Steam Engine T ime

ERIC RAYMOND DEBATE HEINLEIN’S ‘STAR BEAST’ REVISIONIST VIEW of LE GUIN

Zoran Bekric Ditmar (Dick Jenssen) E. B. Frohvet Bruce Gillespie David J. Lake Yvonne Rousseau David Russell Jan Stinson and many others

Issue 6 August 2007 Steam Engine T ime 6

STEAM ENGINE TIME No. 6, August 2007 is edited and published by Bruce Gillespie, 5 Howard Street, Greensborough VIC 3088, Australia ([email protected]) and Janine Stinson, PO Box 248, Eastlake, MI 49626-0248, USA ([email protected]). Members fwa. First edition is in .PDF file format from http://efanzines.com, or enquire from either of our email addresses. Print edition available for: Subscriptions (Australia: $40, cheques to ‘Gillespie & Cochrane Pty Ltd’; Overseas: $US50 or £20, or equivalent, air- mail; please send folding money, not cheques); Traded fanzines (printed); Review copies; Contributors; or whim. Printed by Copy Place, Basement, 415 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.

Illustrations Ditmar (Dick Jenssen): front cover, and pp. 7, 8; David Russell: back cover, and pp. 21, 29.

Photographs Covers of various books and magazines discussed in this issue; plus photos by Philip Harbottle (p. 3); Jenny Blackford (p. 9); Yvonne Rousseau (pp. 10, 12, 15, 17); Eric Lindsay (p. 11); Jason Von Hollander (p. 27); John Baxter (p. 34).

A big thank you The print edition of Steam Engine Time 5 was made possible by a very generous donation by Dr David J. Lake, Brisbane.

3 EDITORIAL 1: 27 LETTERS OF COMMENT Farewell to Syd – and changes here at SET Darrell Schweitzer Bruce Gillespie Damien Broderick Harry Buerkett 5 EDITORIAL 2: Chris Garcia Afloat on a sea of books Alan Sandercock Jan Stinson Jeff Hamill Greg Egan Martin Morse Wooster THIS ISSUE’S COVER James Doig 7 When will the men return? Julian Warner or, Non-standard spaces Art Widner Ditmar (Dick Jenssen) Sara Creasy Terence M. Green Dora Levakis ERIC RAYMOND DEBATE E. D. Webber Stephen Campbell 9 Critical Mass versus Eric Raymond Jerry Kaufman Yvonne Rousseau Ian Nichols plus the members of Adelaide’s Critical Mass: John Baxter Zoran Bekric, Ian Borchardt, Neil Cooper, Lee Harding Brian Edwards, Jacq Felis, Jeff Harris, Steve Sneyd Adam Jenkins, Roman Orszanski Robert Elordieta Robert Sabella 14 Notes on Yvonne Rousseau’s article Larry Bigman Zoran Bekric E. B. Frohvet Patrick McGuire 15 Why libertarian politics don’t have much to do with SF Steve Jeffrey Zoran Bekric Joseph Nicholas Lloyd Penney Gary Dalkin HEINLEIN JUVENILES Franz Rottensteiner Tony Keen 19 Jurisprudential difficulties in Heinlein’s The Star Beast and many others E. B. Frohvet

REVISIONIST NOTES ON LE GUIN

22 Grouches on Gethen: Improbabilities in The Left Hand of Darkness David Lake 25 Coda: Estraven’s early life David Lake

2 GILLESPIE FANZINES GO ELECTRONIC

Because I cannot afford to continue supporting the cost of printing and posting my magazines from my irregular income, I am changing the distribution pattern from now on. STEAM ENGINE TIME

I will honour all subscriptions paid for paper copies; regular trades for magazines sent by post; regular suppliers of books for review; plus a print copy for each contributor.

All other readers are pointed towards the ‘Bruce Gillespie’ section of http://efanzines.com, where you will find each issue in .PDF format as it appears. If you let me know by email on [email protected], you become an official Downloader. I will email you when each future issue is published. SF COMMENTARY THE METAPHYSICAL REVIEW

The only hope I have of reviving these magazines is to make them available only on efanzines.com. Watch that space.

