Kith And Virtualities

Starfarers, 46.

Two stranded Kithfolk have to survive on the surface of terrestroid Brent. Vonda, who has "'...groundside experience...,'" (p. 437):

"...gave instructions. [Dau] was a novice, but like most Kithfolk he had passed considerable time in virtualities, which included forests, lifeways of the past, and the like." (p. 437)

But that puts a completely different perspective on the concept of Kithfolk. Anderson's sf presents the paradox of interstellar travellers traversing cosmic spaces enclosed in steel cabins and corridors but Kith are not confined. They can enhance their experience and learn practical skills in virtual realities. The best of both worlds. We need way more novels about the Kith: about the changes that they find on a planet every time that they revisit it and also about the virtual experiences that they have while travelling.

By the time of Chapter 46, the Kith still trade but have stopped exploring. In 45, the returning Envoy had detected a steep decline in interstellar travel in the volume of space surrounding the Solar System.

Andersonian heroes will do something about that, of course.