Beta Crucis is "'...Beta Crosseyes...'" (XVIII, p. 516)
"'...we don't need circumlocomotions.'" (XIX, p. 531)
When Adzel says that the sun of Dathyna, the Shenn home planet, is not normal:
"'About to go nova?' van Rijn asked hopefully." (XXII, p. 553)
That would have been incredible good luck. The League could have made a very good business out of resettling the Shenna - after neutralizing their ability to conquer, of course.
How much sheer luck is involved in interstellar affairs? It was bad luck that a rogue planet was on a collision course with Saxo but good luck that this happened at a time when the Terrans were willing and able to settle some Starkadians on Imhotep. It was good luck that Satan bypassed Beta Crucis at a time when Technic civilization was able to exploit the industrial possibilities. It was not good luck that Mirkheim existed because that source of wealth was found after an exhaustive computer-aided search. It was good luck for the Merseians that the League was willing and able to protect them from supernova radiation. How many races are wiped out by events like novae? One is in the Psychotechnic History.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I had to laugh a bit at Old Nick calling Beta Crucis "Beta Crosseyes"!
I can see the Shenna POSSIBLY being willing to accept being assisted by the Polesotechnic League on being resettled on another planet if Dathyna was facing destruction. After getting their heads knocked together to beat some sense into them!
If Merseia had not been using Starkad as a trap for luring in the Terrans to destruction, there might not have been enough time to save the two intelligent races of that world. Up till ENSIGN FLANDRY, Starkad was an obscure planet which had not been visited by outsiders for centuries.
I would say, rather that Mirkheim had been "discovered" three times. First by David Falkayn, and then by Old Nick (in "Lodestar"). Old Nich even helped Falkayn and the Supermetals Company in preserving for another eight years the secret of where Mirkheim was located. It was the third "discovery," exposing Mirkheim's location to everyone, that led to the crisis seen in MIRKHEIM.
Sean
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