When Adzel is jailed on Luna, the warden wails:
"'Allahu akbar! We must house this cross between a centaur and a crocodile? And every elephant-size unit already filled because of that cursed science fiction convention -'" (p. 414)
We notice, of course, that Poul Anderson locates an sf con on the Moon in the future but do we notice another nuance, the apparent assumption that a con is such a rowdy affair that it fills the local jail cells? That would be news to most con-goers. I think.
Adzel wonders why van Rijn lets him be jailed. All will be revealed. Like P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves, van Rijn has the knack of doing what looks like the wrong thing.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I remember that bit as well, and I loved that mention of an SF convention on the Moon! Amd, even if I'm not a convention goer, I can imagine some convention goers, both human and non-human,* being rowdy enough they got arrested for brawling.
And the Warden's "Allahu akhbar" exclamation is one of Anderson's rare allusions to Islam in the Technic stories. I have discussed before, however courteous Anderson was to Muslims as persons, it was plain he did not like their religion.
Ad astra! Sean
*The warden's mention of how every other "elephant-sized unit" was already filled up made me wonder if some of those non-human convention goers were as big as Adzel.
Technic civilization is going through a rowdy phase at that time...
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
It was! "The high and spacious days of the trader princes..." as we see it described in A CIRCUS OF HELLS.
Ad astras! Sean
Post a Comment