See how much information is condensed into each chapter. I had not finished about the Yonderfolk earlier but had to go out.
In Poul Anderson's "What Shall It Profit?," human beings shielded underground from all radiation are immortal but they have to stay shielded underground so what is the point? Such immortality is a dead end. Are the intergalactic Yonderfolk in their almost radiation-free environment naturally immortal? Argens thinks not because quantum processes, viruses, chemicals or other unknown factors also mutate cells. If they are not, then can human beings sell them an antithanatic? It is not always possible to develop a synthetic virus that will destroy any cells that do not conform to a particular race's genetic code.
These Yonderfolk are squat, scaly and several-handed with complicated sponge-like heads. Handicapped by needing radiation shielding within the galaxy, they invited the company to visit them and gave coordinates and velocities for every planet in their system. Valland comments that translating the maths must have been difficult and thus anticipates a problem that will transpire.
6 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Not only was the "immortality" seen in "What Shall It Profit?" a dead end in the sense yo described, it was a dead end another way. The "immortals" seen in that story were very low I.Q., moronic. Who wants that kind of life extension at such a high cost?
I think Argens is right. Putting aside issues such as the Christian belief or speculation that an Un-Fallen human race would have been immortal, I don't think it's very likely any race would evolve to live indefinitely, for the reasons Argens listed.
I remember the mention of not all intelligent were able to develop their own versions of the antithanatic. It was mentioned that humans tended to avoid contact with such beings, for obvious reasons! I can imagine races who were unable to have an anithanatic becoming bitter and envious of those who could. Too easy to imagine all sorts of bad things happening, hence the preference to avoid these species.
Sean
Sean,
Heinein's Howards were persecuted by their fellow human beings.
Paul.
Sean,
I found CS Lewis' presentation of an immortal unFallen race in PERELANDRA completely implausible and anti-Darwinian.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I forgot about the Howard families! Makes me think I should start reread the pre-STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND works of Heinlein.
I agree with what you said about Lewis' treatment of ideas about an Un-Fallen intelligent race in PERELANDRA. For one thing, I don't consider evolution to be per se contrary to revealed truth (as popes like Pius XII and John Paul II have said). I think Lewis' science fiction is best described as "Burroughsian," not as hard SF.
Sean
Sean,
Lewis is deffo not hard!
Soft sf writers are Lewis, Bradbury and Simak.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
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And I would H.G. Wells as belonging to the category of soft science fiction. But I agree Wells developed concepts taken up by hard SF authors. Soft SF writers: Wells, Burroughs, Lewis, Bradbury, Simak, etc. Hard SF conceptually descend from Jules Verne and John Campbell.
Sean
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