Collin's assassination list

tlb wrote:

cthia wrote: I would think the subject of Jeremy X is personal. The MA can't have him being an example to all the slaves on Darius. And if word also gets back to them he has set up a haven on Torch for them, the slaves can become rebellious. He's a mote in the Master Race's eye and a sign to the galaxy they don't have control of their slaves, castes or this Master Race notion, like I preached for at least a million millennia. I agree they may not go out of the way for him, but if opportunity knocks . . .

Then again, there's the Martyr issue too, which could plague the MA.

Leaving aside the question of how such information could begin to circulate; it is my understanding that workers on Darius do not think of themselves as slaves. So far as they know, they are valued members of a meritocracy, who can go as far as their intelligence will take them. Unfortunately there are the Alphas, Betas and Gammas that outshine them; but that is just the natural order of things.

I thought it was stated somewhere, that they did not even know that their administration had been involved in the genetic slave trade.

Theemile wrote:That's pretty much true - they are a population kept in an isolated bubble and fed off a limited menu. They have no access to the outside world and rely on the limited news they are given.

Then what happened to make Jeremy one who flew over the Cuckoo's Nest? And do the slaves know his plight? I can't recall.

Theemile wrote:That's pretty much true - they are a population kept in an isolated bubble and fed off a limited menu. They have no access to the outside world and rely on the limited news they are given.

cthia wrote:Then what happened to make Jeremy one who flew over the Cuckoo's Nest? And do the slaves know his plight? I can't recall.

Please explain.

tlb wrote:

Theemile wrote:That's pretty much true - they are a population kept in an isolated bubble and fed off a limited menu. They have no access to the outside world and rely on the limited news they are given.

cthia wrote:Then what happened to make Jeremy one who flew over the Cuckoo's Nest? And do the slaves know his plight? I can't recall.

Please explain.

I left out a word. It should read ...

"Then what happened to make Jeremy the one who flew over the Cuckoo's Nest?"

It is a reference to the classic book, and movie, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Often a class assignment.

In the book, Murphy pretended to be insane to survive. He really wasn't. In a nutshell.

It's a dig at the MA. They're the Cuckoo's Nest, and Jeremy is not inferior, tho he pretended to be to survive. Until he escaped. As I recall.

cthia wrote:I left out a word. It should read ...

"Then what happened to make Jeremy the one who flew over the Cuckoo's Nest?"

It is a reference to the classic book, and movie, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Often a class assignment.

In the book, Murphy pretended to be insane to survive. He really wasn't. In a nutshell.

It's a dig at the MA. They're the Cuckoo's Nest, and Jeremy is not inferior, tho he pretended to be to survive. Until he escaped. As I recall.

I understood that it was a reference to "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"; which I have never read, since I was in high school when it was written. However I did not see where Nurse Rached came in and did not understand the problem with Jeremy's current "plight" as Torch's Minister of War.
From TV Tropes:

Vintery, mintery, cutery, corn
Apple seed and apple thorn
Wire, briar, limber lock
Three geese in a flock
One flew East
One flew West
And one flew over the cuckoo's nest.

McMurphy wins the fight against Ratched, but at the cost of part of his brain, which ultimately forces Chief Bromden to euthanize him by smothering him with a pillow before finally escaping to his ancient tribal lands.

Now, there is a plight.

PS. I have not reread Cauldron of Ghosts because I have a problem with plot: what the devil is Thandi Palane doing running around in the field when she has the job of General of the Army? Shouldn't she be doing General things?

You really should read it. Or see the movie. It is an all star cast, but with your age, you may not recognize some of the stars. When I said it was often a class assignment? TOO OFTEN. Once in Junior High. Twice in High School. Again in college??? Come on! It was really popular. And for good reason.

I had to do a search to refresh myself with the cast. Oh yeah! BTW, the irony in Murphy pretending to be cuckoo for cocoa puffs, is in the end, he is. I don't want to give more away.

****** *

Grayson is probably the hardest planet to infiltrate to assassinate. Most people would stick out like a sore thumb in such a closed-off, highly religious society replete with treecats. Erewhon comes to mind as the second most difficult.

Retraction.

The Andermani probably could give Grayson a run for her money as the most difficult planet to infiltrate. Trying to infiltrate the Andermani is probably like trying to infiltrate the KGB².

cthia wrote:You really should read it. Or see the movie. It is an all star cast, but with your age, you may not recognize some of the stars. When I said it was often a class assignment? TOO OFTEN. Once in Junior High. Twice in High School. Again in college??? Come on! It was really popular. And for good reason.

I had to do a search to refresh myself with the cast. Oh yeah! BTW, the irony in Murphy pretending to be cuckoo for cocoa puffs, is in the end, he is. I don't want to give more away.

****** *

Grayson is probably the hardest planet to infiltrate to assassinate. Most people would stick out like a sore thumb in such a closed-off, highly religious society replete with treecats. Erewhon comes to mind as the second most difficult.

The movie came out when I was in college, so I might not have that much problem. I already mentioned the ending, which is not good for McMurphy (Nicholson); as he is lobotomized and then euthanized.

Since one of the known assassinations was in the Andermani Empire, it might not be harder to infiltrate. There was also the (non-Malign) bomb assassination that triggers the book Crown of Slaves, which I believe occurred on Erewhon.

tlb wrote:

cthia wrote:You really should read it. Or see the movie. It is an all star cast, but with your age, you may not recognize some of the stars. When I said it was often a class assignment? TOO OFTEN. Once in Junior High. Twice in High School. Again in college??? Come on! It was really popular. And for good reason.

I had to do a search to refresh myself with the cast. Oh yeah! BTW, the irony in Murphy pretending to be cuckoo for cocoa puffs, is in the end, he is. I don't want to give more away.

****** *

Grayson is probably the hardest planet to infiltrate to assassinate. Most people would stick out like a sore thumb in such a closed-off, highly religious society replete with treecats. Erewhon comes to mind as the second most difficult.

The movie came out when I was in college, so I might not have that much problem. I already mentioned the ending, which is not good for McMurphy (Nicholson); as he is lobotomized and then euthanized.

Since one of the known assassinations was in the Andermani Empire, it might not be harder to infiltrate. There was also the (non-Malign) bomb assassination that triggers the book Crown of Slaves, which I believe occurred on Erewhon.

That's right, there was an assassination in the Empire. It is why the emperor wants the MA for himself. I never read ALL of Crown of Slaves. It's not one of my favorite books. But then, neither was CoG, but I persevered. And I am certainly glad I did! Thanks for the info and correction.

Now to call Steve Harvey in to give the crown back to Grayson.

P.S. Murphy went crazy BEFORE the lobotomy. That is what led to the lobotomy. No more spoilers you!

tlb wrote:
PS. I have not reread Cauldron of Ghosts because I have a problem with plot: what the devil is Thandi Palane doing running around in the field when she has the job of General of the Army? Shouldn't she be doing General things?

Excellent annoyance point of mine- Thandi is acting more like a Sargent than an Officer. Officer roles are supposed to teach you to lead other people and delegate responsibility, with the officer in question thinking more and more on the strategic level as they progress through the ranks. Sargents, independent of their rank, are supposed to be in the weeds, focusing on the tactical, and that is what we see out of Thandi.

cthia wrote:Murphy went crazy BEFORE the lobotomy. That is what led to the lobotomy. No more spoilers you!

Are you sure that the name is Murphy and not McMurphy? Anyway, it sounds like a real downer and not something for Jeremy to try to emulate.

In any case the workers at Darius would not see anything that related to their lives.