"'Orion shall rise.'"
-Poul Anderson, Orion Shall Rise (London, 1988), CHAPTER TWO, p. 24.
That slogan means that a spaceship will be launched in spite of the Maurai.
"'...development for Man's great journey away from the confines of this planet...'
-Ian Fleming, Moonraker (London, 1974), CHAPTER XX, p. 147.
That speech by the British Prime Minister in 1954 meant that the technology of the Moonraker rocket would be used for more than nuclear warfare (or so he thought). Another fictional project that would have put Britain in the forefront of space travel was Bernard Quatermass's pre-NASA Experimental Rocket Group.
Poul Anderson mainly wrote sf after the period when the earliest ventures into space had been a common fictional theme. However, in Orion Shall Rise, a nuclear exchange has interrupted space travel and it has become necessary to start again and against the enforced policies of the dominant world power, the Maurai Federation. Thus, "Orion shall rise," a powerful slogan that means exactly what it says.
4 comments:
BTW, I had a fall in February and I've been immobilized with a broken leg -- tibia, classic skiing fracture acquired in the kitchen in my case. Only now able to communicate at all. Will be commenting more in future!
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
That's no fun at all, a broken leg! I am sorry you had such a painful injury and I hope you recover as soon as possible.
And both Paul and I look forward to any comments you care to make here!
Ad astra! Sean
We certainly do!
Mr Stirling, sorry to hear about your trouble and thank you for your continued interest. I have been having different kinds of problems and it certainly puts things in perspective to learn what has meanwhile been happening with someone else.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I only wish the UK had decided to mount a real space program in the 1950's! And maybe taken more successful lines than those of NASA or the USSR. Some real and SUCCESSFUL competition by a third power would have been good for getting us off this rock far sooner, IMO.
Ad astra! Sean
Post a Comment