Of course if all of nature was hostile to our kind of life, then we would not have come into existence in the first place. But most of it is. Think how few places we can survive even in the Solar System let alone the cosmos. We are adapted to a specific range of environmental conditions. Even on Earth, where we evolved, howling winds and crashing seas can be the death of us.
But the two aspects of nature toward mankind are hostile and beneficial. Chapter 1 had opened with the latter aspect:
"Sundown burned across great waters. Far to the west, the clouds banked tall above New Zealand threw hot gold into the sky. In that direction, the sea was too bright to look upon. Eastward it faded through green and royal blue to night, where the first stars trod forth and trembled. There was just enough wind to ruffle the surface, send wavelets lapping against the hull..." (p. 9)
Sunset. Golden sky. Bright sea. Royal blue. Gentle wind. Trembling stars, not seen as "enemy." Not threatening. Beautiful. But this is not winter in the Outer Hebrides!
Hard sf fans - pause and reread Poul Anderson's nature descriptions.
6 comments:
There's not much of Planet Earth where humans can survive without substantial technical aid -- tailored clothing, fire, tools, weapons. In fact, only the place we evolved (east Africa) and a few very much like it.
Yes, we usually need to wear clothes just to go out of doors.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Absolutely! And even in east Africa humans still need shelter from heavy rains and high temperatures. To say nothing of being on their guard predators and each other.
Ad astra! Sea
Sean: a lot of East Africa has what people from the temperate zone consider "eternal spring" or a mild day in summer -- tropical highlands are like that.
As an experiment, several scientists once lived for several weeks in a game park in Kenya without tools apart from "found" examples (unworked sticks and rocks) and found that they could get plenty of food -- including lots of meat. Predators could be mostly avoided, and the smaller ones driven off by throwing rocks.
Note that there's a reason so many people -left- the Hebridies! For New Zealand, among other places.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I sit corrected. I had in mind the miserable existence of early humans as described in stories like "The Little Monster."
I'm a bit surprised--wouldn't those scientists have needed shelter at night from the elements? I recall how, even in Hawaii, nights could get fairly cool, about 59 degrees F. Cool enough to make people want blankets.
I can guess why so many left the Hebrides: too gosh darn cold and wet!!!
Ad astra! Sean
Post a Comment