One
of the things I most admire about Dr. Paul Shackley's work in the Poul
Anderson Appreciation blog is the detailed attention he pays to the
texts of the works of Poul Anderson. Far more attention than what I
have usually done since the last time I was writing letters to Anderson
himself (and before my participation on this blog).
Currently,
I have been slowly rereading the stories about Dominic Flandry, set
during the era of the Terran Empire in Anderson's Technic Civilization
series. And while doing so I have been striving to pay attention to,
and appreciate, even the smallest details to be found in those stories.
One example, from the Gregg Press (August, 1979) edition of AGENT OF THE
TERRAN EMPIRE, is from the beginning of Chapter II of HUNTERS OF THE
SKY CAVE (also called WE CLAIM THESE STARS), in an artificial satellite
orbiting Jupiter called the Crystal Moon: "He wasted no time on excuses
but almost ran to the cloakroom. His feet whispered along the
crystalline floor, where Orion glittered hundreds of light years
beneath." In all my previous readings of HUNTERS I don't think I had
ever really NOTICED that bit about Flandry racing along a crystalline
floor, beneath which Orion could be seen hundreds of light years away!
But
the textual detail I wish to pay special attention to is a truly
obscure one: how many heads do Ymirites have? The only time we see any
members of this hydrogen breathing non human intelligent race is in
HUNTERS OF THE SKY CAVE. And while I was reading Chapter IV of that
story I noticed a tiny but intriguing detail (quoting from page 115 of
the Gregg Press edition): "Flandry looked into the screen. The Ymirite
didn't quite register on his mind. His eyes weren't trained to those
shapes and proportions, seen by that weirdly shifting red-blue-brassy
light. (Which wasn't the real thing, even, but an electronic
translation. A human looking straight into the thick Jovian air would
see only darkness.) "Hello, Horx," he said to the great black multi-
legged shape with the peculiarly tendrilled heads."
It
was that last bit, "...the peculiarly tendrilled heads," which caught
my eye. How literally are we supposed to understand that word "heads"?
Do Ymirites have at least two heads? We see Flandry conversing with two
Ymirites in HUNTERS, his guide/interpreter Horx and the Ymirite
governor of Jupiter, Thua. But no mention is made of those beings
having multiple personalities if they have more than one head, which is
what we see in human conjoined twins. Rather, if Ymirites have more
than one head, only one personality is seen as using and speaking with
those heads.
I
was surprised! In all my previous readings of HUNTERS OF THE SKY CAVE,
I had never noticed that bit about Horx having
"...peculiarly tendrilled heads." I wondered if that might have been
just a misprint for "head" and decided to see what the other copies I
have of that story said at exactly the same place in those texts.
From
Chapter IV of WE CLAIM THESE STARS (Ace Books: 1959), page 26 : "Hello,
Horx," he said to the great black multi-legged shape with the
peculiarly tendrilled heads."
AGENT
OF THE TERRAN EMPIRE (Chilton Books: 1965), from Chapter IV of HUNTERS
OF THE SKY CAVE, page 100: "Hello, Horx," he said to the great black
multi-legged shape with the peculiarly tendrilled heads."
WE
CLAIM THESE STARS (London, Dobson Books: 1976 [rpt. of the 1959 Ace
Books text]), from Chapter IV, page 26: "Hello, Horx," he said to the
great black multi-legged shape with the peculiarly tendrilled heads."
ALL
the copies I have of HUNTERS OF THE SKY CAVE have "heads" at precisely
this same part of the text. Based on this evidence, I have to conclude
"heads" was not a misprint for "head." I feel forced to at least
tentatively say Ymirites have more than one head. Even though that
single sentence I have been quoting is the only time where Ymirite heads
are mentioned. And Ymirites are not described as being any kind of
conjoined twins, two different persons sharing the same body or parts of
bodies.
Despite
everything, was this use of "heads" still a mistake? Did Poul Anderson
actually intend "head"? If he meant the former, he certainly left us a
mystery! All the other few mentions of Ymirites in the Technic stories
(such as in ENSIGN FLANDRY or THE GAME OF EMPIRE), says nothing about
their bodies and appearances. E.g., this is what we see near the
beginning of Chapter 9 of ENSIGN FLANDRY, about the Ymirites, as Lord
Hauksberg's ship was traveling from Starkad to Merseia: "Once, also,
another vessel passed within a light-year and thus its "wake" was
detected. The pattern indicated it was Ymirite, crewed by hydrogen
breathers whose civilization was nearly irrelevant to man or Merseian."
