"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.
Kaor, Paul!
ReplyDeleteI 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