David "PiperFan" Johnson  03-23-2018
04:30 UT
|
~
From the Archives: Federation Day
Here's a little taste of what was happening on the old PIPER-L mailing list twenty years ago this month:
-----
Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 09:07:26 -0500
From: David Johnson
Subject: Federation Day?
I've
been rereading *Four Day Planet* again and came across this little
tidbit. It's narration from Walt Boyd that comes just after the
tallow-wax fire has been extinguished, as the hunters are preparing to
march on Hunters' Hall (and before they've learned that Bish Ware has
helped Steve Ravick to "escape").
"What I was getting now . . .
was the beginning of the First Fenris Civil War. A long time from now,
when Fenris was an important planet in the Federation, maybe they'd make
today a holiday, like Bastille Day or the Fourth of July or Federation
Day." (Ace paperback, p. 178)
What's interesting here is the
linkage of the uprising on Fenris and the historical French and American
*independence* "uprisings" to an apparently similar event in Federation
history. This suggests that the Federation experienced a similar sort
of "uprising" and that, because it's now commemorated by a holiday, the
"victors" in this uprising were the "founders" of the second Federation.
This
would seem to support the previous hints we've had that the *second*
Federation was the outcome of a successful independence effort on the
part of colonies on Venus against the first Federation. (For example, in
"When in the Course--" we learn that Atomic Era dating comes from
Venus, not from Earth.) *FDP* takes place during the time of the second
Federation. It's doubtful that any sort of "Federation Day" associated
with the founding of the first Federation-- which took place amidst the
"traditional" international conflict of the Thirty Days' War--would be
linked to the French and American (and Fenrisian) independence efforts.
(You would, instead, expect this to be linked to "holidays" like
Armistice Day, VE-Day and VJ-Day.)
Walt mentions "the Third and
Fourth World Wars" to Murell early in the story. (p. 31) These would
seem to have been the Thirty Days' War ("Third") and the Atomic Wars
("Fourth"--mentioned in "WitC"). The only question that seems to remain
is whether the "uprising" that is commemorated by Federation Day
corresponds to the Atomic Wars or some other conflict. Perhaps the
Venusians secceeded *after* the Atomic Wars when the first Federation
was in turmoil. Of course, that would require some *other* explanation
for the "civil war" nature of the Atomic Wars.
-----
The original message is available here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20060615192828...iper-l&T=0&F=P&P=51
Twenty years later I'm still wondering about "Federation Day." What do you think?
Cheers,
David
--
"I
was born in Antarctica, on Terra. The water's a little too cold to do
much swimming there. And I've spent most of my time since then in
central Argentine, in the pampas country." - Glenn Murell (H. Beam
Piper), ~Four-Day Planet~
~
|
David "PiperFan" Johnson 03-07-2018
04:51 UT
|
~
John "Calidore" Anderson wrote:
> By ‘new Alliance’ I didn’t mean an actual resurrection
> of the System States. That’s not their goal; they are
> simply against the current planetary government,
> which not only hasn’t taken on the pirate problem, it
> bankrupted Poictesme in the first place. (CC, pp. 3,
> 5, 18)
[snip]
> So the initial role of the Fawzi’s Office
> Gang is that of an ‘anti-Government’ force. Not by
> choice; it’s just that the politicians in Storisende
> aren’t doing anything to make things better—and
> will probably make things worse if they do get
> involved (ibid., p. 18)—so the FOG have to do it
> themselves. But eventually, this makes them a
> threat to the political status quo.
Agreed.
I'm just suggesting that whatever they might do it will look a lot
less like a government--System States Alliance, Confederate States of
America, whatever--and more like a privateer concern.
Look at the
way Conn gets those "public works" efforts underway in Litchfield, only
to see them fall by the wayside when the hunt for Merlin intensifies.
It's a lot easier to complain about government ineffectiveness than it
is to actually govern effectively.
> It is strongly suggested that Kurt Fawzi will be the
> next president of Poictesme, while Rodney
> Maxwell will be running things from behind the
> scenes. (ibid., pp. 248-249)
I
read that a bit differently. The elder Maxwell is interested in being
"privateer-in-chief," not elder statesman. Sure, he'll manipulate the
government to his ends--getting Fawzi and his "gang" out of his hair in
doing so--but he's more interested in making money trading with planets
like Baldur and Irminsul than in governing Poictesme.
