A recent thread mentioned the "Foundation" character Arkady Darell.
That brought to mind Jean Morrel in A.C. Clarke's "Childhood's
End." Both women are instrumental in locating the home bases of
totalitarian powers that orchestrate events. (Their names even
have a similar ring: Darell/Morrel.) This raises the question:
Is there anyplace else in SF literature besides Asimov and
Clarke that feature remote, vaguely-defined powerful entities the
sussing out of which are a preoccupation of some of the characters?
I guess this could be considered a subset of stories that
feature any type of decoding of mysteries.
In article <pan$16a67$e390fcd6$c09f2302$[email protected]>,
Charles Packer <[email protected]> wrote:
A recent thread mentioned the "Foundation" character Arkady Darell.
That brought to mind Jean Morrel in A.C. Clarke's "Childhood's
End." Both women are instrumental in locating the home bases of >>totalitarian powers that orchestrate events. (Their names even
have a similar ring: Darell/Morrel.) This raises the question:
Is there anyplace else in SF literature besides Asimov and
Clarke that feature remote, vaguely-defined powerful entities the
sussing out of which are a preoccupation of some of the characters?
I guess this could be considered a subset of stories that
feature any type of decoding of mysteries.
There was Chap Fooey Rider who sussed out the existence of the
Galactic Postal Union in Hayford Peirce's "Mail Supremacy".
On 11/06/2025 02.58, Charles Packer wrote:
A recent thread mentioned the "Foundation" character Arkady Darell.
That brought to mind Jean Morrel in A.C. Clarke's "Childhood's End."
Both women are instrumental in locating the home bases of totalitarian
powers that orchestrate events. (Their names even have a similar ring:
Darell/Morrel.) This raises the question:
Is there anyplace else in SF literature besides Asimov and Clarke that
feature remote, vaguely-defined powerful entities the sussing out of
which are a preoccupation of some of the characters?
I guess this could be considered a subset of stories that feature any
type of decoding of mysteries.
Michael Flynn features an organization similar to the Second Foundation
in _In the Country of the Blind_[1], which I quite enjoyed.
A couple of differences:
- They're based in San Francisco rather than on Genagbe - Their
mathematical modeling technique was developed at about the time
of the Glorious Slaveholders' Revolt, not in the far future.
- They turn out to be "a bumbling, babbling band of baboons", with
constant infighting and bickering.
[1] <https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?18017>
That happens a lot! In the "Star Wars" prequels
there are The Sith, and in "Star Trek" there's
"The Preservers", aliens who amused themselves
by transplanting people and cultures from Earth
onto other planets - which is why, as I'm told
one British viewer pointed out, the Starship
Enterprise goes "where no man has gone before"
but finds some other people are already there.
On Wed, 11 Jun 2025 13:25:36 +0100, Robert Carnegie
<[email protected]> wrote:
That happens a lot! In the "Star Wars" prequels
there are The Sith, and in "Star Trek" there's
"The Preservers", aliens who amused themselves
by transplanting people and cultures from Earth
onto other planets - which is why, as I'm told
one British viewer pointed out, the Starship
Enterprise goes "where no man has gone before"
but finds some other people are already there.
Well let's face it - who would watch Star Trek if they knew each
episode would involve James T Kirk getting it on with "women" with 8
arms and legs? Or for that matter with a partner not "reasonably hawt"
Do you REALLY want to see Kirk getting it on with a Horta?
On Wed, 11 Jun 2025 13:25:36 +0100, Robert Carnegie
<[email protected]> wrote:
That happens a lot! In the "Star Wars" prequels
there are The Sith, and in "Star Trek" there's
"The Preservers", aliens who amused themselves
by transplanting people and cultures from Earth
onto other planets - which is why, as I'm told
one British viewer pointed out, the Starship
Enterprise goes "where no man has gone before"
but finds some other people are already there.
Well let's face it - who would watch Star Trek if they knew each
episode would involve James T Kirk getting it on with "women" with 8
arms and legs? Or for that matter with a partner not "reasonably hawt"
Do you REALLY want to see Kirk getting it on with a Horta?
On Wed, 11 Jun 2025 13:25:36 +0100, Robert Carnegie
<[email protected]> wrote:
That happens a lot! In the "Star Wars" prequels
there are The Sith, and in "Star Trek" there's
"The Preservers", aliens who amused themselves
by transplanting people and cultures from Earth
onto other planets - which is why, as I'm told
one British viewer pointed out, the Starship
Enterprise goes "where no man has gone before"
but finds some other people are already there.
Well let's face it - who would watch Star Trek if they knew each
episode would involve James T Kirk getting it on with "women" with 8
arms and legs? Or for that matter with a partner not "reasonably hawt"
Do you REALLY want to see Kirk getting it on with a Horta?
Well let's face it - who would watch Star Trek if they knew each
episode would involve James T Kirk getting it on with "women" with 8
arms and legs? Or for that matter with a partner not "reasonably hawt"
Do you REALLY want to see Kirk getting it on with a Horta?
Well let's face it - who would watch Star Trek if they knew each
episode would involve James T Kirk getting it on with "women" with 8
arms and legs? Or for that matter with a partner not "reasonably hawt"
Do you REALLY want to see Kirk getting it on with a Horta?
Hoeta?
On 9 Jul 2025 17:35:16 GMT, [email protected] (Ted Nolan <tednolan>)
wrote:
Well let's face it - who would watch Star Trek if they knew each
episode would involve James T Kirk getting it on with "women" with 8
arms and legs? Or for that matter with a partner not "reasonably hawt"
Do you REALLY want to see Kirk getting it on with a Horta?
Hoeta?
No - Horta - from "The Devil in the Dark" which IIRC was one of the
last episodes of Season one in Star Trek. It was a silicon based
creature which wrecked havok for the Enterprise till Kirk and Spock
figured out what it wanted and saved the day. (Sound familiar?)
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