Vetinari

[alicenanjing]

I was thinking... Vetinari must be getting on. Knowing him, he can't possibly leave something so important as the choosing of his successor to the whim of the Guilds or to chance. Therefore, he must already have his eye on a likely candidate; come to think of it, he is probably training him for the job as we speak. So... who is it?
Carrot is the obvious choice, but anything that obvious must be violating any number of narrative causality laws - the Million-to One-Chance Axiom, for one. Besides, there's no way he would accept the job, except maybe during some fearsome crisis, if the city was in dire need of his leadership, and then only for the duration of the emergency. Sam Vimes is out of the question. Someone like the enterprising Mr. Dibbler might appeal to the merchant mentalities of that great city's luminaries, but no. A grimmer candidate would be King Henry; but that would take us a little too close to the real world... Then, who shall it be?
Moist von Lipwig shows some promise. So does Ponder Stibbons, but I doubt he can be enticed away from his High Energy Magic Building. He might be interested in running the University some day, but not the city. Too much non-magical interference there.
But it wouldn't be much of a story if someone like me could guess the answer to this question, now would it? So, if this book is ever written... let's hope it will be... it will probably be someone new, someone that will make his - or her - appearance in some totally unrelated context and will surprise all of us in the end. Can't wait!

 

[Anonymous]

Hello and welcome to the site.

Some theories have it that Vetinari is preparing the city to work on its own without someone on top.
Or at least with someone on top who'll never face the need to change something (in theory)
If that'd be the case maybe the likeliest candidate might be someone who he can trust in won't change anything.
Perhaps?

 

[Tonyblack]

Welcome to the site.

This is a perennial question, so I'll give my usual answer.

Why on the Disc would Terry ever get rid of Vetinari? It makes no sense at all to me that he would lose such a great character.

 

[michelanCello]

Welcome, alicenanjing!

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

Welcome to the forum alicenanjing, I can't see that happening anytime soon.

 

[Penfold]

Hellooo and welcome Alice. Likewise, I can't see it happening either.

 

[Jan Van Quirm]

Vetinari rocks and rules - he'll stay there until Terry stops writing and then A-M will become a City Republic (in the style of Florence more than Athens) and run on roughly democratic lines which is the logical progression for guild-based governments

Barring that it could be someone like Harry King who knows how the keep the city clear of too much crap or at least keep it moving... :twisted:

 

[alicenanjing]

Yes, yes, there's no reason whatsoever to get rid of Vetinari, he's a delight to watch, but just think about watching him watch - and subtly guide - someone else. Train his pupil from a distance. And, of course, for best results, the pupil should not suspect that he is trained, or that he is someone's pupil at all, and certainly have no inkling about what he is trained for. In order for him to assume his duties with all his heart later on, he must be absolutely convinced that it is all his own idea. This kind of training could take years - nay, decades....
Thank you all for your replies. It's so much fun to be able to discuss things like that.

 

[meerkat]

Hi Alice, welcome to the site!

Vetinari should go on and on until Terry stops writing. A-M would not be A-M without Vetinari.

Vedi Veci Vetinari!

 

[SpyViolette]

I support the theory that, if by some tragic injustice in the multiverse Veterinari actually were to die, Lipwig would be the most likely successor. I just think he's the best one for the job besides Vetinari himself, and the Patrician probably sees that as well.

 

[Anonymous]

Moist, though, got 'bored' on his job when things were going well. (See Making Money).

 

[SpyViolette]

Yes, but that's why I think ruling the city would be a good job for him; it would rarely be boring.

 

[Anonymous]

Unless of course Vetinari would model the city so it can stand on its own, but then putting Moist in as successor would be a recipe for disaster (possibly)
...
Mhnnn *rubs chin*

 

[Bouncy Castle]

City Ordnances? Inna bun?

 

[MongoGutman]

http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/forum/v ... highlight=

 

[alicenanjing]

Hello everybody, I see some people know what I mean about Moist von Lipwig. Sometimes I wonder if he isn't being trained already for the top job in town, the way Vetinari watches his progress and keeps giving him tricky jobs to do. And he's one character who wouldn't find the stress too much; he needs danger t feel alive.
But the thing is, I wasn't envisioning an Ankh-Morpork without Vetinari, but anticipating a book in which Vetinari would be the main character - him and his surprise pupil, the ace in his sleeve, his bonsai mountain, so to speak - and, not to mix metaphors, it would have to be a mountain that thinks it's ten thousand feet high and has real live glaciers, and lives in a real mountain chain, instead of in someone's flower pot with an ice cube on top. Wouldn't that be an eyeful!

 

[Australis]

Hi alicenanjing!

I have a theory: Young Sam. Has the meeting, greeting and talking thing down really well, descended from the aristocracy and and one of 'the people'. He'd has the good influence of both parents.

There y' go.

 

[Fortune Clutterbuck]

Do we know that Vetinari is getting on? I always see him as 45 - ish - so good for at least another thirty years by which time who knows?

I suspect that he has a son or daughter (or several) tucked away and in training ...

 

[Jan Van Quirm]

According to Nightwatch he's around the same age as Vimes - maybe a few years older at most so yeah, early 50s tops

 

[alicenanjing]

Young Sam! That's a great idea. Of course, stepping in Vetinari's shoes would rather ruin the lad's sunny disposition, but he definitely has the brains for the job, and having the discworld's greatest cynic for a father makes for a very good training for what is to come. Why not? As close to being the top nob as you can get without actualy wearing a crown, a good heart, good sense of right and wrong, respect for his fellow, er, sapient species... It will be al the more interesting to watch him grow up.