"On planets so remote that the unaided eye could not see their suns among those twinkling to life over Oceania, men turned dark and leathery, or thick and weary, by strange weathers lifted glasses in salute. The light waves carrying their pledge would lap on his tomb."
-Poul Anderson, Ensign Flandry IN Anderson, Young Flandry (Riverdale, NY, January 2010), pp. 1-192 AT CHAPTER ONE, p. 5.
Despite the quantum hyperdrive, the universe of the Technic History remains relativistic. Therefore, simultaneity is relative. So the dark and leathery or thick and weary men cannot be said to drink the Emperor's health at the same time as Birthday is being celebrated on Terra. Nevertheless, the Terrans can measure how long it would take them to travel back and forth on hyperdrive and therefore must have some way to calculate a simultaneity of events for practical purposes.
Having returned from a sandwich lunch in a country pub, I must now eat again before walking across town in a cold wind to an important public meeting.
We are building a future now although not the future of the Technic History.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Exactly, a rough and ready, good enough for gov't use "simultaneity" would be worked out. And Starkad itself would be one of those worlds where men would loyally salute the Emperor's Birthday, because it was mentioned there as well in ENSIGN FLANDRY.
Love that bit quoted from the book!
Ad astra! Sean
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