"'Our intelligence reports, interrogation of prisoners, evaluation of explorer's observations, and so on, all indicate that three or four different species in this region possess the hyperdrive. The Adderkops themselves aren't certain about all of them. Space is so damned huge.'" (p. 567)
Might space really be that crowded? We now know that there are plenty of planets but there is as yet no sign of interstellar traffic and is anything like a hyperdrive even theoretically possible?
Did the three or four species discover the hyperdrive independently or did some acquire it from others? In known space, Ythrians, Merseians, Cynthians and others acquire the hyperdrive from Terrans.
Three or four intelligent species entail that many independent evolutions, histories, sets of languages, conceptual frameworks etc. And spacefarers might remain uncertain about how many of these there are in their own immediate region of space? This is a whole hypothetical scenario that we are as yet unfamiliar with and unprepared for. And it might happen in our lifetimes, in the further future or never.
2 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I like to thing good science helps to prepare SOME of us for the overwhelming shock of discovery we will have to endure if/when evidence of life on other woulds is found. Both non-intelligent and intelligent.
Ad astra! Sean
Drat! I wanted to write: "I like to THINK good science FICTION helps to prepare SOME of us for the overwhelming shock of discovery we will have to endure if/when evidence of life on other worlds is found. Both non-intelligent and intelligent."
Ad astra! Sean
Post a Comment