So we all know and love Sam Vimes. After all, as Thud!
tells us:“Sam Vimes once arrested [Lord Vetinari] for treason. Sam
Vimes once arrested a dragon. Sam Vimes stopped a war between nations by
arresting both high commands. He’s an arresting fellow, Sam Vimes. Sam Vimes
killed a werewolf with his bare hands, and carries law with him like a lamp.
Watchmen across half the continent will say that Sam Vimes is as straight as an
arrow, can’t be corrupted, won’t be turned, never took a bribe.”Now, here’s a thing. Who else – or rather what else –
‘carries law like a lamp’? The Guarding Dark, Vimes’ metaphorical inner watchman,
who later uses a lantern to break the Summoning Dark’s control over his mind.Bear in mind that the Summoning Dark has been corrupting
minds since before written language, and that Thud! explicitly states Vimes is the
first to resist its control. That’s a lot of power for the Guarding Dark to
have. The fact that said power is demonstrated in a way that echoes the quote above
links it as much to Vimes the legend as Vimes the man.Now, take a look at
this snippet of conversation between the Summoning Dark and Guarding Dark:“…what kind of human creates his own policeman?”
“One who fears the dark.”
Obviously they’re talking about Vimes, but a generalised,
public fear is also a running theme in the Watch books. The Fifth Elephant and
Snuff both ridicule the phrase ‘the innocent have nothing to fear’, and the role
of the Unmentionables in Night Watch is essentially an extended takedown of the
idea.So what if the innocent created and empowered their own
policeman, who protects them in much the same way that the Guarding Dark
protects Vimes?As we know, belief is a powerful force on the Discworld,
with a very real effect. I reckon it forms a feedback loop between
the innocent and Vimes. His achievements fuel the public perception of him as
the ideal policeman, an unstoppable, incorruptible force of law. Their belief
fuels his willpower – arguably his greatest asset – allowing him to achieve
more and add further to the legend. Vimes can successfully resist the Summoning
Dark partly because people believe
that it’s something he could do. As Vetinari and Drumknott put it in Thud!:“Given a contest between an invisible and very powerful
quasi-demonic thing of pure vengeance on the one hand, and the commander on the
other, where would you wager, say… one dollar?”“I wouldn’t, sir. That looks like one that would go to the
judges.”And that’s exactly what happens. Vimes resists the
Summoning Dark long enough for Angua to bring him down, and it respectfully
departs.What do we call a Discworld being that draws power from
belief? A god.Monstrous Regiment confirms that mortals can become gods
through the power of belief even against their will, so why not Vimes in the
future? It would certainly fit the running joke of him being awarded honours
against his wishes. And after His Grace, His Excellency, His Blackboard
Monitor-ship, the Duke of Ankh, and King of the River, where else is there to
go?TL;DR – I think Sam Vimes is slowly and unknowingly turning
into the god of coppers.(Disclaimer – I don’t actually like this theory; I think Vimes works better as purely human. I
just think it’s happening.)From The Desk Of The Commander
“Bugger.”
– Commander VimesHe will be so grumpy if that happens. (There would also be the issue of whether offerings/sacrifices count as bribes.)
vimes is going to arrest so many bastards when he ascends to the top of that mountain.
@copperbadge your thoughts, sir?
I think it’s a spectacular thesis, especially since it defends against the one objection I would raise, that nobody believes in Vimes in a god-sense (it’d be like believing in the postman, I think is the phrase Pterry uses in another book). Because genuinely there are now coppers in Ankh-Morpork and criminals across the Disc who do “believe” in the deific sense.
I’m not sure how I feel about liking the theory, I’m in agreement on that as well. I really struggled with Thud in a general sense (for some reason it was difficult for me to follow, I should give it another shot) so I don’t recall much of it, but while I loved Snuff I also felt like there was a bit too much of the Superpower in it, a bit too much mysticism for a man whose story has always been about being the underdog and winning through sheer bloody-mindedness anyway. On the one hand it’s super gratifying to see Vimes really coming into a level of power like he has in Snuff, because I’ve always enjoyed him at his ragey-est. But on the other…I liked him as a plain copper too, yeah.
Uh so I guess TLDR I agree with all of it, even the postscript, and I think it’s nice to see it articulated so clearly. And I do love the mental image of Vimes ending up on Cor Celesti and taking those motherfuckers down a peg.
His Grace, His Excellency, His Blackboard Monitor-ship, the Duke of Ankh, King of the River, God.
11 Mon Jul 2016
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