Already A Myth

In Mirkheim, the last Technic History instalment to feature Nicholas van Rijn, his son, Eric Tamarin, reflects that stories are told throughout space about van Rijn as if he were already a myth. See:

Van Rijn And Roan Tom

An Organization And A Myth?

Consecutive readers of the Technic History should regard van Rijn in this same light. Previous instalments featuring van Rijn are building blocks of a legend that will become a myth:

"Margin of Profit"

The Man Who Counts

"Esau"

"Hiding Place"

"Territory"

"The Master Key"

Satan's World

"Lodestar"

They are not necessarily historically accurate but might already be building the myth:

"Margin of Profit" is a chapter in AA Craig's Tales Of The Great Frontier;

The Man Who Counts is a historical novel of uncertain provenance;

"Esau" was a story published in the Avalonian periodical, Morgana;

Hloch and Arinnian composed "Lodestar" from several sources for The Earth Book Of Stormgate;

we are less certain of the origins of the remaining four narratives.

Layers Of Narrative

(Re)reading Poul Anderson's The Earth Book Of Stormgate, we are embedded in centuries of fictional history beneath multiple layers of narrative.

See here.

Hloch also introduces:

AA Craig's accounts, in Tales Of The Great Frontier, first of Nicholas van Rijn's victory over Borthu and secondly of Jack Birnam's rescue of the Wyvan of Stormgate;

Judith Dalmady/Lundgren's accounts in the Avalonian periodical, Morgana, first of her father, Emil's, achievement on the planet Suleiman, secondly of a Christmas celebration on the planet Ivanhoe and thirdly of Nat Falkayn's rescue of a young Ythrian;

an unnamed historical novelist's account of van Rijn's struggle for survival on Diomedes;

Arinnian's retelling of Fluoch of Mistwood's account of events on the planets Paradox and Trillia;

Hloch's and Arinnian's accounts first of the trader team on Merseia and secondly of van Rijn at Mirkheim.

Also, Donvar Ayeghen introduces John Henry Reeves' account of Manuel Argos, Founder of the Terran Empire.

The novel about van Rijn was published under two different titles but Rennhi did not think that this matter warranted investigation. Indeed not. Poul Anderson disliked the publisher's title for The Man Who Counts: War Of The Wing-Men. Rennhi's dismissive attitude is a hint of metafiction.

Many Informants

What a wealth of fictional historical informants in recent posts:

Minamoto

Hloch

Vance Hall

Noah Arkwright

Urwain

Le Matelot

- but there are many more such Technic Historians, e.g.:

an unnamed narrator is present when van Rijn solves the problem of the planet Cain which is recounted to him by the narrator's friend's son and the son's ensign;

Donvar Ayeghen, President of the Galactic Archaeological Society, introduces Admiral John Henry Reeves' account of Manuel Argos, Founder of the Terran Empire.

The following examples are all in Hloch's Earth Book Of Stormgate:

Maeve Downey's autobiography, Far Adventure, describes Aram Turekian's discovery on Ythri;

Peter Berg meets an unnamed narrator/letter writer on Lucifer and confides in him about his experience with Ythrians on Gray/Avalon;

James Ching's journal includes an early account of Adzel;

two chapters of AA Craig's Tales Of The Great Frontier inform us about van Rijn on Earth and in space and about Jack Birnam on Avalon;

three of Judith Dalmady/Lundgren's stories originally published in the Avalonian periodical, Morgana, inform us about her father's interview with his employer, van Rijn, concerning his work on Suleiman, about Falkayn's grandson's experience with Ythrians on Avaloin and about other merchants on Ivanhoe;

a historical novelist describes van Rijn's struggle to survive on Diomedes;

three narratives specially written for the Earth Book by Christopher Holm/Arinnian, including one co-written by Hloch, inform us about van Rijn's first trader team (Falkayn, Adzel and Chee Lan) on Merseia and Tametha, about van Rijn and the team at Mirkheim and about unscrupulous traders on Trillia and Paradox.

Fictional Historiography

Complicated fictional historiography reaches a crescendo at the mid-point of The Technic Civilization Saga, Volume III, Rise Of The Terran Empire. First, Hloch of the Stormgate Choth on Avalon introduces Judith Dalmady/Lundgren's account of David Falkayn's grandson, Nathaniel. Next, Hloch introduces A.A. Craig's account of Jack Birnam who, incidentally, converses with an ancestor of Daniel and Christopher Holm. Then Hloch closes The Earth Book Of Stormgate whereupon Donvar Ayeghen, President of the Galactic Archaeological Society, introduces Rear Admiral John Henry Reeves' account of Manuel Argos, Founder of that Terran Empire that was later defended by Dominic Flandry. The texts incorporate successive layers of narrative. Whereas Ayeghen's introduction was part of the Manuel Argos story, "The Star Plunderer," when originally published, Hloch's introductions and afterword were newly composed when these and other stories were collected in the Earth Book. Because the Technic History was not planned as a whole, there is unfortunately no such complicated historiography for its Imperial and post-Imperial periods but it remains a richer future history series than any other.

