[Dragaera] Jhereg genetics

[Howard Brazee]

On 2/1/2010 9:32 AM, John Dallman wrote:
> I think they fear that if they let Vlad go, other Jhereg will start
> bending and breaking the rules, and their authority will vanish. They
> are very low on the cycle at present, so they are probably afraid that -
> while responsible people wouldn't seriously try to destroy House Jhereg
> - other forces might succeed in gaining control of it, possibly for
> several reigns.
>
> Being an effective criminal boss seems to have a lot to do with image
> and making sure that people understand you could do awful things to
> them. Their failure to kill Vlad, so far, is explainable in terms of his
> powerful friends and his Great Weapon, but those aren't good enough
> reasons for giving up. Having him in the city and doing things is far
> more annoying to them than him being absent in the hinterlands of the
> Empire. I'm a bit surprised that Vlad hasn't tried to fake his own
> death; perhaps he is too proud?
>    
There are always traditionalists who will demand punishment no-matter 
what.    We do have examples of the "Nixon in China" bit where the 
unthinkable can be done - provided it is done by a conservative.

But it's more likely that a very strong leader is needed for the 
scenario where the Jhereg decide to let Vlad live.   When one is strong 
enough, one's choices don't get openly questioned.   And when one is 
strong enough, questions about strength are moot anyway, and that's what 
this is.

The question here is - "what does it mean to be at the bottom of the 
cycle?".     Does it matter that they don't appear strong to Dragons?    
Probably not.    One can be a strong leader to the Jhereg - in much the 
same way that Lee Kuan Yew is the powerful ruler of Singapore, even 
though Singapore is not a powerful world state.    If Yew tells 
Singapore that some former enemy of the state was really a good guy - 
Singapore nods its collective head in agreement.