Chronologically, this Tetralogy falls between Poul Anderson's three novels set BC and his five Norse historical fantasies. The first of these five refers to Ys. Read them all.
Tene Mithra, etiam miles, fides nostris votis nos.
Wednesday 28 June 2023
From Ys To Londinium
A Challenge And The Seasons
At any time, the narrative of The King of Ys can be interrupted by a challenge in the Wood and, theoretically, Gratillonius could lose such a challenge although we know that that is not going to happen. The first such challenge is easily disposed of in V, 4. Disgusted by his own slaughter of an unworthy opponent, Gratillonius inwardly calls on Mithras to end the Three. Another god will do this. (Some say that the true God hears all prayers.)
It is three years after the events of Roma Mater and the seasons return:
"Up from the South wandered spring..." (VI, 1, p. 116)
"At high summer, the rain sometimes fell nearly warm through unmoving air." (VII, 1, p. 132)
"As closely as it followed winter solstice, the Birthday of Mithras at Ys gave a glimmer of daylight, barely more than six hours, in a cavern of night." (VII, 4, p. 153)
"The equinoctial gales blew out of Ocean like longings,to wake the soul from winter drowse." (VIII, 1, p. 159)
"Early summer brought a spell of calm, light, warmth." (VIII, 2, p. 168)
"An autumn storm roared, whistled, flung rain and hail, throughout one night." (VIII, 4, p. 181)
"Winter's early night had fallen..." (IX, 1, p. 198)
"As summer waned, Ys lay in a chill dankness and a white blindness that seemed to go on without end." (X, 1, p. 222)
"Often around the autumnal equinox, storms caused Ys to lock its sea gate..." (XI, 4, p. 253)
"The months wheeled onward, through winter and spring and again to summer." (XII, 2, p. 269)
"At Lugnassat, King Niall must by law preside over the great fair at Tallten..." (XIII, 1, p. 291)
"Again the year swung towards equinox. Summer died..." (XIII, 3, p. 302)
"Forty days after solstice, the diminishing gloom of winter was made bright in Ys." (XIV, 2, p. 310)
"At Imbolc Niall Naegeslach gave out that after Beltene (sic) he would fare overseas." (XIV, 3, p. 315)
"Very early in the shipping season..." (XV, 2, p. 327)
"Summer lay heavy over the land." (XVI, 2, p. 351)
"Autumn cooled and hazed the air." (XVI, 3, p. 358)
"Midwinter rites and festival, together with the Council meeting, went past solstice." (XVI, 4, p. 362)
"Tommaltach maqq Donngalii returned to Ys with the springtime." (XVII, 1, p. 369)
Maybe this, not the doings of human beings, is the true story?
Magnus Maximus
Constantine had already divided the Roman Empire between East and West. Now Magnus Maximus (Great Greatest) divides the Western Empire in two and uses his new power not to rebuild civilization but to persecute heretics.
Gratillonius:
"'Maximus, Emperor Maximus, I misjudged him. He lives not for Rome but for power, and for power not only over bodies but souls...
"'So you see Ys is in danger... You are, your whole Sisterhood. He means to destroy what he calls witchcraft, rip it out by the roots and cast it on the fire.'" (p. 111)
Gratillonius, King of Ys, will defend Ys but not rebel against Rome. He must oppose Maximus' version of Christianity but meanwhile has been impressed by Martinus who has opposed Maximus. Everything constantly changes.
Ausonius' Tolerance
When Decimus Magnus Ausonius, a historical figure, has confirmed that Gratillonius is a Mithraist, he responds:
"'Well, I'm Christian myself, but hold that to be no grounds for scorning the ancients or any upright contemporaries who believe otherwise. Surely God is too great to be comprehended in a single creed, and we mortals do best simply to pay our due respects and cultivate our gardens.'" (p. 98)
Is this speech anachronistic? We are familiar with this kind of tolerance but do not expect it from a Christian of that period. Ausonius' speech goes against the beliefs that Christianity is a unique revelation, that it is the only way to salvation and that Christians are obliged to try to convert everyone else. He reduces Christianity to a single creed, all of them comprehending some aspect of God.
Faith And Force
Presumably the torture inflicted by the Christian Emperor Maximus on a loyal centurion is historically accurate or the Andersons would not have included it in their narrative. (Torture inflicted on Gratillonius cannot be historically accurate because Gratillonius is a fictional character but we mean torture inflicted on people like Gratillonius. Also, the heretics were both tortured and executed.) It cannot be denied that something had gone very wrong in Christianity. I think that the problem was as follows. The Church, allied with the state, insisted on doctrinal orthodoxy. However, a doctrinal question like the nature of Christ cannot be settled either by reason or by evidence. Therefore, it could only be settled by physical force. Gratillonius correctly comments:
"'"Wretched" is the right word...'" (1, p. 68)
- when Bishop Martinus (Saint Martin of Tours) recounts an episcopal dispute treated seriously instead of dismissed by the secular authority.
