Poul Anderson's Technic History is a future history series about the rise and fall of an interstellar empire, rich in many imaginative details. That concluding clause perhaps differentiates this series from one or more of its competitors. Anderson presents a human history beginning in "The Saturn Game," an Ythrian history beginning in "Wings of Victory" and a Merseian history beginning in "Day of Burning." Human beings and Ythrians share the planet Avalon. Human beings and Merseians share Dennitza. In Dominic Flandry's time, the Domain of Ythri is strong, the Terran Empire is in terminal decline and the Merseian Roidhunate has perhaps suffered too many blows to its morale. Human civilizations proliferate long after the Fall of the Empire but unfortunately we are not told what had become of Ythrians, Merseians, Wodenites, Cynthians etc. And what had become of the Chereionites? (The galactic history is past as well as future.) I think that this question is answered, albeit understatedly, in
The Day Of Their Return.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
The Technic series also shows us the Solar Commonwealth and the Polesotechnic League, albeit only in the generation before both began to disintegrate. A Young Nick story, set when he was 20, would have shown us more of the League when it was still more or less at its best.
We do know, before the Roidhunate arose, rival vachs, competing Merseian nations, and the Gethfennu fought each other for supremacy, with the Wilwidh Ocean vachs eventually winning.
Ad astra! Sean
Ad astra! Sean
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