An Altaian exclaims, "'By the Ice People!'" (II, p. 347)
Human beings have lived on the icy planet, Altai, for over seven hundred Terran years so they are bound to have created mythologies about ice dwellers just as Norse mythology includes Frost Giants. Norse and other mythological beings can exist in modern works of fantasy by, e.g., Poul Anderson or Neil Gaiman. However, since Altai is an extra-solar planet, it can be and indeed is inhabited by "Ice Folk."
See:
Anderson's sf sometimes parallels his fantasy. We unreflectingly read this reference to "the Ice People," then learn that such dwarf-like beings not only exist but also communicate with human society through a Shaman who has mastered their language.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And what struck me most strongly as I read your analyzes of Altai was the amazing amount of hard, but understated thought Anderson put into developing what might follow from the premises used for the Krasna system, both the sun and Altai itself. In this, Anderson had been inspired by Hal Clement, who pioneered this kind of science fiction. And both of them had been solidly educated in the sciences!
Ad astra! Sean
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