As I have said before, interstellar travel is the ultimate symbol of freedom in American sf. The attached cover image expresses that.
We learn the significance of the title of part four when Joshua Coffin thinks:
"The forest roared with wind. Its velocity was not great, but the pressure made it a near gale.
"Windpower would be valuable when men were finally able to move down off the plateaus. When would that be? Not for many generations, surely. The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small. Not always slowly, though. The mills of change had ground faster than the dinosaurs could adapt to an altering climate, faster than science and technology could evolve to keep Earth's exploding population civilized. All Rustum was a millstone, turning and turning among the stars, and the seed of man was ground to powder, for it repented the Lord that He had made man...." (7, pp. 140-141)
The wind is often a presence in Poul Anderson's works. Inheriting words and ideas from different sources, Coffin refers to "the gods" and to "the Lord." His rambling thoughts reflect his physical exhaustion and debilitation.
(I began this post but was interrupted by the arrival of Theater Of Spies. There will be more about "Orbit Unlimited: Endgame.")
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Yes, I esp. remember the exhaustion and mental fuzziness of Joshua Coffin and Jan Svoboda when they had descended far enough down to the lowlands of Rustum in their search for Daniel Coffin. Coffin pere wondered if the fuzziness was comparable to being drunk.
Sean
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