At the end of this chapter, Langley to Marin:
"'One little man thinking he can change history all by his lonesome. A lot of trouble has been caused by that delusion.'" (p. 170)
This point is made in "Time Patrol," the opening instalment of Poul Anderson's Time Patrol series and the first story in the Time Patrol omnibus collection. The Andersonian multiverse is a unity.
Langley continues:
"'I'm gambling that this time, for once, it's not a mistake - that I really can carry off something worth while. Do you think I'm right? Do you think I even have the right to try?'" (ibid.)
Of course she replies:
"'Yes, my dearest.'" (ibid.)
We know that Langley is going to carry off something because we are very near the end of a novel: only two more chapters and eighteen more pages left. Poul Anderson's novels end on positive and optimistic notes. We expect plot resolutions and a perceived way forward in a concluding chapter.
In the original Star Trek series, Kirk solved one problem per planet per episode. In later Star Trek series, apparently, planetary problems became permanent background features. That is more like real life. But let's find out what Langley does because I cannot remember from previous readings. It has to be something drastic.
6 comments:
Let us say he exposes a hidden hand that's been driving systems to war.
Kaor, Paul!
Unfortunately, sometimes "One little man" can change history in very bad ways, as Gavrilo Princip did at Sarajevo in 1914!
Ad astra! Sean
One person can change history.
Often in ways that they didn't anticipate, however.
Eg., 25% of Serbia's population died between 1914 and 1918, and I doubt even their weepy martyr-complex anticipated that.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Princip and his Black Hand bosses had/have a lot to answer for! And they ultimately failed in their ambitions for a Serbian Empire. The bloody breakup of Yugoslavia after Tito's death stripped Serbia of nearly all its post WW I gains.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: "The wish is father to the thought", as the saying goes. Wanting something badly enough can convince people that they can get it. Sometimes that pays off; more commonly, it results in ruin.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
It certainly did in Serbia's case! And it still may for Russia if Putin fails to conquer Ukraine.
Ad astra! Sean
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