fs.thefirstbookofswords-第53部分

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ominates　this　demon…ridden　age　while　the　rare　bits　of　technology　surviving　from　the　Old　World　are　objects　of　superstitious　awe。　Sometimes　Old　and　New　can　unite；　as　in　the　temperamental　person　of　the　djinn　technologist；　a　being　as　maddeningly　literalminded　as　a　puter；　who　must　be　properly　programmed　to　perform　his　magic　feats。
　　　The　novelty　of　the　situation　is　why　magic　has　bee　feasible。　There　was　no　thaumaturgic　breakthrough。　Instead；　the　very　nature　of　physical　reality　has　been　fundamentally　altered　by　the　doomsday　weapons　used　in　a　past　global　war。　The　probability　of　occult　phenomena　occurring　has　increased　enormously。　〃Since　the　Change　it　could　scarcely　be　said　that　anything　was　lifeless；　powers　that　before　had　only　been　potentialities　now　responded　readily　to　the　wish；　the　incantation；　were　motivated　and　controlled　by　the　dream…like　logic　of　the　wizard's　world。〃　Meanwhile；　the　likelihood　of　certain　physical　reactions　and　technical　aptitude　itself　have　correspondingly　declined。　Or　as　the　author　himself　remarks；　〃We　are　not　justified　in　assuming　that　all　physical　laws　are　immutable　through　the　whole　universe　of　space　and　time。〃
　　　But　no　matter　how　much　else　may　change；　the　craving　for　mastery　endures。　Whether　engineers　or　wizards　build　their　war　gear；　conquerors　will　be　conquerors　still。　The　tyrant　of　the　age　is　John　Ominor　（〃The　AllDevourer〃）；　Emperor　of　the　East；　a　man　far　wickeder　than　the　demons　he　binds　to　his　will。　Not　long　before　the　story　opens；　Ominor's　armies　consumed　the　last　independent　bit　of　the　continent；　the　Broken　Lands　along　the　West　Coast。　But　before　his　world　dominion　can　be　perfectly　secured；　rebels　calling　themselves　the　Free　Folk　challenge　his　despotic　rule。　Aided　by　a　quasimaterial　power　named　Ardneh；　they　fight　their　way　up　through　the　feudal　hierarchy；　from　satrap　past　viceroy　to　confront　the　Emperor　himself。
　　　Each　volume　of　the　trilogy　has　a　different　source　of　mythic　inspiration。　As　the　text　itself　explains；　The　Broken　Lands　is　based　on　an　Indian　myth　concerning　the　god　Indra　and　the　demon　Namuci。　The　gods　（devas）　and　demons　（asuras）　of　India　are　the　opposite　poles　of　the　same　transcendent　nature。　Each　side　continually　struggles　to　amass　enough　spiritual　energy　to　subdue　the　other。　Indra　the　Thunderer；　god　of　storm；　war；　and　fertility；　rider　of　the　white　elephant　Airavata；　Guardian　of　the　Eastern　Quarter　of　the　Universe；　once　swore　an　extravagant　oath　of　friendship　with　the　powerful　drought　demon　Namuci。　Later；　he　slipped　through　a　loophole　in　the　terms　to　slay　the　placent　demon。　（Georges　Dumezil's　Destiny　of　the　Warrior　exhaustively　analyzes　this　episode　as　a　key　Indo…European　myth。）　In　other　adventures；　mighty　Indra　also　slew　Trisiras；　a　triple…headed　hybrid　of　god　and　demon；　and　Vritra；　a　cosmic　dragon　who　had　impounded　the　waters　of　life。
