Eagles Over the Kennebec

Skowhegan, Maine, October 3, 1988.  Early afternoon saw the arrival in town of a battered UHaul panel truck sporting New York license plates, being driven by a dark-haired, bearded man, and a grey-and-white cat.  The truck was followed closely by a dusty black 1986 Chevrolet Beretta, with Maryland tags.  The driver of the Beretta, a dark-haired woman, was seen to have an orange-and-white cat in her lap.  In the back seat of the car were a number of boxes, including a cat carrier.

The truck, followed by the Beretta, uncertainly made its way up North Avenue, and turned into a residential street, stopping about halfway down the block.  The driver of the Beretta got out, leaving the cat to guard the car, walked up the steps and rang the bell. The door opened and a man looked out.  A short conversation followed, in which the woman became visibly agitated.  The man left the doorway for a short time and returned with cash in his hand.  He gave this to the woman, said something else, and closed the door.

The woman stopped to speak with the driver of the truck, who had gotten out to stand on the sidewalk, watching the drama in the doorway.  He took the money from the woman and put it in his pocket.  They exchanged an embrace.  The man stepped back and pointed toward downtown.  The woman nodded.  They got back into their vehicles.

The truck next parked in the lot next to the offices of the Skowhegan Reporter, on Water Street. This time the man debarked, and entered the office, while the woman remained in the black car, eyes closed, head on the back rest.  The orange cat had climbed onto her shoulder and was watching out the window.

The man returned, knocked on the window of the Beretta.  The woman rolled it down.  A short conversation took place, during which the woman could be seen laughing, but not in a nice way.  The man pointed toward north.  The woman nodded.  He returned to the UHaul truck, which did not pull out immediately.  When it did, it made the left onto Water Street, and headed toward Madison Avenue.

The truck and Beretta were next seen in the parking lot of Mait Richardson's Somerset Motor Lodge.  The man and woman entered the office together, and were inside about twenty minutes.  When they emerged, they drove into the campground, stopping in front of Cabin 5.

They debarked, transferred the contents of the car, including three cats, the grey and orange previously sighted, and a brown striped cat, in the carrier, into the cabin.  Both drivers then got back in to the UHaul and drove to the storage facility on West Front Street, and transferred the contents of the truck into a 10x15 space.  They then drove to the Madison Avenue Hannaford, where they bought two salads from the make-your-own salad bar, two bulky rolls and a bottle of cheap wine.

They then returned to Cabin 5, and closed the door.

# # #

And so began an adventure.  Speaking only for myself, I had thought we'd signed up for the Small, Tidy Adventure, but what we got was the Medium Sized, Messy Adventure, with a side order of Interesting Times.

Still, here we are 28 years later, and I really can't think of any place else I'd rather live.

Agent of Change (it says here) was completed in October 1984.  It was acquired by Del Rey Books in December 1986, and published on February 1, 1988.

That's like. . .wow.  Written thirty years ago.

According to this list here, 1,496 science fiction and fantasy novels were published in 1988.  Lee and Miller were responsible for two of those -- Agent, and Conflict of Honors (completed in 1986, a mere 28 years ago).

Now, what you need to understand about Life, and Science Fiction, and All, back thirty years ago, is that. . .Things Were Different.  It's rather amazing, how many things/ideas/cultural norms have changed in a mere thirty years, including science fiction, how it was written, and who it was written for.

The happy proliferation of women kicking ass that we enjoy today; stories of strong relationships between passionate equals. . . that's a recent development.  Thirty years ago?  We didn't have that.

We were starting to have it.  Lois Bujold had already published Ethan of Athos, Shards of Honor and Falling Free (among others, but those especially), by the time Lee and Miller got their break.  And of course, Anne McCaffrey had been doing her particular thing since 1967.

What Agent of Change, and Conflict of Honors were, back a quarter-century ago?  They were ground-breaking.

And the thing is?  We meant to do it.

We meant to tell stories about strong, capable, smart women.  We meant to tell stories about men who weren't threatened by strong, capable, smart women, and who were themselves strong enough to accept the vulnerability that comes with being in touch with their own emotions.

We meant, in short, to effect change.

We intended, ourselves, to be agents of change.

And! Because we were determined to write science fiction, we had to do all this, like Ginger Rogers, while dancing backwards, in heels.  We had to write a science fiction adventure story that would appeal to the audience science fiction was at that time written for -- that mythical fourteen year old boy.

On all those levels, Agent still succeeds.

There are car chases and gun fights and bar brawls and Interesting Aliens and All Kinds of Exciting Things Going On, and even a Girl In Trouble.

However.  Miri Robertson is a self-directed woman who is more than capable of taking care of herself and, as needed, her less-than-completely-sane partner, and the other women in the book are equally powerful: Suzuki Rialto is the senior commander of a mercenary unit; Liz Lizardi is retired from the same business.  Even the daughter of the local mob boss has moxie and self-worth, and, frankly?  Angus is not gonna be wearing the pants in that family.

And the struggle of Miri's less-than-completely-sane partner?  Is the struggle for his integrity, and his soul.

So, my thoughts upon reading the child of our youthful ambition?  Am I ashamed of it?  I am not.  Do I think we could have done better?  Not at the time.

I think Agent still stands.  Yes, it was written thirty years ago, by young and possibly too earnest writers.  And, if it's no longer a subversive work; it still stands as an adventure story, with heart.

. . .If you'd like to read Agent of Change, you may download it, for free, from the Baen Free Library or from Amazon.