American Future Histories reach for the stars, eventually. Only Volumes IV and V of Heinlein's five-volume Future History involve interstellar travel. Its opening story is set in 1951, the future. Poul Anderson's Psychotechnic History begins in a bleak post-World War III setting that could have been post-World War II and that indeed features characters who had fought in WWII.
Both Niven's Known Space and Anderson's Technic History begin with the exploration of the Solar System. Both end in far future interstellar civilizations with market economies. Niven writes:
"If the boss brain were that smart it would have been in business for itself." (p. 219) (For full reference, see here.)
Futuristic fiction always reflects the period and social milieu in which it was written, although "The Chapter Ends," presented as the culmination of the Psychotechnic History (see here, here and here), postulates some changes in human nature and even a change in our relationship to the forces of nature.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And I still don't think "The Chapter Ends" is a true part of the Psychotechnic Institute series. It's too different from the other Psychotechnic stories and does not have anything linking it to them for me to be convinced it belongs there. I would have argued with either Poul Anderson or Sandra Miesel that "The Chapter Ends" is best understood as an independent, stand alone story.
Sean
Post a Comment