Righteous Men
Rufinus of the Bacaudae expounds to Gratillonius. Men meet by twilight. Wanderers preach sedition:
"The Empire had rotted to worthlessness... the fat grew fatter, the powerful grew ever more overbearing. Had not Christ Himself denounced the rich? Was not the hour overpast to humble them and take back what they had wrung from the working poor? The Last Day drew nigh, Antichrist walked the world; your sacred duty was to resist him. Righteous men had sworn themselves to a brotherhood, the Bacaudae, the Valiant..." (p. 57)
They rob the rich and are supported by some serfs and freeholders.
Yes! The Andersons allow their character to proclaim revolution convincingly although Gratillonius remains sceptical of the difference between Bacaudae and bandits.
The two men part but Rufinus has been inserted into the narrative for a reason.
(This is probably the last post until next week.)
Tuesday 27 June 2023
Dahut In The Sea
Rereading a novel, we realize the significance of its earlier passages. Infant Dahut sees the sea as:
"...the forever changing boundlessness that she had not known was within herself." (p. 22)
When she falls into it, she feels:
"neither chill nor fear, merely surprise, a sense of homecoming." (p. 24)
A seal holds her up, then her father rescues her. The seals are reincarnated Gallicenae (Witch-Queens of Ys). This one is probably Dahilis, Dahut's mother, Gratillonius' deceased wife.
If we have read this Tetralogy before, then we remember first the later relationship between Dahut and her father and secondly how she wound up: in the sea - one of the last pagan presences to be exorcised...
(This week, I will be in London from Thursday afternoon to Sunday evening so there will be no new posts in that period.)
Theology In Ys
Gratillonius asks:
"'Have we become Christians here, to deny respect to everything divine other than the Lord of our narrow sect?' He forced a grin. 'Or sects, rather. They might as well have a dozen different Christs, the way they quarrel about His nature.'" (2, p. 30)
These remarks highlight the difference between the Jesus of history and the Christ(s) of faith. In other works, Poul Anderson shows us the difference between the original and the legend. His historical novel, The Golden Slave, features Eodan and Tjor, Odin and Thor. Also:
"'It was in Britain after the Romans were gone, at the court of a warlord. They called him Riothamus, their High King, but mainly he had some cataphracts. With them he staved off the English invaders. His name was Artorius.'
"Richelieu sat motionless."
-Poul Anderson, The Boat Of A Million Years (London, 1991), XI, p. 229.
As well he might, listening to someone who saw the source of a legend.
When Gratillonius is away from Ys on Imperial business, he will address two spiritual needs. First, he will try to find a successor for the deceased Christian minister, Eucherius:
"'I'll seek a man we can get along with.'" (2, p. 29)
"'Fate willing, I'll have a voice in choosing [Eucherius'] successor. Rest assured, 'twill be no Ambrosius!'" (3, p. 35)
Politically, a Christian minister in Ys will satisfy the Empire and, hopefully, will not be one to interfere in Ysan affairs.
Secondly, Gratillonius will seek elevation to Father in the Mystery so that he can found a Mithraeum in Ys. This is compatible with him being high priest and Incarnation of Taranis although inwardly he has forsworn the Three. Much further conflict still lies ahead.
Introductions And Aftermaths
The King of Ys is a Tetralogy. Black Easter and The Day After Judgement are Volumes II(a) and II(b) of Blish's After Such Knowledge Trilogy. The Tetralogy and the Trilogy address theology, the latter more so. The Tetralogy is linear, a single four-part narrative, whereas the Trilogy is thematic, three discrete narratives united only by a common issue. Black Easter was written and published as a one-off story, climaxing with Armageddon, thus at least implicitly precluding any kind of sequel. The decision to write a sequel, The Day of Judgement, was made later. Subsequently, the two works came to be regarded as a unity and were republished in a single volume.
When the sequel was first published, it began with an extended, italicized (I think) introduction, summarizing Black Easter in surprising detail, beginning something like: "The events leading to the catastrophe were as follows:..." Some kind of introduction was necessary for a narrative set in the aftermath of Armageddon. When the two works were published together, this introduction was omitted, presumably regarded as no longer necessary. I think that it should have been included as part of Blish's work. Volume II of The King of Ys begins with a very welcome ten-page italicized "Synopsis" of Volume I. We appreciate the reminder, the details and the perspective.
The Tetralogy and the Trilogy envisage changes in the supernatural realm. Referring to the Gods, a high priestess says:
"...They Themselves are troubled. For the heavens have moved from the Sign of the Ram to the Sign of the Fish, and the old Age dies as the new comes to birth.'"
-Poul and Karen Anderson, Gallicenae (London, 1988), I, 3, p. 32.
In the event, many gods withdraw before the one born in the new Age. Volume III ends with the destruction of Ys as its Gods recede. Volume IV is the aftermath.
Finishing Roma Mater
Our first sight of Gratillonius:
"At noon upon that Birthday of Mithras, the sun blazed low in an ice-clear heaven. As Gratillonius looked south, he saw its brilliance splinter into rainbow shards amidst his eyelashes." (I, 1, p. 13)
- and our last sight of him in this volume:
"His next Watch would begin on the Birthday of Mithras." (XXVI, 3, p. 438)
The Speaker for Taranis:
"'We think the Gods have worked Their will and are at peace with Ys.'" (p. 437)
I don't think so.
