Silences

In Poul Anderson's texts, a silence during or after a conversation is full of meaning. The characters and the reader absorb the implications of what has been said. Background sounds and other sensations help.

When Ulstrup, Everard and Floris focus on the fact that history might diverge:

"A silence fell. Wind lulled, leaves rustled, sunlight skipped on the ruffled stream. The peacefulness made the landscape feel unreal."
-Poul Anderson, "Star of the Sea" IN Anderson, Time Patrol (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 467-640 AT 11, p. 569.

The peacefulness contrasts too sharply with the perceived threat. Hence, the sense of unreality.

When Jack Birnam suggests that Andromeda Rescue Station Four send a team to find the missing Ayan, Wyvan of Stormgate Choth:

"Holm kept silent a while. The moonlight seemed to grow more cold and white.
"'Wheren't you listening, Birnam?' he said at last. 'We need every man and every vehicle we can get, every minute they can be in action.'"
-Poul Anderson, "Rescue on Avalon" IN Anderson, Rise Of The Terran Empire (Riverdale, NY, 2011), pp. 307-323 AT p. 315.

Jack is on the scene. It is his responsibility to find and help Ayan, despite his allergy to Ythrians. No doubt this realization grew as Morgana seemed to grow colder and whiter.