AA Craig

In our timeline, AA Craig was a pen-name for Poul Anderson. In the Technic History timeline, AA Craig:

"...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, The Earth Book Of Stormgate (New York, 1979), p. 421.

Where Ythrians say, "...the World-Taking...," Terrans would say "...the colonization of Avalon."

Jack Birnam, when twenty four Avalonian years old, seventeen Terran, rescued and befriended the Wyvan of Stormgate. When aged, he recounted this story to Craig, who was then visiting Avalon. Craig later wrote a fictionalized account in his Tales of the Great Frontier. This story, "Rescue on Avalon," and another from the Tales, about Nicholas van Rijn, were included in The Earth Book Of Stormgate.

Of the twelve works collected in the Earth Book:

Craig wrote two;
Judith Dalmady/Lundgren wrote three;
James Ching wrote one;
Peter Berg's colleague on Lucifer wrote one;
Christopher Holm/Arinnian of Stormgate wrote one;
Arinnian and Hloch together wrote two;
Maeve Downey, planetologist on Gray's Grand Survey ship, the Olga, wrote one;
one is of uncertain authorship.

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.

Hloch And A.A. Craig

Hloch's The Earth Book Of Stormgate and A.A. Craig's Tales Of The Great Frontier are two volumes of narratives collected for different purposes. Hloch, tracing the origins of the Stormgate Choth on Avalon, gathers twelve accounts, beginning with the Discovery, i.e., the first contact between human beings and Ythrians, and ending with the colonization of the Coronan continent on Avalon. Thus, the Earth Book covers a historical period of several centuries.

Craig, writing earlier, during the Troubles, traveled widely to gather material for historical narratives about the galactic frontier where Avalon and many other planets are located. We do not know how many narratives Craig's Tales contains but we do know that the Earth Book borrows from the Tales:

"Margin of Profit," because this story describes military action on a spatial frontier by Nicholas van Rijn, mentor of David Falkayn, Founder of the Avalonian colony;

"Rescue on Avalon," which is Hloch's concluding account of Coronan colonization.

The Earth Book follows The Sky Book Of Stormgate, which we do not read, and overlaps by two stories with Craig's Tales, which we would also like to read. Poul Anderson conveys the sense that there is always more than he is able to tell us.

Historical Background Details III

Call Me Joe has arrived but meanwhile I have become re-engrossed in the History of Technic Civilization.

Of the twelve works collected in Poul Anderson's The Earth Book Of Stormgate (New York, 1979), we have so far attributed:

one to James Ching;
one to Arinnian/Christopher Holm;
two to Hloch and Arinnian;
three to Judith Lundgren -

- but what of the remaining five?

Both "Margin of Profit" and "Rescue on Avalon" are taken from Tales Of The Great Frontier by AA Craig, a Terran writer of historical fiction who traveled widely and visited Avalon during a pause in the Troubles. AA Craig was a pulp pen name of Poul Anderson. Stories that are science fiction by Poul Anderson are historical fiction by AA Craig. May these authors meet in the trans-temporal Inn.

"The Man Who Counts" is a novel, a "...full sky-dance portraying Nicholas van Rijn..." (p. 146), originally published on either Terra or Hermes, with different authors and dates cited. We also know of another title, War Of The Wing Men.

"Wings of Victory," describing the Discovery - human-Ythrian First Contact - and therefore opening the book, is taken directly from "...Far Adventure by Maeve Downey, the autobiography of a planetologist." (p. 23)

The genesis of "The Problem of Pain" is more complicated:

Peter Berg, a Christian from Aeneas, explored Gray, later renamed Avalon, with Ythrians;
later, he described this experience to a colleague on Lucifer;
that colleague recounted his conversations with Berg in private correspondence long preserved by the recipient's heirs on Terra;
a visiting historian transcribed a copy of the recorded correspondence;
the copy was preserved in the archives of the University of Fleurville on Esperance;
Rennhi of Stormgate Choth on Avalon acquired the account for her Earth Book.

At least six planets interact here: Aeneas, Ythri, Gray/Avalon, Lucifer, Terra, Esperance.

We know from The Day Of Their Return that religious feelings ran deep on Aeneas and that a new Jihad almost began there.

Berg divides the evolution of religion into three stages:

primitive faiths - the gods are power;
higher faiths - God is justice;
the highest faith(s) - God is love.

But then he meets the Ythrians for whom God is the Hunter.

Hloch's Sources VI

In "Who Knows Of Avalon?" (here), I reread Poul Anderson's The People Of The Wind in order to summarize not the plot but the background information about the planet Avalon, which turned out to be a narrative in its own right. Similarly, rereading not the stories but just the interstitial passages in Anderson's The Earth Book Of Stormgate reveals an entire behind-the-scenes history of people and events. We learn more about James Ching, Emil Dalmady and Christopher Holm, meet Dalmady's daughter and learn about pre-Troubles precautions taken by van Rijn and Falkayn.