A new description of the Milky Way:
"...the River of Tiamat flowed across heaven..." (XXVII, p. 439)
There is a ritual in which fishing boats convey the souls of the dead from Ys to the isle of Sena. When the boats are launched:
"The wind and the sea murmured." (p. 440)
When the souls leave the boats:
"The sea and the wind sighed." (p. 441)
The fishermen, in their role as Ferriers of the Dead, hear voices:
"-'I was Dahilis.'" (ibid.)
The novel ends on this note of fantasy.
Monday 26 June 2023
Wind In A Different Context
When Dahilis dies, the Gods choose her successor. The crescent appears on a vestal who is immediately married to the King. When Gratillonius and his new wife enter the bridal chamber:
"Beyond the shutters, a night wind lulled." (p. 431)
In works by Poul Anderson, the wind can wail, whoop, whip, whine, whisper, roar, shout, whatever is appropriate. Outside a bridal chamber, of course, it lulls - like the sound track in a film.
Gratillonius is determined not to consummate this marriage on the first night but the Goddess ensures otherwise. Incredibly, he is roused and his inexperienced wife responds. These Gods are on their way out but have not gone yet.
Your Will
Dahilis dies:
"It was so weak a death struggle that it was almost a surrender. (Belisama, Your will be done.)" (XXV, 4, p. 420)
A Biblical quotation. But they are embedded in language.
Who thinks "Your will be done"? Dahilis is unconscious. The only other person present is Gratillonius. Is his thought ironic?
Returned to Ys, Gratllonius hears Bodilis say that the Queens believe that Dahilis has made the sacrifice demanded by the Gods. He says nothing but:
"Bitterness seared his gullet. He wanted no part of any such Gods. He refused the load of guilt They would lay on him. Let Mithras be his witness." (XXVI, 1, p. 427)
Three factors are now in place for the destruction of Ys:
King Niall has cursed Ys;
Dahilis' daughter, Dahut, has been born;
the King of Ys has rejected the Gods of Ys.
But two more volumes must pass as Dahut grows to adulthood and meets Niall.
The Wind On Sena
When the state barge has delivered the pregnant Queen Dahilis to the island of Sena for her Midwinter Vigil, the captain thanks Lir that He has brought them there safely and Belisama for the gift of Dahilis. When the captain has spoken, we are told that:
"The wind tattered his words." (p. 407)
Despite their safe passage through "...the wild water...," (ibid.) that wind underlines the hostile elements that Lir personifies. Throughout this chapter, wind batters both Dahilis and Gratillonius who has come to help although, for religious reasons, he must keep his distance unless she seeks him. Night falls but, when Gratillonius looks across from his tent to the House of the Goddess where Dahilis should be, he sees no light or other sign of habitation. When he asks Mithras what he should do:
"A still small voice replied: Look for the smoke." (p. 416)
There is no smoke.
And there is another Biblical quotation that we have not noted before.
Ancient Darkness
Gratillonius reflects on the Three of Ys:
"...in the Gods of Ys was too much of the ancient darkness from which They had risen." (p. 405)
He recognises that religion ascends through successive levels from darkness toward light. There is a Buddhist saying that the lotus grows from dark places. In the Upanishads, Vedic polytheism is incorporated into philosophical monism:
"...Indra, the god of thunder, excelled all other gods, for he came nearest to Brahman and he first knew that he was the Spirit Supreme."
-Juan Mascaro (trans.), Kena Upanishad IN Mascaro, The Upanishads (Harmondsworth, Middlesex, 1984) AT PART 4, p. 53.
Indra surpasses other thunder gods, like Thor.
Some would say that the light toward which we ascend from ancient darkness is that of secular science. I agree but add the light of meditation.
Maeloch Says...
"'Aye, even down under the cliffs we hear as how some magnates, Soren Cartagi of the Timbermen foremost, mislike the way [the King]'d link us back to Rome. I say, when a storm is rising, break out your sheet anchor and make fast the rode.'" (p. 392)
A storm is rising. Imperial civil war continues and the Gods of Ys are troubled. As in several of Anderson's sf novels, there is a strong sense of living in troubled times. Ysan/Roman troubled times lead eventually to us! Troubled times in Technic civilization lead eventually to the multiple interstellar civilizations shown in the concluding Technic History instalment, "Starfog." Historical fiction and future history.
What Gratillonius Does Not Know
There is much that we know that the King of Ys does not:
why the Speaker for Taranis is so hostile to him;
that two of his wives have a sexual relationship;
how much he has been offending the Gods of Ys;
why his wives must do penance;
later, that one of his own men is sexually attracted to him.
If Gratillonius had been the only viewpoint character, then we could not have known any of this but, fortunately, the Tetralogy presents a broad view of life in Ys and beyond.
How much do we not know about our own actions and their consequences? Sometimes such a realization is devastating as, later, when Gratillonius must face the truth about his daughter, Dahut.
Sunday 25 June 2023
God, Gods And Demons
Roma Mater by Poul and Karen Anderson
The King of Ys has done much to displease the (active) Gods of that city but his Queens want to keep him so they must do what they can to set things right. Meanwhile, there are those, maybe including the King, who believe that those Gods are demons...
