Dutiful Passage
In which Priscilla receives a history lesson.
Shan’s coaster that was a gift from Ambassador Valeking was introduced in Alliance of Equals and has appeared a couple of times, in that book and then in this one, during scenes where Padi has been meeting her father in his office.
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Erob’s Clanhouse
Lytaxin
In which Pat Rin is still missing, Ren Zel is still processing his change in circumstances, and Mr dea’Gauss is, as always, remarkable.
More evidence suggesting that this is actually Day 52: it was on Day 51 that Val Con and Miri learned that Pat Rin had disappeared, and it seems unlikely they’d wait an entire day before asking Nova if she knew anything.
Nova, by the sound of it, is still hoping that they might bring matters before the Council of Clans and have a solving without resorting to anything that might be described as a “war”. Val Con and Miri are less optimistic. I think I’d be with Val Con and Miri, even without the information (which we have and they don’t) that the Department is even now moving against Korval through the Council. (Indeed, considered from Val Con’s point of view, it might be said that it is already too late, and that the war has been going on, with casualties on both sides, for some considerable time already.)
Ren Zel, it appears, is of the dramliz (a thing for which there have been several hints already, which Ren Zel has been shying away from acknowledging), with power and potential that impresses even Anthora, who’s reputed to be one of the most powerful dramliz now living. In the scene where he explores the starweb of creation, he reminds me of the surpassingly powerful dramliz of the Migration-era prequels. (There are several other aspects of this match that remind me of the old dramliz, too – which is perhaps not to be wondered at, considering that this is the first “wizard’s match” we’ve seen since the prequels to occur between two actual wizards.)
Day 53
Standard Year 1393
Dutiful Passage
Lytaxin Orbit
In which Ren Zel’s interpretation is not widely shared.
We seem to have lost a day somewhere: last time we looked in at Lytaxin, it was nearing the end of Day 51, and Ren Zel had just begun rushing off to start his shift. Now it’s Day 53, if the chapter header is to be believed, and Ren Zel is still rushing off to start his shift.
(I myself am inclined to disbelieve the chapter header, for what it’s worth. It seems the least complicated solution if this is in fact Day 52.)
Dutiful Passage
Liad Orbit
In which Priscilla seeks that which is lost.
The obvious implication of having this chapter here is that it happens not long after Miri and Val Con go to sleep, but I’m not sure I believe that. Priscilla reports that Val Con is “protected within deep meditation”, when we’ve just finished hearing that Val Con no longer believes himself to have access to the protection offered by the deepest level of the Rainbow, and that he is perhaps engrossed in playing music, which he hasn’t been doing any of lately either. So I think perhaps this scene takes place somewhat in advance of the main plot strand, and foreshadows an event we’ve yet to see from Val Con’s side.
Shipyear 65
Tripday 171
Third Shift
14.00 hours
In which Shan receives news of a friend’s death.
I like the little details that enrich this chapter: Ken Rik is in a bad mood. BillyJo thinks Shan isn’t eating enough. The description of what else was in Shan’s mail before he hit the pinbeam from Sintia, because even though the other message isn’t significant to the plot, it is significant to Shan.
I have read the various parts of Priscilla’s story so many times by now that I don’t recall what I thought the first time I read the pinbeam from Sintia. I am pretty sure, though, that I could have been added to Shan’s litany of people who wouldn’t believe it meant Priscilla was a desperate criminal.
Shipyear 65
Tripday 143
Third Shift
16.00 hours
In which Shan has some explanations.
This is a significant turning point for Shan and Priscilla, with Shan finally explaining what’s going on and the two of them agreeing on a future course of action.
We get another mention of that elusive person, Anne’s brother Richard, and perhaps the most extensive account of him, in Shan’s description of his conflation of Liadens with elves. Shan doesn’t say why Richard picked on Val Con for the role of “king of Elfland”, but presumably it’s because he had heard some account of the Contract which once prompted Anne to accuse Val Con’s father of being King of Liad. In which case, I’m pretty sure this is the first intimation, in published order, of the existence of the Contract.
Shipyear 65
Tripday 136
Third Shift
11.30 hours
In which the pet librarian works everywhere but the pet library.
Priscilla continues to make friends, and Kayzin Ne’Zame continues to not be one of them. Shan clearly hasn’t been telling his first mate what he’s up to, or she wouldn’t have been surprised to find Priscilla in the comms tower, but I don’t know that I blame him; it’s not strictly something that a captain is obliged to tell his first mate about, and it wouldn’t be a problem except that she’s inclined to be suspicious of Priscilla, which is her problem and not his. It’s uncomfortable for Priscilla, though.
The norbears in the pet library have a mix of names; Delm Briat has a very Liaden name, Master Frodo a very Terran one, and Lady Selph and Tiny could go either way. (Most importantly, though: norbears!)
Tonee sig’Ella is, I notice, one of those characters who occasionally appear in this series for whom the authors have not found it necessary to resort to gender-specific pronouns.
This chapter’s dateline doesn’t fit 7-hour shifts or 6-hour shifts, unless it’s anticipating the beginning of Third Shift at 12.00 hours. Alternatively, it does fit 5-hour shifts, and so does every other dateline we’ve had since Priscilla boarded the Passage.
Shipyear 65
Tripday 130
Fourth Shift
18.00 hours
In which Priscilla meets Shan yos’Galan.
Contrary to what I said last week, this must be where I first learned about Liadens and faces. It must be. Conflict of Honors was the first Liaden story I ever read, and certainly Gordy’s recital is the most detailed and explicit statement of the case to be found anywhere in the series. I don’t remember it, though. There is a difference, perhaps, between being told about a thing in the abstract and coming to comprehend it through being shown examples of it in action.
The dateline on this chapter is not consistent with a 28-hour day divided into four 7-hour shifts, in which 18.00 hours would be deep in Third Shift. It would, on the other hand, fit a 24-hour day divided into four shifts.