In the case of the second Ythrian story, "The Problem of Pain," Peter Berg conversed with someone who corresponded with someone whose heirs kept the correspondence and Rennhi found a copy of it. In the case of the first Adzel story, "How To Be Ethnic In One Easy Lesson," James Ching wrote a journal which his descendants kept and made available to Rennhi - a slightly less roundabout route and one that adds Jim Ching to our list of Technic historians. Jim's account of his friendship with the later famous Adzel, mentioned even by Dominic Flandry's daughter, is autobiographical, not fictional.
Jim tells his story and adds to the history as do many other other one-off characters throughout this series. In any future history series, each story has to stand on its own feet and contribute to the totality, a technique developed by Robert Heinlein in his Future History and perfected by Poul Anderson in the Technic History.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Isaac Asimov did something similar with the three original volumes of what became the Foundation series. That is, FOUNDATION, FOUNDATION AND EMPIRE, and SECOND FOUNDATION began as separate stories later collected into these three books. With a new story, "The Psychohistorians," added by Asimov to preface FOUNDATION. But, alas, as you know, I became dissatisfied with Asimov's work.
Ad astra! Sean
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