Thursday 26 January 2017

Spectacular

On the gyrogravitically terraformed asteroid Odysseus, Donald and Avis Bell live above the breathable atmosphere on the top of Mount Ida. Their home, comprising rooms, pools and colorful conservatories, is approached via a lift through the rock. The spacious living room has a hardwood floor, a fire of synthetic logs in a copper hearth, and a vitryl dome extending from waist height.

Visible in different directions from the dome are green plants, an ice mine, an undeveloped area and open space.

"The butler set coffee and liqueur on a table carved from a single great quartz crystal." (Tales Of The Flying Mountains, p. 140)

The mention of a butler enhances the impression of wealth but sounds discordant in a space colony but it is explained on the following page. In Isaac Asimov's future history, the butler would have been a robot, thus raising moral questions about the treatment of artificial intelligences that Asimov did not address.

3 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

At first I wondered how Donald Bell could have a HARDWOOD floor. Because I thought importing fine wood from Earth would be too costly even for an asterite millionaire. But I then realized trees would be grown on terraformed asteroids.

Sean

Paul Shackley said...

Sean,
The text does state that the hardwood is "imported" - but, as you say, maybe not from Earth.
Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Dang! I really should soon reread TALES OF THE FLYING MOUNTAINS. But, I think it's reasonable to think Bell "imported" wood from another asteroid, perhaps an asteroid not part of the Asterite Republic.

Sean