Interstellar Federations Etc II

See the previous post.

We left out Poul Anderson's three hydrogen-breathing species.

Technic History

Baburites, from a sub-Jovian planet, become imperialistic on an interstellar scale but turn out to have been manipulated by a Polesotechnic League cartel.

Ymirites inhabit and colonize Jovoid planets which means that their "Dispersal" can interpenetrate with the Empire of the Terrans, the Roidhunate of the Merseians and probably also other civilizations. There is no conflict and almost no communication between Ymirites and oxygen-breathers. The former might not know the difference between a Terran and a Merseian!

"The Chapter Ends"

Hulduvians inhabit and colonize Jovoid planets but their way of controlling cosmic energy interferes with the way that human beings do this and vice versa which means that the two species must divide the Galaxy between them. Hulduvians are like Ymirites except communicative and cooperative but cannot interpenetrate.

Anderson covers every possibility. (One of our themes.)

Interstellar Federations, Empires And Conflicts: Blish And Anderson

Star Trek has Klingons and Known Space has kzinti but let's just focus on James Blish and Poul Anderson.

Blish

In Cities In Flight, the Milky Way has four great civilizations:

unknown

The Vegan Tyranny

The Earthman culture

The Web of Hercules

In "This Earth of Hours," the Terrestrial Matriarchy contacts and enters into conflict with the telepathic Central Empire.

A confederation at galactic centre is unnamed in The Star Dwellers, is called the Heart Stars in "A Dusk of Idols" and calls itself the Hegemony of Malis in Mission To The Heart Stars!

In "A Style in Treason," the Green Exarchy rules half of humanity's worlds and draws tithes from five fallen empires older than man.

Blish stated in private correspondence that interstellar distances were vast enough to allow such conflicts to remain unresolved.

Anderson

The earliest written part of the Technic History was a Captain Flandry story. Thus, the second major period of this future history is dominated by conflict between two rival imperialisms, Terra and Merseia, with Ythri as a third power. Terra has early border clashes with Ythri but permanent conflict with Merseia. 

Anderson's earlier Psychotechnic History begins with attempts to apply psychotechnic science to both society and psychobiology so it is appropriate that the interstellar rival of the later Stellar Union is a humanoid species whose science is biologically, not mechanically, based.

Unified Culture

The Peregrine, CHAPTER XVI.

Having evolved as a unified culture, the Alori have no qualms about "gently" (!) exterminating other intelligent species to appropriate their planets whereas human beings have learned through a history of conflict that it is necessary to respect all intelligence. The Alori are not a familiar kind of threat but they are a threat.

However, we have previously discussed this issue in:

The Peregrine II

Different Evolutions 

Unity And Conflict

- so let's call it a night! 

Even what seems like just an action-adventure story by Poul Anderson is rich in significant issues and, unfortunately, this novel is very near the end of his Psychotechnic History which is about not only mankind in the universe but also mankind.

Pan

The Peregrine, CHAPTER XV.

Ilaloa dances like a nymph and Trevelyan thinks that:

"...any moment Pan might come piping from the  brush." (pp. 133-134)

Not literally, of course. Especially not on another planet. Although human beings would take there gods with them, would they not? In Neil Gaiman's American Gods, European and Asian gods have all been transplanted to North America.

In any case, has Pan not died? See:

The Death of Pan in Greek Mythology

An intriguing story. Deaths of gods are always powerful. In this case, two interpretations: a mistranslation or the deaths of all the pagan gods ("pan" means "all") at the time of Christ.

I do not visualize but those who do can still see Pan and all the rest.

That single word, "Pan," has carried us far away from Poul Anderson's text but words do that. Deadpan.

Landing On A Planet

The Peregrine, CHAPTER XV. 

James Blish's Okies control gravity and therefore can land their flying cities on planetary surfaces. New York winds up on New Earth in the Greater Magellanic Cloud.

Often, in sf, large interstellar vessels remain in orbit around a planet while crew or passengers descend by other means. Star Trek has "transporters"/teleportation transmitters, thus avoiding the extra trouble of scenes with ship's boats although the Enterprise does have boats for specialized missions in interplanetary space. A few characters can be shown in action away from the others.

In Ensign Flandry, Flandry hijacks a ship's boat which even has hyperspace capacity.

In the Peregine, a boathouse contains a boat and some "fliers" (?) The latter are soon explained. For the landing, two fliers each bear two men while a boat carries twenty. Although the planet is terrestroid, indeed apparently paradisal, elementary precautions are taken. Ten spacesuited men leave by an airlock which is sterilized while the outer lock is open. One of the crew members who remain on board analyzes the atmosphere, bacteria and spores. The ten return with soil, plants, water and insects to be sterilized in the airlock, then analyzed on board. Nothing is harmful. Then, four parties of four explore in different directions while others remain by the boat and fliers. Each party has maps taken from the air, local details to be added, and will collect samples. Bodies are protected by coveralls, boots and skin-tight gloves. Each explorer carries wrist radio, gun, canteen and medical kit except the non-human Ilaloa who is confident that there is no danger and refuses to wear any extra clothes. She speaks as if she knows the planet:

"'This is the home of peace.'" (p. 131)

Nicki comments on Ilaloa's:

"'...nerve - or foolishness...'" (p. 133)

- but should really be suspicious of her confidence.