　　　Saberhagen　works　some　clever　and　selective　transformations　on　this　raw　material。　Indra's　discus…shaped　Thunderstone　appears　as　a　practical　device　for　making　rain　or　war。　The　oath　bees　a　prophecy　of　retribution　by　Arneh；　the　mysterious　presence　who　can　manifest　himself　in　persons；　places；　or　things。　Namuci　is　the　East's　cruel　satrap　Ekuman；　leigeman　of　demons；　and　the　sea…spume　that　kills　him　is　fireextinguisher　foam。　The　instrument　of　Arneh's　justice　is　a　youth　named　Rolf　who　has　a　natural　affinity　for　technology　and　the　courage　to　ride　the　atomic…powered　elephant　to　victory。
　　　The　Black　Mountains　borrows　motifs　rather　than　specific　incidents　from　mythology　and　arranges　these　in　opposing　pairs　to　render　the　next　great　battle　between　East　and　West。　Defeated　Easterner　Lord　Chup；　〃the　tall　broken　man；〃　is　wounded　and　healed；　slain　and　reborn；　degraded　and　redeemed　so　that　he　at　last　stands　tall　and　whole　…　on　the　Western　side。　Som　the　Dead；　an　inhuman　man；　is　annihilated　by　a　godlike　beast；　the　immortal　Lord　Draffut。　（These　two　fantastical　characters　seem　to　echo　every　remembered　tale　of　animated　corpses　and　kindly　nature　spirits　…　the　Nazgul　king　and　Tom　Bombadil　from　The　Lord　of　the　Rings　spring　to　mind。　Nevertheless；　they　are　strikingly　original　creations。）　Rolf's　twin　quests　for　his　kidnapped　sister　and　for　the　hidden　life…principle　of　the　demon　Zapranoth　end　in　the　same　place；　resolved　by　the　familiar　fairytale　device　of　the　separable　soul。　Ultimately；　demons　prove　as　vunerable　to　men　as　men　are　to　demons。
　　　Ardneh's　World　（the　retitled　Changeling　Earth）　reveals　the　secret　of　that　being's　identity。　As　the　war　front　spreads　out　to　its　widest　expanse；　the　distinctions　between　the　two　sides　reach　their　sharpest　contrast　through　the　use　of　mythic　prototypes。　Like　the　ancient　battle　Indra　the　Generous　fought　with　Vritra　the　Enveloper；　this　is　a　duel　to　the　death　between　mankind's　Advocate　and　its　Adversary。　The　personifications　of　Defense　and　Aggression　meet　in　mortal　bat。
　　　The　Demon…Emperor　Orcus　bears　the　Latin　name　for　both　Hades　and　its　ruler。　He　is　an　Old　World　hell　bomb　turned　New　World　hell…lord。　（In　the　Mahabharata；　demonic　Vritra　looks　uncannily　like　a　nuclear　explosion's　mushroom　cloud：　〃He　grew；　towering　up　to　heaven　like　the　fiery　sun；　as　if　the　sun　of　doomsday　had　arisen。〃）　The　malevolence　of　Orcus　is　sordid。　This　haunter　of　waterless　places　is　not　Milton's　glamorous　rebel　but　Meredith's　bully　who　cringes　away　from　starlight。　Ominor；　once　his　servant　but　now　his　master；　chained　him　away　beneath　the　earth　for　a　thousand　years。　Now　like　Satan　or　Loki；　the　fiend　bursts　forth　for　the　day　of　wrath　and　falls　like　lightning　on　his　foe。
　　　Ardneh；　like　Orcus；　has　a　substance　〃only　partially　subject　to　the　laws　of　matter。〃　But　he　was　born　of　benevolent　technology　as　the　consciousness　of　a　defense　system　that　〃damped　the　energies　of　nuclear　fire〃　and　〃freed　the　energies　of　life。〃　（His　home　base　may　have　been　SAC　Headquarters　in　Omaha。）　Although　he　is　the　actual　author　of　the　Change　that　transformed　the　world；　he　denies　being　a　god。　Perhaps　a　more　appropriate　title　for　the　Archdemon's　counterpart　is　Archangel　like　an　angelic　power；　Ardneh　〃is　where　he　works。〃　By　sacrificing　himself　to　annihilate　Orcus；　he　brings　victory　out　of　defeat　while　the　Western　army　retreats　to　win　the　day。