Black Easter and The Day After Judgement by James Blish
A group of magicians has released a host of demons that will not be put back. A major demon claims that they have won Armageddon but demons are liars and the evidence is ambiguous...
In both cases, what is happening behind the scenes?
Without the supernatural element, we are going through something like that now. Nature is more than enough to cope with...
A New Age
Gratillonius and Soren Cartagi converse - and, of course, the wind.
"Wind whooped." (p. 364)
Gratillonius stares out at the wind and, after heated argument:
"Again he turned away to the window and the wind." (p. 365)
Gratillonius, although King of Ys with sacral duties in the city, must travel around Armorica on Roman business:
"'...Rome must have one master, and he an able man. Can you not see?'" (p. 364)
"'A new age is upon Ys, upon the world.
"'Enough of provincial selfishness and dragging of feet.'" (p. 365)
But the new age will sweep everything away, including Ys and Rome. Gratillonius will prepare for the defence of his part of Europe after the destruction of Ys and the withdrawal of Rome. Describing changes at work between 1989 and 2012, I once said that, beyond the oncoming tsunami, there was a colliding planet.
Gratillonius And Bodilis With Eucherius
The King and one of the Nine Witch-Queens of the pagan city of Ys are present at the death-bed of the Christian minister, Eucherius. Addressing Queen Bodilis, Eucherius says:
"'You are pagan, but wise and virtuous.'" (p. 359)
Lose that offensive "but," man! Either we converse as equals, with mutual respect - or we do not. This reminds us of a scene in James Blish's historical novel. A Franciscan, thanking and paying a Jewish doctor, adds:
"'Would God might send thee His grace as well as His wisdom.'"
-James Blish, Doctor Mirabilis IN Blish, After Such Knowledge (London, 1991), pp. 3-318 AT I, p. 27.
Throwing the money on the floor, the doctor replies:
"'Thou payest me ill enough already with thy blessing. I spit on thee.'" (Blish, op. cit., p. 28)
- and leaves. The Franciscan wonders:
"'What did I say?'" (ibid.)
- to which our hero, Roger Bacon, responds:
"'What matter?... 'Tis but a Jew.'" (ibid.)
The arrogance of the dominant ideology.
Continuing, Eucherius compares Bodilis to the virtuous pagans, Aristoteles and Vergilius, then asks her if she knows whether souls sometimes linger a while before judgement! She does not know but mentions the Ysan belief that the Witch-Queens can return as seals. Since we are reading a historical novel with fantasy elements, we are to understand that, in this narrative, that happens.
King Gratillonius promises to find a replacement for Eucherius. I would have thought that, in any case, this was his responsibility as Roman prefect.
When Eucherius speaks of God's will, Gratillonius reflects:
"Ahura-Mazda reigns, and beyond Him, inexorable Time." (p. 360)
Why identify ultimate reality with "Time"? The One is internally differentiated and dynamic. Thus, it is internally spatiotemporal. We know that because we are inside it, looking around us. Any self-conscious being must, some of us argue, exist and act in time. So is change the ultimate reality? That fits with Buddhist teachings of impermanence and emptiness.
Life In Ys
We learn more about Cynan, the Mithraist convert. Expecting a comedy by Plautus at the theatre, the Romans find that, instead, Aeschlyus' Agamemnon is to be performed in an Ysan translation by Queen Bodilis. Cynan gets up to leave but is forcibly obliged to remain by the deputy, Adminius, who insists that his men make a good impression and take in some culture. In fact, Cynan is immediately impressed by authenticity and veracity when the play opens with a soldier complaining of weariness on the night watch:
"Cynan's eyes widened. 'Mithras!' he whispered. 'That's the way it is.'" (XX, 1, p. 350)
Afterwards, he wants to know more:
"'What happened next?' Cynan wanted to know. 'That Orestes they spoke of, he must have done something. Are there more plays?'
"'I've heard Greek plays go in threes,' Verica answered. 'Maybe Queen Bodilis has translated the rest. Or maybe she will.'" (pp. 350-351)
As the Andersons expect us to know, the Oresteia is the only surviving Greek dramatic trilogy. Meanwhile, we, the readers of this novel, have learned to respect Cynan.
We learn more about end-of-the-year business in Ys:
food traders at Goose Fair and the Cornmarket
horse dealers at Epona Square
flour mills
breweries
bakeries
smoking and pickling establishments
windswept Skippers' Market
fishers mending boats and seeking odd jobs
housewives lighting their homes
husbands storing firewood
Suffete social events
temple help for the poor
immemorially old rituals
In A Year In Ys, I missed one passage about the turning year:
"The full moon before autumnal equinox came early that year..." (XXI, 1, p. 357)
Queen Forsquilis leaves Ys and enters the necropolis to seek dreams in the tomb of Brennilis because:
"'...Ys is again at the end of an age. The Old is dying. Time travails with the New, and we fear Its face which we have not seen.'" (p. 358)
The year ends. That is part of a cycle. An age ends. That is another matter.
Saturday 24 June 2023
A Year In Ys
The narrative proceeds through the year.
