"New elements came into being, not only those which may be found in the planets but also the short-lived transuranics; for a while, technetium itself dominated that anarchy."
-Poul Anderson, "Day of Burning" IN Anderson, David Falkayn: Star Trader (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 209-272 AT p. 212.
Is "technetium" an element named after Technic civilization? No. It already exists. See image and here.
On Merseia:
"A balcony gave on a view of the palace gardens, whose austere good taste was reminiscent of Original Japanese, and on the city." (p. 223)
For a comparison on this blog of Merseians with Japanese, see "Merseians And Russians," combox here.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I admire how skillfully Anderson used real science in his stories, as the bits about supernovas and technetium in "Day Of Burning." It helps to explain why I prefer hard SF to soft science fiction.
And I think Stirling's comparison of Wilwidh Ocean Merseians with the Japanese more apt than Sandra Meisel's analogizing of them with Sassanid Persians.
Sean
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