Wednesday 8 March 2023

Early Interstellar Periods

Robert Heinlein's Future History culminates with the first FTL interstellar round trip.

Isaac Asimov has an earlier period of fifty extra-solar colony planets and a much later period of Galactic Empire. (Originally, two separate series.)

In James Blish's Cities In Flight, between volumes, the Colonials defeat the Vegan Tyranny before anti-gravity is rediscovered, the Bureaucratic State is overthrown and cities escape from Earth.

Larry Niven's earlier interstellar period has STL travel to extra-solar colonies and the First Man-Kzin War before We Made It buys the hyperdrive from the Outsiders.

In Poul Anderson's Psychotechnic History, the first interstellar period is coordinated by the Stellar Union.

In Anderson's Technic History, after the Grand Survey, there is the Solar Commonwealth and the Polesotechnic League.

In Anderson's Genesis:

"The minds at other stars, the stars themselves, the marvel and mystery that is the cosmos." (PART ONE, V, p. 38.)

Those extra-solar minds are Terrestrial in origin, are post-organic and have travelled STL. We are now in a different kind of future history. Laurinda Ashcroft, who liaises with Terra Central, lives underground as Heinlein's DD Harriman, "The Man Who Sold The Moon," did. Anderson passes over the ecological reclamation of Earth that has had to happen between 2000 AD and Laurinda's period. 

4 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

It's a pity we only get one Grand Survey story in the Technic series, "Winds of Victory." I would have liked to have seen one more by Anderson, focusing more on the Grand Survey itself.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

The five year mission of the Grand Survey is like the five year mission in STAR TREK.

Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Except better than STAR TREK if Anderson had written more Grand Survey stories.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Incomparably better. An endless Grand Survey TV series written by Poul Anderson, including first contact with Merseia and discovery of Gray/Avalon.