In which the cavalry rides out.
I’m trying to remember if the concept of “composite Jump” has come up before this book. It’s not mentioned in the scene in Alliance of Equals where Hazenthull is composing the message to Miri informing her of her intentions, but then that scene doesn’t include any of the details of Hazenthull’s intentions, just the fact of her composing the message. (Old writer’s trick: “The hero has a plan! … which we will tell you all about next time, when we’ve figured out what it is.”) The bit about Admiral Bunter’s kind of composite Jump coming with the risk of ending up somewhere completely unexpected might just be a detail to add excitement, but it sounds to me like something a story could be hung on — the question is, is it this story?
Inkirani Yo’s attempt to coerce Tocohl, though it wasn’t effective, gives us some idea what Tolly means when he says that when the directors are done with Hazenthull she’ll agree to anything. And Hazenthull, almost certainly, doesn’t have a backup Jeeves hidden inside her.
Speaking of Hazenthull…
“She loved him.” Tolly seems to have that effect on some people; his recent reminiscences about Disian also included the statement that she was in love with him. (Assuming his judgement of the situation is accurate, which I suppose we must since he’s the expert in how people’s minds work — although, on the other hand, he did completely misjudge how Hazenthull would react to his attempt to ward her off.) Something he’s been less forthright about in both cases: what are his feelings about her?
On Haz loving Tolly: No surprise. He’s a genuinely decent guy. Plus, in “Crystal Soldier” we learned that Cantra yos’Phelium is an “aelantaza” designed with pheromones that induce trust and affection. Since Tolly was created by the same institute, he probably has the same charisma. On the other hand, Jela — like all Trang — was designed to resist such chemical appeals, so maybe Haz also feels no artificial attraction to Tolly. ( CS ch 19 and 29)
But I wonder if those aeleantaza chemicals could have been updated in the millenia to effect AI entities?? Like Admiral Bunter?
Unlikely. I don’t think AI’s can be effected by pheromones. They might notice and interpret them.
As to Haz feelings – the pheromones might have initially helped opening her toward Tolly. But there is still a great part of Haz feelings for him that came through partnering a decent guy. And I think that Tolly is so afraid that without his pheromones he isn’t loveable – that he doesn’t under half of Haz feelings.
Othin: As to Haz feelings – the pheromones might have initially helped opening her toward Tolly. But there is still a great part of Haz feelings for him that came through partnering a decent guy. And I think that Tolly is so afraid that without his pheromones he isn’t loveable – that he doesn’t under half of Haz feelings.
Agreed. I have to wonder also whether—even though so many years have passed—the Troop still has built-in (i.e., part of the DNA) defenses to recognize or filter that pheromone influence. It’s not likely Tolly would be aware of this, since he hasn’t worked with Yxtrang before, so far as we know. As for Disian, he knows exactly what settings he applied AND what manipulations he used in his relationship with her, so there may be something specific that he is aware of that makes her feelings not quite her own/?
In “Wise Child”, Tolly ends up explaining exactly to Disian what settings and manipulations he applied to her and why, and presumably discontinued any that were still active. He wanted to be honest with her, so I don’t think he’d have left any in. But he might have convinced himself that Disian’s regard for him was an aftereffect of the manipulations, in the same way that he might have convinced himself that Haz’s regard for him was an effect of the pheremones.