Off Armageddon Reef (Safehold #I) - Safehold

David Weber

Tor Books

2007

608 páginas

20h 16m

ISBN-10: 0765315009

Nimue vows not to repeat the mistakes of the "Archangels", who used technology to perform "divine" acts. As medieval Safehold is likely to taboo a female with great influence, Nimue alters her android body into a male form, becoming Merlin Athrawes.

Merlin selects the island Kingdom of Charis as the source for his uplifting "virus", where he will introduce concepts that force the rest of Safehold to compete. Merlin earns the trust of the ruling Ahrmahk Dynasty and inspires several new "inventions" by Charis' military, science and economic leaders. Charis' powerful industries change the world by adopting tools like Arabic numerals, the abacus, the astrolabe, the cotton gin and spinning jenny, among others. In secret, Merlin teaches the Charisians how to replace their war galleys with a revolutionary fleet of ships of the line.

The lightning pace of innovation, while not directly heretical, causes longstanding Temple suspicions about Charis to boil over. The Church eventually leagues every naval power on Safehold against Charis. Merlin's space-age information net allows the new-model Royal Charisian Navy to annihilate one half of the enemy force in a surprise attack, but King Haarahld is killed when his diversionary fleet is forced into battle outnumbered before the new-model fleet can intervene. King Cayleb buries his father and becomes the first Safeholdian monarch in open rebellion against the Temple.