This suggests a fairy tale, which in the heads of those at Mallorys, it more or less ends like one. The bad gets punished, the good guy gets the girl in the end, all heroic-like. Again, Donaldson is setting up roles, but throughout the entire series shifts the players between roles. Throughout this book, Morn is typically the victim, Angus the villain, and Nick the hero. But so much is based on perception.So the fair maiden was rescued. The swashbuckling pirate bore her away with all her beauty, and her tormentor was left to pay the price of his crimes.
In Angus’ eyes, which we see through for most of this tale, he seems himself as the victim at times. Part of it is Morn’s beauty, and his inability to be able to cope with it. Nick victimized him by coveting what is “his,” and stealing her away by framing him. Sure, he seems himself as the villain several times, but I do not think he ever quite sees himself as the hero.
Even though it is open to some interpretation, Angus does “rescue the fair maiden” to some degree. I believe Morn would be dead if Angus had not intervened. Obviously the ship was doomed. But even if someone nice did come and rescue her from the ship, Morn would have been wracked with guilt and probably taken her own life. This is a talent Donaldson has of taking something bad and giving it a good effect. As we will see as the story progresses in other books, the zone implants Angus gave Morn also have this effect.
As the events play out in this chapter, Morn does become Angus’ rescuer though. All he gets slapped with is stealing supplies, which, and I never noticed this before, would not have carried any water with the courts once the supply ship from Earth arrived on time. But he was a known criminal that had always snaked his way out of one situation to the next. Finally he is busted with something, and no one is standing up shouting, “Injustice! Retrial!” Funny that he is caught for something he did not do in a life of atrocities.
Nick, on the other hand, is far from a hero. From what we are told in this book, Nick did not have eyes to rescue someone in need. No; he just saw something he coveted that belonged to someone he hated, and took it. The added humiliation and framing of Angus was just the cherry on top, although I might have this the wrong way around. It certainly started as He wants Her, but as it got more personal between Nick and Angus, it became He wants Him to suffer. But Nick definitely sees himself as the hero.
The book ends with Nick having finally taken Morn from Angus, and off to places unknown. Nick looks pretty good, as he was able to get a known criminal busted, and once the supply ship actually does arrive, looks better for his cleverness in the eyes of those at Mallorys. Nobody knows anything about Morn, from those at Mallorys who know nothing about her killing her family or her zone implant and the deal she made with Angus, to the UMCP who would be very interested to know all of that. Angus is in lockup which is supposedly for life, but is alive at least. He does not complain that he has been framed, he does not tell that there is someone on the inside with Nick, and the only thing that gets to him is that his ship is being dismantled. But he let Morn go.
So why did Morn not turn Angus in? Why did she save him? One answer is something that is brought up in the next book which is about Morn’s “little secret” from the UMCP and even Nick, which I’ve always regarded as a little flimsy. Was it that thing you hear about where someone falls for their captors? I don’t really see that. Did she see some humanity in him? I still am not sure. Maybe a reread of the rest of the series will explain it, but I do not think it does. So I guess I am leaving this with a question.
