In Beringia in 13,212 BC, Wanda sees for herself. Nine kinds of birds fly "...in their hundreds...":
"After two years she still found marvel in the lavishness of life, at the very gates of the Ice. Not before leaving her home world had she really known how impoverished it was."
-Poul Anderson, 13,212 B. C., I, IN Anderson, The Shield Of Time (New York, 1991), pp. 139-149 AT p. 140.
In case I have made anyone curious and they do not have the book to hand:
gulls
ducks
geese
cranes
swans
plover
snipe
curlews
one hovering eagle
But the main point here is that our world is impoverished. That is a point not to be read past but to be pondered. Maybe we have a responsibility to restore that lavishness of life? And to put industries into space?
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I am not sure that "impoverishment" can be or even should be completely reversed. Not if that means sacrificing crucial human needs. But I can agree that some parts of Earth should be restored to what Wanda sees.
Yes, some types of heavy industry should be moved off Earth, where practical. See the "Commentary" Anderson wrote for SPACE FOLK.
Ad astra! Sean
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