"Life Cycle"

Poul Anderson, "Life Cycle" IN Robert Silverberg, Ed., Earthmen And Strangers (New York, 1977), pp. 91-116.

The Editor's introduction is on pp. 91-92. An "Author's Note" is on p. 92. Thus, the text of the story begins on p. 93. For discussion of this story, see here.

The Author's Note makes the following points:

an sf writer may speculate about the as yet undiscovered;

but, when he deals with the known, he should get the facts right;

"Life Cycle" shows Mercury as it was known in 1957;

in 1965, observations changed scientists' understanding of Mercury;

maybe the story should not be reprinted or should have been rewritten?;

but new data are still coming in;

the picture of Mercury will continue to change until it is visited;

the old view might even be right;

the story should remain unchanged even if only "...as an intellectual exercise..." (p. 92)

But the story should remain unchanged anyway. Everyone agrees that The War Of The Worlds, A Princess Of Mars and The Martian Chronicles should continue to be reprinted. "Life Cycle" stands as a story set on Mercury as the planet was previously understood.