Lockridge's rifle makes a difference in the battle but so does something else. Lockridge is struck and burned while the rifle is melted - an anachronistic arms race.
When Brann of the Rangers sits in the Long House of the conquered village, the holy fire has gone out but a crystalline globe lights the interior. The future invades the past - and that phrase that I have just written reminds this reader of a remark about invasion from the future in Poul Anderson's The People Of The Wind, quoted here.
Lastly, for now, Brann offers his prisoner, Lockridge, a drink:
"'The wine is Bourgogne 2012. That was a wonderful year.'" (p. 64)
The Corridors Of Time was first published in Amazing in 1965 when 2012 was forty-seven years in the future. Now it is thirteen years in the past. Was 2012 a good year for Bourgogne wine? Sf continually engages with the future in ways that change during the lifetimes of its readers.
We always remember that the opening story of Robert Heinlein's Future History is set in 1951.
4 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And Ferune was right, we are always being invaded by the future second by second. And there is no escaping being chased by "The Horn of Time the Hunter."
Ad astra! Sean
To quote: "The 2012 vintage for Burgundy had its fair share of problems but still managed to produce some fantastic wines.
A wet, cool spring saw the occasional bout of frost, but it was the persistent rain that proved most problematic. Further difficulties arose in early June when hailstorms slashed the region and the appellations of Meursault, Saint-Aubin, Beaune, and Chassagne came badly under siege. Fortunately, flowering only took a minor hit. However, the damp conditions continued throughout July and cooler than average temperatures proved ripe for mildew. Most producers, at this point, were relying on sprays to combat the mildew and producers who were prohibited by organic and biodynamic practices likely suffered the most.
Temperatures warmed up towards the end of the month however hailstorms, at the beginning of August, viciously struck most of the same appellations across the Côte de Beaune as before. In the aftermath of the hail, powdery mildew posed a serious problem. Fortunately, the weather began to improve as temperatures climbed, although the heat did prompt the occasional storm and some grapes, especially in the Côte de Nuits, suffered from heat and sunburn. As much of the crop had been cut by rain, hail and sunburn, what had survived ripened rapidly in time for a September harvest."
I did not expect an answer to that question!
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Ditto, what Paul said! Intriguing, that something Anderson wrote matched up with real world events.
Ad astra! Sean
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