Editorial by Bruce Gillespie

Farewell to Syd — and changes here at SET

Late last year I received the following address in the country, presumably a email, which passed on a message nursing home. I sent SET 5 there, but from British agent, writer and fan Phil he was probably already too ill to reply Harbottle: ‘It is with profound sorrow to it. that I announce the death of Sydney J. Why notice the death of Syd Bounds. Syd died peacefully in his Bounds when the year has been filled sleep this morning, Saturday 24 with news of the deaths of notable November 2006, after just one night in figures in SF and fandom, especially a hospice, after leaving hospital.’ Syd Arthur Wilson (Bob) Tucker, one of Bounds had just turned 86. He died of my favourite SF writers, and the cancer. mightiest fan of us all (subject of two Few readers or writers in Australia different issues of SF Commentary), Lee will have read Syd Bounds’ many Hoffman, the first and greatest female stories or novels. They appeared fanzine editor (Quandry, Science Fiction mainly in Nebula and New Worlds, the Five Yearly), rich brown, long-time fan- best-known English SF magazines of nish fan, Dick Eney, publisher of the Sydney J. Bounds, 1920–2006. the 1950s and 1960s, or from smaller Fancyclopedia, and Jack Williamson, (Photo: courtesy Philip Harbottle, Cosmos British publishers, such as Robert whose publishing career extended Literary Agency.) Hale, rarely distributed here. I’ve only from the late 1920s until now? (More ever found one of his books in a than any other novel, his The Human- a week of tube-system strikes. After secondhand store. Readers of my oids, read when I was twelve, made me surviving my visit, he was kind magazines, especially SF Commentary, a lifetime SF reader.) enough to keep in touch, often exhort- will have noticed that Syd Bounds I’m paying special attention to Syd ing me to take up fiction writing (hah!), wrote a letter of comment to almost Bounds because of his wonderful and sending a constant stream of news every issue that he received. Because I quality of self-effacement (the rarest about the 1950s–60s British writers did not receive a letter in reply to Steam quality among writers) and the great (such as Ted Tubb and Ken Bulmer) Engine Time 5, I knew something was kindness he offered me when I visited who were still alive. very wrong with him. A year earlier he England in January 1974. Syd actually The death of Syd Bounds has a sym- had written to me that his landlord in let me sleep upstairs in his bed in his bolic importance. He never bought a Kingston-on-Thames, South London, tiny house in Kingston for a week computer. He kept himself solvent by was trying to throw out him and his while he slept on the settee downstairs. writing everything on a portable type- collection. A few months later, Ansible He also provided directions for mak- writer. As I said in an email when he reported that Syd had moved to an ing my way to central London during died: ‘I keep saying that I publish