"Lodestar"
The records on Hermes contained a ship's log, taped conversations, data lists etc for van Rijn's journey to Mirkheim. Having identified the vessel and its captain, Rennhi contacted Wryfields Choth on Ythri. The Wyvan, Stirrok, located Captain Hirharouk's private journal and Hirharouk's descendants allowed it to be read. Hloch and Arinnian composed the narrative, "Lodestar."

"Wingless"
This story, about David Falkayn's grandson on Avalon, was "...the last that Judith Dalmedy/Lundgren wrote for Morgana." (p. 410) (For full reference, see here.) Hloch tells us that "...she was then in her high old age..." but that "...the memories upon which she was drawing were fresh." (ibid.) Presumably, these were the memories of Nat Falkayn.

"Rescue on Avalon"
A.A. Craig was a Terran who traveled widely, gathering material for historical narratives, during a pause in the Troubles. While on Avalon, he heard from an elderly man of an incident in that man's youth. Craig wrote a fictionalized but nevertheless "...substantially accurate..." (p. 421) account in his Tales Of The Great Frontier.

Old age and memories of youth are an emergent theme. The published authors whose works are reproduced by Hloch are:

Maeve Downey;
A.A. Craig (2);
Judith Dalmady/Lundgren (3) -

- and we are also told that Christopher Holm has translated several works from Planha into Anglic.

The Earth Book And The Saga

I have in my possession copies of:

The Earth Book Of Stormgate (see image);
The Technic Civilization Saga in seven volumes.

The former collects twelve works with new introductions and an afterword. The latter collects the entire History of Technic Civilization, including the entire contents of the Earth Book interspersed with other installments of the History in their fictional chronological order. So the Saga renders the Earth Book redundant and the latter will not be reissued as a separate volume?

Nevertheless, I find it helpful to possess both versions. If we want to consult the Earth Book introductions, then it is easier to find them in the single volume. These introductions inform us that:

A.A. Craig wrote two of the works collected in the Earth Book for his Tales Of The Great Frontier;
Judith Lundren wrote three for the Avalonian periodical, Morgana;
Arinnian wrote one directly for the Earth Book;
Hloch, the Earth Book editor, and Arinnian co-wrote two.

Thus, these four authors account for eight of the twelve chapters of the Earth Book. It was much easier to confirm this by consulting a single volume. See also AA Craig.

A Title Change Explained

"Wingless on Avalon"/"Wingless"
Poul Anderson wrote "Wingless on Avalon" for the original anthology, Children Of Infinity, edited by Roger Elwood.

Judith Dalmady/Lundgren wrote "Wingless," with the same text as Anderson's story, for the Avalonian periodical, Morgana.

Hloch of Stormgate Choth on Avalon collected "Wingless" in The Earth Book Of Stormgate with an explanatory introduction.

Hank Davis collected the entire contents of The Earth Book, including Hloch's introductions, in The Technic Civilization Saga.

"Rescue on Avalon"
Poul Anderson wrote "Rescue on Avalon" for Boys' Life.

A.A. Craig wrote "Rescue on Avalon," with the same text as Anderson's story, for his Tales Of The Great Frontier.

Hloch and Hank did as above.

This explains something: Judith Lundgren wrote on Avalon so she did not need the title, "Wingless on Avalon," whereas A.A. Craig wrote off Avalon so he did need the title, "Rescue on Avalon."

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.

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.

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.

Van Rijn And The Universe II

"Margin of Profit."

I said here that we share van Rijn's pov twice when he is alone. This was true but misleading. The entire voyage of the Mercury is recounted from van Rijn's pov, including both conversations with other characters and his EVA repair job. During the latter, he is indeed alone with the universe:

"Emerging on the hull, he was surrounded by a darkness-whitening starblaze." (p. 94)

If he is thrown off the ship and beyond the hyperdrive field, then:

"Infinity was a long ways to fall." (ibid.)

In fact:

"...that lunge nearly tossed him off into God's great icebox!" (p. 95)

Before that, van Rijn and Torres were on the bridge while:

"The visuals showed Petrovich and Seiichi in the engine room..." (p. 90)

We think: Kirk and Spock on the bridge with Scotty in the engine room. Star Trek has embedded itself in the collective consciousness - or has a lot to answer for, whichever you prefer.

Hloch says that this story is "Maychance the best introduction..." (p. 69) to van Rijn. It is, because it was the first. Also, it was not included, but was quoted, in Trader To The Stars. Thus, it gained a special status as an earlier van Rijn story that some of us had not read yet. It is also fitting that Hloch tells us that he found the story in Tales Of The Great Frontier by A.A. Craig.

