"...would the whole long climb of man, from jungle to stars, fall back in destruction...?" (p. 193)
That is a grandiose phrase for a work of space opera. But then that is what all space opera implies, that all past history, even if not explicitly referred to, has been a long climb to Out ride the sons of Terra, and Up leaps the race of Earthmen. (see here)
I think that mankind potentially has a great future but not that it necessarily involves physically traversing interstellar spaces, especially not if FTL remains impossible. Wherever we are, we are in the midst of the cosmos and can look out into it.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And I agree with Flandry's angry frustration about how that long climb of mankind from savagery to the stars might be reversed because of folly and blundering!
And I believe that if humanity is to have a great future that has to include getting OFF this rock to settle other worlds, first in the Solar System and then the planets of other stars. And Poul Anderson insisted in his "Commentary" to SPACE FOLK that could be achieved, if we really want to, with or without FTL.
I don't want to just look at the cosmos, but also to GO out there!
Ad astra! Sean
Given that we are now finding dwarf planets such as the recent discovery, 2017 OF201, that is currently about 50 Au from the sun but goes out to about 1600 AU, I would expect humans could find places to settle that are halfway between stars. Given fusion power humans could travel at a small fraction of light speed to eventually make pleasant mini-worlds all over the galaxy.
Kaor, Jim!
And I love such ideas.
Ad astra for real! Sean
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