Tuesday, 13 October 2020

Inter-Era Communication

"The Man Who Came Early."

The aitsjbom is a kind of Greek fire.

Gerald Robbins is renamed Gerald Samssom because his father is Sam.

Ospak is broadminded enough to have a Christian in his house despite local fear of witchcraft.

Christians lack the useful practice of human sacrifice. (It is useful to threaten thralls with it.)

Gerald makes a face at the home-brewed beer, perhaps his first social error. (When I still drank beer, I learned a useful social trick. I disliked the taste of my host's home-brew but it occurred to me that we taste only when we have swallowed so I knocked it back, thus flattering my host - "He likes my beer!" - who poured me more.)

Gerald speaks of Leif Eirikson before that chief has become well-known...

Ospak knows of Bjarni Herjulfsson who gave Manse Everard a polar bear rug. Of course, this has to be a different Bjarni Herjulfsson, or does it? Patrol scientists might discover that the time travel effect is sometimes generated between thunderstorms in different historical periods.

7 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

A bit ironic, your host thinking you liked his home brewed beer and then pouring you MORE!

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

But the I just quaffed more.

Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

True! And I'm sure the "beer" of a thousand years ago simply can't be compared to modern, professionally made beers. I think Anderson's favorite beer was Carlsberg. A brand which I want to sample sometime.

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

When Poul stayed here, I'd bought beer because I knew he liked it. I asked him if he'd rather have Coors or Tuborg (a Danish beer). He thought for a moment, and said: "I'll have the beer."

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

I envy you sometimes having Poul Anderson for a guest. A great honor!

I assume what PA meant was that any reasonably decent beer would satisfy him.

A friend of mine sometimes visit me and I give her Corona beer because that's the brand she favors.

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

What he meant was that Coors, in comparison to Tuborg, isn’t beer at all — a humorous exaggeration.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

I keep misunderstanding subtle humor! And Tuborg, along with Carlsberg, will be another beer brand I should sample sometime.

Ad astra! Sean