Could Mospheira really be in trouble? Since Bren does usually manage to remember that atevi don't "like" people... if the aiji is preserving his life, the aiji must have some use for him and his office. So probably he's not going to massacre humanity; otherwise he wouldn't need someone to talk to them. (And we've seen that Bren does NOT have the secrets of tech for himself; he goes by what he gets in briefings, so Tabini couldn't just save Bren to give him human tech and eliminate the rest.)
I suppose he might be intending to do something dire but not lethal to the humans, and thus keeping Bren in reserve for when he wants to say, "I have just bombed a third of your island; give me all your guns and laser tech or I bomb another third" -- but, really, would he need Bren for that? Tabini knows the terms of the Treaty, so he knows that Bren's not a powerful or really important person on Mospheira; and Banichi knows some Mosphei' -- I'd bet on him having more staff who also know it! If he'd decided to break the Treaty, he wouldn't need Bren anymore.
Cold consolation that might be for Bren, of course, with assassins coming through the window and mysterious trips inland... Not to mention sleep deprivation. Wouldn't fault him for coming up with all kinds of crazy hypotheses, really I wouldn't. :D Even if he discards them ten minutes later, you're right that it seems strange he's not at least thinking that something massive has gone wrong.
The description of the poison is really horrifying, I have to say, not to mention the antidote and the vomiting
Oooh, yeah. *yuck* Cherryh did a great job on that -- almost too great, because I was pretty queasy and horrified myself! The descriptions, where Bren's walking down the corridors and starting to lose focus... scary!
And euuurgh, the antidote! I loathe milk, and the idea of being forced to drink an entire cup of it, warm... Bleeegh! Poor Bren! I think I'd rather stay unconscious and let them pour it down me with a tube. :D
I was thinking more "Tabini feels fondness for Bren and thus wants to keep him safe while he does away with Mospheira" or something, though as I type that out it seems silly since atevi don't feel feelings like that one. Heh.
Actually... I had a spoilery thought just now re: why, assuming Tabini were planning to wreck Mospheira, he might want to keep Bren around, but I am pretty certain it's for the very newest book. Should I post it to #3-spoiler? I think I'm the only one who's read Betrayer, so...
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I suppose he might be intending to do something dire but not lethal to the humans, and thus keeping Bren in reserve for when he wants to say, "I have just bombed a third of your island; give me all your guns and laser tech or I bomb another third" -- but, really, would he need Bren for that? Tabini knows the terms of the Treaty, so he knows that Bren's not a powerful or really important person on Mospheira; and Banichi knows some Mosphei' -- I'd bet on him having more staff who also know it! If he'd decided to break the Treaty, he wouldn't need Bren anymore.
Cold consolation that might be for Bren, of course, with assassins coming through the window and mysterious trips inland... Not to mention sleep deprivation. Wouldn't fault him for coming up with all kinds of crazy hypotheses, really I wouldn't. :D Even if he discards them ten minutes later, you're right that it seems strange he's not at least thinking that something massive has gone wrong.
The description of the poison is really horrifying, I have to say, not to mention the antidote and the vomiting
Oooh, yeah. *yuck* Cherryh did a great job on that -- almost too great, because I was pretty queasy and horrified myself! The descriptions, where Bren's walking down the corridors and starting to lose focus... scary!
And euuurgh, the antidote! I loathe milk, and the idea of being forced to drink an entire cup of it, warm... Bleeegh! Poor Bren! I think I'd rather stay unconscious and let them pour it down me with a tube. :D
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