"Overhead curved the Galaxy, a river of mist across which winged the Swan. The Lyre hung silent. The Dragon coiled half-way around a pole strangely high in heaven." (p. 22)
And there is another description of the galaxy which is usually seen from space in Poul Anderson's works.
Pytheas, always wanting to learn more, says, with completely unconscious irony:
"'Our lives are a million years too short.'" (ibid.)
At the very end of James Blish's Cities In Flight, as this universe ends, a philosopher says that we did not have time to learn all that we wanted to know and John Amalfi accepts these words as the epitaph for man.
Kindred spirits across fictional timelines.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I'm again of how the Egyptians, in their papyri and inscriptions, kept talking about millions of years.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: well, Egyptians were exceptionally conscious of time, particularly during the Middle and New Kingdoms. Passing pyramids does that to you...
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I agree. And I think I came across a New Kingdom poem in which the author noted how time worn the pyramids were.
Ad astra! Sean
Post a Comment