Endings And Sequels

Poul Anderson tended to end novels on an optimistic note as we have just seen with The People Of The Wind. I could list other titles and readers familiar with these works would see what I meant. When a narrative ends by implying that a particular course of events has been set in motion, then we assume that that course of events will indeed transpire unless a later-written sequel states otherwise. An author can do this at any time. Isaac Asimov did it brilliantly with his Robot Stories. The Machines, giant robotic brains controlling the global ecology and economy at the end of I, Robot, later phase themselves out because they judge that self-determination is the greatest human good but then there is a completely different kind of threat from another group of robots called the Georges in "That Thou Art Mindful Of Him."

Although an author can write whatever he wants, he cannot write just anything and get away with it. It would have been completely discordant if Anderson had informed us that Christopher and Tabitha had died horribly within half an hour of the conclusion of The People Of The Wind! But these characters could have had all sorts of other unexpected adventures if the author had chosen to continue the Avalonian sub-series of his Technic History.

Dominic Flandry still expects great things of Avalon in A Stone In Heaven and he has striven to ensure that some other planetary populations will be robust enough to survive when the Long Night falls.

Pessimism of the intellect. Optimism of the will.