League And Ythrians

The Polesotechnic League period of Poul Anderson's Technic History not only is followed by the Troubles and the Terran Empire period but also is encompassed by the history of human-Ythrian interactions:

two of the three pre-Polesotechnic League instalments are about early contacts with Ythrians;

the concluding League novel is followed by three instalments about further human-Ythrian interactions, interrupted by two about the founding and early expansion of the Terran Empire;

half of the twenty four instalments collected in The Technic Civilization Saga, Volumes I-III, including eight about the League, were previously collected in The Earth Book Of Stormgate and therefore are introduced and afterworded by the Ythrian, Hloch of the Stormgate Choth on Avalon.

Thus, the Earth Book, the concluding volume of the first part of the Technic History, integrates the League and Ythrian histories. Introductions in the Saga are fictitiously written either by Hloch or by diverse human commentators. Thus, Hloch closes the Earth Book with A.A. Craig's account of an event on Avalon and is immediately followed by Donvar Ayeghen, President of the Archaeological Society, introducing Rear Admiral John Henry Reeves' account of Manuel Argos, Founder of the Terran Empire: a rich historiography, including some indications of what is to come although even the Terran Empire is not the end of the story. 

This Corner Of The Galaxy

"Margin of Profit." (here)

Consider the precise wording of this sentence:

"This tiny, outlying corner of the galaxy which Technic civilization has slightly explored is that big and various." (p.149)

Then consider a slight revision:

"The tiny, outlying corner of the galaxy which Technic civilization had slightly explored was that big and various."

In Poul Anderson's wording, the narrator places himself in this volume of space and at this time when it has been explored. The revised wording would relegate him to the role of the omniscient narrator who is not located at any place and time. Later in the Technic History, mankind will occupy a vaster spatial volume but our present narrator is not aware of that.

The text of the story does not identify its narrator. However, Hloch's Earth Book Introduction to this story informs us that he is A.A. Craig, author of Tales Of The Great Frontier. Later, when introducing a second story by Craig, Hloch informs us that that author had travelled widely gathering material for historical narratives during a pause in the Troubles, thus after the League but before the Empire.

The Earth Book Of Stormgate immensely enriches the Technic History.

What Hloch Does

Again, let's be clear about how much Hloch does and does not do. Of course it is Jim Ching who tells us that he is presenting his first person account of his dealings with Adzel and that Adzel helped him to become a spaceman. However, it is Hloch who adds that:

Jim wrote reminiscences throughout his life;

he settled in Carawrayannis on Llynathawr;

his descendants kept his notebooks;

they made them available to Rennhi.

Thus, the resources available to Hloch when compiling The Earth Book of Stormgate included Rennhi's copies of Jim's notebooks. "How To Be Ethnic In One Easy Lesson" is an excerpt from an early notebook. We would have known nothing of Jim Ching's life after his single story if not for Hloch's much later written introduction to it.

By contrast, "Margin of Profit," the earliest published van Rijn story but collected later in the Earth Book, is a third person account by an omniscient narrator. It is only Hloch that informs us that this story is an excerpt from Tales of the Great Frontier by A. A. Craig. Hloch states that folk tales of van Rijn exist on many inhabited planets and that there are also many accounts of him in Library Central on Avalon although such accounts are no longer widely read because Avalonians focus instead on their Founder, David Falkayn. It seems then that, for this particular inclusion in the Earth Book, Hloch needed only to lift a text directly from Library Central whereas some of the other instalments, like "Lodestar," required considerable research.

The rationale for including three stories specifically about Nicholas van Rijn is as follows. Falkayn founded Avalon. Van Rijn had been Falkayn's mentor. Therefore, to understand their Founder, Avalonians need to be informed about van Rijn. In real life, Poul Anderson was collecting most of the remaining Technic History stories and Hloch's placing of these stories in the context of the founding of Avalon was an excellent framing device that qualitatively enriches the History.

Narrative Layers

There are multiple layers of narration in Poul Anderson's The Earth Book of Stormgate. 

In the opening story, the first person narrator, having remained in orbit, presents a third person account of the activities of the landing party on the surface of Ythri. Thus, she is not the viewpoint character. Next, immediately after the text of the story, Hloch names her as Maeve Downey, planetologist. This is an addition to the story as originally published.

