The time travellers know how to produce "'...superwine...'" which:
"'...gets you good and drunk faster...'" (p. 111)
And Manse Everard escapes by using whisky to get his Mongol captors so drunk that they pass out:
"...most of what they brewed in the thirteenth century ran well under five per cent alcohol, with a high foodstuff content to boot."
-Poul Anderson, "The Only Game In Town" IN Anderson, Time Patrol (Riverdale, NY, December 2010), pp. 129-171 AT 7, p. 167.
They think that they can drink whisky like beer or wine. Some factors remain common between timelines.
7 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I first came across the idea of "superwine," wine distilled into a stronger drink like brandy, in one of Harry Turtledove's Basil Argyros stories, collected in Chapter VI of AGENT OF BYZANTIUM (Congdon & Weed, 1987).
Ad astra! Sean
I think distillation was known in the 13th century, but it was not yet applied to drinks.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Many inventions and innovations were being made in the 13th century, or close to being made. I also think of the varied works of Ramon Lully.
Ad astra! Sean
Lenses, for example, were developed in the 13th century.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I was surprised to find out that lenses/spectacles were invented in Europe. I used to think the Chinese had done that first.
Ad astra! Sean
I recall reading somewhere than Chinese porcelain being so good caused the Chinese to ignore the possibilities of glass.
Kaor, Jim!
And that does seem a bit odd, esp. when we recall how ancient a piece of tech like glassmaking was in the Mediterranean/West.
I think Stirling mentioned, both here and in his Antonine books, that while the Chinese made many innovations, they were spaced out over wide intervals of time. And that lessened the impact those innovations might have made in China. Plus, not having the kind of philosophical/religious mindset that contributed to the rise in the West of a true science leading to an industrial revolution.
Ideas which Anderson discussed in works like IS THERE LIFE ON OTHER WORLDS? or touched on in stories such as "Delenda Est."
Ad astra! Sean
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