Seasons

Some chapters open by marking the passage of the seasons in:

Poul and Karen Anderson's The King Of Ys;

Poul Anderson's "Star of the Sea";

Poul Anderson's Brain Wave.

Brain Wave, 15:

"...the late fall of snow..." (p. 131)

17:

"Spring had come late, but now there was warmth in the air and a mist of green on the trees." (p. 143)

18:

"Early summer: the first shy green of leaves has become a fullness enchanted with sunlight, talking with wind; it has rained just an hour ago, and the light cool wind shakes down a fine sparkle of drops, like a ghostly kiss on your uplifted face; a few sparrows dance on the long, empty streets; the clean quiet mass of the buildings is sharp against a luminous blue sky, the thousand windows catch the morning sun and throw it back in one great dazzle." (p. 149)

(It does not surprise regular Anderson readers that the wind talks.)

21 (the closing chapter):

"Autumn again, and winter in the air. The fallen leaves lay in heaps under the bare dark trees and hissed and rattled across the ground with every wind. Only a few splashes of colour remained in the woods, yellow or bronze or scarlet against grayness.

"Overhead the wild geese passed in great flocks, southward bound. There was more life in the sky this year - fewer hunters, Brock supposed. The remote honking drifted down to him, full of wandering and loneliness. It was a clear pale blue up there, the sun wheeled bright and heatless, spilling its coruscant light across a broad and empty land. The wind was strong, flowing around his cheeks and flapping his clothes, the trees were noisy with it." (p. 181)

A full year.

I did not set out to quote at such length but it was difficult to stop, especially since the autumnal passage above culminates with a trademark strong wind.

Autumn is the beginning of an end with the promise of a new beginning if only because there is a cyclical return. This autumn is an end of all the old ways on Earth but much is happening elsewhere and is still happening for Archie Brock on Earth. The season is not dead. The wind flaps his clothes and is noisy in the trees.