We are not used to ghost stories on an interstellar scale:
the superstitious say that the Black Nebula is haunted;
there are stories of ships disappearing in the Nebula, of ghostly things seen and whispers heard in ships passing nearby and of men going mad;
there was inexplicable physical trouble with engines, lights etc;
Donovan recommended abandonment of the base on the planet Heim at the edge of the Nebula;
he suggests that Nebular radiation affects particles and nervous systems.
Research into reported apparitions at Muncaster Castle includes investigation as to whether zinc in the ground affects nervous systems. (I think.)
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Now that is intriguing! It even kinda makes it easier to think "Sargasso of Lost Starships" can, after all, be legitimately part of the Technic series. After all, even a space faring civilization is very likely to have its own stories, rumors, legends, etc., about alleged "paranatural" or supernatural apparitions.
Sean
Paul and Sean:
Andre Norton's Solar Queen books (that's the name of their starship) mentioned several times that the ship's Cargo Master, J. Van Rycke, was a collector of interstellar folklore and particularly good at retelling the stories. Tales of "the Whisperers" whose voices are heard only by men who've been too long in space. Or of a Flying Dutchman called the New Hope, which took off with a load of refugees from a war on Mars and never set down anywhere, now seen only by ships themselves in dire trouble, so that "to sight the New Hope" is a proverb for being deep in it....
Kaor, DAVID!
Cool! I think things like that WILL happen for real if we ever get off this rock for good! And I really should look again at Andre Norton's books.
Sean
Post a Comment