Hooligan could have crossed the galaxy in twenty years. (p. 71)
Someone must have done it, then? The Technic History could have a spinoff series like Star Trek: Voyager. Are there as many intelligent species and interstellar civilizations in other parts of the galaxy?
If Flandry's mission to Ramnu had failed, he might have sought asylum in the Domain of Ythri or led an expedition outside known space as van Rijn possibly did earlier. But, if van Rijn and Flandry have thought of this, then others must have done it. We know of one such expedition, the Aenean exiles led by Hugh McCormac. There must have been others. A whole galaxy awaits Technic History spinoff episodes.
"Starfog" shows us a later period when human civilizations have spread through several spiral arms but there are millennia before that which could be chronicled. "Starfog" mentions other intelligent species but does not show us any. We are conscious of how much there is beyond the known.
3 comments:
Though it would be difficult to do anything but visit briefly at the end of a twenty-year voyage.
"Hooligan could have crossed the galaxy in twenty years"
Combine that with this figure
https://poulandersonappreciation.blogspot.com/2020/01/140-light-years-in-10-standard-days.html
and we get the galaxy being about 100,000 light years across. This seems to be a commonly quoted number.
So the people of the Commonality could reach earth in several years. Few would ever bother, but they would likely get information passed through multiple cultures about the situation of cultures at such distances.
Kaor, Jim!
Yes, after 5,000 years at a distance of several galactic spiral arms from ours most people would not have more than a remote and abstract interest in Old Earth.
Ad astra! Sean
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