Chapter Text
Stream or Download: MP3 (00:02:18 | 1.68 MB)
(click image for full size)
Introduction
by Aurelia Kosigan Naismith
Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan, Regent-Consort of Barrayar, Vicereine of Sergyar, and Countess Vorkosigan, is best known for ending Vidal Vordarian's Pretendership, a story that has delighted bloody-minded schoolchildren for generations. The Vicereine was also a visionary leader during Sergyar's tumultuous frontier days, when her prescient decision to move the capital to Aralgrad saved thousands of lives. Less colorfully, she was a fierce advocate of medical modernization, funding Galactic-class medical educations and championing Galactic reproductive technologies on both Barrayar and Sergyar.
These accomplishments are well-celebrated, and justly so. But what is less well-known about my great-grandmother was her advocacy for Barrayar's fledgling queer movement. Although she was "straight" herself, her Betan upbringing, authoritative bearing, and forthright personality made her an inspiration to several generations of Barrayaran queer youth. In an era when so-called "deviancy" could lead to social, economic, and political ruin, the question "Are you a friend of Cordelia?" became a password to an underground community.
It is with pleasure and great pride that I present this retrospective of my great-grandmother's patronage of, and adoption by, the Gregorian queer underground. In researching this topic, I learned much about the daily lives of our queer forebears, and was greatly impressed with their courage, their resilience, and their irreverence. While the true heroes of the early Barrayaran movement were its leaders and pioneers, such as Paulina Georgiou and Count Dono Vorrutyer, "Lady Cordelia" occupied a special place in the hearts and minds of queer Gregorians. I hope you find their stories inspiring, as I do.