Admiral Naismith
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Admiral Naismith is a character in Lois McMaster Bujold's sci-fi series, the Vorkosigan Saga.
[edit] Creation of Naismith
Miles Vorkosigan developped an alternate identity as Admiral Naismith, under which he ran the Dendarii Mercenaries (formally the Oseran Mercenaries until Miles took over from Admiral Oser) until the novel Memory. It began as a lie but eventually evolved into a pretty real cover identity.
[edit] Who is Naismith supposed to be?
Admiral Naismith is quite a formidable personality, who is able to convince and persuade (or manipulate) most people to see things from his point of view. He is also a good judge of personnel, an essential for a leader. Miles Vorkosigan himself once said to Emperor Gregor Vorbarra of Barrayan, "I guess Naismith is me with no brakes. No constraints." (The Vor Game) This characteristic makes him a very dangerous enemy, as he is willing to take risks that most normal people would avoid.
In theory, Naismith is a Betan by birth (speaks with a Betan accent). Originally, he was supposed to be detached from a larger unit of mercenaries but in time it should have become apparent that the former Oserans were the whole of the Dendarii Mercenaries.
Later, Miles developed a cover that he was a clone made by the Cetagandans meant to infilitrate Barrayar by replacing Miles Vorkosigan. This turned out to be ironic, as there was a real clone made for just that purpose. This actually allowed Miles to cement his cover by having a Cetagandan officer witness both Miles Vorkosigan and Admiral Naismith in the same place at the same time.
Eventually, the split personality of turning Naismith on and off became a bit of a problem for Miles. Miles feel that Naismith is not just a role to him, it is almost a part of him. When he was fired from ImpSec and thus no longer able to control the Dendarii as Naismith, his mother, Countess Vorkosigan bet her husband Aral Vorkosigan that Miles would choose the little admiral and run off with the Mercenaries. Miles Vorkosigan mourned the loss of Admiral Naismith for a long time.
