David Johnston wrote:
OK, I have a problem here. Sort of a fundamental one, actually.
There's no good reason for Akane to be the heir to the Commonwealth.
What kind of rule of primogeniture makes the youngest daughter the heir?
Ah, the discussion of primogeniture, or a line of succession based on
the first-born (almost always male) child of the ruler. Primogeniture
itself came about in Western culture by the end of the 12th Century, and
was used in places where the ruling dynasty was secure enough to set its
own terms. The concept stems from the idea of the 'Divine Right of
Kings' and the fact of infant mortality and relatively short life-spans
meant a need to quickly establish an irrefutable line of succession.
Personally, I believe primogeniture is an idea that's past its time,
even in the 'feudal' setting of Battletech. My reasoning:
1. 'Divine Right' isn't exactly a concept in vogue at the beginning of
the 21st Century, to say nothing of the 31st. There may be ancient
claims to the Star League, but they have nothing to do with God.
2. Even in a comparative 'dark age,' the richer, more developed worlds
of the Inner Sphere aren't faced with problems of life-span or infant
mortality.
3. I feel that modern educated rulers would realize that certain
offspring may not have the talent or the character to make good rulers,
and would seek to preserve family wealth and power (to say nothing of
the country's stability) by naming an heir that was better qualified.
Being firstborn does not make you automatically qualified to rule.
Finally, I did explain in an admittedly brief sentence in Part 2 why
Akane was chosen by Soun to be heir. Kasumi and Nabiki didn't want the
job, so Akane got stuck with it. Which isn't to say that Akane doesn't
want the job. I infer in the story that it is the right of the Heir to
command the vaunted 1st Nerima Guards battlemech regiment, no matter
their age, rank, or combat experience, and I thought I made clear the
fact that commanding the 1st Nerima is Akane's ardent desire.
In the original series, Akane is the heir because she is the only
martial artist, because it's a martial arts dojo, and because she's
engaged to Ranma who has a claim on the dojo.
I'm confused here. Are you saying Ranma has a (legitimate) claim to the
dojo? Other than through his engagement to Akane that is.
Here none of that reasoning applies to who inherits the government.
Kasumi is the eldest and is already administering. Obviously she should
inherit, all other things being equal. So why wouldn't she?
Unless she was content in her role as administrator, and had a father
who was used to letting her get her way. This is how I see personally
see the Kasumi/Soun relationship. He pretty much lets her run the
household as she sees fit. Just as long as the meals are there on time
and the house is ship-shape, he could care less how she does it. Soun
would also know that Kasumi would be an invaluable and thoroughly loyal
ADC to Akane, so he's not too worried about turning over the country to
his youngest daughter when the time comes to abdicate.
One possibility is that Kasumi and Akane have different mothers and that
Soun's claim to the throne derived from his marriage to Akane's mother
(she presumably being the last of the previous royal line). That would
make sense in terms of her marriage handing over the kingdom to Kuno or
Gosunkugi. Another is that the Saotomes actually have a claim to the
throne in their own right which combines with Akane's to bump her up to
First Daughter. Lastly you could just write in a law saying that the
best mechwarriour in the ruling family automatically inherits. That
would probably mean that dynastic disputes get settled with mech duels
but is appropriate for a very rough and ready feudal system.
Or you can say that the Grand Duke has the right to choose his own
Heir... Giving Soun more than one wife isn't in keeping with Ranma 1/2,
to say nothing about making the story more complex than it already is. I
don't care for the idea of giving Ranma and Genma any kind claim to the
Confederation other than marrying into it. They are to some extent part
of the gentry by virtue of being mechwarriors, but they are not
nobility.
Akane's marriage to Kuno or Gosunkugi would merely be political window
dressing for the act of surrender, a sop to the masses to get them to
cooperate with their new overlords.
The pervert thing bothers me. Ranma just hasn't done anything
perverted. Maybe Akane should call him a mutant instead.
He wasn't doing anything perverted early in the original material by
Takahashi, but that didn't stop Akane from calling him a pervert from
the get-go.
I toyed with the idea of a mutation causing the curse, but let's face
it, too many physical laws are violated by Jusenkyo to call it anything
short of magic. Mutation just didn't sit well with me after coming to
that conclusion.
(Bridget, in her role as Devil's Advocate, informs me that the word
'hentai' can be used as a pun for 'shapechanger' as well as the more
common Western interpretation as 'pervert.')
Tetsuo should have applauded the choice of Ranma as Akane's fiancee. It
has derailed the Combine's takeover of the Commonwealth and thereby
saved the butts of the League.
But he also knows that it won't sit well with Hikaru, and that he
brought along a bunch of commandos to take Akane by force if they
couldn't get her through diplomacy - an option that he is not very eager
to exercise, but will if forced. He's also worried that Soun Tendo is
taking back his country from the manipulations of Nabiki, and that means
that all their assumptions and the plans from which they were based are
now worthless.
It seems unlikely to me that Tsubasa would be a mechwarriour. After all
his counterpart wasn't a martial artist and he does just fine as a spy.
Did I mention that he was a mechwarrior? If so, it was not intentional.
I have no plans for putting him in a 'mech.
"That might be a bit hasty," Genma hedged. "After all, we can't
prove anything yet." He looked down at Ranma. "Well, boy, who do you
think it was?"
I'd leave out the "yet". It might be a good idea for Genma to point out
that they are actually the least likely suspect since it is the other
diplomatic delegations that still have a ship on planet which could move
her off world. But how did Tetsuo plan to get away with it? Unless
Tsubasa was supposed to stay behind and impersonate Akane...would have
been funny, with three Akanes running around at the same time.
Soun is jumping to the hasty judgment that it was the Combine because of
his nasty final encounter with Ambassador Domitian. As for the 'yet,'
there had not been an official investigation into the incident when he
mentioned it.
Tetsuo intended on a quiet abduction, where no one notices she's gone
until it's too late. This would give them (both the Commandos in their
stealth ship and the delegation in their own vessels) time to get
off-world without a fight. He realizes that a botched kidnapping of
Akane will be a shattering blow to diplomacy, but figures that if he
manages to gain possession of Akane as a hostage, then that will keep
Confederation forces from shooting at him and allow him to escape. He
expects Hikaru Gosunkugi to take it from there.
Wow. Being Happosai's reward. An Amazon would have to screw up big to
get that assignment.
Yes indeed. All the more incentive to perform one's duties to the
utmost.
Thank you for the thought-provoking comments. It took me the better part
of an hour to compose this reply.
Jamie
--
"I choose you - PIKASPEW!!!"
Jamie to 2 month old daughter Madeline,
shortly after being spat up upon...
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