Scotha

Planet Stories, January 1951, contained:

"Witch of the Demon Seas" by A.A. Craig (Poul Anderson);

"Tiger by the Tail" by Poul Anderson.

The cover (see image) advertises the first of these two works, then adds "Also POUL ANDERSON"

In the revised text of "Tiger by the Tail," the barbarian, but newly industrialized, terrestroid planet, Scotha, sounds quaint:

modern industry, moved into space, has not been allowed to pollute the planetary environment;

there is no poisoned soil or polluted air or water;

there are no mines, highways or megalopolises;

population has been controlled;

there is extra-planetary colonization in artificial environments and in other systems;

there are three billion Scothani, two thirds off Scotha;

three small moons make the seas turbulent;

observing through instruments while approaching from space, Flandry sees -

green, in different shades from Terra;
broad forests;
rich plains, cultivated or grazed;
picturesque old villages;
steep-walled castles;
gleaming rivers and snow-peaks;
skies thronged with wings;
occasionally glimpsed sleek industrial buildings;
new towers in cities;
air traffic;
the ancient many-bannered stronghold of the Frithian kings on the peak of a mountain where a city now sprawls down the slopes and for kilometers beyond.

War-Maid Of Mars

Right now I am accessing an ebook that is enabling me to read for the first time "War-Maid of Mars" by AA Craig (Poul Anderson), than which there could not be a more ERBian title. (Compare Burroughs' Warlord Of Mars and Thuvia, Maid Of Mars.)

The ERBianism of the title leads the reader to expect Sword and Science, the sf equivalent of the fantasy sub-genre, Sword and Sorcery. However, the story so far is more like Anderson's Shield. Our hero, with an artifact embodying a dangerous new technology in his possession, is on the run from totalitarian conspirators and security men on a future Earth which has world government, regular rocket flights, interplanetary travel and routine contact with natives of Mars and Venus. This sounds familiar: Golden Age sf, though not ERBian. I still do not see where the Maid is coming from.

However, I really must read more of this pulp story before I post any more about it. I will also be reading and posting about a few other uncollected works by Anderson, which will make a change from revisiting his History of Technic History, although the latter as ever is far from exhausted. In fact, I have yet to finish rereading "Hunters of the Sky Cave."

(Also still reading The Scar by China Mieville. Bizarre. Some well thought out consequences of familiar ideas. One detail that I do not remember noticing anywhere else - this fantasy world's moon has moons.)

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.

Fair Winds Forever

Poul Anderson was able to invent new characters for specific purposes, then invest them with substance. An omnibus collection contains twelve works (eleven stories and one novel) set before, during and after the period of the Polesotechnic League. Another novel, The People of the Wind, is set after this period. From this further novel, Anderson generated a title and interstitial passages for the collection. The People of the Wind is set on the planet Avalon where some humans and Ythrians are organised as the Stormgate Choth so the collection became The Earth Book of Stormgate. The rationale for the title is that the works in the collection present human perspectives on events preceding the founding of the Stormgate Choth on Avalon.

Five of the works feature Ythrians. Of these, four focus explicitly on human-Ythrian relations, three are set on Avalon, two are set after the joint colonisation of Avalon and one is about Falkayn, the founder of the Avalonian colony, and his employer, van Rijn. Of the seven non-Ythrian works, one is about Falkayn, one about his future travelling companion, one about a planet previously visited by Falkayn and three about van Rijn. The one remaining story mentions van Rijn. Thus, all twelve works are connected to each other but not all in ways that link them directly to Avalon. Anderson makes this further connection in the specially written Earth Book introductions to the works.

In "Esau," Emil Dalmady reports to van Rijn. The Earth Book introduction informs us that Dalmady's children joined the Avalonian colony where one of them wrote "Esau." The introductions to two other stories inform us that she also wrote them. Earth Book introductions mention three Stormgate members from The People of the Wind: Lythran, Blawsa and Christopher Holm/Arinnian. They also introduce new characters: the historian Rennhi, who wrote The Sky Book of Stormgate about Ythrian perspectives but who died before she could start the companion volume, the Earth Book, and her son Hloch who wrote the Earth Book. Arinnian wrote one Earth Book story and collaborated with Hloch on two others which were based on Rennhi's decipherment of records left by van Rijn and Falkayn on Falkayn's home planet, Hermes.

