Milky Way, Andromeda And Sirius

Poul Anderson, "The Voortrekkers" IN Anderson, All One Universe (New York, 1997), pp. 249-270.

For previous summaries, see:

The Voortrekkers

"Life After Life, Death After Death"

On the opening page of the text, there is a description of the Milky Way that we seem to have missed before:

"The Milky Way was a cool torrent, here cloven by the thunderstorm masses of galactic center, there open a-glint toward endlessness." (p. 251)

The main point to note here is the phrase, "cool torrent," to be compared with "argent cataract," "argent torrent," "quicksilver river," "ghost-road," "spilling silver," "torrent of silver," "glittering belt," "ghostly bridge," "shining belt" and uncountably more.

The text informs us that the Andromeda galaxy is:

"...a million and a half light-years hence..." (ibid.)

I have read two million light-years. The Wikipedia article says "(2.5 million light-years)"

The first person narrator seems to be a conscious spaceship arriving at Sirius, nine light-years from Sol.