I
have to admit that these questions would only be of interest to
Andersonian obsessives! If I had noticed this detail and thought of
writing to Anderson about it while he was alive, I think he would most
likely have replied it was "head" he meant at that part of WE CLAIM
THESE STARS/HUNTERS OF THE SKY CAVE. Another way of settling this
question, after Anderson died, would be to check what the original
manuscript of HUNTERS had at this part of the text. Assuming that
manuscript still exists, of course.
I
think some commentators who discuss science fiction stories have
complained that too many writers make their non-human aliens look too
much like human beings. A hydrogen breathing, multi-legged intelligent
species with "peculiarly tendrilled heads" could not be considered as
humanoid by any reasonable interpretation of that word. Poul Anderson's
Ymirites cannot be accused of being too humanoid looking.
13 comments:
And how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?!
THE TECHNIC CIVILIZATION SAGA, Vol V, SIR DOMINIC FLANDRY: THE LAST KNIGHT OF TERRA also has "heads" on p. 177. I think that this would have been corrected somewhere along the way if it had been an error/misprint etc.
Kaor, Paul!
If I remember correctly, the answer given by Aristotelian/Scholastic theologians is: any number you like. Because angels, being non-corporeal, non-physical beings, are not limited or bound as material beings are.
I did wonder what the now "standard" TECHNIC CIVILIZATION SAGA text for HUNTERS OF THE SKY CAVE had for the reading of that part of Chapter IV! Yes, despite my boggling at the idea of an intelligent species having at least two heads, I have to agree that Anderson (or his estate) would have corrected "heads" to "head" if the latter had been what he meant.
I am still amazed that I never noticed before that bit about the "...peculiarly tendrilled heads"! Someone should have! And I really hope some readers will find this interesting to read.
And many thanks for uploading this article to your blog. I hope it interested you.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
I didn't expect an answer about the angels. I didn't even know there was one. Thank you for it.
I had noticed the multiple heads on Ymirites but it had not occurred to me that it was worthy of comment which it clearly is. How many other words and phrases in Anderson's works wait for someone to draw attention to them?
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
If I could remember where I came across the answer to that question about the angels, I would have quoted it.
Good! At least you had "tripped" over that "heads" in Chapter IV of HUNTERS. I only wished I had, before now.
And I am sure there are many other words, terms, phrases, etc., in Anderson's works which may strike some readers as interesting or odd.
Ad astra! Sean
Blogger becomes thoroughly confusing:
I published Sean's article on this blog;
then I copied it to the Poul Anderson: Contributor Articles blog;
then I commented on the article on this blog;
then I left the combox, expecting to find myself in the behind-the-scenes Design section of this blog;
instead, I found myself in the Design section of the Contributor Articles blog;
so I thought that I had inadvertently commented on the Contributor Articles blog;
so I commented (again) on this blog;
then I found that I had commented twice on the same blog;
so I deleted the first comment;
and I still keep finding myself in Design on the wrong blog.
Kaor, Paul!
Ha! Eventually I will catch up with you! And thanks for already copying my article to the "Contributors" blog.
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Paul!
This is as good a place as any to discuss yet another textual anomaly I found in HUNTERS OF THE SKY CAVE. In Chapter VII (page 135 of the 1979 Gregg Press edition of AGENT OF THE TERRAN EMPIRE) I found this oddity: "Memory blank," Flandry scrowled." That jarred on me so much I checked my other copies of the story. The 1965 Chilton Books edition of AGENT OF THE TERRAN EMPIRE also had "scrowled" in Chapter VII of HUNTERS OF THE SKY CAVE. That started me wondering if this was either a neologism by Anderson or a printer's error.
However, when I looked up Chapter VII of WE CLAIM THESE STARS (Ace Books, 1959), this is what I found on page 46: "Memory blank," Flandry scowled." And the 1976 Dobson Books reprint of WE CLAIM THESE STARS had "scowled" in Chapter VII. Only two of my copies of HUNTERS OF THE SKY CAVE / WE CLAIM THESE STARS had "scrowled," while the other two had "scowled."
Here at least I am sure "scrowled" was not meant by Anderson. Rather, this was an error and the text should read "scowled" for this part of Chapter VII of HUNTERS OF THE SKY CAVE. I found that a much more satisfactory solution to a textual oddity than feeling forced to think Ymirites had more than one head!
What is the reading for this part of Chapter VII of HUNTERS in the TECHNIC CIVILIZATION SAGA?
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
The SAGA has "scowled."
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Good, I am glad! I did not want to think "scrowled" was a deliberate neologism by Anderson. The word "scowled" is much better!
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Paul!
Could you make a correction for me? I would like to have the word "previously" eliminated from the second sentence of the fifth paragraph. It's needlessly repetitive.
Ad astra and thanks! Sean
Sean,
Change made on both blogs.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Many thanks. Much appreciated!
Ad astra! Sean
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