> And Poictesme seems to be a microcosm of the
> Federation, which “impoverished a hundred
> planets” in the course of defeating the Alliance.
> (ibid., p. 7)
The
difference being, of course, that those other frontier (and former
Alliance) planets aren't sitting on an old fleet of surplus naval ships
and assorted other war materiel.
> So to the Federation, the Fawzi’s Office Gang is
> not just anti-planetary Government, it is an anti-
> Federation (or ‘con-federate’) force.
Maybe
not the Fawzi-led Planetary Government but Maxwell's privateering
enterprise (which will control Merlin, not Fawzi's government), yes.
> But again, not by their choice. The FOG is trying
> to renew planetary prosperity within the Federation,
> not outside it, and are unaware that finding and
> unsealing Merlin could cause “the whole Federation
> breaking up into bloody anarchy”. (ibid., p. 225)
> Once again, the FOG is a threat to the political
> status quo, only on a much larger scale.
Sure,
Rodney Maxwell is the one who explains the political-economic basis of
the System States War to Conn. He knows what he's doing and has
decided, I think, that he _is_ acting "outside" the Federation, at least
on a _de_facto_ basis if not _de_jure_.
> Furthermore, this threat isn’t diminished when they
> first find out. When he learns that Merlin predicts
> the end of the Federation, Conn Maxwell’s reaction
> is “We can’t begin to handle this without Merlin…
>If that means blowing up the Federation, let it blow.
> We’ll start a new one here.” (ibid., p. 243)
Yes,
but this is twenty-something Conn, not his older and wiser father. I
agree that Merlin--and the economic success which came from the hunt for
Merlin--has changed the calculus for the older Maxwell. I imagine he
now hopes for a time when a future Poictesme--and perhaps a few nearby
planets--can carve a refuge for themselves out of the coming,
post-Federation turmoil.
My point was merely that this "refuge,"
whatever it might be, is rather different from--and therefore not likely
to be modelled on--the Confederacy.
I think we're largely in
alignment here. I'm just not as convinced that the connection to the
~Harriet Lane~ is as clear. But what we suspect happens to Poictesme
going forward after Merlin is rediscovered seems fairly similar.
> The Federal authorities would undoubtedly use any
> means necessary to prevent a second breakup of the
> Union. And that can help explain Minister-General
> Murchison’s machinations, as well as why a retired
> Federation General (Mike Shanlee) was sent to
> eliminate Merlin with extreme prejudice (improvising
> a small thermonuclear weapon), which presumably
> would have also taken out much of the FOG if he
> had succeeded in setting it off. (ibid., p. 215, 221-222)
Well,
sure, but we know--and Rodney Maxwell knows too, because Merlin has
told him--that the Federation will ultimately fail at this. So rather
than looking to _oppose_the Federation (like the Confederacy did with
the Union) he's looking to _survive_ it. He seems to believe that a
little local, mercantilist "redoubt" will accomplish this.
> So while you are absolutely right that the FOG is a
> major business concern, they are ~seen~ by major
> politicians and military leaders on Poictesme and
> Terra as a ‘confederal’ or ‘rebel’ threat; one with
> the potential to take over their own planet and split
> the Federation into more pieces than the System
> States Alliance ever did. And this perception would
> not be helped when they learn that the FOG’s
> paramilitary commander is an ex-Alliance officer,
> who trains his men in the manual of arms and drill
> of the SSA, and who named his gunboats for capital
> ships of the Alliance. Not to mention painting the
> vehicles of the Gordon Valley Home guard black
> and green, the Alliance colors; which causes Conn
> to react with “What’s going on?...The System States
> Alliance in business again?” (ibid., p. 34)
Sure.
We are in agreement. But though this may be how Maxwell's "adventure"
looks to the Federation it's not actually what he's about. He's not
building a "new Alliance" (or a "Confederacy-like" government). He's
building a metaphorical "castle" within which to resist the coming
collapse of the Federation and subsequent barbarism.
> My impression is that Piper made the military-
> merchant connection a close one; probably due
> to the Civil War model, as seen in the case of the
> USRC Harriet Lane.
Could
be. I simply see it differently. I imagine before long Maxwell's
"adventure" will be _selling_ those old Federation navy ships--just like
he's been selling salvaged Third Fleet-Army stuff his whole life, only
on a much larger scale. Meanwhile, Conn will be using that refurbished
shipyard to build _new_ starships, commercial ones and military ones, as
needed. None of that looks much like the American Civil War. . . .
