Saturday, 15 July 2017

Nature Reclaims

In Poul Anderson's History of Technic Civilization, we never see the Earth of the Long Night or of the further future. See here. However, we are shown a quiet, forested Earth both in Anderson's earlier Psychotechnic History and in his comparable novel, World Without Stars. See here and here.

From some angles, Lancaster, where I live (see image), looks more like a wood than a town. SM Stirling's The High King Of Montival presents beautiful descriptions of forest reclaiming city which I will quote when less rushed.
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1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

In Chapter VI of WE CLAIM THESE STARS, we see Flandry's anxious reflections about Admiralty Center, which was that wen the Empire finally fell, "bombs would roaring out of space" (quoting from memory) to destroy it. And barbarians would howl among smashed buildings and the smoke of burning books would hide dead men in bright tattered uniforms.

I'm also reminded of the opening of Chapter 22 of Asimov's FOUNDATION AND EMPIRE, describing how the Great Sack destroyed Trantor and billions of people died. Alas, we have to expect exactly that to happen to a heavily urbanized Terra (perhaps about 25 percent built over) when the Empire fell (altho we see no mention of a Great Sack of Archopolis, aside from Flandry's fears about Admiralty Center).

Sean

15 July 2017 at 17:57

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