Tuesday, 22 March 2022

Epsilon Eridani In Two Timelines

"'...Epsilon Eridani...has no planets of use to any Christian.'"
-Poul Anderson, "Robin Hood's Barn" IN Anderson, Orbit Unlimited (New York, 1961), pp. 7-41 AT 2, p. 17.
 
"...he saw Epsilon Eridani. The sun disk showed twice as big as the Sol he dimly remembered from his childhood, and red-gold in a purple sky. He had always believed Arcadia lovely, an undespoiled planet waiting for man like a bride..."
-"The Faun," p. 87. 

This is positive proof that the Rustum History and "The Faun" are set in different timelines. "The Faun" shares with the Rustum History and the two Directorate stories interstellar travel at sub-light speeds with suspended animation:
 
"...an undespoiled planet waiting for man like a bride, more than worth decades in coldsleep aboard a spaceship, toil and danger of pioneering, isolation from the rest of mankind." (ibid.)
 
"The Faun" can be regarded either as independent or as occurring later than the Directorate stories.

4 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I agree, an uninhabited planet as terrestroid in "The Faun" would be VERY much worth the toil, struggle, and dangers inevitably to be found while being colonized.

"The Faun" and "Time Lag" might belong to the same timeline as "Home" and "The Alien Enemy."

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

It's starting to look as if Earth-type planets exist in very large numbers around stars of a surprising variety.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

And if those planets have oxy/nitrogen atmospheres and are warm enough to have liquid water, I'll be very interested indeed! And if some have gravities humans can tolerate.

I'll be very interested to know what the Webb telescope might discover!

Ad astra! Sean

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Using the gravity of Earth as a standard, I think humans could settle on planets with gravities ranging from 0.67 to 1.3 that of Terra. E.g., planets like Aeneas and Imhotep, in the Technic stories.

Ad astra! Sean