"At noon upon that Birthday of Mithras, the sun blazed low in an ice-clear heaven."
-I, 1, p. 13.
"Imbolc marked the season of making ready for the year's work, the lambing that would soon begin, spring sowing later, fishing whenever Manandan and the merfolk would allow."
-II, 1, p. 31.
"Festivals surrounded Midsummer."
-XIX, 1, p. 337.
"Summer advanced in triumphal procession."
-XX, 2, p. 351.
"Summer welled forth in its final great warmth, light, and greenness."
-XXI, 1, p. 356.
"At equinox all the Nine must be in Ys, attending the Council and carrying out certain rites."
-XX11, 1, p. 366.
"The Black Months were upon Armorica. As Midwinter drew nigh, day shrank..."
-XXIII, 1, p.380.
"There was no wind on the night before Solstice Eve, nor was the air unduly cold."
-XXIV, 1, p. 3933.
"Seas ran high on the morning after solstice, but wind had fallen off and skies were clearing."
-XXV, 5, p. 421.
And we are nearly at the end of this novel.
Unstable Time-Streams
-Roma Mater, XIX, 2, p. 345.
This sentence, spoken by a Queen of Ys, makes her sound like a Time Patrol agent.
"...at last [events] were out of the unstable space-time zone and could safely be left to themselves."
-Poul Anderson, "Star of the Sea" IN Anderson, Time Patrol (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 467-640 AT III, 20, p. 629.
"'What they showed me, though, the records -'
"He nodded. 'Consequences of time gone awry. Bad.'"
-Poul Anderson, The Shield of Time (New York, 1991), PART FOUR, 1990 A. D., p. 253.
Time as a stream that might flow awry? The course of events might easily be diverted from some preferred future course but could it also be diverted from its already recorded past course? The whole dynamic of Anderson's Time Patrol series is to try to make some sense of this second proposition.
Kith, Kin And Kine
"...asked welfare for kith and kine..."
-XIX, 1, p. 337.
Characters in Poul Anderson's Norse fantasies quote:
"Kine die, kinfolk die..."
-see here. (Scroll down.)
Maybe we have exhausted this line of enquiry?
A Biblical Quotation
Dahilis protests when she sees Gratillonius initiating Cynan in a stream sacred to the Goddess. She says:
"'Belisama, Mother, forgive them. They knew not what they did.'" (p. 316)
There is that quotation again. (In Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld series, Yeshua, while being burned to death by medieval inquisitors, says, "'Father, they do know what they are doing.'")
Gratillonius has to assure his men that Dahilis has not profaned their ceremony and assures her:
"'My dear, in the end all Gods go back to the One; and as for me, I am the high priest and avatar of Taranis, Her lover.'" (p. 317)
All go back to the One. There I agree. Theology becomes complicated when the incarnation of Taranis conduct a Mithraist initiation in water sacred to the Goddess.
Mithraic Instruction II
Cynan commends Gratillonius for making the myths real but does not question their truth. What he wants is a vivid story.
When Our Lord Mithras was born, shepherds adored Him with offerings and He ate fruit from a fig tree yet:
"'This happened before there was life on earth. I don't understand that myself. But why should a man be able to understand the Eternal?'" (p. 306)
Don't understand it? It's a contradiction! Unless this is a way of saying that the story is not literally true but symbolically significant.
We notice the similarities to Christianity but also the differences. In Mithras' story, the flood is followed by a fire. Mithras ascends to heaven after a last supper but also fights both the Sun and the Bull. The Bull's blood becomes "'...the wine of the Mystery." (ibid.) Its body becomes life on earth. (So how were there shepherds and a fig tree before that?)
Judaism: God.
Christianity: God and Christ.
Zoroastrianism: Ahura-Mazda.
Mithraism: Ahura-Mazda and Mithras.
The Torah: God both speaks to Moses and hardens Pharaoh's heart.
Zoroastriansim: Ahura-Mazda is opposed by Ahriman.
Christianity: God is opposed by a rebel angel, not by a rival deity.
Friday 23 June 2023
Mithraic Instruction
The Scoti killed, raped or enslaved Cynan's family. Swearing to live for revenge, he lied about his age and his religion to join the army, gloried in killing barbarians, saw Medb in battle, was impressed by Eppilus' burial and now wants instruction in Mithraism but I am not clear about his motivation. Does he repent of living for revenge? Does he interpret the vision of Medb as a warning not to continue down that road?
Instructing Cynan, Gratillonius begins to refer to:
the One from Which Everything comes
Time
Aeon
Chronos
Saturnus
the Source
the Fountainhead
the Ultimate which is not prayed to
- but checks himself because that is for the higher ranks. Instead, he refers to:
one above all Gods
Ahura-Mazda
Ormazd
Jupiter
Zeus
He Is
the High
the Ever-Good
I agree that the Ultimate is not to be prayed to but not that any truth should be kept from lower ranks.
Gratillonius concludes the first day of instruction by saying that Cynan might decide not to join:
"'...every man has to find his own way...'" (p. 307)
Infinitely more enlightened than telling him that he will be damned if he is not initiated.
Updating "Psychotechnic" SF?
A global culture and language.
