Saturday 11 February 2023

Details In "The Pirate" II

"The Pirate."

The Stellar Union has a "'...Scorpian march...'" (p. 151) (We are familiar with marchmen in the Terran Empire of Poul Anderson's Technic History.)

There is a Service base at "'...Lir...'" (p. 150) The sea god Lir is one of the Three of Ys in Poul and Karen Anderson's The King of Ys and his son, Mananaan mac Lir, is a character in Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword. Planetary names link hard sf to mythology and fantasy. The Lir base has been "'...busy with the Storm Queen affair.'" (ibid.) We know nothing of this affair. "Storm Queen" is not the name of a spaceship because it is not italicized.

"The Pirate" twice refers to the planet Nerthus. 

"Ship Harpsong of Nerthus..." (p. 137)

On p. 151, Nerthus is mentioned as a planet that was colonized before it was learned that there was native intelligent life. This reference, relevant to the plot of "The Pirate," is a good example of a future history instalment building on the foundation laid down by earlier instalments.

Two future histories could feature the same alien species. Humanity appears in alternative futures so why not other species? The inhabited planet Lithia is destroyed in 2050 in Volume III of James Blish's After Such Knowledge but still exists millennia later in Book Four of Blish's The Seedling Stars. However, the usual rule is that, if Nerthusians exist in Anderson's Psychotechnic History, then they do not also exist in his Technic History.

6 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I also thought of STORM Darroway, in THE CORRIDORS OF TIME. She was very much a QUEEN among her people.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

I do not advocate adaptation into STAR TREK but just point out the parallels.

Paul.

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

I realize that comment's gone on two posts.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I noticed. Very odd!

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

There is a reason. My behind-the-scenes view of your comments currently shows only the greeting, not the text of the comment, so I made the mistake of replying to the wrong one.

Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Understood! I thought it was a software/computer "hiccup."

Ad astra! Sean