The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
Rereading Summer Knight, Big Clues as to Who Orchestrated Simon's Murder
g33k:
--- Quote from: Yuillegan on October 08, 2019, 08:00:13 AM ---Which is why Justin is suspected in the first place, but with his albi of being DED, Dresden was next in line. Elaine too would have known had Justin taught her.
--- End quote ---
I believe the Senior Council is mistaken on this point. Harry didn't even know about Simon or the Archangel site until they told Eb it had fallen. Yes, it's "conceivable" that DuMorne snuck some sort of Sekrit Pas5wirdz for Simon's wards into Harry&Elaine's training that they didn't even realize. But I doubt it strongly.
Elaine knows Harry's wards, and bypassed them easily because (as she explained to him) he didn't change anything from when they knew each other long before. I presume from her chiding him that she herself HAD altered her own wards, and that Harry wouldn't have so easy a time getting through hers.
But Simon? "His tower is a fortress" Simon? Hosts the "brute squad" Simon? Centuries of additional experience and learning and power Simon? Can any of us believe that a senior wizard -- who is evidently of a highly security-centric outlook -- wouldn't change his wards in a frequent and unpredictable manner? I don't find it even slightly credible that Simon's wards would still operate it the manner that Lazy-Harry or Clever-Elaine know how to get past.
I'm highly dubious that even DuMorne would have known how; it's just not good security to have that information out in the world for decades. A whamp could seduce it out of someone, a Ramp could Turn them, a mindmage like Capiorcorpus (or Molly!) could steal it unnoticed; etc etc etc. Someone could GET that information, and launch an assault before you could learn your "trusted contact" had been compromised.
The senior council is frankly stupid and grasping at straws to think that a couple of teenagers, with an extra generation of distance, could possibly have known the Sekrit Pas5wirdz for Simon's wards!
--- Quote from: Yuillegan on October 08, 2019, 08:00:13 AM --- ... I wonder if he was somehow influencing the Merlin even then to be more hasty and less considered in order to force an error. I think you are right - Peabody is no slob. I think he was being deliberate in that moment. Not magic of course, that would have been noticed, but something none the less.
--- End quote ---
I suspect Peabody was manipulating different members of the Senior Council in different ways at different times; including the Merlin.
I suspect that making the Merlin "hasty and unconsidered" would be hard; old minds tend to be less flexible, we know.
But how about making him more considered... more cautious? How about luring the Merlin to think another layer of plan-within-a-plan would be a Good Thing, that an elaborate and subtle plot will work better than decisive action? Arrogant superiority, "we're wizards, we will win because we're smarter and think better and deeper and longer-range!" Etc...
Peabody, as secretary, would have seen all the Senior Council at work; he knows who runs easily to anger, who likes to make plans, etc. He knows their hotbuttons and triggers, what gives them pause, where they rush to judgement and where their impulse is to make allowances. He knows whose opinions carry weight on which topics.
He will look to sway the council with the lightest touch he can; if he can tip a single cautious mind a bit more-cautious, thereby gaining a majority to decide to do nothing... or an angry mind to a majority decision to act prematurely... That'll be his preference. Getting a Senior Councilmember ALONE, "please sign these forms" to predispose them for an upcoming meeting or decision, that's even better!
Every action of Peabody's will be highly situation-dependent. "Insidious" is only the beginning.
SerScot:
I think Simon is Cowl and still alive.
SerScot:
--- Quote from: g33k on October 08, 2019, 12:55:28 AM ---You are entirely correct... and to be brutally frank -- by this same logic, Peabody could have had Simon himself lower the wards.
Simon sat on the Senior Council, and we're pretty sure all of the SC were especially influenced by Peabody.
Peabody could have had Simon "work on the wards" or could have deluded him that certain visitors were "safe," or... well, dozens of pretenses.
Remember -- Peabody was powerful enough to get the Captain of the Wardens to murder someone on the Senior Council.
--- End quote ---
After she was shoved into a younger body by Corpsetaker. The SC could only be tweeked not bent due to their age.
Yuillegan:
An excellent point Ser Scot. Luccio was uniquely vulnerable due to her body swap.
g33k - But we can understand why they jumped to the conclusion. From their perspective, the already shady young wizard (child of Margaret Le Fay, student of Justin, who had already at least once broken a law of magic) who started a war with the Red Court that had just lead to a Senior Council wizard's death is highly linked to that particular death, not only more so than most because of being Justin's pupil but it makes him one of the few Wizard's still alive (to their knowledge) who actually could have let the wards down. We sympathize because we know Harry's thoughts - but they don't. I think the magical logic is pretty simple: someone has appeared to bypass Simon's wards, the only way to do so is by either knowing them intimately (not just by knowing wards but knowing those particular ones) or by some unknown aspect of the Art (as Morgan offers as an alternative). Wizards are highly arrogant and assume that the Red's couldn't possibly know some secret bypass magic that they themselves do not. But that is highly unlikely because we NEVER see them do such an act again during the war. I think more than a few wizards felt resentment at Harry dragging them into a dangerous and costly war with the Red Court (led primarily by Langtry, Lafortier, Mai and likely Cristos). I think it wasn't a big leap for them to pin it on Harry.
I do not for one second believe that Justin trained Harry and Elaine (knowingly or otherwise) in wards. I believe that either a) Justin is not fully dead and survived, or is at least active beyond the grave and continued to have Elaine enthralled and has been using Elaine as his enforcer and tool since or b) that Justin is both dead and not active beyond the grave, but Simon is Cowl and faked the whole assault on Archangel. I suppose Elaine could be Simon's new apprentice too, but I am not sure why she would run to Russia, in fact the only way they would meet is if Simon knew about her and Harry and decided to step in and finish her training.
I think Elaine is an excellent candidate too for the treachery because this is the first book we meet her, the first book we learn about wards (I think...), and the first book we learn about Simon and things get bigger in Dresden's world by an order of magnitude - and in her first scene she is alive (somehow) and has bypassed Harry's wards. That is significant, considering Harry has just learned that someone with intimate knowledge of Simon's wards supposedly did just the same thing just two scenes earlier. And she is working for the opposition (Summer) with vague reasons about why she is, how she survived, and seems to have had enough training to be able to veil so effectively that she is not at all worried by Warden's outside seeing her. Harry ignores a lot of Red Flags about her, but also considers that she might be involved in the murder (and is right in fact).
As to the mind-influencing, in point of fact I think that was exactly how Peabody was so effective. Langtry flaws were that he was obstinate, rigid in his beliefs, scornful, elitist and arrogant. Those traits maximized meant he would be quick to push his point-of-view down other's throats (where perhaps he might have been more subtle), looking for a quick victory. He would have found it much harder to be sympathetic to Dresden, open-minded, flexible in his thinking and humble. I quite agree that perhaps over considered and more cautious does fit the bill better with him, and also Mai.
And yes I believe it was lots of little nudges over time that made him so much more effective than attempting major policy shifts.
morriswalters:
Consider the behavior of the younglings in Scotland as Peabody fled. Any young members from Archangel could have been turned by Peabody, given sufficient time and planning, assuming that he had access to them.
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