Self-sustaining space habitats.
AI and mass technological unemployment.
A research project linking modern neurology and psychology and conscious AI to ancient yogic/meditative practices.
A movement to ensure that the entire population benefits from modern technology.
A counter-movement to keep wealth and power in the hands of a few ("the Gang.")
I think that that research project is more plausible than Valti's equations.
Psychotechnics And Psychohistory
Is a predictive science of psychology and society possible and, if so, who will apply that science and for what purposes? Surely it should be applied not by one part of society to the rest of society but by the whole of society to itself but how would that be possible? Maximum participatory democracy, to begin with. Maybe we will have to resolve social conflicts in order to be able to address social conflicts? A circular argument. Maybe such a science is impossible because science has to be objective whereas psychology and society combine the objective with the subjective? We cannot solve the problem because we are the problem. We get in our own way. You cannot make a bed while you are lying on it.
I think that the basic problem is as follows. Both as a species and as individuals, we were active organisms long before we became reflective subjects. By the time we are able to reflect on life, our lives already contain both the consequences of past actions and a deeply rooted disposition to continue acting in the same way even though this has been problematic. In Eastern philosophy, this is the problem of karma. "Karma" means "action" and actions matter because they never occur in a vacuum but always have consequences.
In the absence of a scientific approach, we have to make do with existing traditions of political philosophy (which confirm existing conflicts) and of work on the self (where the alternatives are many). In social conflicts, we should at least be clear which side we are on and why. Don't say, "I'm not political," then repeat political cliches! I think that Zen meditation addresses the protean enemy and the "old, animal horror" identified in works by Poul Anderson but the sky is the limit as far as this discussion goes.
Cynan And Psychotechnics
After World War III, the UN struggles heroically to rebuild society and to prevent further war while the Psychotechnic Institute struggles heroically for social and individual sanity. The UN becomes the Solar Union. The Institute fails to prevent social chaos and is overthrown although organizations like the Planetary Engineers continue to employ psychotechnicians. Society declines into the Second Dark Ages.
The hyperdrive is invented. In the Stellar Union period, planetary civilizations are either integrate or unintegrate. Nomads with some recruits from the Coordination Service preserve knowledge through the Third Dark Ages. In the Galactic period, psychotechnicians have gained superhuman psychophysical powers.
Thursday 22 June 2023
The Burial Of Eppillus
Ysans must respect the prerogatives of different gods. A Mithraist fell resisting the Scots. Gratillonius proposes to bury him on the Point looking toward Britannia from where he came. The opening paragraph of this section describes the scene:
"Sunset cast scarlet and gold over the half of heaven that reached above Ocean. Water glimmered and glowed beneath the cliffs." (p. 296)
The sense of sight. The description continues:
"Sounds of surf came muted." (ibid.)
Hearing.
"A breeze ruffled the grass on Point Vanis. It came from the north, cooling the day's warmth..." (ibid.)
Bodily sensation.
"...bearing a smell of salt and maybe, maybe, of fields of Britannia." (ibid.)
Smell. (Now if only the Mithraists ate or drank at the funeral.)
Six Christian comrades carry and lower the coffin but then march away. Three Mithraists and one companion remain. Gratillonius, holding the grade of Persian, speaks sacred words which would have come better from a Father. Eppilus' soul embarks on a long interplanetary journey to Light and Oneness. Cynan asks to join the rites from now on. He has sensed "'...an old, animal horror...'" (p. 298) that lives inside him and everyone else and wants a God that can keep that from them. This is the protean enemy of Poul Anderson's Psychotechnic History.
Appropriate Burials
Seven Christian soldiers have been killed in battle so their centurion, Gratillonius, must ensure that they are buried as they would wished even though he himself is both a devotee of Mithras and the current incarnation of Taranis. (Since he is also both the Roman prefect and the Ysan King, his responsibilities are many.) He visits the former temple of Mars to consult the Christian minister, Eucherius. In order not to interrupt a ceremony, he waits outside the building. After a while, a few elderly parishioners leave. We can still see their co-religionists emerging from churches every Sunday morning.
Contemplating those "poor souls," the Ysans, Eucherius comments:
"'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. They mean well, too...'" (p. 290)
The first sentence here is a Biblical quotation that we have missed before.
Eucherius is able to arrange for burials in a churchyard in a nearby town.
When Gratillonius offers practical help, Eucherius responds:
"'Save where it comes to propagating the Faith?'" (p. 291)
Christians should be allowed to preach in public. I can testify from experience that this practice can have a high nuisance value but its suppression would be a greater wrong.
Lir And Medb
It is confusing to operate in an environment with multiple gods. When an unseasonable storm starts to wreck his fleet, Niall wonders whether to give a man to Manadan but an old mariner thinks that the storm is sent by Manandan's father, Lir, who is not to be placated by any human offering.
Niall shouts, 'Medb with us!'" (1, p. 271) and, sure enough, in the heat of battle, after a raven has flown past in a "...violent gust of wind...," Gratillonius sees a titanic woman mowing men with a sickle. (5, p. 283)
Lir and Medb are on opposite sides this time but any divine conflict or alliance is possible.
