Thursday, 23 February 2023

Future History Culminations II

Andersonian Culminations
Kith: revival of interstellar travel. 

Maurai: resumption of interplanetary travel.

There Will Be Time: time travel, interstellar travel and "Star Masters" long after the Maurai period.

Genesis (a single-volume future history, not a series): re-creation of extinct humanity by a planetary post-organic intelligence and the Frankenstein question, "Was it right to create human life?"

Technic History: human beings at the edge of another spiral arm do not know whether Earth still exists.

Psychotechnic History: human beings leave Earth forever. Human civilization is at the Galactic centre. The Galactic periphery becomes the domain of dwellers on gas giant planets.

(When species divide the galaxy at the end of the Psychotechnic History and when Ythrians and human beings divide Avalon in the Technic History, Poul Anderson shows inter-species cooperation instead of the frequent conflict.)

5 comments:

S.M. Stirling said...

Conflict and cooperation are different sides of the same coin.

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Yes. I have taken that point on board at least with regard to human beings.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Frankly, I don't believe that last paragraph, in the sense you meant. Conflict is always going to be a part of human life. Including the cooperation needed for EFFECTIVE conflict.

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

Sean: we probably developed our capacity for larger-scale cooperation in order to be more effective at conflict.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

Probably! You would have a better chance killing the males in the next valley over and grabbing their women if you have cronies taking orders from you on how best to do that.

Ad astra! Sean