Unbe-
freaking-
lievable!
In the previous post, we quoted Gerard Manley Hopkins. In the present post, we invoke superheroes.
"Suddenly all of him wanted to be dissolved, flesh turned into energy, to pulse down the wires at light speed and be where she was." (p. 66)
This is a science fiction idea: teleportation. Furthermore, a DC Comics superhero, the Silver Age Atom, was able not only to shrink to any size but also to travel by telephone. The attached image shows him doing this with none other than Superman.
Through a telephone receiver, we hear not the speaker's voice but a recognizable reproduction of it. Similarly, I expect a teleporter, or in this case a telephone, to emit not the original guy but his duplicate.
But there you are. Poul Anderson does not suggest that anyone would be able to travel through a telephone although he does present teleportation in one or two stories.
Quiz question: In how many works does Anderson present teleportation? (They should all be mentioned in the blog search result for "teleportation," linked from the previous paragraph.)
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
As you said, Anderson used teleportation only a few times in some of his stories: THE ENEMY STARS, "The Ways of Love," "Elementary Mistake," and "Interloper." And while he gave careful thought to suggesting ways teleportation just MIGHT work, it's plain Anderson did not think it was likely to ever be practical. So, we only see teleportation in these few stories.
Sean
Sean,
And "Sargasso of Lost Starships" and "The Martyr" and "Earthman, Beware!"
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Dang! I should have thought of those stories as well! One thing I noticed is that Anderson's teleportation stories were all written early or relatively early in his writing career. A time when he tried out many ideas and themes, some of which he did not go back to in his later years.
Sean
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