> Thanks, and you may be right about a source in
> Cabell. I have only read Jurgen so far--great fun,
> and I can see why Piper enjoyed it--but I plan to
> read more of his Poictesme novels in the near future.
> If I find anything of interest, you can be sure I will post it!
That would be great.
Remember Belphegor! Remember Ashmodai!
David
--
"You are my chieftain. That's another mark of the barbarian." - Otto Harkaman (H. Beam Piper), ~Space Viking~
~
|
Calidore 03-05-2018
17:58 UT
|
Thanks to David and Jon for their kind words on my post.
David wrote,
>>Here
I’m less convinced. Many of the “Fawzi’s Gang” are explicitly
antagonistic toward the planetary government—and none of them are fans
of the Alliance, despite Zareff’s naming of the gunboats after Alliance
capital ships. If anything, the Fawzi/Maxwell/Zareff paramilitary
forces are more like privateers themselves than they are like a
government entity. The historical model is more akin to something like
the Dutch East India Company than to the Confederacy (much less a “new
Alliance”).
I may not have been clear. By ‘new Alliance’ I
didn’t mean an actual resurrection of the System States. That’s not
their goal; they are simply against the current planetary government,
which not only hasn’t taken on the pirate problem, it bankrupted
Poictesme in the first place. (CC, pp. 3, 5, 18) As Klem Zareff puts
it, “Gehenna with what the Government likes! If they’d put a few of
those ships into commission, they could wipe out these outlaws and a
private company wouldn’t need an armed ship.” And Tom Brangwyn says,
“We get a ship out to Koshchei, and the next thing you know we’ll be the
planetary government.” (CC, pp. 18, 62-63) So the initial role of the
Fawzi’s Office Gang is that of an ‘anti-Government’ force. Not by
choice; it’s just that the politicians in Storisende aren’t doing
anything to make things better—and will probably make things worse if
they do get involved (ibid., p. 18)—so the FOG have to do it themselves.
But eventually, this makes them a threat to the political status quo.
“A lot of people have been saying that if Merlin’s found, it
should be used to determine Government policy. A few extremists are
beginning to say that Merlin ought to ~be~ the Government, and Jake
Vyckhoven and his cronies ought to be dumped. Into the handiest
mass-energy converter, preferably.” (ibid., p. 167) This sort of
agitation only gets worse, until Rodney Maxwell says that “The planetary
government has stopped liking us, you know.” To which Conn replies,
“Then we’ll have to get one that will like us.” (ibid., pp. 178, 184)
That certainly sounds like they intend to move toward governing the
planet themselves, and at the end, that’s essentially what happens. It
is strongly suggested that Kurt Fawzi will be the next president of
Poictesme, while Rodney Maxwell will be running things from behind the
scenes. (ibid., pp. 248-249)
And Poictesme seems to be a
microcosm of the Federation, which “impoverished a hundred planets” in
the course of defeating the Alliance. (ibid., p. 7) If not completely
bankrupt like Poictesme, the Federation is certainly far less prosperous
than before the War. In addition, Poictesme is overseen by a
Federation Minister-General, Sam Murchison, who doesn’t like the Fawzi’s
Office Gang either. “He thinks this whole thing’s a plot against the
Federation.” (ibid., p. 190) Murchison actually plots against them,
funding groups like the Armageddonists and Human Supremacy League to bug
and burgle the FOG’s offices, bribe and intimidate their employees,
illegally mind-probe Rodney’s secretary and even attempt to assassinate
the Maxwells by bomb-robot. (ibid., pp. 181, 187, 189, 200) So to the
Federation, the Fawzi’s Office Gang is not just anti-planetary
Government, it is an anti-Federation (or ‘con-federate’) force. But
again, not by their choice. The FOG is trying to renew planetary
prosperity within the Federation, not outside it, and are unaware that
finding and unsealing Merlin could cause “the whole Federation breaking
up into bloody anarchy”. (ibid., p. 225) Once again, the FOG is a
threat to the political status quo, only on a much larger scale.
Furthermore,
this threat isn’t diminished when they first find out. When he learns
that Merlin predicts the end of the Federation, Conn Maxwell’s reaction
is “We can’t begin to handle this without Merlin…If that means blowing
up the Federation, let it blow. We’ll start a new one here.” (ibid., p.
