A passage in this detective novel by Poul Anderson reminded me of passages in two of Anderson's sf novels.
Mike Stefanik drives over the Bay Bridge en route to Stanford. From there, he drives into Palo Alto (scroll down), then to the coast and south to Pescadero Bay where he is alone under the cliffs. The ocean is quicksilver, green and gray. Stefanik hears and feels roaring waves, feels and smells sharp wind and sees flying gulls, their wings like sword blades, appropriately.
"When he left, toward evening, he felt much eased. Whatever became of him, the sea would always follow the moon around this planet, and shout on lonely beaches. Let man burn himself off the earth, the sea would bring forth life again." (p. 71)
the oceans rush on the moon's trail around the globe
-copied from here.
Manse Everard and Wanda Tamberly drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. Then they drive along Highway One and through Olema but turn onto the national seashore at Point Reyes Station. Beyond Inverness, they are alone and walk on the beach where they meet a Danellian and learn the meaning of the Time Patrol.
Stefanik learns that Earth abides. Everard and Wanda learn that the Patrol is the stabilizing element.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Alas, both the title for this blog piece and the bit you quoted of Stefanik thinking "Let man burn himself off the earth" reminded me of Nevil Shute's grim, dystopian novel ON THE BEACH. And the parallel from Anderson's works I thought of was his equally dystopian short story "Murphy's Hall."
Sean
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