Claymores and the Draka Janissaries

[faintsmile1992]

I can't remember the thread here where we discussed why Claymores fight for the org and so rarely sedert it, so I'm posting this as a new thread instead. Its from another forum and people are discussing the Janissaries, a military unit raised from the serf caste of the Draka society to fight its enemies like Nazism, Communism, Democracy etc. (I love the Drakas btw! "Live as if you were going to die tomorrow: farm as if you were going to live forever"...)

"The janisaries (I know I'm butchering the spelling): This would be harder to pull off, but it's possible. History is replete with servant races fighting for their masters. Slaves, who knew they'd never be anything but slaves, fighting to defend their masters and the system that held them in bondage.

The key would be two fold: the removal of hope and the tie with the family. By removing hope, you remove any chance of the situation improving. In fact, you keep a tight lid on people escaping and then show how the system could be a lot worse. Once they're convinced that escape and rebellion are impossible, you need to offer rewards. Janissaries are elevated amongst serfs. It provides for them the closest thing they'll ever get for advancement. That's a very plausible creation.

Secondly, you make sure that janissaries are in contact with families and friends (this is hinted at but never confirmed by Sterling). If the janissary has family back home, he's less likely to try to escape, lest harm befall them. If he knows that his actions will improve their lot, he'll fight harder.

And that last paragraph reminds me of what Rubel told Clare about Raki and some slave traders, too. He might not have wanted them to grow closer, although the org wanted them to, but once they did he used their relationship against Clare.

Of course it doesn't prove that Yagi has actually read Stirling's books or even heard of the Drakas and their Domination, and both observations about how to control people are common sense (as well as slave armies of Mamluks and Janissaries being a historical reality). But I read this and I thought of Claymore right away.