From Atlantis To The Old Phoenix And Back

We can leave a character like Davis Bertram on a planet like Atlantis, survey the entire future history series that incorporates Davis and Atlantis, then survey another longer future history series by the same author, then, if we want to withdraw even further from any specific narrative, we can contemplate the relationships between future history series. Thus, Poul Anderson's longer Technic History grew organically after he had almost finished adding to his Psychotechnic History which he had planned and modelled directly on the original future history series, Robert Heinlein's Future History. Each series is set in its own timeline although, of course, in the chronology of its author and readers, each succeeds its predecessor. Davis can know nothing of the Andersonian or Heinleinian characters in any other future history series although, on a still higher level of abstraction, Nicholas van Rijn from Anderson's Technic History and Rhysling from Heinlein's Future History both visit Anderson's inter-universal inn, the Old Phoenix. Having travelled spatially, temporally and dimensionally as far as it is possible to go away from the planet Atlantis, we must shortly return there to check on the fate of Davis Bertram who knows nothing of us or of where we have been in the meantime. Who watches us?