Poul Anderson's
Harvest Of Stars introduces the Lunarians, human beings genetically altered to live and breed in Lunar gravity. Alternating chapters of Anderson's
The Stars Are Also Fire present respectively a sequel and a prequel to
Harvest Of Stars. The "Mother of the Moon" prequel chapters recount the Lunarians' origin story. Dagny Beynac, Anson Guthrie's granddaughter, miscarries on the Moon, then decides that her succeeding children will be genetically altered, thus becoming the first generation of Lunarians. This means more to readers since we have already read about the later Lunarians. We see the oak, then the acorn.
4 comments:
I do wonder why physiological changes aimed a microgravity should have produced such pronounced mental and behavioral alterations.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I think Poul Anderson depicted the Lunarians as we see them for plot reasons, to make for more dramatically different stories than we would have gotten if these genetically modified humans had not been all that different from ordinary humans.
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Sean and Mr. Stirling!
Sean, I believe you’re right about Anderson’s plot reasons. Mr. Stirling, you may wonder why, as my I, but the first principle of complex systems is that you can’t do just one thing, and it doesn’t seem impossible that alterations to certain genes to produce certain physiological changes could also have resulted in unintended psychological changes.
Best Regards,
Nicholas
Kaor, Nicholas!
And I think you are right: altering certain genes to produce certain physiological changes MIGHT lead to unexpected psychological changes, and hence cultural changes.
I think it was John Wright who suggested the Lunarians of Anderson's HARVEST OF STARS books a lot like Tolkien's elves (I suggest as we see them in THE SILMARILLION). Or as we see the elves in Anderson's THE BROKEN SWORD.
Ad astra and best regards! Sean
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