In the second story, "The Problem of Pain," an unnamed first person narrator recounts his conversations with Peter Berg on the planet Lucifer. Berg begins to describe his earlier experiences on the planet Gray/Avalon. However, with the change of scene from Lucifer to Avalon, we read a third person account of Berg's experiences. The story returns us to the unnamed first person at the end. Then, after the end, the Earth Book returns us to Hloch who next introduces Jim Ching's first person account of his dealings with Adzel, then A. A. Craig's third person account of Nicholas van Rijn.

Rich, complicated and worthy of multiple rereadings.

What Is New In The Earth Book?

In Poul Anderson's The Earth Book of Stormgate, how much history does the editor Hloch himself impart? On Earth Real. all twelve Earth Book instalments had been published previously. Thus, in our reality, only Hloch's contributions are new. In the Technic History, however, only seven of the instalments had been published previously:

"Wings of Victory" in Far Adventure by Maeve Downey;

"Esau," "The Season of Forgiveness" and "Wingless" by Judith Dalmady/Lundgren, all published in the Avalonian periodical, Morgana;

"Margin of Profit" and "Rescue on Avalon" in Tales of the Great Frontier by A.A. Craig;

The Man Who Counts, a historical novel originally published on either Terra or Hermes.

By contrast 

"The Problem of Pain" was part of a private correspondence preserved in the University of Fleurville on Esperance;

"How To Be Ethnic In One Easy Lesson" was part of the private reminiscences of James Ching;

"A Little Knowledge," "Day of Burning" and "Lodestar" were specially written for the Earth Book, the latter two co-written by the editor.

Multiple Authors And Editors

The Technic Civilization Saga, Volume III, Rise of the Terran Empire, opens with Mirkheim and closes with The People of the Wind. Neither novel is introduced although their contents definitely locate them within Poul Anderson's Technic History. Between the two novels are four short stories, the first and second introduced by Hloch, Compiler of The Earth Book of Stormgate, the third and fourth by future scholars.

Hloch introduces one story written by Judith Dalmady/Lundgren for the periodical, Morgana, and a second by A.A. Craig in his Tales of the Great Frontier.

Donvar Ayeghen, President of the Galactic Archaeological Society, introduces an extract from the Memoirs of Rear Admiral John Henry Reeves, Imperial Solar Navy. Michael Karageorge, a contemporary of Ayeghen, introduces an anonymous document of dubious authenticity. (Behind Karageorge is not Poul Anderson but Hank Davis, Compiler of The Technic Civilization Saga!)

My only point here is that this is a very persuasive volume of future history with multiple authors, editors and perspectives. It could not possibly have been written as a unity but instead grew organically together with the rest of the Technic History. The fictional future historiography reaches its peak and pinnacle in this pivotal volume.

What Hloch Tells Us

Although James Ching and Emil Dalmady each appear in only a single instalment of Poul Anderson's Technic History, the Earth Book Editor, Hloch, tells us more about their later lives and their descendants. It is also Hloch who informs us that:

Tales of the Great Frontier by A.A. Craig is the source for "Margin of Profit," introducing Nicholas van Rijn, and for "Rescue on Avalon" about the settlement of Avalon;

records moved from Terra to Hermes are the source for "Day of Burning," about Falkayn on Merseia, and for "Lodestar," about van Rijn at Mirkheim;

The Man Who Counts, about van Rijn on Diomedes, was published as a historical novel on either Terra or Hermes;

the narrator of "Wings of Victory," about first contact with Ythri, was a planetologist named Maeve Downey;

a private correspondence recorded on Terra and transcribed into the archives of the University of Fleurville on Esperance is the source for "The Problem of Pain" about the Ythrian New Faith;

Arinnian of Stormgate Choth, whose human name is Christopher Holm (and who married Tabitha Falkayn), is a co-author of the Earth Book;

the same Grand Survey expedition discovered both Ythri and Avalon.

Think how much poorer the Technic History would be without Hloch's contributions.