243) That view would probably not go over well in the circles of power
on Terra, any more than Washington would approve of a Southerner in
1895—one who actually had the means to bring it about—saying “Let the
United States collapse into bloody anarchy. We’ll build a new one here
in the South.” The Federal authorities would undoubtedly use any means
necessary to prevent a second breakup of the Union. And that can help
explain Minister-General Murchison’s machinations, as well as why a
retired Federation General (Mike Shanlee) was sent to eliminate Merlin
with extreme prejudice (improvising a small thermonuclear weapon), which
presumably would have also taken out much of the FOG if he had
succeeded in setting it off. (ibid., p. 215, 221-222)
So while
you are absolutely right that the FOG is a major business concern, they
are ~seen~ by major politicians and military leaders on Poictesme and
Terra as a ‘confederal’ or ‘rebel’ threat; one with the potential to
take over their own planet and split the Federation into more pieces
than the System States Alliance ever did. And this perception would not
be helped when they learn that the FOG’s paramilitary commander is an
ex-Alliance officer, who trains his men in the manual of arms and drill
of the SSA, and who named his gunboats for capital ships of the
Alliance. Not to mention painting the vehicles of the Gordon Valley
Home guard black and green, the Alliance colors; which causes Conn to
react with “What’s going on?...The System States Alliance in business
again?” (ibid., p. 34)
>>Zareff’s gunboats seem to have been surplus military airships, not converted merchant ships.
True.
But the Lester Dawes is a surplus military airship which is being used
as a (armed) merchant ship. And when all the lost interplanetary
spaceships are found, they are located at a military installation;
Sickle Mountain Naval Observatory on Koshchei. (ibid., p. 182) During
the War, these vessels were presumably used to ferry men and materiel
around the Alpha System, if not the whole Trisystem; while at the end of
the War, they were used as military transports; bringing most of the
troops to Koshchei, where they would then be embarked on hyperships for
their flights back home. (ibid., pp. 182, 183) So these are ex-military
vessels which will now be converted to merchant use, as the FOG begins
selling them to other companies interested in renewing interplanetary
trade. (ibid., p. 184) My impression is that Piper made the
military-merchant connection a close one; probably due to the Civil War
model, as seen in the case of the USRC Harriet Lane.
>>I
think this is the key question—where does “(Harriet) Barne” come
from?—but even I think it’s a bit of a reach to draw the connection to
Mrs. Pratt.
Yes. I simply gave your suggestion some thought, and
found what I believed would be good reasons for Piper to have possibly
used her as a partial model. As you say, this is by no means certain.
>>Certainly
possible, but why would Beam bother to conflate the two? He doesn’t
seem to do that sort of thing in other circumstances. Why not just
stick with the ~Harriet Lane~?
Perhaps for the same reason he
called the enemy in the previous war the ‘System States Alliance’. This
is undoubtedly a hint at his historical model, the Confederate States
of America; with ‘States’ being the exact same word, and ‘Alliance’
having the same first initial as America. CSA, SSA. The Harriet Barne
could then be Piper hinting at the USRC Harriet Lane; with the first
name being the same, and the second not too dissimilar.
>>Well,
Pratt’s husband was an heir to the Standard Oil fortune, so it seems
doubtful there was any actual familial relationship between Mrs. Pratt
and Piper’s friends.
I wasn’t suggesting one. Merely that ~if~
Piper had used Harriet Barnes Pratt as a partial model for the Harriet
Barne, the name could have suggested to his mind Fletcher and Inga
Pratt, thereby giving him a personal reason to use it.
>>Again,
that’s some nice research you’ve done into the ~Harriet Lane~ but I’m
still wondering if there isn’t a character named “Harriet Barne” in some
obscure bit of Cabell’s work. That’s where ~Countess Dorothy~ comes
from and given the lack of a good fit for “Harriet Barne” in any of
these other examples we’ve discussed I’m left wondering if that’s not
also the actual source.
Thanks, and you may be right about a
source in Cabell. I have only read Jurgen so far—great fun, and I can
see why Piper enjoyed it—but I plan to read more of his Poictesme novels
in the near future. If I find anything of interest, you can be sure I
will post it!
John
|
|
|
New Topic
My Topics
Views:
35310
(Unique:
9358
) / Subscribers:
27 | What's this?