Subject: 71:12/7177 Expanding the Regency
T::>My sense is that public opinion in the Regency will be whatever the
::>leadership wishes it to be. Norris is (was?) nothing if not an excellent
::>`molder' of public opinion. Only the `Hero of the Fifth Frontier War'
::>could overcome centuries of psi-phobia and anti-Zhodani sentiment.
True, but there are limits to that kind of ability. If you've
seen a planet get sacked by a homicidal Virus-infected starship,
you're _not_ going to be easily convinced that Virus isn't a
threat any more...
T::>The second issue is the `paper tiger' of the Vargr threat. This has not
::>been credible to me since the days of the Rebellion despite the efforts of
::>GDW. It takes a stable government to effectively wage war. The Vargr
::>are *predisposed* to fragmentation and factionalism. Any good leader
::>would see that the Vargr threat could be neutralized by fostering instabili
::>in the Extents. Certainly such a task is not beyond the capabilities of
::>Norris and his heirs. Corsairs may be tiresome but they do not pose a
::>real threat.
The threat that I was thinking of in my previous posts, that
required guarding the Vargr border was in fact the threat of
Virus. Consider: some of the Vargr states coreward of the Regency
went along with Norris's program of sealed borders. Some likely
did not. Vargr alliances are notoriously unstable, because of the
psychological makeup of the Vargr themselves. So, the best that
Norris (and the Zhodani, for that matter) could hope for was that
Virus would be slowed down, not stopped, in the Spinward Extents.
This would also have the effect of slowing down the evolution
and/or extinction of Virus in the Extents, making infection from
the Extents a very real threat, even at this late date. Given
that the Aslan are "more reliable", it's probably safer for them
to consider recolonization/recontact of what used to be the main
portion of the Hierate than it is for the Regency to expand back
into Corridor, along the Vargr border. Norris _must_ tread
carefully with respect to the Extents; not doing so could be
fatal.
T::>IMHO, the *primary* threat to the Regency is that posed by an opponent that
::>might question its `legitimacy' as the `heir' to the Third Imperium. As fa
::>as the Regency knows, one or more of the Rebellion Factions might also have
::>managed to `survive' the onslaught of the Virus and the subsequent Collapse
::>Many of these states might challenge the Regency's claim to the mantle of
::>the Old Imperium. Imagine the response in the Regency (and elsewhere)
::>should a `just and noble' granddaughter of Lucan (or Margaret) emerge from
::>behind the Black Curtain at the head of a `Renaissance Fleet' anxious to
::>bring `all of Strephon's children' back into the Imperial `family'.
T::>Therefore, it is in the interest of the Regency leadership to remain in
::>Quarantine. The longer the Regency populace is isolated the lesser the
::>chance that *any* claimant to the Imperial heritage, no matter how legitima
::>they may seem, will be able to garner their support for abandonment of the
::>`regency' and a return to the `Imperial' fold.
This is a very good thought, especially as we do _not_ know what
is going on behind the Curtain. It is certainly a valid
possibility, but...
We who have Arrival Vengeance know that (a) the Strephon that
entered the fray from a base in Gushemege is in fact the _real_
Strephon, and (b) he effectively abdicated in Norris's favor by
entrusting Norris with the complete Jumpstart and Longbow files,
and the boy Avery (who we still know nothing about, although I
have my own suspicions...). Given that Norris _does_ have a great
deal of ability in molding opinion, and that he (and his
successors) have enjoyed the support of an overwhelming majority
of the people of the Regency, even a documented successor to Lucan
or Margaret is unlikely to gain sympathy in the Regency, as they
represent the part of the old order that "abandoned" the area
"behind the claw." I would say that the "legitimacy" of the
Regency is secure, especially as it is also recognized by
Non-Imperial cultures (the Zhodani and Aslan Ihatei, primarily)
as having that legitimacy.
==========================================================================
Jeff Zeitlin [email removed]
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