"The Pirate"
The Peregrine
The Third Dark Ages (a period, not a title)
"The Chapter Ends"
In The Complete Psychotechnic League, Volume 3 (Riverdale, NY, 2018):
"Entity"
"Symmetry"
- have been inappropriately inserted between the Third Dark Ages and "The Chapter Ends."
"The Chapter Ends" is a culmination of the Psychotechnic History because it describes a Galactic civilization guided by psychtechnicians. However, it has been argued that this story does not fit in the series. If that were the case, then The Peregrine, about a Coordinator joining a Nomad crew, would become the culmination. But, in another sense, "The Pirate," about the custodial role of the Coordination Service, is a culmination because it was written much later and was Anderson's final addition to the series.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
What bothered me about "The Chapter Ends," besides the lack of convincing references to the timeline and setting of the undoubted Psychotechnic stories, were the fantastic powers of the "Galactics" seen in that story. Such as them being able to travel FTL by merely an effort of the will, and their ability to live thousands of years. We see nothing in the undisputed Psychotechnic stories about such powers. Yes, genetic engineering was said to enable human beings to do that, but it was a strain. "Chapter" still reads to me like an independent, stand alone early story of Anderson, where we see him experimenting with very different ideas.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
The extra powers were obviously developed in the long period after the Third Dark Ages. Some explanation is given in terms of artificial mutation.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
IF "The Chapter Ends" is properly part of the Psychotechnic timeline, which I am not convinced is the case.
Ad astra! Sean
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