3 paper copies of my fanzines for people fanzine, Cosmic Cuts. After the war juvenile fiction. like Syd Bounds who are not on the he worked in a factory, and since he In fact, when it comes to fingers net. With Syd gone, the temptation to loathed the job, he began working in pies, Bounds only seriously loses rely purely on the internet for distribu- more seriously as a fiction writer in out in the not-enough-pies for his tion becomes a lot stronger.’ hopes of making a living that way. multi-talented fingers part of the Dave Langford, editor and writer In the ’40s he started writing hard- equation. ‘People think writing is of the monthly newszine Ansible, boiled crime novels and selling not work. But it’s bloody hard work replied: ‘Syd was one of the reasons to ‘spicy’ stories to the pulps, and he if you’re doing it full-time. I used to keep producing the paper Ansible. remained a working writer for the wonder why am I sweating blood There are still a few others, but very rest of his life, producing fiction un- to get a few pounds, when I could few. It’s a wrench each time an old, der at least 24 personal pseudo- walk into a factory job and have it familiar name has to be removed (e.g. nyms. easy? But of course, it’s more inter- Ken Bulmer).’ esting. Even though very few The death of Syd Bounds gives Among those who paid him tribute people make real money out of it.’ strength to my arm in changing the was his agent and friend Phil Har- So which, among his diverse spread distribution of my magazines so that I bottle: of styles, is the most important can afford to keep publishing them. priority now? SF? ‘Well, it was Readers don’t take me seriously when I spoke to Syd to thank him for all when I started,’ he chortles. ‘Now, I say that my real income has been his friendship and literary support my main interest is surviving until dropping steadily since the mid 1990s. over nearly 40 years (he has been a the undertaker calls . . . !’ In 2006–07 I earned about a quarter as cornerstone of my career as an edi- Writing is a solitary vocation. much, in real terms, as I did in 1979–80. tor/writer/agent) and told him of How does he deal with that? ‘You That year was the last time I published all the forthcoming books, and that get used to that, as a writer. Since SF Commentary monthly, ending in he would be remembered etc., etc., my mother died I’ve always been Number 62/63/64/65/66, which was fearing it might be a last conversa- on my own. It doesn’t worry me.’ the last for eight years. (I didn’t earn tion. Syd’s voice was amazingly Now, ‘I’ve finished number seven much in the early eighties.) clear, his memory of the past events in the “Savage” series of Robert I feel that most readers can now I touched on, sharp. I spoke to Mike Hale westerns, for the libraries. I’m download SET, SF Commentary, and at the end of the call and com- just trying to work out some kind of even a long-promised revival of The mented on how well Syd sounded. outline for number eight. But it’s Metaphysical Review, from PDF files on He said that Syd had ‘rallied for the hard going. . . . The books go direct http://efanzines.com. Quite a few call’. Syd himself spoke of getting into the libraries. They don’t pay readers have paid subscriptions to back home and hoped I could rear- much, but the point is you get ensure receiving paper copies of these range my trip to see him after Xmas. something out of PLR (public lend- magazines. I will honour SET sub- I’ve just sold his last western novel, ing right). Plus there’s a chance scriptions, but I plan to revive SFC and Savage Rides West, to Robert Hale, they’ll be taken up by large-print TMR as internet-only magazines. This who asked Syd to expand his last editions. I think there’s three of my will free me from the enormous eco- page a little. I said I’d agree this westerns that have gone into large- nomic weight I feel each time I think with Syd and insert it as a proof print so far, and [my agent] Phil about publishing a magazine. It costs correction. Syd assured me he Harbottle has started re-selling at least $450 (printing and postage) to would be doing this when he got some of my old 1950s’ crime books publish a 20-pager and $900 to publish home! to large-print. They, of course, go a 44-pager. I no longer have that kind into the library too, and then you of spare cash. Long-time British fan Andrew Dar- get more PLR. Over a period it adds lington, in an interview (in up. It’s a useful pension these days. I still haven’t said nearly enough about zone.sf_com) with Syd conducted And people are reading them, be- Syd Bounds. Truth to tell, I knew little before he contracted cancer: cause when the PLR comes through about his life and career until he died. they provide a list of how many Locus paid him a fine tribute in the He considers that, ‘unlike the times it’s been out, at 2.4 p each time January 2007 issue: young writers at the World Fantasy anyone takes one out of the library. Convention who specialised, who Which adds up. Born November 4, 1920 in Brighton, wrote fantasy only and were like Sussex, Bounds became hooked on gods in this one tiny field’, to him Imagine living like that, year after SF when he read a Jack Williamson weird tales are only one aspect of a year, on bits and pieces from work sold story in a 1936 issue of Astounding. diverse lifetime’s fictional output. to the lowest-paying markets in He joined the Science Fiction Asso- He also writes for that most Britain, returning to odd jobs when ciation in 1937, meeting Arthur C. neglected of genres — the western absolutely necessary, yet always opti- Clarke and other fans. During — with some twenty prairie- mistic, always working, always plan- WWII he served as a corporal in the pounding titles currently in print, ning the next project? No wonder I RAF, and worked as an electrician as well as crime (including contri- never tried writing as way of earning on the Enigma machine. While in butions to the long-running ‘Sexton a living; no wonder I’m honouring the the service he co-founded SF fan Blake’ series), ‘spicy’ magazine sto- memory of Syd Bounds. group the Cosmos Club, and pub- ries, horror and fantasy. Then lished his first stories in their there’s a profitable parallel line in

