Sunday 12 November 2023

More About Grass

On Nike:

"Pseudo-moss grew damp and slippery on the parapet."

This is a detail that we already knew about:

"...the ground was densely carpeted with a soft mossy growth." (p. 484)

And, at the same time, imported organisms successfully compete:

"...grass had overwhelmed a pseudo-moss that apparently had a competitive advantage only in the shade." (ibid.)

On Lokon, imported clover grows:

"...among the reddish native pseudo-grasses."
-Poul Anderson, "The Sharing of Flesh," IN Anderson, Flandry's Legacy (Riverdale, NY, June 2012), pp. 661-708 AT p. 665.

On Gwydion, meadows are "...green..." ("The Night Face," II, p. 553) Imported grass? No:

"'The planet was here, with its intrinsic conditions, its native biochemistry and ecology, all eminently suited to human life.'" (p. 554)

Implausible?

9 comments:

S.M. Stirling said...

Not implausible if you have lots... and lots... and lots of life-bearing planets.

We now know there -are- lots and lots of planets -- much more than they thought in Poul's day.

We still don't know how many have life. But we probably will be able to analyze their atmospheres fairly soon.

Even in my lifetime!

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

I want communication with other intelligent species in our lifetimes.

S.M. Stirling said...

Paul: I wouldn't mind that either... 8-).

Note that Earth wouldn't have been detectable at any distance until about a hundred years ago.

Which means that nobody more than 100 light-years away could know we were here -- and it wouldn't be easy for those anywhere near that limit. 20 light-years would be more realistic.

Jim Baerg said...

Radio signals from Earth wouldn't have been existed to be detected.
However, with better telescopes than we now have the planet could have been detected & spectroscopy of the atmosphere would reveal life on it.

I *think* everyone reading this blog knew those points, but I thought it worth making explicit.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling and Paul!

Mr. Stirling: Soon, soon, soon!

Paul: Ditto, what you said! As long as they are not like the Kzin or Merseians!

Ad astra! Sean


Addendum: Jim, possibly, yes, if any non-humans within about 50 light years from Sol had a civilization at about our level of tech.

Sean

DaveShoup2MD said...


As has been said:

“Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.”

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Dave!

Of course I agree on how unimaginably vast space is.

Ad astra! Sean

DaveShoup2MD said...


True. It's also pretty damn relativistic, so I think we're safe from the aliens.

Ourselves, not so much, unfortunately. ;)

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Dave!

I would still love it if a working FTL drive was invented this year!!!

Ad astra! Sean