>And the Lunars are supposed to be the ones who accept everyone. Why
>would they insist that you drop your native religion to join the
>army? (Unless you're Orlanthi, of course). Seven Mothers *as well
>as* your native stuff, perhaps, but why would they want you to drop
>the nice effective magic you already know how to use
>and start again with somehing new?
You've never been in the military, have you?
Militaries do a lot of things that don't:
A. Make sense to civilians.
B. Allow soldiers the rights of civilians.
That is, in the name of standardization required to make an army an effective operating organization, armies are allowed to reduce the effectiveness of the individual at the cost of their freedoms with the notion that doing so makes the overall organization possible. There are people who are opposed to the principle, nowadays, but it's been a part of every army from time immemorial. If the Lunar army were any other way, I'd be very surprised.
Mike
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