Future Historical Sources

Reading history is a good complement to reading a future history series. Historical sources include periodicals, newspapers, journals, memoirs, reports etc whereas a future historian has no such sources outside his own imagination although Poul Anderson successfully fakes them in his Technic History:

Francis Minamoto, Apollo University, Leyburg, Luna, 2057;

Far Adventure, the autobiography of the planetologist, Maeve Downey;

the archives on the University of Fleurville on Esperance;

Tales of the Great Frontier by A.A. Craig;

James Ching's notebooks;

Vance Hall, Commentaries on the Philosophy of Noah Arkwright;

Noah Arkwright, An Introduction to Sophontology;

stories by Judith Dalmady/Lundgren published in the Avalonian periodical, Morgana;

a historical novel about Nicholas van Rijn;

Le Matelot;

the diary of Urwain the Wide-Faring;

data units transferred from the Solar System to the care of the Hermetian Grand Ducal house by van Rijn and Falkayn;

the xenologist, Fluoch of the Mistwood Choth;

the ship's log of the Ythrian spaceship, Gaiian;

letters from Coya Conyon to David Falkayn;

the private journal of Hirharouk of the Wryfields Choth, Captain of the Gaiian;

the Memoirs of Rear Admiral John Henry Reeves, Imperial Solar Navy;

the Galactic Archaeological Society;

Pilot's Manual and Ephemeris, Cis-Betelgeusean Orionis Sectot, 53rd rd., Reel III, frame 28;

Andrei Semich, Dennitzan poet;

an unattributed quotation about Chistopher Wren.

This list shows that such sources become sparser as the Technic History proceeds.

Addendum: See the combox for some further sources.

Historical Authenticity

 

At the mid-point of The Technic Civilization Saga, Volume III, Rise Of The Terran Empire -

"Rescue on Avalon" is:

about Jack Birnam;

narrated in the third person;

written by A.A. Craig in his Tales Of The Great Frontier;

introduced by Hloch in The Earth Book Of Stormgate -

 

"The Star Planderer" is:

about Manuel Argos;

narrated in the first person by John Henry Reeves;

written either by Reeves or by a historical novelist in a document entitled Reeves' Memoirs;

introduced by Donvar Ayeghen, President of the Galactic Archaeological Society.

When originally published, "Rescue on Avalon" was not accompanied by Hloch's introduction which is our only source of information about authorship whereas "The Star Plunderer" was always introduced by Ayeghen who also discusses authorship. Hloch assures us that, although Craig's account is fictionalized, it is substantially accurate. Ayeghen reminds us that, even if the Memoirs are historical fiction, their author lived through that period and tried to give a true picture of Argos.

These layers of interpretation generate the impression of reading an authentic history.

The Holms II

"Rescue on Avalon."

See The Holms.

(ii) The Earth Book Of Stormgate comes after The People Of the Wind which features Daniel and Christopher Holm, father and son. Also, earlier in the Earth Book, the introduction to "A Little Knowledge" informs us that this story was written by:

"Arinnian of Stormgate, whose human name is Christopher Holm..."

-Poul Anderson, The Earth Book Of Stormgate (New York, 1978), p. 291.

 

Then the introductions to "Day of Burning" and to "Lodestar" inform us that these stories were written by Hloch and Arinnian.

 

(iii) In The Technic Civilization Saga, The People Of The Wind comes after "Rescue on Avalon" but the other three stories still precede it.

 

Thus, in both (i) and (ii), Ivar Holm's surname should resonate when it shows up in "Rescue on Avalon." He is an ancestor of Daniel and Christopher.

 

In this and other recent posts, we have identified the authorship of nine of the twelve works collected in the Earth Book:

 

three are by Judith Lundgren;

two by A.A. Craig;

one by James Ching;

one by Arinnian;

two by Hloch and Arinnian.

Multiple Layers

The Earth Book Of Stormgate adds several layers to Poul Anderson's History of Technic Civilization.

First, the compilation of the Earth Book is itself an event in the History, occurring shortly after the Terran War on Avalon.

Secondly, the Earth Book itself informs us that it is a sequel to The Sky Book Of Stormgate. The Sky Book, which we never read, is about Ythrians whereas the Earth Book is about human beings, sometimes interacting with Ythrians.

Thirdly, before each story, we read the editor Hloch's introduction to it.

Fourthly, Hloch informs us about the authors of the individual stories: Judith Lundgren, A.A. Craig etc. James Ching narrates "How To Be Ethnic In One Easy Lesson" but Hloch informs us about Ching's later life and how his journal became accessible to the compilers of the Earth Book.

The inclusion of the Earth Book greatly enriches the Technic History.

...On Avalon

The Earth Book Of Stormgate concludes with two juvenile "...on Avalon" short stories:

"Wingless," originally "Wingless on Avalon"

"Rescue on Avalon"

 

"Wingless" is written by Judith Lundgren who also wrote "Esau" and "The Season of Forgiveness" whereas "Rescue..." is written by A.A. Craig who also wrote "Margin of Profit." Thus, these two authors contribute five of the twelve installments collected in the Earth Book. 

