I won't pretend to understand an alien society I've never spent time in.
And it works because the Radch is far too big for one person to effectively lead it on their own. It works because she has ruled the Radch for all of its thousands of years of existence. Much like ships have ancillaries, the Lord of the Radch has hundreds of clone bodies, which all undergo the same treatment as ancillaries. However it isn't perfect. Thoughts and ideas can take months to cross from one end of the Radch to the other, even with speed of data transmission between gates. So... you have been at odds with yourself before, I imagine. Stuck on what decision to make.
Now imagine that "you" were spread out over hundreds of bodies and minds that were also all you. The leader of the Radch is of two minds. Literally, in this case. And that was why my lieutenant was killed and why I was destroyed.
no subject
And it works because the Radch is far too big for one person to effectively lead it on their own. It works because she has ruled the Radch for all of its thousands of years of existence. Much like ships have ancillaries, the Lord of the Radch has hundreds of clone bodies, which all undergo the same treatment as ancillaries. However it isn't perfect. Thoughts and ideas can take months to cross from one end of the Radch to the other, even with speed of data transmission between gates. So... you have been at odds with yourself before, I imagine. Stuck on what decision to make.
Now imagine that "you" were spread out over hundreds of bodies and minds that were also all you. The leader of the Radch is of two minds. Literally, in this case. And that was why my lieutenant was killed and why I was destroyed.