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Cam is out flying. There's a decent cloud of atmosphere around the gold plane, now, millenia of demons making air around themselves for comfort and not sealing it up because why would you bother. There's a small forest, here - the effect is kind of ruined by the lamps it has to grow under, but it's still pretty.
He feels an open summons and lets it grab him -
the Connecticut Yankee summons Demon Cam
from_scratch
from_scratch
"Yes, but if there's some sort of emergency - for instance, if you are about to die and I am for some reason very far away, but you have access to a piece of charcoal, a floor, and two minutes, you may as well try to dismiss and resummon me to where I can help with the 'about to die' thing."
connecticut_yankee
"Always good to have another backup plan." He folds the paper and puts it in his pocket.
"Any other ideas on how to tell people to replace the monarchy without saying it isn't the one true form of government?"
"Any other ideas on how to tell people to replace the monarchy without saying it isn't the one true form of government?"
from_scratch
"Actually, the longer I think about this the more I'm wondering why democracy is such a great plan anyway. But I'm betting you'd stop being so admirably nonracist about my demonhood if I expressed an interest in kinghood and I did just tell you how to get rid of me."
connecticut_yankee
"Suppose you did become king, and convinced everyone to accept you. They would then believe that you were infallibly placed over them because it is your rightful place. They would not be able to comprehend the idea that you might be wrong or that they might ever have a duty to disobey you or that they might have any rights against whatever you choose to do to them. I have no doubt that you would be better than whatever other king they might suffer under, but it would nevertheless be a grave blow against equality."
from_scratch
"You really don't have a very high opinion of these people, do you. Democracy's very good at some things, but - not at all things. I suppose it's a reasonable start, anyway, if it comes down to it after Earth is nice and industrial I'll fly off and terraform Mars and take immigrants with a slightly more sophisticated understanding of how monarchy actually works... Right, fine, I will angel it up and declare an end to kings of England. I'll be the Emperor of Mars if I get that far."
connecticut_yankee
"It's not the people's fault. I blame the Church. But it is true that everyone in this country believes that hierarchy is right and natural. Electing rulers to be regents in name is, I think, as democratic as I can come without the blessing of a king.
If you run Mars the way England is run in my time, I won't try to overthrow you. I don't object to the existence of high-sounding titles, only to what they're taken to mean."
If you run Mars the way England is run in my time, I won't try to overthrow you. I don't object to the existence of high-sounding titles, only to what they're taken to mean."
from_scratch
"I think I have an advantage over anybody trying to run England in your time, given that I don't have to worry about economic scarcity of necessities and foreigners will not be able to visit unless they manage to get ahold of one of the spaceships I personally manufacture. So I should be able to do at least that well."
connecticut_yankee
"I think we're getting ahead of ourselves again.
Would you be willing to tell people as divinely as possible that Arthur is alive and will return eventually, that leaders in his absence should be elected by and from all the citizens, and that the bishops who promulgated the Interdict are ordered to revoke it?"
Would you be willing to tell people as divinely as possible that Arthur is alive and will return eventually, that leaders in his absence should be elected by and from all the citizens, and that the bishops who promulgated the Interdict are ordered to revoke it?"
from_scratch
"Mmm - can I just say 'until Arthur returns' rather than specifying an estimated time of revival?"
connecticut_yankee
"I don't see why not. After all, the point is merely to sound like we're not undermining divine right of kings."
from_scratch
"Sure. Am I going to have a drastic language barrier? I know only a tiny bit of Old English and that only because I got summoned by a linguistics department one time."
connecticut_yankee
"To be honest I have no idea why I can speak with people here. But I can, so you more likely than not can as well."
from_scratch
"I'm not certain that's a safe assumption. Anybody I can chat with first as a test? Or something written down so I can see how well I can read it?"
connecticut_yankee
"The schools aren't native to this century, so that does strange things to what the writing looks like. But this is meant to be read by any literate person today." He hands Cam a newspaper.
The lead story is from a war correspondent describing Arthur's last battle.
