# The Coordinator's Charge explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Mack Reynolds.

## What happens

The Coordinator briefs Academician Amschel Mayer and Dr. Leonid Plekhanov on their mission as the first team to guide the primitive colonies on Rigel's planets, Genoa and Texcoco, into the Galactic Commonwealth. He emphasizes the immense power and responsibility they hold, the lack of oversight for fifty years, and that even failure will be valuable for future teams.

## Themes in this chapter

### Power and Corruption

The Coordinator warns Mayer and Plekhanov that they will wield godlike power over millions, with no oversight for fifty years, highlighting the immense potential for corruption.

### Technology and Alienation

The team's advanced science and technology place them centuries ahead of the colonists, creating a profound alienation between the rulers and the ruled.

## Character check-ins

### Amschel Mayer

Academician Amschel Mayer, thin and high-pitched, expresses nervousness and worry about the mission's potential failure.

### Leonid Plekhanov

Dr. Leonid Plekhanov, heavy, slow and dour, is Mayer's contemporary and shows impatience with the delay.

## Key lines

> No Caesar ever exerted the power that will be in your educated hands. For a half century you will be as gods.

You will have more control over these colonists than any historical emperor, and you will be like deities to them for fifty years.

_The Coordinator emphasizes the unprecedented authority the team will hold._

> Even your failure would be of infinite use to us.

If you fail, we will learn from your mistakes to improve future missions.

_The Coordinator reassures Mayer that the mission's outcome is valuable regardless of success._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_36_se/chapters/i
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_36_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_36_se/chapters