Stories' Ends

Recently Discussed Psychotechnic History Stories

Each story fits, to a greater or lesser extent, into the Psychotechnic History framework while also reaching its own particular narrative conclusion:

in "Star Ship," Janazik covers for Anse;
in "Teucan," Weber dies, deservedly;
in "Symmetry," the Dunhams escape.

(Regarding Weber, he is not a hero whose death we regret. In some British comic strips, the central character was not a hero but a villain whose plans never quite succeeded. Weber is definitely in this latter category.)

After a first reading of Poul Anderson's "The Chapter Ends," we might remember its unhappy ending and therefore not want to reread it. However, I think that the story as a whole is positive. It can be read and discussed whether or not it is accepted as the culmination of the Psychotechnic History.

I do accept this story as part of the Psychotechnic future history series because its characters include psychotechnicians whose physiological self-control and psychokinesis are like ultimate culminations of the aims of the Psychotechnic Institute of long ago. We know that the science of psychotechnics survived the outlawing of the Institute. Either the Nomads preserved knowledge of psychotechnics through the Third Dark Ages or the principles of this science have been rediscovered during the long ages of interstellar empires between the Stellar Union and the Galactic civilization.

If "The Chapter Ends" is regarded as independent of the Psychotechnic History, then, following "Symmetry," we can instead imagine a future civilization packed with the immense wealth to be derived from the matter duplication technology discovered by the voortrekker, Dunham.