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Sul Sul!,

So I've been on an IR kick again (thank you @gideonisms) and I'm once again returning to a question that's always fascinated me: what is the deal with the Radch Proper? And who was Anaander Mianaai?

Firstly, some background on the Radch, largely courtesy of everyone's favourite Notai Problem Child, Gem of Sphene. Sphene is a fascinating character in all this because she predates the modern Radch, predates Anaander's rise, she arguably knows/knew about the Radch Proper (i.e. the Dyson sphere, from hereon RP) better than any other character except Anaander. So, things what we know:

The Radch has clear views on purity, both more standard ritual purity and what it means to be Truly Human(TM).

Everything outside the RP is unclean, polluted, a threat to the sanctity of the RP itself.

Humans can only make use of a certain level or set of augmentations before they are deemed to be no longer human by Radchaai.

The RP is highly isolationist, and while there may be occasional exceptions, most people are point blank ineligible to ever enter.

And something I'd never really clocked before, or never read quite right:

Sphene says that, before the war over Anaander's proposed expansion, most of her ancillaries had been condemned criminals.

The implication here being that they were condemned criminals from within the RP itself.

Traditionally Radchaai warships, and presumably Notai ones too, were crewed by a small contingent of human officers, but mostly by ancillaries. And that makes sense. Original flavour Radchaai had a dilemma, you see: they had to protect their precious RP from outside influences, but leaving the RP was to invite corruption, impurity.

From all this, I theorise that the original model of Radchaai military was an external force of ships that functioned as a sort of border guard around the Dyson sphere. Anaander's idea of conquest didn't come out of nowhere from within the RP, rather it was an extension of their original security setup. The ships needed some level of human oversight, their captains and lieutenants, who came from the RP itself and were likely subject to special dispensation to leave and return, so long as they followed certain purification steps.

Supporting this is Sphene's assertion that modern Radchaai aren't Citizens. That only those from the RP can be, and that any "Radchaai" from outside it a: isn't really Radchaai and b: would never be able to purify themselves sufficiently to be allowed entry.

Side note: I wonder if the aptitudes in part developed from a system of like, identifying individuals who could even handle the psychological strain of leaving the RP? And what would the view of those who are selected be? Would they be brave souls, lauded for putting themselves in the path of impurity for the sake of Civilisation? Or were they pitiful things, defiled by the outside no matter how much they wash? I lean towards the former in light of the Notai artefacts that congratulated someone on their military promotion.

And this brings us to the second big question: who was and is Anaander Mianaai to the RP?

We know her stated goal in creating the modern Radch was to create a protective buffer zone around the RP. Her goal was, ostensibly at least, to protect it. Presumably she was an officer of some sort in the old military I guess? She annexed an adjacent or surrounding region of space, the province now called Outradch, possibly one with a similar culture to the original creators of the RP (based on Breq's comment that Radchaai armour was once common in the region outside it). This of course caused some mild disagreements between her and other peoples of the RP, who thought this was a nauseating and terrible idea.

What interests me is that Sphene calls her "Usurper". Usurper of what though? While it would be a reasonable name for a conquered people to give her, Sphene is Notai. Her loyalties were clearly aligned with the RP. Usurper of the RP military perhaps? Did Anaander essentially stage a sort of coup? I'm not sure how the old RP military was organised but from the whole "ships going mad when their captains died" thing, and the very nature of the RP, I'd cautiously speculate that there may have been a level of autonomy on the ship level. But clearly there were higher levels of command as well, different cultural polities within the RP fielding their own forces.

Or perhaps she usurped the RP itself, installed herself within a ruler. But I have my doubts about that. I mean, she calls herself The Lord of the Radch but, well, who knows what is going on in the RP?

How does Anaander fit into the RP now? I briefly considered the idea that implants like hers may have been a thing in the RP, allowing for external operatives to remain within the RP at the same time as working outside it, but that doesn't really track. If that were the case, warships probably wouldn't go mad at their captains dying. And the fact that Radchaai/RP culture considers augmentations beyond basic implants to render you inhuman, considers ancillaries to be fundamentally ritually impure...yeah I don't see that being a thing.

I think Anaander Mianaai would be barred entry to the RP in the most extreme terms. I think if most modern Radchaai actually thought about it, they'd have to concede that, by their own standards, Anaander Mainaai is not truly human.

Moreover, if Anaander cannot return to the RP herself, is the modern Radch a sort of surrogate for her? She created a buffer zone, and she acculturated those people in a way that was...not like the RP itself, but like RP citizens operating outside it. Wear gloves so you don't touch the contamination, observe purity laws, know that only you are civilised and all outwith your borders are corrupted.

I wonder at that because, well, why did she need to keep expanding? If protecting the RP was truly the only goal, then she should have stopped at Outradch. But maybe, if she began to view that as what she had lost, that might explain the need for a further buffer zone to protect that. And another after that one became her Radch as well.

And I like this idea because the desperate drive to try and regain what you've lost, what you can never get back, is a huge theme throughout the original IR trilogy. Seivarden, Breq, Mercy of Kalr and Sphene are all variously damaged and shaped by the loss of a fundamental part of themselves. And a huge part of their character arcs is them learning to accept, to adjust, to live on.

Wouldn't it be a bit poetic if that was also the story of Anaander Mianaai?

Garsedd may have precipitated the split in her but, arguably, through this lens, that split boils down to one side looking at what she's done and accepting that, no more. She can't keep doing this, she will never be able to create a permanent buffer zone around her Radch, never get back the untainted purity of the Radch Proper. While the other cannot accept that, has to keep expanding to keep her Radch pure. And the only reason she can imagine for the other side is, of course, external corruption.

Realistic things that can happen in your IR

Feeling the shower run cold as it just begins heating up.

Getting annoyed or confused when someone pronounces your name weirdly or entirely wrong.

Getting a sore jaw or a stitch from laughing so hard.

Falling asleep after promising yourself you'd pull an all nighter.

Getting caught up in a conversation you're not really interested in or when you're late.

Randomly being zapped when you aren't doing anything.

Having days where everything you do feels boring for some reason.

Suddenly understanding a lyric in a song that you never understood before.

Panicking about losing something on your desk (like a pencil or a sheet) only to find it under your book a minute later.

Trying to take a picture of the stars or the moon or a sunset but it doesn't look as pretty on your camera.

Subconsciously licking your lips the whole day after realizing they're dry or chapped (I know you did as soon as you read that)

Stretching or yawning and accidentally making that frog-like noise.

The wind blowing your hair back in your face and you having to turn and face it just to fix it back up.

Hearing that one repetitive song on the radio.

Arguing with your friends and family — whether over little things or over blowups that last for days on end.

Forgetting to do certain tasks.

Picking at or chipping your nail polish or acrylics after just painting them or getting them done.

Having your pen run out at an inconvenient time.

Waking up and not feeling motivated to go to school, work, or duty.

Accidentally biting your tongue when eating or chewing nothing.

Your IR does not have to be realistic, but your experiences are real; and I personally don't like chasing after perfection.