Times 232-1122

There is something fascinating about barbaric cultures. Since time immemorial, technologically advanced races have looked back with nostalgia upon earlier times, more primitive times -- times less complicated and demanding, when the world and there place in it was simple and understandable. And certainly one of the most compelling figures of mythos is the warrior -- devoted to his code and skill with ancient and romantic weapons.

Dr. Marguerite Amboiur has crafted a serious scholarly work on the warrior race of Birabates that at the same time manages to be an engaging tale of mythos and adventure.

Dr. Amboiur, whose previous books include Songs of Empire, about Cleon I and Gotterdamerung, about the fall of the terran empire, has already established herself as a historian with the gift of making dry history come alive.

In her latest book, Princes of Iron, Amboiur takes on the task of writing living history. In her book, she takes the reader into the fascinating world of the Sengi, feudal warlords of the planet Epsilon Birabates. Until recently, the Sengi have carefully shielded outsiders from their home world and their native culture. However, Dr. Amboiur, after 5 years of failure, finally obtained permission from the Birabaten government to visit their homeworld where she was given unprecedented access to records and key figures in Birabaten 'politics'.


Vol 877 Issue 232	232-1122
Constitutional Union Sparks Weapons Debate
The ongoing series of political forums at the Epicurean Society, also known as The Constitutional Union, has announced that it will debate issues relating to weapons possession and use on Regina's Up Port at its next meeting, on 240/ 1122. Several high profile instances, such as the accidental discharge by a MilTech Continental Siege Unit (CSU) on Up Port, and the damage done to Aguilon Park during attempts to subdue a military warbot that had run amok with a CSU operated by Starport Authority, have occurred recently. Fortunately the loss of sophant lives in these have not been proportional to the property damage done. Some people fear that this will change. It is therefore anticipated that the debate will focus upon the issues of "indiscriminate weapons" and "weapons of	mass destruction", the dangers posed by them, and how these dangers can be minimized. The political forums of the Constitutional Union were originally organized by Corina Ling-Raleigh to debate the course of Regina's political future. However, with the political landscape settled somewhat on Regina, the Constitutional Union seems to have plenty of social issues to debate as well. This meeting which is open to the public, will be held at the main salon of the Epicurean Society, at 8 p.m., and is free of charge. Members of the Epicurean Society, who plan to attend dinner there prior to the forum, are encouraged to make their reservations early.

Arts and Entertainment
An Inside Look at a Warrior Society
Princes of Iron nonfiction There is something fascinating about barbaric cultures. Since time immemorial, technologically advanced races have looked back with nostalgia upon earlier times, more primitive times -- times less complicated and demanding, when the world and there place in it was simple and understandable. And certainly one of the most compelling figures of mythos is the warrior -- devoted to his code and skill with ancient and romantic weapons. Dr. Marguerite Amboiur has crafted a serious scholarly work on the warrior race of Birabates that at the same time manages to be an engaging tale of mythos and adventure. Dr. Amboiur, whose previous books include Songs of Empire, about Cleon I and Gotterdamerung, about the fall of the terran empire, has already established herself as a historian with the gift of making dry history come alive. In her latest book, Princes of Iron, Amboiur takes on the task of writing living history. In her book, she takes the reader into the fascinating world of the Sengi, feudal warlords of the planet Epsilon Birabates. Until recently, the Sengi have carefully shielded outsiders from their home world and their native culture. However, Dr. Amboiur, after 5 years of failure, finally obtained permission from the Birabaten government to visit their homeworld where she was given unprecedented access to records and key figures in Birabaten 'politics'.	The picture of the Sengi that emerges is quite different from the simple barbaric killers that most readers equate with the Birabaten warriors. Amboiur shows the hidden side of the Sengi, focusing particularly on the aristocratic ruling class, the Var Sengi. Rather than rude barbarians, Dr. Amboiur shows the Sengi as sophisticated warrior/philoshophers, the product of a culture at least 50,000 years old. A wealth of Sengi philosophy, poetry and song dot the book, and the work is undeniable elegant and powerful, particularly given the deleterious effects of translation. Living on birabates for over a year, Dr. Amboiur became intimately familiar with Sengi customs and key figures, not the least of which is their king or 'kaesthra' lord Relg. Amboiur's conversations and time spent with him occupy fully a third of this massive yet engaging tome. Fortunately for the reader, it is time well spent. Lord Relg is fascinating, charming, thoughtful with a keen sense of humor. Yet at the same time he is the autocratic ruler of 5 systems with the power of life and death over every inhabitant -- a being so lofty that it is forbidden to look him in the face; a personage who may not be touched under pain of death. Dr. Amboiur paints a sympathetic picture of a ruler caught between preserving ancient tradition, and insuring his people's survival as part of the larger galactic community. He is a man whose burdens make him seem a hundred years old; but a man who is undaunted. He is the stuff of legends, and the reader cannot help but admire him. Fortunately (continued on page 6)

Constitutional Union Sparks Weapons Debate

Arts and Entertainment

An Inside Look at a Warrior Society