 

In "Wingless," two pages of summarized background information precede Nat Falkayn's pov, as Nat watches a young Ythrian swing aloft, whereas "Rescue..." proceeds directly to Jack Birnam's pov:

 

"The Ythrian passed overhead in splendor."

-Poul Anderson, "Rescue on Avalon" IN Anderson, Rise Of The Terran Empire (Riverdale, NY, 2011), pp. 307-323 AT p. 309.

 

(Both about Ythrians, then.) 

 

Jack has to acknowledge that an Ythrian in flight is beautiful - although we gather that he has some problem with them. In both stories, a minor conflict is resolved.

Heightened Surveillance And Literary Gods

 

Harvest Of Stars, 22.

The characters devise an elaborate plan to smuggle the authentic download Guthrie off Earth despite all the heightened surveillance aimed specifically at apprehending him. I hope that the narrative moves on soon.  A confrontation in space between Guthrie and anti-Guthrie will be of interest.

Familiar names, Winston P. Sanders and A.A. Craig, show up.

Valencia inputs a false message:

"How deftly Valencia stroked the keys. His head might have been a young Hermes' - no, a Pan's, or a Lucifer's - leaning intent above a mischief from which would be born music." (p. 211)

Gods remain important in imagination and art. Three appear here. Hermes is the viewpoint character of Poul and Karen Anderson's "A Feast for the Gods." Lucretius invokes Venus at the beginning of a philosophical poem which argues that the gods do not intervene in human affairs. The Lusiads involves the Olympians in its epic narrative. Poul Anderson's Hugh Valland helps a child to imagine and invoke Thor in a high tech future.

The Saga, Volume III

The Technic Civilization Saga, Volume III, Rise Of The Terran Empire, collects six works, only three falling before the Afterword to the Earth Book and only two of those from the Earth Book itself. "Wingless," about David Falkayn's grandson and set during the colonization of the Hesperian Islands on Avalon, is written by Judith Dalmady/Lundgren whereas "Rescue on Avalon," which features an ancestor of Christopher Holm/Arinnian and is set during the colonization of the Coronan continent, is written by A. A. Craig. These two short stories, concluding the Earth Book, are preceded by Mirkheim, the last van Rijn/Falkayn/trader team novel, which has no introduction.

Hloch's Afterword to the Earth Book is immediately followed by Donvar Ayeghen's Introduction to "The Star Plunderer." Hloch completes the story of the Polesotechnic League. Ayeghen is the President of a much later Galactic Archeological Society. "The Star Plunderer" is about Manuel Argos, the Founder of the Terran Empire, which Ayeghen calls the First Empire. Thus, we have now reached the major turning point of the Technic History. Hloch lives in the period of the Terran Empire but collects stories from pre-Imperial periods. As such, he is a transitional character.

A.A. Craig

The fourth work collected in The Van Rijn Method is the first Nicholas van Rijn story, "Margin of Profit." Hloch informs his readers that he has taken this story from Tales of the Great Frontier by A. A. Craig. I take this to mean that "Margin of Profit" is to be understood as a work of historical fiction within the Technic History. 

Hloch's Introduction to his last Earth Book story tells us more about Craig:

"For his last chapter, Hloch returns to A. A. Craig's Tales of the Great Frontier. The author was a Terran who traveled widely, gathering material for his historical narratives, during a pause in the Troubles, several lifetimes after the World-Taking."

-Poul Anderson, "Rescue on Avalon" IN Anderson, Rise Of The Terran Empire (Riverdale, NY, 2011), pp. 307-322 AT p. 307.

Hloch again summarizes Technic History. The Troubles fell between the Commonwealth/League period and the Terran Empire. (Hloch, living and writing in the Imperial period, knows nothing of the Long Night or the subsequent civilizations.)

 

Although Craig's published works are historical narratives or fictions, the material that he gathered comprises data that could be used by subsequent historians.

Historical Fictions Within A Future History

In Poul Anderson's Technic History:

The Man Who Counts is a historical novel originally published either on Terra or on Hermes with different authors' names given;

"Margin of Profit" and "Rescue on Avalon" are stories taken from A.A. Craig's Tales of the Great Frontier;

"Esau," The Season of Forgiveness" and "Wingless" are stories written by Judith Dalmady/Lundgren for the Avalonian periodical, Morgana;

"A Little Knowledge" was specially written for the Earth Book by Christopher Holm;

"Day of Burning" and "Lodestar" were specially written by Holm and Hloch;

"The Star Plunderer" is possibly and "Sargasso of Lost Starships" is probably historical fiction.

Most of these accounts are believed to be based on fact but Poul Anderson would have been free to write other accounts contradicting them in their details. Maybe there was not really a John Henry Reeves who had known Manuel Argos - and so on.