Short Fiction · Chapter
III explained
The Earth team, led by Leonid Plekhanov and Joe Chessman, lands their spacecraft in the central plaza of Texcoco's capital city, which they rename Tula.
What happens
The Earth team, led by Leonid Plekhanov and Joe Chessman, lands their spacecraft in the central plaza of Texcoco's capital city, which they rename Tula. They observe a society reminiscent of the Aztecs, with pyramids and a primitive culture. After a period of observation, they disembark and meet Taller, the Khan of the People, and his son Reif. Plekhanov asserts Earth's authority, announces plans to modernize and unify the planet through force and technology, and demonstrates superior steel and longevity to impress the locals. The team begins preparations for industrial and military expansion.
Themes in this chapter
Power and Corruption
Plekhanov and Chessman discuss how ruling cliques (priests, slave-owners, barons) resist change to maintain power, and the Earth team imposes its will on Texcoco with arrogant authority.
Technology and Alienation
The Earth team's advanced technology (spacecraft, steel weapons, longevity) alienates and overwhelms the Texcocans, who are awed and intimidated by the display.
Rebellion and Revolution
Plekhanov's plan to forcibly unify the planet and modernize society implies a revolutionary upheaval of Texcoco's existing order, with resistance expected.
Characters to notice
- Joseph Chessman
Pilots the space lighter, commands the landing team, and corrects Watson's misconception about Montezuma and Aztec society.
- Leonid Plekhanov
Leads the expedition, renames the planet and city, outlines plans for conquest and modernization, and demonstrates his age and steel weaponry to assert dominance.
- Taller
Khan of the People, greets the Earth team with dignity but is skeptical of their claims and plans for unification.
- Khan Reif
Taller's eldest son and second-in-command of the armies, coldly observes the Earth team and receives the steel sword bayonet.
- Barry Watson
Military expert who suggests using the Macedonian phalanx, chariots, and cavalry tactics for the Texcocan army.
- Natt Roberts
Technician and geographer, photographs the terrain and is tasked with locating iron ore and coal.
- Stonewall Cogswell
Technician who comments on the natives' fear and is assigned to train artisans in basic advancements like the wheel.
Key passages
“There was no empire because Indian society, being based on the clan, had no method of assimilating newcomers.”
Aztec society lacked an imperial structure due to its clan-based organization, which prevented integration of conquered peoples.
Chessman explains the limitations of Aztec social evolution to Watson.
“A society that builds pyramids is a static one. For that matter any society that resorts to make-work projects to busy its citizenry has something basically wrong.”
Plekhanov argues that pyramid-building indicates a stagnant society using public works to control the population.
Plekhanov criticizes the use of make-work projects as a sign of societal dysfunction.
“We'll adopt a policy of expansion. Those who join us freely will become members of the State with full privileges. Those who resist will be made prisoners of war and used for shock labor on the roads and in the mines.”
Plekhanov outlines a strategy of conquest where collaborators gain rights and resisters are enslaved for hard labor.
Plekhanov announces the Earth team's plan for subjugating Texcoco.
