Friday, 9 January 2015

Authorship Across The Timelines

While summarizing Poul Anderson's "Lodestar," I went on to say that, by leading the colonization of Avalon, David and Coya Falkayn would enrich Anderson's History of Technic Civilization with The Earth Book Of Stormgate. I need only have added that that Earth Book includes "Lodestar" itself.

In our timeline, "Lodestar" was written by Poul Anderson and published in a John W Campbell Memorial Anthology whereas, in the Technic History timeline, exactly the same text was written by Hloch and Arinnian of Stormgate Choth and published in Hloch's Earth Book. Further, Hloch tells us how it came to be written:

van Rijn and Falkayn transferred records from Earth to Hermes;
Rennhi transferred the molecular patterns to Avalon where their code was broken;
the records included the ship's log for van Rijn's and Coya's journey to Mirkheim;
thus, Rennhi was able to contact the Wyvan of Wryfields Choth on Ythri (the ship's captain was of that choth and had kept a journal);
thus, finally, Hloch and Arinnian were able to write accounts both of Falkayn on Merseia and of van Rijn's arrival at the "Lodestar," Mirkheim.

Since Falkayn had been understandably reticent about his betrayal of van Rijn, Avalonians had not known the details until now. Hloch's introduction adds immeasurably to the History and in fact traces a sequence of events involving no less than six planets:

Earth;
Hermes;
Avalon;
Merseia;
Mirkheim;
Ythri.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Hi, Paul!

David Falkayn was not only "reticent" about how he had broken his oath of fealty to van Rijn on the Mirkheim matter, he continued to be remorseful about it, even tho Old Nick eventually forgave him. And tried to make amends for that breaking of his oath.

Sean