Wednesday 21 June 2023
Civilizing Hivernia?
Fighting Scotians, Gratillonius thinks:
"If Rome had civilized Hivernia, long ago when that was possible, what soldiers for her its sons would be!" (p. 284)
One Irish response to the idea of fighting for another country:
Twas far better to die ‘neath an Irish sky, Than at Suvla or Sud el Bar‘
-see here.
An old man in a Dublin pub told me, "The one thing the English did for us: If they hadn't been there, we'd've had the French or the Spanish over and they'd've been worse!"
How might history have diverged if the Roman Empire had conquered Ireland? What Gratillonius speculates about, the Time Patrol might experience.
Original Conflicts
Biblically, conflicts between the sons of Adam, then of Noah, then of Abraham, had momentous consequences - and still have;
in Roman mythology, the relationship between Aeneas and Dido was the origin of the wars between Rome and Carthage.
In Poul and Karen Anderson's The King of Ys, the Scotian King Niall knows better than to attack Ys but does not know that the new King of Ys is a Roman centurion who will mobilize the weather-controlling Ysan Witch-Queens against any attack on Imperial territory. Ysan invocation of Lir raises a storm that wrecks a sea attack on a target further south and, in the ensuing battle, an Ysan catapult bolt kills Niall's son. Niall curses Ys and asks that he be the agent of its doom which will happen at the end of Volume III. We do not know this yet but should be able to guess.
Empires
In both the past and the future, Imperial decline involves civil wars between rival claimants to the Imperial throne. In the Roman Empire, Gratillonius backs Maximus. In the Terran Empire, Dominic Flandry defends legitimacy, therefore opposes McCormac, but eventually supports the usurper, Molitor.
Once again, we appreciate the elaborate structure of the Technic History:
2 Polesotechnic League collections
2 PL novels
1 proposed collection of 3 short stories that would fit here
1 Ythrian novel
1 omnibus Ythrian-PL collection
9 Flandry period volumes
1 collection of 4 post-Flandry/post-Imperial instalments
Tuesday 20 June 2023
Cold Future
When Forsquilis goes forth as an owl, she senses that the stars are more distant than anyone knew and that those vastnesses are cold. At this point, we remember that Poul Anderson wrote science fiction about interstellar travel. When Forsquilis goes forth again, she feels:
"'...cold winds blowing out of the future...'" (XIV, 1, p. 254)
Cold again. This time also, winds and the future, two highly significant words. We know that Forsquilis' future encompasses the destruction of Ys, the Fall of Rome, Dark Ages, Middle Ages, the modern period and whatever is to come after that, in some fictional futures interstellar travel...
The main fact about the future is that it is unknown, also that, sooner or later, it includes the deaths of everyone now living. In Poul Anderson's Technic History, an Ythrian sees the shadow of God the Hunter across the future. Forsquilis knows only that something unwelcome is coming.
Gratillonius' Marriage II
Gratillonius is disgusted by Maldunilis and, by the Law of Mithras, cannot have sex with both Fennalis and Lanarvilis, mother and daughter, so he hopes that Fennalis, like Quinipilis, can be regarded as too old. After doing his duty as far as he can, Gratillonius proposes to spend as much time as he can with Dahilis. However, this will not be acceptable. How can there be anything but problems in such a set-up?
By the gift of the Goddess, Gratillonius' virility never fails with any of his Queens but will always fail with any other woman. Each of the Queens is marked by a red crescent from the time when she was chosen and they bear only daughters - when they do not practice contraception. The fantasy element of the plot is understated but ever-present.
Of course, none of these rules will continue to apply when Ys has been destroyed and when the Three have become ghosts, demons, fading memories or whatever else deposed gods become. (Neil Gaiman's The Sandman is illuminating.) Then Gratillonius will be free to remarry, beget sons and indeed convert to Christianity.
Fictional Cities
Entirely Invented
Poul and Karen Anderson created Ys ex nihilo. The name is legendary but the Anderson's created:
Taranis Way
Lir Way
Elven Gardens
Star House
Dragon House
Goose Fair
the Fishtail slum
the Sacred Wood
"the hundred towers" (less than 100)
the sea wall and gate
Scot's Landing
- which we know as if we had been there.
Susan Howatch created Starbridge with its Eternity Street although this city is based on Salisbury.
Real But With Additions
In Poul Anderson's Time Patrol series, New York is as we know it but there are additions like Manse Everard's apartment and a Patrol warehouse.
Susan Howatch's London has St Paul's, the Abbey and (fictional) St. Benet's and the clergy refer to a large southern diocese (Starbridge) without naming it.
Stieg Larsson's Stockholm includes Kvarnen (real), Samir's Cauldron (fictional but based on a real place) and we are told the real addresses of fictional people and organizations. Larsson's characters travel through real places to the fictional Hedestad on the Norrland coast.
Gratillonius' Marriage
King Gratillonius is married to nine Queens. One is old. He must consummate the marriage with the other eight. He has a mutually enjoyable sexual relationship with young Dahilis but not with all the others. There is much scope for problems between two people, let alone ten. Two people are one interaction: AB. To add one more person is to add three more interactions: BC; CA; ABC. The three together are different from any two on their own. How many interactions do ten people make? Two of the Queens have a secret same-sex relationship. How long do the Gods expect this set-up to last? It is not meant to last forever. The Three will not compete with the new God but will withdraw. The only question is when.
