John Gaius:
“I intended for the new Lyctors to become Lyctors after thinking and contemplating and genuinely understanding their sacrifice—an act of bravery, not an act of fear and desperation. Nobody was meant to lose their lives unwillingly at Canaan House.”
Also John Gaius:
- Ignored the warnings about how many of the scions were children.
- Sent out invitations you really couldn’t have refused (how do you say no to god?).
- Had the shuttles destroyed to prevent anyone leaving the planet before he wanted them to.
- Banned all off-planet communication, with the only radio being one controlled by his priests connecting directly to his flagship.
So…just what did he think was going to happen?
I feel he likes to maintain the illusion, even to himself, that he is a nice and reasonable man. And of course he wasn’t making anyone do anything! He was just giving them information! What they chose to do with that information, while trapped on a planet and with him knowing that last time a combination of suicide pacts and peer pressure made everyone acquiesce eventually…well, he wouldn’t be responsible, of course…
But what if Cytherea hadn’t crashed the party? What if Ianthe had still worked it out and ascended as she did and everyone else just stared in horror and said no? What was the plan…?