Does Satan's World comment on Star Trek? The dates are right.
"'I distinctly remember telling Muddlehead to lay off that stupid 'affirmative, negative' business, when a plain 'yes' or 'no' was good enough for Churchill.'" (p. 435)
Churchill did object to unnecessary verbosity but does anyone know whether he specifically commented on 'affirmative, negative' being used instead of 'yes, no.'? When told that it is incorrect to finish a sentence with a preposition, he reputedly replied, "That is the sort of nonsense up with which I will not put."
In this chapter, Falkayn and Chee Lan are in Muddlehead at Beta Crucis while Adzel is with van Rijn back in the Solar System. The crisis is so grave that the old team must divide its forces.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I remember that bit about "affirmative/negative" in SATAN'S WORLD! It's best understood as PA introducing another lighthearted or even sardonic moment in the story. With Anderson gently mocking the way scientists and technicians talked. Hence Chee Lan's scoffing comment about the "nuances" of Anglic.
Sean
Post a Comment