4 Editorial by Jan Stinson

Afloat on a sea of books

A flood of books has been arriving at whom they go. Gods ands deceivers periods I don’t like. Highly recom- my house since last autumn, and what are also on the loose, and the four lead mended. with illness and other life events get- characters are each affected to differ- ting in the way, I’ve gotten rather ent degrees by all this unearthly busi- The Collected Short Fiction behind on writing about them all. This ness. Readers who like Charles de Lint of C. J. Cherryh column, which may become a regular will eat this book up. I’m one, and I (DAW, New York: 2004; 640 pp., feature of SET, is one way to deal with certainly did. Highly recommended. hb; ISBN 0-7564-0217- 4) the deluge. Dark of the Sun C. J. Cherryh is best known for her I Am Alive and You Are Dead: by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (Tor, New novels, but she’s written a fair amount of short fiction (one of her stories, ‘Cas- A Journey into the Mind of Philip K. York: 2004. 460 pp., hb. ISBN sandra’, got her her first Hugo). This Dick 0-765-31102-X) tome contains all the contents of Sun- by Emmanuel Carrère (Translation fall (a collection of short works on what from the French edition. 1993) States of Grace major Earth cities like London and (Picador, New York: 2004. 315 by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (Tor, New Paris might look like in a far future), pp., tpb. ISBN 0-312-42451-5) York: 2005. 332 pp., hb, ISBN Visible Light (various short fiction), and Philip K. Dick has had a lot of his books 0-765-31390-1 a bunch of other stories from various anthologies (and the NESFA Press made into movies, some good, some Dark of the Sun and States of Grace are book Glass and Amber, now out of print, not so good (it’s mostly a matter of the two ‘Count Saint Germain’ novels as well as one of the Darkover Grand taste). But Emmanuel Carrère has writ- most recently in print. For those few Council program books). Intensity of ten a sort of biography about PKD that who may not be familiar with Yarbro’s viewpoint has been her forte for nearly uses a very interesting method: he most famous character, Francisco all of her writing career. While it’s on writes in a third-person intensive, Ragoczy de Saint Germain is a vampire display to its greatest range in her which allows him to get inside PKD’s who’s been alive since before the fall of novels, it’s also in her short fiction, and mind, as it were, and live his life the Roman Empire. Yarbro uses him as is the linchpin of everything she writes through the writer’s eyes. It’s an amaz- a method of exploring both what it in this collection. It’s well worth hav- ing trick to try, and Carrère pulls it off might be like to live for centuries and ing (and studying, for writers). She’s brilliantly. I’ve not read many of not have one’s most vital secret written an introduction for this as well, PKD’s novels (I can’t remember even revealed, and the day-to-day lives of and for those who have trouble wait- reading one, in truth), but this book people in the merchant and upper ing for new CJC verbiage between made me want to go out and read all classes in various time periods. Dark of novel publications, this is a welcome of them. I am not that easily led, the Sun is set during the sixth century distraction. Highly recommended. people. This is a great read, even if you CE, and uses the effects of Krakatoa’s don’t care for PKD’s fiction. Highly volcanic explosion to examine the recommended. power of superstition and the life of a The Carpet Makers trader. States of Grace takes the reader by Andreas Eschbach (translated A Rumor of Gems back to the Reformation era in Venice, by Doryl Jensen) (Tor, New York: by Ellen Steiber (Tor, New York: Italy and in the Spanish Netherlands, 2005 (this version only); 300 pp., 2005. 459 pp., hb. ISBN where Saint Germain establishes a tpb; ISBN 0-765-31490-8) publishing house that becomes the 0-312-85879-5) German SF writer Andreas Eschbach target of the Spanish Inquisition. has built a solid reputation in his home Ellen Steiber’s first adult fantasy novel I was put off from the Saint Ger- country, but very few people know of is an urban fantasy with street smarts, main novels many years ago, when I him in the US. Orson Scott Card cool attitudes, and a fantasy plot just tried to read one set in Victorian Eng- deserves our thanks for getting Tor to enough off the beaten path to be inter- land. I did not read another until Dark publish Doryl Jensen’s translation of esting to someone as jaded as me. In of the Sun, and was more than happy to this novel into English. What a lovely our world, precious and semi-precious move on to States of Grace after finish- thing it turns out to be. The novel stones have been touted as bearing ing the former. Both are excellent. It works like one of those nature films special powers. In the port city of helps that the historical periods in- that start in a drop of dew and zoom Arcato, ‘somewhere in our modern volved are of interest to me, and I sus- backwards into space to a view of the world’, gemstones have begun to ap- pect that’s true for any reader. But the entire planet. From the personal to the pear, and they have all the mystical characters seemed more fully drawn galactic, Jensen brings Eschbach’s powers that humans have attributed to here, and St. Germain’s droll zombie prose to vivid life in his translation, them over the centuries. So why is this assistant provided piquant humor and the story of an industry based on a problem? Well, no one’s controlling when needed. I’d certainly search out fabrication (of more than one kind), its how the powers are delivered, nor to more in this series, and avoid the time

