In "Home," the time-dilated spaceship captain, Yakov Kahn, speaks English with an Israeli accent, refers to history that is familiar to us and was born pre-Directorate. His father was in the Solar (pre-interstellar?) War. Neither story shows any sign of being set in a further future when many extra-solar colonies have become independent and after Earth has had a long period of withdrawal from interstellar travel which would have had to be the case if the Directorate stories were to be seen as set later in the timeline of the Rustum History.
However, the main point is that we enjoy the individual stories whether or not we conceptualize them as interconnected.
9 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
It's still interesting to discuss whether or not a prolific writer's stories are interconnected.
I would argue that both "Home" and "The Alien Enemy" belongs to the same Directorate background. And that the Directorate founded both scientific bases meant only to be temporary plus colonies hopefully designed to be permanent. I can see the Directorate doing both kinds of enterprises.
Ad astra! Sean
I'd have killed Khan if I was one of the people on the base, myself.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
And Captain Kahn was careful to land armed men, to make sure the evacuation was enforced.
And what of the issues "Home" raised? Was it right or wrong for the humans of this base to attempt staying on Mithras, even tho it already had an intelligent species native to it? I would argue that conflict between two species desiring the same planet would have been inevitable. The humans would have either conquered and possibly exterminate the Mithrans or the natives would have wiped out the humans. My view is that it would be wrong for humans to take over planets which already had a native intelligent race living on it.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: I'd have done it after we got back to Earth. Blown up his house first if possible. He imposed his choice on me and deprived my descendants of a world; I wipe him and his out. Revenge is sweet.
2 characters. We sympathize with both. They come into conflict. Which will win? Which is right? The conclusion of "Home" is unpredictable. Reading Anderson, we have to think. (Which we should do anyway, of course.)
Sean,
Do you think that the colonies and the scientific bases were concurrent?
Paul.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling and Paul!
Mr. Stirling: I have no doubt many of the humans forcibly evacuated from Mithras Base would feel as vengeful as you described. But I would not agree it would be right to feel like that about Captain Kahn. He was not forcing that evacuation on his own initiative, but in obedience to orders given him by the Directory. Orders he himself hated even if he agreed they were right. Reasonable persons should not take it so personally if Kahn only acted as an agent of his gov't.
Moreover, Mithras belonged to the Mithrans, not the humans. That forcible evacuation may well have prevented brutal wars of mutual extermination by both Mithrans and humans.
Paul: I think the Directory started founding scientific bases first before founding colonies. Or it could have been the other way about. And then began establishing both kinds of temporary/permanent settlements more or less concurrently.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: as one of my characters remarked, all clans, tribes, city-states, nations and empires are built on the bones of the defeated, and all title-deeds are written in blood. Only the dates differ.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
And I agree! All clans, tribes, nations, etc., are built on the bones of the defeated. But I think we should sometimes try to do better. In the point under discussion, it's my belief that planets already inhabited or colonized by other races should not be taken over and the prior residents exterminated. That was Anderson's belief and I agree with him.
In "Terminal Quest," "Home," and "The Queen of Air and Darkness," we see Anderson examining the different ways the question could be handled. The first shows humans exterminating the natives, the second shows humans forcibly removed from an already inhabited planet, the third where humans settled a planet they THOUGHT was uninhabited.
What was done by the humans who first settled the planet in "Terminal Quest" was indisputably bad. And I still argue it was right to remove the humans from Mithras in "Home." It's more complex in "Queen" because the natives and the humans would have no choice but find ways of living together in reasonably tolerable ways.
IMO, some lines should not be crossed if people want to be able to live with themselves. Or, if they believe in God, crossing those lines would bring a heavy judgement on them.
Ad astra! Sean
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