Miles considers this question, and concludes, "I think he must have been a diplomat."
Then the pilot of their personnel pod makes a course adjustment. The force exerted by the attitude jets briefly presses Miles against his seat straps as the pod rotates; when the acceleration ceases, the planet of Eta Ceta IV is visible through the forward viewport. Miles cranes his neck to study it over the pilot's shoulder.
It's a hell of a view.
The retreating dayline, just visible on the far edge of the planet, leaves in its wake a glittering sprawl of civilization so dense and extensive that, orbiting above the nightside, you could probably read by its cumulative glow the way someone on the ground of a less industrialized planet might use the light of full moons. Barrayar, for example. Miles attempts with mixed success to redirect his envy; surely the central planet of the Cetagandan Empire is gaudy and overdressed, in comparison to his home with its few sparkling cities scattered amid the darkness of the unpowered and in some cases still unterraformed landscape. Yes, that's the ticket. Lieutenant Lord Miles Vorkosigan, officer and nobleman, should not be daunted by the mere sight of a planet shinier than his own.
no subject
Then the pilot of their personnel pod makes a course adjustment. The force exerted by the attitude jets briefly presses Miles against his seat straps as the pod rotates; when the acceleration ceases, the planet of Eta Ceta IV is visible through the forward viewport. Miles cranes his neck to study it over the pilot's shoulder.
It's a hell of a view.
The retreating dayline, just visible on the far edge of the planet, leaves in its wake a glittering sprawl of civilization so dense and extensive that, orbiting above the nightside, you could probably read by its cumulative glow the way someone on the ground of a less industrialized planet might use the light of full moons. Barrayar, for example. Miles attempts with mixed success to redirect his envy; surely the central planet of the Cetagandan Empire is gaudy and overdressed, in comparison to his home with its few sparkling cities scattered amid the darkness of the unpowered and in some cases still unterraformed landscape. Yes, that's the ticket. Lieutenant Lord Miles Vorkosigan, officer and nobleman, should not be daunted by the mere sight of a planet shinier than his own.