"...early industrial operations in space offered the hope of rescuing civilization, and Earth, from ruin..." (II, p. 6)
OK. This does not tell us a lot but it does tell us something. Although civilization and even its physical environment were on the verge of ruin, someone somehow started industrial operations in space and this offered enough hope that it was supported and indeed succeeded. A solar-powered fleet with a crew of a thousand flies to Mars and sends minerals from Phobos back to Earth. Even to compete to join that crew and not succeed but then to follow the progress of the expedition would change many lives.
After there have been expeditions to Jupiter and Mercury, the Britannic-American consortium launches the Chronos to the Saturnian System. That phrase "Britannic-American" implies some information about events on Earth as does the fact that a ship called the Vladimir is lost en route to Mercury. The remainder of this passage describes life in the Chronos during its eight year outward journey but at present we are searching the text for any clues about life back on Earth. There are a few.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And did something bigger than a "Britannic-American consortium" exist by then? Was an ALLIANCE between the US and the UK (plus Commonwealth realms like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.) starting to impose some kind of order on Earth strong enough to end the Chaos? An order eventually leading to the Solar Commonwealth? It's reminiscent of speculations I've seen about the "Anglosphere." And it would explain the Western "look" of Technic civilization.
Ad astra! Sean
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