David Johnson wrote:

> Maybe. This recalls the discussion we had a while ago about the
> possibility of "another (perhaps prototype) Merlin" on Terra.

Travel time of however many months between Poictesme and Terra is an
indicator how far central decision making lagged behind events on the
front. A Merlin on Terra might have led to more accurate decisions.

Alternatively, it might have not. Would questions to the Terra Merlin be
the same as those to the Poictesme Merlin.

And then there's the ick factor. "I'm a high-quality politician. How
dare Merlin predict that my decisions are anything less than
immaculate?"

> What we also know is that Beam never wrote about Merlin -- or a
> "Merlin on Terra" -- surviving the Interstellar Wars. Perhaps Merlin
> (and/or "Mother of Merlin") didn't survive or perhaps one -- or both
> -- of them did survive but is "hiding" in some fashion in the Space
> Viking era.
>
Or the prosperity following Merlin's advice lured Space Vikings into a
successful raid and Emcee square for the military center.