A climax approaches.

Another Comparison

Let us focus on just one sf concept: time travel within a single immutable timeline. There is a clear line of descent from Wells through Heinlein to Anderson. (For this purpose, of course, we exclude Anderson's Time Patrol which is an entirely different proposition.) There are some other authors. However, the purpose of the present post is not to list names but to make a single comparison. I have two collections by John Wyndham:

Consider Her Ways and others (Penguin, 1979)

The Seeds Of Time (Penguin, 1981)

"If you can look into the seeds of time,

"And say which grain will grow and which will not..."

-Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 3.

Some stories by Wyndham fall into this category:

"Consider Her Ways"

"Odd"

"Stich in Time" (excellent; classic)

"Chronoclasm"

"Pawley's Peepholes"

"Pillar to Post"

See also:

The Best Of Times

Immemorial Struggle

The Peregrine, CHAPTER XIV.

When Nicki talks about revenging him if he were killed, Trevelyan reflects on:

"The ancient war...the immemorial struggle of intelligence to master itself." (p. 127)

This struggle, although sometimes forgotten, is the underlying theme of this future history series. However, we have posted about it at greater length before:

See The Ancient War.

Also, this war or struggle is won in Anderson's Brain Wave:

See Changing Nature. and Reason And Emotion

My aim is to post enough for this evening, then to read Inspector Morse and to watch the evening news to find out whether World War III has begun. (Might they maintain the taboo on nukes but otherwise replay WWII across Europe and further afield? Are we in the opening instalment of a dystopian future history?)

A Space Battle

The Peregrine, CHAPTER XIV.

See Battle In Space Revisited.

An alien ship launches:

"'...a self-guiding missile...'" (p. 124)

- with a fission warhead, then another, towards the Peregrine which: 

intercepts the first incoming missile with one of its own;

grabs the second with a gravity beam and throws it back;

replies with a barrage;

dodges more incoming shells.

Instruments indicate that the Peregrine's responses are not fast or accurate enough and that she must soon be hit. Therefore, Joachim recalls the armed boats to the ship. Although the Peregrine's maneuvers necessarily slow down, the enemy also eases off. In fact, he is herding the Peregrine towards a nearby Sol-type star. 

Just another of those battles in space that happen in sf and probably nowhere else.

The Time Patrol And Other Reading

 

Any historical turning point is potentially a job for the Time Patrol although Poul Anderson avoided writing stories about obvious examples: Nazis winning World War II etc. He did discuss how to prevent Hitler's birth and also mentioned the following twentieth century turning point:

"The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 came near failing. Only the energy and genius of Lenin pulled it through. What if you traveled to the nineteenth century and quietly, harmlessly prevented Lenin's parents from ever meeting each other?"

-Poul Anderson, "The Year of the Ransom" IN Anderson, Time Patrol (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 641-735 AT p. 672.

We recall this passage because we have acquired W. Somerset Maugham, Ashenden (London, 2000), fiction based on its author's experiences. 

"In 1917 I went to Russia. I was sent to prevent the Bolshevik Revolution and to keep Russia in the war. The reader will know that my efforts did not meet with success."

-Preface, pp. v-x AT p. ix.

If Maugham had succeeded, then the Time Patrol would have had to become involved.

Since we have compared Anderson's Dominic Flandry with Ian Fleming's James Bond, we might also compare Bond with Maugham's Ashenden. Bond is a Cold War secret agent whose superior is an Admiral called M whereas Ashenden is a World War I secret agent whose superior is a Colonel called R.

We live in a sea of literary associations.

Another Connection

Staying with the Oxford connection for one more post:

in the Morse novel, American tourists in Oxford are invited to imagine "...Friar Roger Bacon (1214-1294)...in his rooms overlooking Folly Bridge..." (Chapter Fifteen, p. 86);

James Blish's novel about Bacon, Doctor Mirabilis, begins and ends with chapters entitled "Folly Bridge";

in Blish's novel, Bacon discovers scientific method, invents gunpowder and has a vision of aircraft, submarines, subterrenes and the Anti-Christ;

thus, Doctor Mirabilis might count not only as historical novel but also as a prequel to modern fantasy and sf?

(Both Blish and Anderson wrote all three genres.)

In any case, we will shortly return to rereading Anderson's The Peregrine.

All one universe.

Addendum, 5 Mar 2026: Doctor Mirabilis is Volume I of Blish's After Such Knowledge Trilogy. Volume II, Black Easter/The Day After Judgement is a contemporary fantasy. Volume III, A Case Of Conscience, is futuristic sf. Thus, the Trilogy summarizes what we are talking about here.