Monday 19 June 2023
Ys In History
Life is busier, hence less blogging. However, at Blog Central we are still rereading Poul Anderson and Stieg Larsson.
Sunday 18 June 2023
Goose Fair And The Fishtail
There is a Goose Fair in Ys and another in Nottingham, England.
Two legionaries, Cynan and Adminius, go drinking with the Ysan sailor, Herul. They pass the palace which has to be guarded both by Ysan marines and by Roman soldiers because Gratillonius is both King and prefect. We get a feel of the city:
sellers and hawkers packing up at Goose Fair
New Town
Old Town
cobblestones
no signs of poverty or refuse
sea air, smelling of salt and kelp, throughout the town
the old shrine of Melqart/ Taranis where Herul makes reverence
Melqart's Shrine open at solstice; Ishtar's at equinox
a pre-Ysan menhir to a God unknown
Celts and Christians carve their symbols on such stones but not Ysans
Fishtail slum
an inn damaged by the sea before the rampart was built
Herul and the Romans drink with fishers and a Ferrier of the Dead
We are already familiar with Ys and will be there for a long time. The King of Ys Tetralogy comprises an Ys Trilogy and a post-Ys sequel.
Mars And Christ
Character interactions continue. In Ys, Gratillonius' legionaries settle in Warriors' House. Christian Budic seeks the church in the former temple of Mars in the Forum. Divine interactions also continue. Budic meets the Christian minister, Eucherius, who, to our surprise, is in conversation with his friend, Queen Bodilis, who is now a wife to Budic's centurion. Eucherius instructs Budic to pay civil, not religious, respect to the Queen who is also a priestess.
Eucherius' ecclesiastical superiors have sent him to a city of "obstinate pagans." (p. 174) Some Christians think that we are obstinate, not that we honestly disagree with them. This is no basis for mutual respect.
Saturday 17 June 2023
Some People In Ys
A long novel or, in this case, a Tetralogy introduces a vast cast of characters, then presents interactions between individuals. Thus:
Queen Quinipilis in conversation with King Gratillonius;
Queen Lanarvilis with Soren Cartegis, Speaker for Taranis;
Queen Dahilis with Gratillonius;
etc.
The nine Queens are high priestesses of Belisama.
The King is the incarnation of Taranis.
The remaining Ysan deity is Lir and Hannon Baltisi is Lir Captain.
Gratillonius is a votary of Mithras and is the prefect of the Roman Empire which has sent a Christian minister, Eucherius, to Ys.
And there are many more, of course.
Tyre And Ys
In "Ivory, and Apes, and Peacocks," Poul Anderson describes the Egyptian Harbour in Tyre. In Roma Mater, Poul and Karen Anderson describe the harbour in Ys. Ys was a colony of Carthage which was a colony of Tyre.
Both Tyre and Ys have temples but the Ysan gods are actively present. A premise of some works of fantasy is that fabulous events occurred long ago but no longer. In Ys:
"'Once any high priestess could heal any sickness by laying on of hands; today, seldom. Once her soul could range afar through space and time; today, few of us can have a vision, and for those who do, it may as well be false as true, with Forsquilis alone granted some measure of assurance. Once - ah, but you too have seen your God in retreat, have you not?'" (p. 142)
A god is in retreat if he has fewer followers - also if there are fewer visions and fewer events perceived as divine interventions.
Ys II
Ys has no army. There is a small cadre of marines/peacekeepers. All sailors are trained for combat at sea or on land.
Many rooftop catch-basins drain into underground tanks. Water passes through filtering material into publically accessible wells. Also the canal from a sacred spring in the hills discharges into a tower from where pipes take water to the homes of the rich and also to public troughs, fountains and baths.
Ysans exchange gold, silver and bronze within the city but barter externally. Ysan sheep produce fine wool. Ys imports raw materials but exports many finished products. Ysan merchants trade for themselves and also carry freight for others from Britannia to Hispania. Ysan young men travel among barbarians and return wealthy.
Friday 16 June 2023
Ys
(i) Royal servants are free and well paid:
"'We have no slavery or serfdom in Ys. Too much have we seen what they have done to Rome.'" (p. 133)
(ii) "'Ys lives mainly by her ships. Most are fishing craft or merchantmen. A few are raiders...'" (ibid.)
(iii) "Ys required the hauling away of rubbish." (p. 134)
(iv) "...sewers did not drain into the sea, which would have angered Lir, but into tanks of fuller's earth in chamber excavated below the city. From time to time these were emptied and the muck carted inland, where farmers were glad to have it for their fields." (ibid.)
(v) "...folk generally looked happy." (p. 135)
(vi) "The city-state is at peace, safe, less prosperous than formerly but in no dire want, seemingly well governed." (ibid.)
(vii) "'...the Gallicenae command the weather...'" (p. 139)
(ix) "'You've a livelier commerce than aught I've seen elsewhere, even in Londinium...'" (p. 141)
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