(i) about good guys versus bad guys;
(ii) about people;
(iii) a mixture.
Qualification: in sf, (ii) is about people in relation to the universe.
We enjoy (i) if it is well-written but obviously need more. Poul Anderson's Technic History incorporates but transcends his Captain Flandry series. Mirkheim and The People of the Wind are about human and other beings on all sides in major conflicts. In A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows, the Merseians become rounded characters instead of remaining stereotypical villains.
Anderson's early Psychotechnic History stories are mainly (i) although the very first instalment, "Marius," is (ii). Later, the Psychotechnic Institute switches from good guys to bad guys. Its good guys role is appropriated first by the Order of Planetary Engineers, then by the Stellar Union Coordination Service although Anderson also favours the Nomads who disrupt the order maintained by the Cordies.
"The Chapter Ends," whether or not it is really part of the Psychotechnic History, is pure (ii). Human beings and Hulduvians have amicably divided the galaxy between them. Galactic civilization is harmonious. The "people" problem is one old man who refuses to join the exodus from Earth. He is not coerced but maybe regrets his decision.
Problems exist only within and between people. A people-free universe would be problem-free. Would that be better? I know someone who argues yes.
13 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I don't think the Merseians were that stereotypical in ENSIGN FLANDRY and A CIRCUS OF HELLS. Merseians like Brechdan Ironrede and Ydwyr the Seeker were well rounded characters, IMO. And we even see conflicts between Merseians in "Day of Burning" and, in ENSIGN FLANDRY, in how Dwyr the Hook came to reject his former allegiance to Merseia.
Yes, I think the old man in "The Chapter Ends" was coming to regret the choice he made.
That person you mentioned seems to have a disturbing POV. He seems to think it would be better if the universe did not have intelligent life. What GOOD would a cosmos without intelligent life be? Such a universe would have no meaning if there was nobody to act in it, whether well or badly.
I don't accuse your acquaintance of thinking like this, but I am sure there are people with so much contempt for the human race that they would like mankind to die off, become extinct. Then we miserable, rotten human beings would stop messing up Earth!
And that would be a POV I absolutely reject as wrong, EVIL.
Ad astra! Sean
Better for who?
Nothing exists except in relation to human beings -- anthropic principle!
Better for who? Good question. But, if you knew that the only two possibilities for a conscious being were endless agony or non-existence, which would you choose for them?
Kaor, Paul!
And Christians believe in a third alternative: eternal joy with God for those who persevere to the end and not rejecting Him.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
But we still have the question of whether non-existence would have been better in some cases.
Paul.
Paul: I wouldn't; I'd leave it to them to chose. What business is it of mine?
Kaor, Paul!
I believe existence is better than non-existence. Also, Catholic Christians believe that since the damned chose to hate and reject God, they willingly chose to exist for all eternity in agony.
Ad astra! Sean
Mr Stirling,
Yes. I suppose the question becomes which would you choose for yourself?
Sean,
It is better to exist in agony than not to exist?
Paul.
I think that would depend on whether the pain was sufficient to make impossible the things I really enjoy -- reading and thinking. If it was, and there was no prospect of improvement, I would probably reach for the 'off' switch.
Kaor, Paul!
Yes, because that is what the Church teaches the damned themselves chose.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
The Church has taught different things on this subject.
Paul.
Matthew 25:41 certainly sounds like God judging and condemning a vast section of humanity.
Kaor, Paul!
The opinions of Catholic theologians, so long as they don't conflict with DEFINED doctrine, can and have differed in many ways.
And Matthew 25 is about God separating out the wicked from the just at the end of time.
Ad astra! Sean
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