Discussion

Tales Of The Flying Mountains, Interlude 3.

Orloff, who had come to the Asterite Republic from the Soviet colonies, asks whether the Astra cannot do better than "'...the extreme libertarianism...'" (p. 115) which had produced selfish, materialistic individuals unconcerned about society.

Lindgren responds:

"'I don't imagine we have room aboard for unregulated capitalism... But I'd hate to see an outright socialism evolve. Not simply because its stifling. I think it'd discourage the creativity this ship will need for long-range survival.'" (ibid.)

Lindgren says more which is worth reading but I try to limit the lengths of quotations. Phrases like "'...an outright socialism...'" should never be used without some explanation. If it were self-evident and if everyone were in agreement that something called "socialism" was stifling and discouraged creativity, then why would anyone call themselves "socialist" as many do in response to current crises? Because they're mad, of course... Let's not go down that road. Since many people argue that democratic (not bureaucratic) control of economic resources will not stifle but liberate, this argument should be engaged with, not treated as if it did not exist, which is what happens when the phrase, "outright socialism," is simply identified with "stifling" and discouragement of creativity. I imagine Astra crew members calling themselves "socialists" arguing for a greater degree of democratic decision-making in the ship and others replying that this is impractical, of course. That would be a more constructive debate.

Flowers Escapes

Tales Of The Flying Mountains.

Action-adventure heroes are captured and escape. In "Say It With Flowers," Robert Henry Flowers, Lieutenant in the Space Force of the Asterite Republic, does it. Having been captured by a cruiser of the North American Navy, he escapes in one of their space boats, taking three hostages with him. Thus, the North Americans cannot shoot at the escaping Flowers without killing their own men. But there is more to this story than that: several twists and turns which can be found by reading the story. One of the twists is that this War of Asterite Independence is over very quickly:

"Trade boomed after independence was won..." (p. 111)

The next story will be post-war. Future histories can be long or short. A single-volume history is short. Four stories, four Interludes and one Epilogue remain to be (re)read.

Ad Astra.

Independence Days

Will colonists of planets, asteroids or space habitats have to fight for their independence from Earth? It is to be hoped not. I am conscious of not having read Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy although I have found a lengthy summary of it on Wikipedia. Wars of independence occur in that trilogy, in three novels by Robert Heinlein, in Poul Anderson's Tales Of The Flying Mountains and no doubt in other sf works. When cities escape from Earth in James Blish's Cities In Flight, the Bureaucratic State collapses. However, cities and colonials must then overthrow the Vegan Tyranny which has been ruling this galactic sector, fortunately without knowing what has been happening in the Solar System.

All of these narratives project our past onto our future and I think that we can expect the future to be different - and unpredictable. Maybe someone could write a novel about what is likely to happen on Earth over the next few centuries? Will space travel continue and become more important? Sf narratives focus on that whereas the bulk of mankind - if, indeed, there continues to be a "bulk" - are likely to remain on Earth. But we do not even know that.

The only thing that is certain about sf is that its authors need to keep thinking of new premises which Poul Anderson did continue to do.

This post is occasioned by rereading Tales Of The Flying Mountains even though it lists that book among several works by other authors. Sf is really a collaborative enterprise.

Earth-Belt Politics

Economics: production and distribution.

Politics: power and resistance.

History: progress or regression.

Tales Of The Flying Mountains.

Should wealth that is generated in the Asteroid Belt stay in the Belt or go back to Earth? Poul Anderson evokes political tension and conflict in the Belt after an election back in North America. New colonialism resembles old colonialism. Mike Blades refers to England and America in the eighteenth century but does not tell us which century he is in. There are two ways to write a future history: either vaguely or precisely, date-wise.

The resemblance cannot be complete. Future history is history but also future. Poul Anderson's narratives move through myths, legends, history, alternative histories and futures. (There are even two passages set between cosmic dissolution and re-creation.)

Later in Flying Mountains, as far as I can remember, increased production means less conflict about distribution. This should be the goal of any high tech civilization, especially one that can fully utilize solar energy.

(Different from UN-Belt politics in Larry Niven's Known Space History.)

Mike Blades' Moment Of Realization

Tales Of The Flying Mountains.

We do not remember the names of the characters in Poul Anderson's many works, particularly not in all of his short stories. However, I should remember Mike Blades' surname because we lived on Blades St for forty-five years before moving here to Lincoln Rd.

Mike Blades does not complete a thought and drops a bottle - which his secretary catches in asteroidal low gravity. This is a sure sign that Blades has just had an Andersonian moment of realization and one that I do not remember having read about before. However, searching the blog for "Moment of Realization," we find that it is the first one that comes up! Painting myself into a corner, I have more than once posted about some detail in a work by Anderson without realizing that I had posted about it before. However, while rereading, much comes across as new, as if read for the first time.

Another blog theme is: "Reread!"

