Philip Hart <philiph at slac.stanford.edu> writes: >On Tue, 14 Mar 2006 Gaertk at aol.com wrote: > >> Philip Hart <philiph at slac.stanford.edu> writes: >> >> > We should consider a point about the end of _FHYA_ I was >> > neglecting: the deal to cover Tortaalik's abdication did not >> > envisage a substitute Phoenix. As best I recall, there was no >> > particular need for a Dragon emperor at the time, just a competent >> > one. Yet the options discussed by Aerich and Adron do not include >> > setting a reasonable Phoenix on the throne. >> >> Remember that this deal was written by Adron > >Was it? I figured Sethra was in on it. I think this is the point where she offers her services to Tortaalik. (I'm probably due for a reread of this book.) >> who was Willing To Bet His Life that the Cycle had already turned. > >But surely Sethra wasn't interested in seeing a war over this. >Adron wasn't interested in seeing a war - he (says he) wanted the >Empire to be goverened in a strong coherent way. If another >Phoenix was an option, we would likely at least some small >mention of the possibility of avoiding what people could >already sense was likely to be an epochal conflict. The deal >in particular was an affront on its face - a more palatable would >likely have been considered. If by Aerich if no one else. Is this the scene where Aerich calls the message "a calculated insult"? >> He did not believe that another Phoenix would improve matters any. > >Is there any reason but a view of him as entirely overtaken >by ambition to think that? It wasn't ambition (he's offering to abdicate after all). He felt that the current situation was *proof* the Cycle had turned. -- Konrad Gaertner - - - - - - - - - - - - - - email: gaertk at aol.com http://kgbooklog.livejournal.com/ "I don't mind hidden depths but I insist that there be a surface." -- James Nicoll