One Theme In Three Works

In Poul Anderson's Harvest Of Stars Tetralogy, post-organic intelligences becomes dominant in the Solar System and cease to look outward whereas organic human beings continue to strive and thrive elsewhere. In Anderson's The Boat Of A Million Years, several technological civilizations become postbiotic, absorbing their creators into their systems, as in Anderson's Genesis. At the end of Boat, the starfaring Alloi accompany the Survivors to the planet Phaecia in order to establish a colony that will maintain both organic intelligence and interstellar exploration. A questionable dichotomy is set up: postbiotics invariably cease to look outward? In Genesis, they continue to spread through this galaxy and beyond. Boat, like Harvest... and Genesis ends by addressing the relationship between organic and post-organic intelligences. All three works involve slower than light interstellar travel. Boat has several other organic intelligent species. Its premise of immortals is implausible.