Social Justice

Tales Of The Flying Mountains.

The representative of the North American Social Justice government gets on our nerves:

"'Too much that was too expensive was too badly overdue at home. And that's what Social Justice is all about. Rebuilding the country, first internally, afterward in its foreign relations; regaining our position as a first class power.'" (p. 129)

Capitalized words and phrases change their meanings. It is possible to be "conservative" without being "Conservative." "Social justice," just as a phrase, has nothing to do with becoming a "power" in foreign relations. However, we must listen to a representative of the Social Justice Party to learn what that party's policies are. Years ago, on British TV, a Government minister laughed at a young man who spoke about "communism" but then denied that he was talking about the Communist Party. I thought that the young man was quite right to make this distinction. No organization is entitled to appropriate a word or to identify all the meaning of that word just with itself.

Our Social Justice guy continues and claims that his asterite hosts, the Bells, and he:

"'...already bear a greater guilt: that we are glutted while others are poor.'" (ibid.)

No. Those who are comfortable or prosperous are neither glutted nor guilty. I am not guilty if my income is greater than someone else's. I am not even guilty if some of my income is profit that I have made from his labour because that is the economic system that we happen to be living in - at least as of now. Having said that, there is plenty of guilt in our society and it is not just on the lowest stratum where the poor are imprisoned for theft! But let's leave that issue there for the time being. I respond to whatever we find in Poul Anderson's texts, including his characters' conversations - which turns out to be all of human life and more, past, present and future.

Once again, good night. A family reunion and BBQ tomorrow.

Society Progresses...

(i) "'...because a few bold, inspired leaders have exalted goals.'" (p. 150);

(ii) ...because goals occur to us as we develop our capabilities;

(iii) ...when "'...individuals fearlessly work out their private destinies.'" (ibid.);

(iv) ...because "'...things simply happen.'" (ibid.) - and could have happened differently.

In Tales Of The Flying Mountains, Interlude 4, Lindgren summarizes others' views, (i)-(iii), then states his own, (iv). In denying that there are "'...any general rules....,'" (ibid.) he contradicts characters in some other future histories, including two by Anderson, but sf is about exploring alternative possibilities.

"...things simply happen..." is a sound empirical theory of history and society.

Some Familiar Ingredients

I am realizing that Poul Anderson's Tales Of The Flying Mountains is an elaborately constructed future history series which I have not appreciated in sufficient detail until now.

Recently on this blog, we contemplated fictional accounts of Jupiter in Poul Anderson's "Call Me Joe" and in James Blish's "Bridge," then hypothetical discoveries of antigravity in "Bridge" and in Anderson's ...Flying Mountains, mentioning other works en route. Soon we will again see Jupiter, in ...Flying Mountains.

We have just read past yet another Andersonian moment of realization. Don Bell says:

"'...it's difficult to see how we could -'" (p. 139)

- then drops his cigarette, stares and says:

"'Or could we?'" (ibid.)

We know the signs but as usual will have to wait to be told the answer.

The Milky Way is still with us together with other heavenly bodies:

"...uncountably many frost-cold stars, the curdled ice of the galaxy, and Jupiter." (p. 153)

("Curdled" appears a few times in The Milky Way Thread.)

I must eat and run across town to the Gregson.

After The War

Tales Of The Flying Mountains.

The War of Asterite Independence is over quickly for us readers, introduced and concluded in a single story, but not for the asterites:

"...the despair of the war years." (p. 119)

And the war does not end as we expect. There is a stable group of asteroids in each of the two Trojan points in the Jovian orbit, sixty degrees before and behind Jupiter. The peace treaty lets North America keep the leading Trojan group while the new Asterite Republic gets only the trailing group. As conditions continue to deteriorate in North America, the government of that continent puts more economic pressure on those asterites whom it still governs. The issues that the war was fought over have not been resolved. I will have to reread this story to the end to get all its ramifications.

The main leading Trojan asteroid, Odysseus, has a Lake Circe and a "...zoo island, Aeaea..." (p. 120) The other large asteroids in this group are Hector, Achilles, Nestor, Agamemnon and Ajax. These are powerful mythological references, particularly in the wake of the film, The Odyssey.

Don and Avis Bell have a domestic staff of ten, including a cook and a butler, in their sealed house on Mount Ida above the Oddyssean atmosphere. I like the asterite attitude explained by Don Bell. The pioneers had had to be both self-reliant and mutually helpful. The successful felt obliged to employ the unsuccessful who accepted employment because all work contributed to survival and improvement. If I were there, then, lacking entrepreneurial skills, I would willingly work as a butler.

The Milky Way is always with us:

"Stars crowded the blackness, unwinking and winter-cold; the Milky Way girdled the universe with diamond dust; Jupiter blazed enormous, not many astronomical units to port." (p. 95)

From the waist-height dome atop the Bell house:

"When the sun happened to be away, as it was at the moment, every spot overhead was diademmed with stars, nebulae, Milky Way and sister galaxies." (p. 126)

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