Saturday, 27 November 2021

A Historical Turning Point

The Technic Civilization Saga, Volume III, Rise Of The Terran Empire, culminates in The People Of The Wind. This novel finally explains the Earth Book introductions that have been dispersed through Volumes I-III. It even features Arinnian of Stormgate Choth, whose human name is Christopher Holm, who had been cited as author of one Earth Book installment and as coauthor with Hloch of two others. The People Of The Wind, about the colony founded by David Falkayn, features a direct descendant of Falkayn, is set during the period of the early Terran Empire and even mentions the growing menace of the Merseian Roidhunate - an indirect consequence of earlier actions by Falkayn - so this novel is a perfect preparation for Volume IV, Young Flandry, where Dominic Flandry defends the Empire against the Roidhunate.

As the Earth Book teaches:

"...past and present and future have forever been intermingled and, in living minds, ever begetting each other..."
-Hloch, THE EARTH BOOK OF STORMGATE IN Poul Anderson, The Earth Book Of Stormgate (New York, 1978), pp. 1-2 AT p. 2.

5 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

And I wonder if any of David Falkayn's descendants on Avalon came to realize the role he played in Merseia surviving to menace not only the Empire but also the Domain? By the time of Dominic Flandry the events recorded in "Day of Burning" had happened so long ago (600 years and more) that only historians might have noticed the connection.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

But Avalonians could read of it in the EARTH BOOK.

Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I forgot about THE EARTH BOOK OF STORMGATE. But I could argue that work might be little known off Avalon, even in the rest of the Domain. And possibly even less so in the Empire. Also, THE EARTH BOOK was pub. more than two centuries before ENSIGN FLANDRY, so it could have become obscure by then.

Ad astra! Sean

Nicholas D. Rosen said...

Kaor, Sean and others!

Having completed production for the first quarter, I’m looking at PA Appreciation from three weeks earlier. We see in ENSIGN FLANDRY that Merseia still needs protection from the remnants of the centuries ago supernova and its expanding gas cloud. This is something which educated Terrans (for example, Naval Intelligence officers who study a rival power) must know. While some records may have been lost, it has not been forgotten that the Polesotechnic League saved Merseia, and that this gave rise to resentments and then to civil wars among the Merseians (Lieutenant Flandry is shown as knowing this in A CIRCUS OF HELLS). We are not shown whether Flandry is specifically aware of what David Falkayn did, but I doubt that Falkayn’s name is forgotten on Merseia, whatever the official view of him is. Terra and Merseia do have diplomatic relations, and some level of trade and scholarly exchange, so, even if all Terran records of what Flandry, Chee Lan, and Adzel did were destroyed by the Baldics, I presume that at least some Terrans are aware of just what happened, as nearly as possible after multiple centuries. I can picture academics or Intelligence officers writing papers on the roots of Merseian resentment and aggression.

Best Regards,
Nicholas

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Nicholas!

Welcome back, you have been missed!

Your comments above do make sense. Yes, educated, historically aware people like Dominic Flandry would have been aware of the circumstances leading to the rise of the Roidhunate on Merseia. And I can imagine some Merseian leaders nursing a grudge against Falkayn even 600 years after "Day of Burning."

Yes, however coldly, Terra and Merseia did engage in diplomatic relations. And there was some trade and commerce back and forth. And we see mention of Commander Abrams being given ample access to the works of Merseian scholars in ENSIGN FLANDRY. And I am sure some scholars and Intelligence officers wrote similar works about Merseia in the Empire. I have some similar works by American officers!

Ad astra! Sean