Some Future Histories That Have Been Mentioned

Science Fiction: The Structure of a Series: Robert Heinlein

Science Fiction: Isaac Asimov's Future History

James Blish Appreciation: James Blish: Okies

Poul Anderson Appreciation: Poul Anderson’s Future Histories

Science Fiction: Larry Niven's Future Histories

Science Fiction: An Unexpected Future History

Science Fiction: Future Histories

See also:

Science Fiction: Strengths and Weaknesses of Isaac Asimov

Science Fiction: Strengths and Weaknesses of Larry Niven

Three Descriptions Of The Milky Way

Tales Of The Falling Mountains.

(i) "...the shining belt of the Milky Way." (p. 13) (See The Milky Way)

(ii) "The galactic belt glistened, diamond against infinite darkness." (p. 50) (For other references to "galactic belt," see here.)

This description of the galaxy is followed, as happens sometimes, by a reference to another galaxy:

"...the far mysterious shimmer of the Andromeda Nebula..." (ibid.)

(iii) "The Milky Way turned her hair frosty and glowed in her eyes." (p. 65)

This description is unique: the galaxy reflected in a woman's hair and eyes.

We have noticed most Andersonian descriptions of the Milky Way by now but it is always possible to find a few more except that that is enough for this evening.

Tomorrow: rain or more gardening and Zen in the evening; blogging on an as and when basis.

Flying Mountains And Known Space

"'The Belt's going to grow!...This is the real frontier. The planets will never amount to much. It's actually harder to maintain human-type conditions on so big a mass, with a useless atmosphere around you, than on a lump in space like this. And the gravity wells are so deep. Even given nuclear power, the energy cost of really exploiting a planet is prohibitive. Besides which, the choice minerals are buried under kilometers of rock. On a metallic asteroid, you can find almost everything you want directly under your feet.'"

-Tales Of The Flying Mountains, pp. 51-52.

Plus which, solar energy is so plentiful that the asterites do not need (dangerous) nuclear.

Some of the same arguments are deployed in Larry Niven's Known Space future history where gravity wells are called "holes":

"For reasons of economy the Belters concentrated on the wealth of the asteroids. With fusion-drive ships they could have mined the planets; but their techniques were more universally applicable in free fall and among the falling mountains. Only Mercury was rich enough to attract the Belt miners...

"...there were Belters who would never go anywhere near a planet."

-Larry Niven, Tales Of Known Space (New York, 1975), p. 81.

"'Belters learn to avoid gravity wells. A man can get killed half a dozen ways coming too close to a hole.'"

-Larry Niven, "At The Bottom Of A Hole" IN Tales Of Known Space, pp. 82-99 AT p. 83.

We have come a long way through several American future history series.

Interplanetary Periods

OK. A brief summary of the interplanetary periods of most relevant future histories.

Heinlein

The Green Hills Of Earth.

Asimov

In I, Robot, robots in a space station and on Mercury and on an asteroid, then giant robotic Brains controlling the Terrestrial economy and ecology. (In Foundation's Friends, Poul Anderson adds a robot on Io.)

Blish

Cities In Flight: Jupiter V and Jupiter.

The Seedling Stars: Ganymede.

The Haertel Scholium: Mars.

Anderson

The Psychotechnic History: Mars, Venus, asteroids, Ganymede, interplanetary space, Jupiter.

The Technic History: Iapetus.

Flying Mountains: asteroids, Jupiter.

Niven

Exploration of Mercury, Venus, Mars and Pluto, then colonization of asteroids and the Moon.

Quite a list. 

Historical Interpretation

Tales Of The Flying Mountains, Prologue.

The Advisory Council of the spaceship Astra clarifies the need for selection and interpretation of historical facts. The examples given are reasonable. They could obviously be discussed further but here they are offered only as examples. "Mohammedanism" should be "Islam" but that is the kind of historical detail that is always with us. 

"'...man being what he is, moral judgments are inevitable. Was it right, was it desirable that Christianity take over Europe...?'" (p. 16)

Do we need to discuss whether this was right or desirable? It happened and we certainly need to understand why. One question in a future history takes us back into past history and, within the works of the Andersons, to the times when merfolk fled from an exorcism or when the last King of Ys converted to Christianity.

I have a Religion and Philosophy blog for such questions but fewer people read it.

Possible Reasons Why Christianity "Took Over"

monotheism, with an omnipresent deity

a universal morality

freedom from divisive dietary laws

a single blood sacrifice of a perfect victim, efficacious for all time

a divine incarnation

a death and resurrection

a triune deity

fulfilled prophecies (the historical element)

a Mother of God able to replace the Mother Goddess

angels and saints instead of gods and heroes

the Adversary as a rebel angel instead of an anti-God

canonization of saints replacing deification of emperors

the bishop of Rome becoming Pontifex Maximus (an already existing post)

scriptural and Classical scholarship

incorporation of Greek philosophical schools

monasticism as a retreat from a hostile secular world

the flexibility to shed some of these elements at the Reformation

Yes, Christianity is comprehensive, robust and still with us.

Is this a diversion? No. Poul Anderson's works incorporate every issue.