"The Trouble Twisters."
Innocence lost (scroll down) is the persistent theme of Poul Anderson's Time Patrol series, appropriately for a series about time travel. The same theme recurs in Anderson's Technic History, particularly in the closing passage of Mirkheim. There and elsewhere, Adzel reminisces about his home planet, Woden. A blog project will be to assemble everything that is to be learned about Woden from the reminiscences of both Adzel and Axor. I mean experiential details, not just planetological data.
Meanwhile, more lost innocence is to be found in one of Adzel's reminiscences:
broad plains;
brilliant sun;
galloping;
the chase;
campfire;
fellowship;
friends;
children;
females...
He does not miss the females because he is stimulated only when near them at the appropriate time. However:
"But a certain sense of belonging, an innocence, was forever gone." (V, p. 132)
Does every being in the universe feel this?
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And this reminds me of Flandry tell Kit in WE CLAIM THESE STARS how she had the good t belong to a society which still had important tasks to do. She and the Vixenites retained a real kind of innocence. And that sharply contrasts with how the Terran nobles had become TOO wise. Their knowledge of history and the fact THEIR tasks had been accomplished made them too well aware of how fragile the Empire was. But they also knew doom would not come to Terra till after their lifetimes.
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Paul!
Is it better to have the innocent hope and optimism of Kit Kittridge or the sad wisdom and disillusionment of the Terran nobles? Good arguments could be made both ways, I think! Best, IMO, would be combing what was good in both attitudes. Easier said, than done!
Ad astra! Sean
Ugh, I meant "combining" not "combing," in my comment immediately above!
Sean
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