5 collapse and the reasons for it, as well or she is reading a work of fiction. It course, I never found any other D&D as the effect this has on the people has some variety in flavour: a fiction gamer groups, either, but I wasn’t involved, is fully realised in all aspects. about writing fiction, or about the looking very hard. She uses a wizard I really like this book a lot; can you tell? structure of a type of fiction, or where and an unremovable bracelet on her Highly recommended. the author is a character in the story. If main characters to compel them to do you’re still not sure what this means, what she wants them to do, and oddly, Four and Twenty Blackbirds some examples of metafiction include it doesn’t really seem unbearably deus by Cherie Priest (Tor, New York: The Princess Bride by William Gold- ex machina. 2005. 285 pp., tpb, ISBN man, If on a Winter’s Night A Traveler by Six young gamers are transported 0-765-31308-1) Italo Calvino, and Breakfast of Champi- to the world of Greyhawk by one of ons by Kurt Vonnegut. their number grasping a two-inch- This is a ghost story in true Southern Barnes uses himself as the primary high fantasy miniature figurine as they Gothic mode, full of skeletons rattling viewpoint in this novel about govern- prepare for an evening of war gaming. in closets and people with crazy ideas ment conspiracies, punk bands, alien There’s very little setup in the gamers’ stuck in their heads. visitations, and what happens when world — just enough description of Eden Moore is an orphan who was your old college buddies show up on actions and characters for the reader to raised by her Aunt Louise and Uncle your doorstep with a wild story to tell. know the book opens in the ‘real’ David. Her mother died in a mental He mixes his personal facts (writer, world. The change to the world of institution and Eden never knew her teacher of theatre at a college near Den- Greyhawk takes less than three pages, father. Like many kids growing up, ver, Colorado, has a close friend which is a good move, considering the Eden got in her share of trouble at named Travis Bismarck, once married story is supposed to be that of the char- school, but the reasons for it were far to a woman named Kara, etc.) with acters as war-game fantasy players beyond the usual: Eden has been fictional ones (Travis is a private eye (the elf, the Swordsman, the spell- chaperoned, off and on, by the ghosts for corporate hire, working a case of master, the wereman, etc.) in a war- of three women, and they all seem to industrial espionage for some compa- game world. have a connection to Eden’s paternal nies with oddly similar names, seven The players are tasked by a wizard grandfather. The young woman’s women selling the Earth to an alien on to breach Quag Keep, and compelled search for the truth about her ancestry the $24 and a bunch of beads method, to do so by those previously men- — and the three ghosts who strive to etc.) to create a story that sometimes tioned bracelets, which include clue her in and protect her from an reads like the ‘Illuminatus!’ books, and multiple-sided dice that spin of their especially evil person — are just the at other times reads like one of Hunter own accord when the players are bare bones of a richly imagined, super- S. Thompson’s more hallucinogenic about to confront a major event. This is natural novel. tales. a clever bit of invention to tie the story Priest has steeped her novel in Gaudeamus should please readers to the world of D&D, and works well. swamp water and humidity, and it has thirsting for more conspiracy fiction The wizard’s quest for the players is to produced a work of such verisimili- than they can shake a stick at, to in- stop the Evil Being from tying together tude that it makes one sweat to read it. clude the wise-ass attitude and noir the world of Greyhawk and our own It could be a beach novel, for that rea- aspects of the Robert Anton Wilson world, which could result in the usual son, but not the kind usually hung books. Thompson aficionados will also unimaginable consequences. Not only with that label. Sassy, streetwise prose find plenty to appreciate here. Way are the bracelets compelling them, but hangs like Spanish moss from this fun. Recommended. the Evil Being has put all of them under book, and Priest makes no wrong a geas to join together and come to turns. Highly recommended. Quag Keep Quag Keep. The wizard gives them the by Andre Norton (Tor, New York: information they need to find this Gaudeamus 2006 (first published 1978); 272 place and fend off potential obstacles by John Barnes (Tor, New York: pp., tpb; ISBN 0-765-31302-2) from the Evil Being, and Norton deftly 2004; 320 pp., hb; ISBN wraps the back toward its beginning 0-765-30329-9) This was the first novel based on the while staying true to the basic prin- Dungeons and Dragons (TM) world, ciples of gameplay in D&D. This is a John Barnes novel that isn’t written by Norton after the game’s This isn’t for readers who are seek- like any other of his novels that I’ve creator, E. Gary Gygax, gave Norton ing a high level of character develop- read (Mother of Storms, Orbital Reso- the opportunity to play the game in his ment or a noble high fantasy tale. It’s nance) in terms of subject matter. The world of Greyhawk. This D&D session D&D based, folks, and if read with that best associations I can think of are the inspired her to use the game’s back- in mind, the tale is satisfying. What ‘Illuminatus!’ trilogy by Robert Anton ground, and elements of Gygax’s isn’t satisfying is the lack of copy edit- Wilson (for the conspiracy theory Greyhawk, to write this novel. One ing done on this version; one hopes the novel subgenre), Hunter S. Thompson could call this a media tie-in novel and original printing wasn’t as full of spell- (the wild-eyed storytelling style, toned not be outrageous, though that label is ing mistakes, excess and missing down a bit here), and The Further Ad- most often used for novels written in words as this one is. Book editors, take ventures of Halley’s Comet by John the fictional worlds of popular movies note: it is more than worth the time and Calvin Batchelor (for the ‘wow’ factor and TV shows. money required to get a good copy evidenced by the characters, but toned Norton certainly knew how to play editing job done on every book pub- down in the Barnes book). D&D, as reflected in this book; I’ve lished. Readers don’t like stumbling. Barnes is playing around with played once, it took me three hours to Recommended for stout-hearted gam- metafiction, a type of fiction that self- get into the game and less to get killed ing types and those who really like consciously addresses fictional de- off, and I never played again. Of Norton’s work. vices so as to remind the reader that he

