The Strength of the Few

The oppressive system of Hierarchy cannot be effectively resisted without sacrifice. For the privileged, life is relatively easy so long as they go along with the power structures already in place. In the Caten Republic of Res—a world modeled on the Roman Empire—Catenicus and his friends are encouraged to compete for position in a rigid hierarchy in which rank confers power and comfort, but never enough power to challenge the system itself. To resist this system, Catenicus must sacrifice his privileged, comfortable life, and he soon risks sacrificing his life itself. His friends and his counterparts in the two other worlds make similar sacrifices, but revolutionary figures including Relucia and the Anguis also sacrifice the lives of others, introducing a moral ambiguity that the novel does not attempt to resolve. As with the complexities of choice and compromise, the novel offers differing views on the value of sacrifice, who has the right or duty to make it, and what its purpose is.

Caeror exemplifies one kind of sacrifice. Siamun reflects on Caeror’s willingness to sacrifice his life to fight a war and stop a Cataclysm for friends living in a world he will never see again. He will never benefit from these efforts, yet he never gives up on his goal. Caeror says that he would take Siamun’s place in their plan to kill Ka and spare him that pain if he could. He then proves that this is not just empty speech when he remains behind in Qabr to make certain that Siamun escapes. His example of sacrifice inspires and motivates Siamun through the rest of the novel.

The narrative highlights several other examples of self-sacrifice, such as the moment when Cristoval gives up his Vitaeria to save Deaglan, or when Ronan sacrifices himself to save Tara. While these moments demonstrate the sacrifices fathers make for their children, self-sacrifice can exist between friends as well. For instance, Netiqret sacrifices her last remnant of hope to restore Kiya to help Siamun get into Ka’s Pyramid. Moreover, Catenicus often sacrifices his own safety to keep his friends safe.

Other characters argue for different kinds of sacrifice, in ways that tie the theme of sacrifice to that of choice and compromise. Relucia defends the violence of the Anguis, arguing: “Sometimes lives lived in misery have to be sacrificed so that the ones which follow aren’t even worse” (625). When Catenicus insists that this does not give her the right to kill innocent people, she retorts that she does not have the right to take a life, but she does have a responsibility. Ka echoes this argument in his negotiation with Catenicus, claiming that the deaths caused by the Cataclysm are justifiable sacrifices for saving all three worlds. That Relucia’s argument is the same as that of Ka—the ultimate source of oppressive power in all three worlds—calls her moral certainty into question.

In these examples, the sacrifice in question is the lives of innocent people. However, Ka extends his argument to moral sacrifice as well, which connects it more concretely to the question of moral compromise. Ka argues that those with the means are called to sacrifice their own moral principles, no matter the pain to themselves, to ensure the lives and safety of others, as moral principles become meaningless if everyone is dead. Ka’s rejection of morality, which he frames as a personal sacrifice, means that any amount of suffering can be justified for the survival of the world. This nihilistic worldview, combined with Ka’s almost unlimited power, underlies all the injustice that all three versions of Vis witness. Though the narrative poses many views on sacrifice and its necessity to resist oppression and destruction, the novel avoids value judgments on which is correct. Just as with the question of choice and compromise, the question remains unanswered.