Five Light-Hours out from Surebleak Libration Point Five
In which some spacefaring devices have things to say.
And now we know where the Department of the Interior sent its fleet of Old Tech war machines, though I think we’d all been assuming the answer anyway.
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Surebleak Orbital Influence Zone
Northern L5 Limits
In which Bechimo makes an unusual discovery.
Libration points, or Lagrangian points, are points in a system involving two large orbiting objects, such as a planet and its sun, where the balance of forces means a smaller orbiting object may maintain its position relative to the two larger objects. There are five such points in any given system; the first three tend to be unstable, meaning an object in one of those orbits will drift out of it over time, but the last two are stable when the mass ratio between the two larger objects is greater than a particular size, and it’s not uncommon to find smaller objects orbiting in a planet’s L4 and L5 points. For instance, the regions surrounding Jupiter’s L4 and L5 points are both home to sizeable clusters of asteroids orbiting in sync with the planet.
I don’t believe we’ve encountered Remco before, but we have of course heard the name of Carresens in several different contexts. One of which is that the Carresens family operates a shipyard at Margate, which among other things produced the Free Ship Disian.
Surebleak Orbital Influence Zone
In which Bechimo’s crew prepare to report.
The Theo/Bechimo part of the series isn’t as close to my heart as the Miri/Val Con part, and part of why is scenes like this, where the characters are talking over technical problems that mean something to them but don’t mean much to me. Miri and Val Con spend a fair amount of talking about problems that need solving, too, but their problems are usually about people, which I find inherently more interesting.
Surebleak Orbital Influence Zone
In which Bechimo discovers a new taste sensation.
Because of the name, and the fact that they’re first introduced as a breakfast food, I’d been picturing maize buttons as a kind of breakfast cereal, small and eaten in clusters. It appears from the description here that they’re more in the line of a pastry, large enough to be enjoyed individually (but small enough to be snatched up in a handful).
Jelaza Kazone
In which Bechimo’s crew prepare for action.
Stost is missing the crew and seems like he’d welcome a chance to serve on Bechimo again, but hasn’t yet reached the point of coming right out and saying so except possibly to Chernak. Chernak might feel the same, but seems to be trying to talk herself out of it. Both of them are probably used to thinking that it’s not up to them where they get assigned, which would have been the case in the life they’ve left behind, but here and now I reckon if they expressed a preference it would have more effect than they’re used to.
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Jelaza Kazone
In which Theo isn’t getting enough sleep.
For a short chapter, there’s a fair bit packed into it about Bechimo, his crew, and the relationships between them.
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In which Val Con and Miri offer their solutions.
The distinction Val Con makes between those who count themselves to be Scouts and those who count themselves to be Liaden Scouts is one I was reaching for yesterday but didn’t manage to wrap words around. (And reminds me of Eylot, forcing its pilots to decide whether they were pilots who happened to be Eylotian or Eylotians who happened to be pilots.)
It also, come to think of it, suggests the possibility, if not the certainty, that at some point in the future the Scouts headquartered on Surebleak are going to accept non-Liadens into their ranks. Once you’ve reached the conclusion that being a Scout and being a Liaden are not necessarily linked, it’s an obvious consequence. (There have been hints in that direction already, too, with people mentioning that the Scouts have been providing educational opportunities on Surebleak, usually followed by commenting that Scout teachers always treat their students as prospective Scouts.)
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In which Val Con and Miri gather information about their visitors.
This is the first mention I can recall of there now being two separate branches of the Scouts, but it doesn’t surprise me. I presume the schism is a consequence of the events surrounding Korval’s big play and subsequent exile, and the subsequent removal of a chunk of Liaden society to Surebleak. Liaden society as a whole was divided over how to view Korval’s actions, and although many Scouts had a sympathy for Korval it is not to be supposed that they were unanimous in their approval.
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In which Val Con and Miri have a busy morning.
I like “a salute so smart it could have driven itself into town”. And Val Con’s interactions with the cat.
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In which Val Con and Miri are not getting much sleep tonight.
Chapter 20 is shaping up to be a long chapter, to the point that I’m almost wondering if I need to subdivide the sections even further. Makes sense, though, since this is the chapter where a whole bunch of plot strands come together, not just from this book but from the four books preceding it.
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