Conquistador (novel)
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| Conquistador | |
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| Author | S. M. Stirling |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | alternate history |
| Publisher | Roc Books |
| Publication date | 2003 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 608 (paperback) |
| ISBN | 978-0451459336 |
Conquistador is a 2003 alternate history novel by S. M. Stirling. Its point of divergence occurs when Pochahantas and John Rolfe have more children creating a line of Rolfes who are related to all of the major families of Virginia. Most of the story, however, is set in a parallel universe discovered by one of Rolfe's descendants.
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[edit] Plot summary
John Rolfe VI comes back from World War II with a war wound and few prospects, but in 1946 a radio he is fiddling with malfunctions and creates a gateway to a parallel universe. This universe is one in which Alexander the Great lived a full lifespan creating an empire that stretched as far as Spain to India. In this world, however, Europeans have not discovered the Americas yet. Deciding to take advantage of the untapped resources that await on this world, Rolfe gathers his old army buddies to help him build a new nation, called the Commonwealth of New Virginia, in this parallel universe.
In 2009, two California fish and game officers (Tom Christiansen and Roy Tully) are trying to solve the mystery of how a large number of pelts from endangered species are showing up. They figure out the secret of the gate to the parallel world, but before they can make the secret known to their superiors, they are promptly and permanently transported to New Virginia by Rolfe's granddaughter, Gate Security Agent Adrienne Rolfe (with whom Christiansen falls in love).
Once the two rangers get over their resentment of being forcibly removed to this world, Adrienne enlists them in a scheme to sabotage a coming coup in New Virginia. Giovanni Colletta, head of the second most powerful family and son of a rather sleazy war buddy of Rolfe's, has resented the elder Rolfe's control, and he and some allies are trying to take over by force and violence. The rangers decide that Rolfe and his allies are the lesser of two evils and decide to help prevent the coup. The group discovers that Colleta is arming post-Aztec and post-Mayan to build an army (something illegal under Commonwealth law) to take the Gate and hold the Commonwealth hostage.
Colletta duly strikes, giving the other families the grounds to oppose him militarily. The revolt is put down, but at a price: the radio is destroyed, and with it, the connection to the other world. What little talent the Commonwealth has in physics works together feverishly to re-establish the Gate. They are successful, but when they look through the gate, they do not see FirstSide (New Virginia slang for Rolfe's home Earth) Oakland, but a sabertooth tiger. They have failed to re-establish contact with their world of origin, establishing contact instead with an even more primitive world.
[edit] History of the Commonwealth of New Virginia
While trying to fix his radio in his basement, Rolfe accidentally created a gate to an alternate California where Europeans had yet to discover the New World. After exploring the world through the Gate by himself, Rolfe brought several friends from the army to see for themselves. Later while camping in an alternate California after hunting and panning for gold, the group agreed to keep the "Gate" a secret in an effort so that they could exploit the wealth it brought for them and recognized Rolfe as the leader of this endeavor.
Using ties to the Mafia to cover up where they were getting the gold, Rolfe and his allies gained the starting capitol necessary to start their own country. To protect the secret of the Gate they bought up the area in Oakland around the Gate, converting it into an industrial complex. Immigration to "New Virginia" as it was called began with close family and friends of the men involved but later included settlers drawn from various ethnic groups looking for places to hide: fugitive Nazis, pieds-noirs, Afrikaners, Rhodesians, and Russian Communists.
By present day of the novel the Commonwealth of New Virginia had expanded across California with outposts as far as Alaska and Colorado and colonies on Hawaii and Australia. The original founders of the country structured the government so there families would remain in power long after they were dead and also adopted laws to causes and hobbies they were partial too. An example is Rolfe's love of hunting which encouraged him to import African animals that he released into the wilds of North America.
Farming and mining are the principal pillars of the Commonwealth economy, the latter being particularly profitable since the Commonwealth already knows the location of gold and other mines thanks to the history of FirstSide.
[edit] Politics of the Commonwealth of New Virginia
The Commonwealth of New Virginia has been described as a "feudal oligarchy" by one of the characters. It is a highly conservative state whose politics often clash with those of the main characters of the story. Power is held by the Thirty Families (which actually number 31) who make all of the decisions regarding the Commonwealth though there is some limited democracy in the form of the House of Burgesses. The Rolfe Family is considered the leader of the families and thus has some control over the others. All of the Families are led by the "Primes," or the head of family who is succeeded by the eldest adult male. All members of the Thirty Families not the Prime or heir are known as "Collaterals." Those not members of the Families are known as "Settlers." Most settlers declare loyalty to a certain family but some are independent.
While there are some cities in the Commonwealth, they have been deliberately been kept small by Rolfe and the other Primes. This has been done to protect the environment from pollution and other ills. The largest city Rolfeston, which is located where Berkeley would have been, has a population of only 28,000.
The demographics of the Commonwealth are primarily white with religions ranging from Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, and Jewish. The antebellum-minded Rolfe has barred blacks from being allowed into the Commonwealth, but some have come involuntarily after almost discovering the Gate secret.
Only members of the Thirty Families, and not all of them, may travel between the worlds. Everyone else must stay in New Virginia for life. The Gate traffic is monitored and controlled by the Gate Security Force (GSF). The secret is so important that the GSF has the authority to execute even members of the Thirty Families on FirstSide without trial if they are doing something that could give away the secret.
As in our history most Native Americans have suffered huge losses thanks to disease brought through the Gate. The Commonwealth does bring in workers from the Nahuatl speaking people to the south, but they are only allowed to stay temporarily and if they ever wish to reside permanently in the Commonwealth they are sterilized so they cannot reproduce.
[edit] References to other fiction
The billboard outside the Mermaid Café recalls the sign at the end of Robert A. Heinlein's Farnham's Freehold: Ralph Barnes, the cafe's owner, is referred to on the sign as "freeholder" (although in fact the cafe is on leased land). The reference is no doubt intended to be conscious on Barnes' part.
The names of many of the Boers encountered late in the novel (and killed) are identical with those of South African characters in Harry Turtledove's The Guns of the South in which most are also killed. Christiansen encounters that book on Adrienne's bookshelves.
Christiansen and Tully incorrectly cite (without attribution) Auric Goldfinger's adage that "Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action." The rangers get the first two reversed.
[edit] FirstSide
Stirling usually uses worlds which are slightly different from our own; he has stated that he does this because "it is simpler that way". This book is no different since in our Earth the Rolfe line died in the 17th century. The Earth of the novel, however, has Pocahontas living longer and giving birth to more sons, thus ensuring the Rolfe line would continue.
Even with these changes history still continues much as it did on our Earth, with a few exceptions. One flashback in the book is dated September 15, 2001, but makes no mention of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
[edit] References
- Stirling, S.M., "Conquistador", New York, Roc, 2003.
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