-Poul Anderson, "The Sharing of Flesh" IN Anderson, Flandry's Legacy (Riverdale, NY, 2012), pp. 661-708 AT p. 680.
On p. 688, we are told that:
colonized planets with small initial populations and/or unterrestroid conditions can radically alter the human bio-type;
if the population was small because the planet could not support more, then genetic accidents could become significant;
if hostilities reduced the population, then radiation increased mutation rates;
variations are more often in subtle endocrine and enzymatic qualities affecting physiology and psychology than in overt anatomy;
examples include the Gwydiona reaction to nicotine and to some indoles and the Ifrian requirement for trace amounts of lead.
I think that that is it for references to Gwydion after its introduction in The Night Face.
6 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
The bits about how, if it was nuclear strikes which reduce a planet's population and then causing increased mutation resulting in more likely in subtle endocrine and enzymatic changes interested me. Here we see Anderson differing from how he treated similar themes in TWILIGHT WOLRLD, where increased mutation rates due to radiation did often expressed itself in overt anatomical changes. I suspect the differences came from Anderson thinking that radiation damage severe enough to cause grossly overt anatomical changes were more likely than not to either kill people before they could have children or caused the unborn child to die in the womb.
Sean
Sean,
I don't see anything about Gwydion being interdicted during the Allied Planets period.
Paul.
TWILIGHT WORLD predates modern research on mutations and how they work.
Kaor, Paul and Mr. Stirling!
Paul: I could have sworn I saw SOMEWHERE some mention of Gwydion being interdicted to off planet visitors. Apparently, I was wrong. Drat!
Mr. Stirling: That was the idea I had, but I wasn't quite sure.
Sean
Was 'Twilight World" (1961) based on the shorter work "Tomorrow's Children" (1947)?
As I recall the latter story the survivors were having children who were badly deformed.
Sometime in the 1950s IIRC, a study of children born to survivors of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was done. There was no greater incidence of mutations/deformities among such children conceived *after* the bombing than among the general Japanese population.
Also IIRC there were problems among children whose mothers were pregnant with them when exposed to the acute radiation dose from the bombs.
So massive genetic problems from the aftermath of nuclear war does not look to be a problem. Disruption of supply of various necessities would be the biggest problem for those not actually near the nuclear explosions.
Jim,
I think that you will find that "Tomorrow's Children" is the first part of TWILIGHT WORLD.
Paul.
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