Helliconia Summer - Brian W. Aldiss [344]
‘Of the chief nations of that unhappy continent, Borlien in particular is / will in trouble. Unfortunately, our old enemy, Pannoval, continues / grows strong. A random factor not calculated has recently / now become apparent, with our arms trading growing beyond control, owing to delinquent ambassadors. We shall not dwell on that incident.
‘Soon, the warlike nations of the Savage Continent will be making imitations of our weapons. We must / can act before that is allowed to happen to any great extent while we have supremacy.
‘As those of my friends on the War Commission already know, our plan is nothing less than to take over Borlien.’
Her words struck the banqueters to silence. Then a great murmur of acclamation arose. Many eyes turned towards where SartoriIrvrash sat white-faced.
‘We have not / will not enough troops to hold down all of Borlien by force. Our plan is to annex and subdue by means provided unwittingly by the Borlienese king, JandolAnganol. Once we subdue Borlien, we can strike at Pannoval from the south as well as the north.’
The banqueters began clapping before the fair Admiral had finished. They smiled first at each other and then at SartoriIrvrash, who kept his gaze firmly on the finely turned lips of the Admiral.
‘We have a fleet ready to sail,’ said those lips. ‘We anticipate that Chancellor SartoriIrvrash will sail with it to play his vital role. His reward will be great.’
Again applause, rationed to a few hand claps.
‘The fleet will sail westward. I shall be in command aboard the Golden Friendship. We intend / shall sail round the coast of Campannlat finally approaching the Bay of Gravabagalinien, where Queen MyrdemInggala is / will exiled, from the west. The chancellor and I will stop to conduct the queen from that place of exile, while the rest of the fleet intend / will sail on to bombard Ottassol, Borlien’s largest port, until it capitulates / has capitulated.
‘The queen is / was / will well-loved by her people. SartoriIrvrash will proclaim a new government for Ottassol under the queen, with himself as prime minister. No battle need be fought.
‘You will / should appreciate the feasibility of this plan. Our distinguished ally and the barbarian queen, descended from the Thribriat Shannana, are both united in a hatred of King JandolAnganol. The queen will be happy to be reinstated. She will of course be under our supervision.
‘Once Ottassol is / can secure, our boats and soldiery will move upriver to take over the capital, Matrassyl. My understanding, based on agents’ reports, is that we shall / can find allies there, notably the queen’s old father and his faction. The king’s insecure rule will be easily ended. His life the same. The world can do without such phagor lovers.
‘With Borlien fallen into our hands, we execute a sabre slash northwards, right across the Savage Continent, from Ottassol in the south to Rungobandryaskosh.
‘We are hastening matters forward now that you are here. Rest, friends, for action lies ahead, action of a most glorious sort. We plan that a good part of the fleet will / can / should sail at Freyr-rise, two days from now, God willing.
‘A great future dawns / will dawn.’
This time, the applause was unrationed.
XII
The Downstream Passenger Trade
‘The brute, unchanging ignorance of the people … They labour and do not improve their lot. Or they don’t labour. It makes no difference. They’re interested in nothing beyond their own village – no, beyond their own belly buttons. Look at them, idle lot! If I were that stupid, I’d still be a pedlar in Oldorando City Park …’
The philosopher making these comments was sprawling among cushions, with cushions behind his