: Why would Piro join the Jhereg? For me, the more important factor was the fact that he's the son of the equivalent of the county governor and the chief of police, and he's friends with the current ruler (in Vlad's time). He's received an official pardon for his criminal career. Given that the conflict with his father which caused him to take up that criminal career has been ameliorated, I don't see any reason why he would take up a *new* criminal career. He started out with wealth and privilege, and now has that again. The only way it would work is if Paarfi gave us a completely whitewashed depiction of his character. Only someone a lot colder, nastier, greedier, and more ambitious than the Piro as depicted in /The Viscount of Adrilankha/ would join the Jhereg and rise rapidly to a seat on the Council.