In "Holmgang" and in "Brake," the central character triumphs not by winning the philosophical argument but by a neat physical trick. Propelled by one of his air tanks, Bo Jonsson flies right around a small asteroid and hits his rifle-wielding protagonist in the back. In the later story, a disabled spaceship that has shed all unnecessary weight floats in the Jovian atmosphere until its surviving crew and passengers can be rescued. Thus, Poul Anderson combines two aspects of sf: issue-raising and problem-solving. The problems are specific to their particular stories whereas the issues, less easily resolved, continue throughout the series.
The eventual Galactic civilization seems to have transcended social conflicts.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
But Anderson also had the people he believed then were on the better sides winning those conflicts in these two stories. It might have been artistically appropriate if the baddies had won in, say, "Brake."
Last sentence: "The Chapter Ends" is not truly a Psychotechnic story, IMO,
Ad astra! Sean
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