Friday 5 February 2021

Known And Unknown Spaces

In Poul Anderson's Technic History, there is interstellar civilization at one end of one spiral arm of the galaxy because human beings developed the hyperdrive and other nearby intelligent species acquired it from them. Chereinonite civilization had covered a vaster volume of space and the Dispersal of Ymir still does. Merseians deal with planetary civilizations beyond their border opposite to that with the Terran Empire but have any of those civilizations independently developed the hyperdrive? We think not. What will happen if and when two already established interstellar civilizations encounter and interact with each other?  That does not happen in the Technic History with the single exception of the hydrogen-breathing, gas-giant-planet-inhabiting Ymirites with whom interaction is minimal to the point of nonexistent.

For oxygen-breathers, could there be a number of overlapping known spaces such that the Terrans know the Merseians who know X etc? In Anderson's After Doomsday, the galaxy is full of civilization-clusters. For convenience, interstellar travelers usually do business within their local cluster although they are free to visit others and even to explore the Magellanic Clouds but that is possible only because their superlight drive is many times faster than the Technic History hyperdrive. In Anderson's World Without Stars, space travel is faster again with instantaneous jumps even between galaxies in addition to which human lifespans have been extended indefinitely.

The Technic History is bound by a set of assumptions that limit both the speed of its characters' interstellar journeys and the lengths of their lives. However, within those limits, a massive history unfolds.

5 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I would consider the sphere of space covered by Technic civlization and its known neighbors to be a civilization cluster, even if that term is not used in the stories.

And I have speculated that Tachwyr the Dark may have served on other frontiers of the Roidhunate not facing the Empire. Because I do recall mentions somewhere in the stories of Merseia confronting more problems than those posed by the Empire.

And too often the hyperdrive and modern weapons was acquired too soon by wild races who used those instrumentalities for raiding, banditry, and war. Anderson gives us some explanation of how that might be possible in "Tiger By The Tail."

And I consider the bounds and limits used by Anderson in writing his Technic stories to be very plausible. More so than the scenario we see in WORLD WITHOUT STARS.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

The Roidhunate is annexing another planet in ENSIGN FLANDRY.

Paul.

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

Technic History known space is a cluster of civilizations but the idea of "civilization-clusters" in AFTER DOOMSDAY is: we have access to many civilizations throughout the galaxy or even further but we can only realistically do regular business with those that are nearby so they are our "cluster."

Paul.

S.M. Stirling said...

The Technic history implies the steady spread of technology to new worlds. The Scothians have acquired modern tech (superimposed on an early-medieval social order) and they've colonized and transferred technology themselves. And some of the ones who picked it up from them would do so in their turn, over and over again, further and further from earth.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul and Mr. Stirling!

Paul: I remember that, about the planet wanted to annex. And of how an annoyed Brechdan Ironnrede was at an unimaginative provincial governor not seizing the chance to do so.

And Mr. Stirling explained just now how, given FTL, advanced technology could spread indefinitely.

Mr. Stirling: I agree. And we can expect others, like the exiled McCormac rebels, to do the same.

Ad astra! Sean