human beings travel through space, e.g., The First Men In The Moon by H.G. Wells;
space-traveling human beings build an interstellar civilization, e.g., the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov;
extraterrestrials travel to Earth, e.g., The War Of The Worlds by H.G. Wells;
an interstellar civilization already exists, e.g., Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon.
(Four major works by three future historians.)
Poul Anderson's major work about human beings traveling through space is Tau Zero. Comparisons:
Wells' Cavorite sphere travels to the Moon;
Asimov's hyperspace ships travel throughout the Galaxy;
Anderson's Bussard ramjet travels as far as is possible between groups of groups of galaxies.
Anderson wrote several short stories about representatives of already existing interstellar civilizations visiting Earth. However, in his History of Technic Civilization, it is mankind that is the first intelligent species to develop an FTL drive in our region of space. Thus, Terrans bring Technic Civilization and the hyperdrive to Cynthians, Wodenites, Ythrians and Merseians. Later outcomes include three interstellar realms: Terran Empire, Ythrian Domain and Merseian Rodhunate - but never forget that, of these three, the Terrans were the first in space. (The Merseians don't.) However, there was also an "Ancient" space-faring race whose ruins remain on many planets.
In James Blish's future histories, human beings leaving the Solar System enter into conflict with:
the Vegan Tyranny, and later with the Web of Hercules, in Cities In Flight;
the Heart Stars/Hegemony of Malis in the Jack Loftus novels and "A Dusk of Idols";
the Central Empire in "This Earth of Hours";
the Green Exarchy in The Quincunx Of Time and "A Style in Treason."
Both Cities... and "A Style..." also mention earlier civilizations.
In Larry Niven's Known Space future history, human beings, mutated Pak breeder colonists of a former Slaver food planet, fight the Kzinti Empire while Pierson's Puppeteers manipulate men and kzinti.
2 comments:
Paul:
One amusing fact is that Blish, in his adaptation of the Star Trek time-travel episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday," threw in a statement that the Enterprise didn't dare leave the Solar System in 1969 not just because of concern over altering history, but also because the Vegan Tyranny dominated much of local space, "and you'll remember how it went when we first ran into them."
Kaor, Paul!
It's also possible the Old Shenn of the planet Dathyna in SATAN'S WORLD invented a FTL either before mankind or around the same time. But their extermination at the hands of the New Race prevented Dathna from being the first to use FTL in our region of the galaxy.
Sean
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