Hloch's other sources are:

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

a private correspondence recorded on Terra and kept in the archives of the University of Fleurville on the planet Esperance;

the reminiscences of James Ching, a spaceman who settled on Catawrayannis;

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

stories by Judith Dalmady in the Avalonian periodical Morgana;

a historical novel about van Rijn originally published on either Terra or Hermes;

a tale brought to Ythri by the xenologist Fluoch of Mistwood and translated into Anglic by Arinnian;

the private journal of the spaceship captain Hiraharouk of Wryfields Choth on Ythri.

Hloch writes of Rennhi that her Sky Book, which we do not read, describes the history of the choth, the Ythrian ancestors, the Avalonian founders and their descendants to her own day.

"...of how past and present and future have forever been intermingled and, in living minds, ever begetting each other - of this does her work pursue the truth, and will as long as thought flies over our world." (1)

Thus, Anderson adds significantly to the works gathered in the Earth Book. Hloch signs off with:

"Now The Earth Book of Stormgate is ended. From my tower I see the great white sweep of the snows upon Mount Anrovil. I feel the air blow in and caress my feathers. Yonder sky is calling. I will go.
"Fair winds forever." (2)

(1) Poul Anderson, The Earth Book of Stormgate, New York, 1978, p. 2.
(2) op. cit., p. 434.

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.

Historical Review

I want to pause to review the awesome fictional history that we have recently followed on the blog. It is always possible to focus on fresh details of the Technic History.

David Falkayn was a Master Merchant of the Polesotechnic League and both a protege and a grandson-in-law of the living legend, Nicholas van Rijn.

David and Coya Falkayn led the joint human-Ythrian colonization of the Hesperian Islands on the planet Avalon in the Domain of Ythri.

Their son, Nicholas, traveled from Chartertown on First Island to the Ythrian island of Trauvay/Wingland, there to join the research and development team for the colonization of the Coronan continent.

During the allocation of territories on Corona, the Stormgate Choth received the Andromeda Range which they called the Weathermother and John Birnam saved the life of Ayan, Wyvan of Stormgate.

A.A. Craig, who had previously written a narrative account of Nicholas van Rijn, interviewed Birnam in his old age and fictionalized the story of Birnam's rescue of Ayan as "Rescue on Avalon."

After the Terran War on Avalon, Hloch of Stormgate Choth compiled The Earth Book Of Stormgate, a history of the human-Ythrian interactions that had led to the founding of Stormgate.

The Earth Book included previously untold stories of van Rijn and Falkayn and concluded with "Rescue on Avalon."

In The Technic Civilization Saga, Hloch's Afterword to the Earth Book is immediately followed by Donvar Ayeghen's Introduction to the fifth chapter of the Memoirs of Rear Admiral John Henry Reeves, Imperial Solar Navy.

Reeves describes how Manuel Argos led a slave revolt and proclaimed the Empire of Sol.

The Terran Empire, as it comes to be called, exists in the next seventeen installments of the Technic History.

After that, just four post-Imperial installments complete the History.

In "The Star Plunderer," Argos refers to "'...the decadent Commonwealth government...'" (p. 342) but cannot mention the Polesotechnic League, the Home Companies or the Seven in Space because Anderson created these details later. Reeves speaks as if the characters' actions were on the scale of "'...the Galaxy!'" (p. 357) whereas later-written texts more realistically confine them to the edge of one spiral arm.

From 1973 To 1952

Poul Anderson wrote "The Star Plunderer" as pulp magazine sf in 1952 (see image) and "Rescue on Avalon" as juvenile sf in 1973 (see recent posts), yet, in the fictional chronology of Anderson's Technic History, we turn directly from "Rescue on Avalon" to "The Star Plunderer." A century or two is supposed to have elapsed between the two stories.

Two fictional historians address us between the end of the 1973 story and the beginning of the 1952 story. First, Hloch, editor of The Earth Book Of Stormgate, signs off. Hloch has previously told us that the peripatetic historical writer, A. A. Craig, visiting Avalon during a pause in the Troubles, interviewed the aged Jack Birnam, then wrote "Rescue on Avalon" as an essentially accurate, although fictionalized, account of Jack's rescue of the Ythrian, Ayan. A "fictionalized" account means, e.g., that the conversations were not recorded at the time and have had to be imaginatively reconstructed.

Directly following Hloch, at least as the stories are presented in The Technic Civilization Saga, Donvar Ayeghen of the Galactic Archaeological Society tells us that the Memoirs of Rear Admiral John Henry Reeves, Imperial Solar Navy, might be "...pure fiction..." (Rise Of The Terran Empire, p. 325) But, even in that case, the author lived at the time and tried to present "...a true picture..." (ibid.) of the Imperial Founder who had, like Nicholas van Rijn, become a legend in his lifetime.

We feel that there is a real history of Avalon and the Terran Empire but that, in these installments at least, that history is mediated through fictionalized accounts and is not directly accessible to the reader.

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.

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.