Andromachus Slade

Andromachus Slade was a statesman on the planet Altronis, notorious for having delayed, for nearly 100 local years, the Corpocracy's assumption of power.

Early Life and Career

When Slade entered politics, the corpocracy was ascendant; but Altronis' government considered of multiple quarrelsome oligarchies, each feigning Republic and desperate, for no intelligible reason, to out-manouvere the others. By careful and ruthless subterfuges (including the disgrace and murder of other politicians, whereof neither was traced to him in his lifetime), he became a prominent advisor to Thomas Robamey, some time President of the faux-republic in which he lived. As a rule, he seldom offered advice or made himself obvious, except in a crisis or two, and never sought a top-job for himself, but helped two others (including the President) into the same, where he could easily control the country through them.

Claim to Fame

During the second half of Slade's career, a consortium of blackmailers detonated a nuclear weapon by remote-control, and threatened to do so again if the then-incomplete corpocracy's Chief Executive Officers were not imprisoned and impoverished. Against national policy of taking the corporations' side of any dispute, Slade persuaded President Robamey to place the Executives under house-arrest; trace the blackmailers; and render both powerless. By so doing, Slade allowed the national governments to regain some lost sovereignty, which they did not lose again until 100 years later.

Death

Andromachus Slade died of poison (administered by an opponent of his most-famous rôle) at the age of 85.

Later Uses of his Name

A.E. Clipson nicknamed himself 'Slade' during his membership on Ransom's Crew; and the name is also applied to a minor villain of the IDF Script.