'Then the king looked about him, and then was he
ware of all his host and of all his good knights
were left no more on live but two knights, that
was Sir Lucan de Butlere, and his brother Sir
Bedivere: and they were full sore wounded. Jesu
mercy, said the king, where are all my noble
knights becomen? Alas that ever I should see this
doleful day. For now, said Arthur, I am come to
mine end. But would to God that I wist where were
that traitor Sir Mordred, that hath caused all
this mischief.'
The lead story is from a war correspondent describing Arthur's last battle.
'Then the king looked about him, and then was he
ware of all his host and of all his good knights
were left no more on live but two knights, that
was Sir Lucan de Butlere, and his brother Sir
Bedivere: and they were full sore wounded. Jesu
mercy, said the king, where are all my noble
knights becomen? Alas that ever I should see this
doleful day. For now, said Arthur, I am come to
mine end. But would to God that I wist where were
that traitor Sir Mordred, that hath caused all
this mischief.'
from_scratch
"Okay, so I can probably talk to them but I should cut way down on the casual register and the idiom."
connecticut_yankee
"Probably. My speech is largely my own, but I am widely known to be strange and don't need to seem conventionally credible. The same would apply to an apparent angel. The only danger is that your speech has more in common with mine than with theirs."
connecticut_yankee
"Definitely a good idea when issuing revelations to the Church; they use it for all their theology. For everyone else, it can't hurt as long as you also speak in the vernacular."
from_scratch
"Okay. I suspect I ought to have a prepared speech, here, but one thing I have not done in my hundred and seventy-two years is attempt to co-write public speaking notes, how shall we go about that?"
connecticut_yankee
"It may take three weeks to prepare for an impromptu speech back home, but people are more reasonable about improvised lines here. Especially when you can call down lightning. But for something this important...."
He picks up a pen and paper and starts scribbling.
'BE IT KNOWN UNTO ALL. Whereas the king having been sore wounded by the traitor Mordred, and beyond all mortal aid taken to the Isle of Avalon, and whereas he has left no heir, it is the duty of the British people to meet together and by their votes to elect representatives from noble and commoner alike. They shall deliver into their hands the government, and continue so doing throughout the generations until Arthur should return.
BE IT FURTHER KNOWN that no just God would allow any man to refuse another's absolution, THEREFORE a general dispensation is granted that if any be unable to receive a sacrament by reason of the present Interdict or any other, his soul is at no risk because of it. But if any, being charged to provide such holy sacraments to those willing to receive them, refuses, he fails to discharge his duty.'
He shows Cam the paper.
"That ought to put their Interdict down for good. I hope you don't mind speaking for a Catholic God, but, well, I don't hold with people threatening one another with Hell."
He picks up a pen and paper and starts scribbling.
'BE IT KNOWN UNTO ALL. Whereas the king having been sore wounded by the traitor Mordred, and beyond all mortal aid taken to the Isle of Avalon, and whereas he has left no heir, it is the duty of the British people to meet together and by their votes to elect representatives from noble and commoner alike. They shall deliver into their hands the government, and continue so doing throughout the generations until Arthur should return.
BE IT FURTHER KNOWN that no just God would allow any man to refuse another's absolution, THEREFORE a general dispensation is granted that if any be unable to receive a sacrament by reason of the present Interdict or any other, his soul is at no risk because of it. But if any, being charged to provide such holy sacraments to those willing to receive them, refuses, he fails to discharge his duty.'
He shows Cam the paper.
"That ought to put their Interdict down for good. I hope you don't mind speaking for a Catholic God, but, well, I don't hold with people threatening one another with Hell."
from_scratch
"Yeah, what's up with that, Hell's really nice, it's only that it's tacky." He reads the paper. "Do I loiter and take questions or fly away at the end?"
connecticut_yankee
"I suppose it should depend on whether people seem to understand the message. Angels taking questions would be unusual, but not unheard-of. Not that anyone outside the Church has been doing much hearing-of anyway."
from_scratch
"Okay. This is going to be a serious challenge to my self-restraint, but I think I can do it. Next question is timing and location."
connecticut_yankee
"That's easy enough. My fifty-odd Republicans are fortified against siege in a certain cave, and we need not go to the knights of Britain if we know where they are coming to us. My information is dated from three days ago, and estimates that the army could reach them within the week. Any time in the next few days we can tell tens of thousands of knights at a stroke."