The "Chaos," an early period in Poul Anderson's Technic History, is mentioned in a single sentence:
"The Chaos ended those activities." (p. 36)
Is it mentioned anywhere else?
The activities that the Chaos ended were "...war and fantasy games..." (ibid.) "...during the middle twentieth century..." (p. 35) which were probably a reaction against:
"...the inactive entertainment, notably television, which had come to dominate recreation." (p. 36)
The quoted report which informs us that the Chaos had ended war and fantasy games but which also adds that those activities had been revived "...in recent times..." (ibid.) is dated 2057. Thus, the Chaos, whatever it was, is bracketed some time between the middle twentieth century and a date some time before 2057.
A regular blog correspondent, Sean Brooks, suggested that the "Chaos" in our timeline began in 1914 and is still happening and I think that this makes sense. However, in the Technic History timeline, the term has a more time-specific application and they should be getting out of it by now. That Chaos is the dividing line between the decades in which Poul Anderson was writing his Technic History and the times that he was writing about.
Although "The Saturn Game" is primarily about a small team of explorers experiencing difficulties on the surface of a Saturnian moon, some of its scenes are flashbacks to conversations inside the comfortable living quarters and shared spaces within the light sail ship, the Chronos. All of this adds to the richness of the Technic History which had originally started in the Polesotechnic League period until some chronologically earlier instalments were added. In the finished product, human beings explore the Solar System, then interact with Ythrians, first on Ythri, then on Gray/Avalon, before the League and Earth in the Solar Commonwealth are introduced in the contemporaneous fourth and fifth instalments.
"The Saturn Game" reads like a possible near future for us even if we remain skeptical of later developments like the quantum hyperdrive and interstellar civilizations. This single story is the Technic History equivalent of the The Green Hills Of Earth period of Robert Heinlein's Future History, a series that we should always remember while we read or reread Anderson's several alternative future histories.
1 comment:
Kaor,. Paul!
I agree, since we have to respect what "Saturn" says, the Chaos has to be understood (narrowly construed) as lasting from about 1950-2030). But I still think it's legitimate, in a broader/deeper sense, to date the Chaos from the Sarajevo assassination.
I have to be careful not to watch too much TV. Because television is so much easier to "do" than other things like reading. At least I never took any interest in role-playing games.
Ad astra! Sean
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