　　　This　paradoxical　resolution　recalls　major　triumphs　in　the　berserker　wars　and　even　the　Pascal　mystery。　It　is；　the　capstone　of　all　the　paradoxes　and　ironies　that　shape　the　story。　Draffut　destroys　Som　the　Dead　by　trying　to　heal　him。　Blows　wound　the　one　who　struck　them；　spells　rebound　on　the　one　who　cast　them。　Tiny　flaws　widen　and　small　kindnesses　expand　to　undermine　the　mightiest　citadels　of　evil。　The　weak　can　prove　surprisingly　strong　and　the　strong；　shockingly　weak。
　　　Westerners；　even　Ardneh　himself；　resist　temptation　but　Easterners　sink　ever　lower　in　depravity　by　freely　chosen　stages。　Refusing　one　shameful　order　pivots　Chup　against　the　East。　The　Western　cause　draws　persons　together　but　the　East；　that　〃society　of　essential　selfishness〃　is　hopelessly　divided　against　itself　as　each　member　scrabbles　for　more　influence。　Absolute　dominion　as　an　end　in　itself　brings　scant　satisfaction　to　him　who　wields　it。　At　best；　Ominor　finds　mild　distraction　in　sadism。
　　　The　white…clad　supreme　tyrant　is　〃the　most　ordinarylooking〃　of　the　nine　'Unworthies'　who　sit　on　his　council。　His　manner　is　as　banal　as　his　first　name　and　his　capital　on　the　site　of　Chicago　is　nothing　like　Sauron's；　its　charm　being　marred　only　by　a　few　impaling　stakes　among　the　flowerbeds。　Sheer　untiring　wickedness　has　raised　this　apparatchik　above　the　direst　demons　in　malignant　force。
　　　Exotic　Lady　Charmian；　on　the　other　hand；　is　supernally　fair　but　eventually　boring　as　she　slithers　from　bed　to　bed。　Her　monotonous　scheming　inevitably　brings　about　the　very　opposite　of　what　she　sought　to　achieve；　at　her　father　Ekuman's　court；　in　Som's　stronghold；　and　among　the　leaders　of　the　East。　Although　she　is　mired　in　her　rut　of　malice；　her　husband　Chup　still　claims　her。　The　same　stubborness　that　saved　his　own　integrity　may　yet　undo　the　effects　of　her　childhood　pledging　to　the　East。　Chup's　regeneration　stands　for　the　transformation　of　his　troubled　world。　But　the　future　of　that　world　belongs　to　Rolf　and　his　kind。　As　in　The　Lord　of　the　Rings；　the　major　figures　on　both　sides　disappear；　leaving　the　world　to　men　and　to　powers　they　can　control。　However；　magic　will　not　entirely　vanish　here；　although　technology　will　slowly　revive。　Having　won　the　contest　for　mastery；　men　can　now　make　of　their　lives　what　they　will；　whether　by　sorcery　or　science　…　or　both。
　　　But　what　happens　to　that　bright…seeming　future？　It　develops　its　own　kind　of　darkness。　Two　thousand　years　after　Empire；　power　games　continue　in　The　Book　of　Swords。　But　〃game〃　is　no　metaphor　here　for　plot　turns　are　actually　stages　in　a　formal　game　being　played　by　beings　who　call　themselves　gods　and　simultaneously　fit　into　a　wider　contest　between　entities　that　may　be　playing　through　these　gods。　That　action　begins　in　the　Ludus　（〃Game〃）　Mountains　signals　the　artificiality　of　all　that　follows。
　　　Game…oriented　sf　has　almost　bee　a　sub…genre　of　storytelling。　Saberhagen　has　written　some　himself；　such　as　those　berserker　stories　cited　earlier　and　his　novel　Octagon　（1981）　which　focusses　more　on　the　players　than　the　game　being　played。　（A　version　of　the　latter　i