Van Rijn says:
"'Whoof, what a place. Like hell with the furnaces on the fritz.'"
-Poul Anderson, "Territory" IN Anderson, David Falkayn: Star Trader (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 1-76 AT p. 19.
I have read "Territory" before but do not remember the dialogue. Maybe I am learning to anticipate van Rijn's thought processes.
Not only is t'Kela uninhabitable by unprotected human beings; it is becoming less habitable by t'Kelans, which is why the Esperancians want to help them whereas van Rijn's interest is primarily commercial. He should be able to sell t'Kelan wine on Throra.
Meanwhile, what effect would the constant deterioration of their environment have on t'Kelan cosmology and mythology? Maybe some of them think that their world, formerly Paradise, is becoming Hell?
2 comments:
Van Rijn points out that he will actually be able to help the T'kelans on an ongoing basis, whereas the Esperancan effort is probably doomed, because van Rijn can make the whole thing pay, thus giving people an ongoing incentive much more stable than altruism.
Dear Mr. Stirling,
IOW, Old Nick gave EVERYBODY on t'Kela a REASON, something they could understand here and now, to start doing the things needed for saving the planet. Most t'Kelans seemed unable to grasp or care about what might happen a thousand years from then.
Sean
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