6 This issue’s cover

When will the men return? or, Non-standard spaces

Ditmar (Dick Jenssen)

‘Why, sometimes I’ve believed as space) cannot be subdivided into envisage a nonstandard region of real- many as six impossible things be- infinitesimals. At the Planck length ity. Which is the cover illustration — fore breakfast.’ (about 10–35 m), the (Heisenberg) un- containing how many impossible Charles Dodgson: certainty in the energy of space things? Alice in Wonderland becomes enormous and quantum Well, let’s see: in the spacetime of theory fails. the cover graphic: ‘The horror of that moment’, the But not only are some mathematical G Fractals exist. The stars are fractals King went on, ‘ I shall never, never objects ideal (and can only be approxi- and the landscape is fractal, so that forget’. ‘You will, though’, the mated), there are physical objects that no matter how much we magnify Queen said, ‘if you don’t make a may never be seen — only their effects them, they will appear self-similar. memorandum of it’. can be experienced. Quarks, for G The interior of stars can be seen Charles Dodgson: example: the strong force tells us that from well outside the star. There is Alice in Wonderland trying to pry two quarks apart will only result in the creation of more The laws, concepts and methodology quarks. As physics develops, it seems of physics and mathematics share that it moves ever more increasingly many common features. It seems that into the realm of science fiction, where no matter how abstruse or abstract unobservables such as extra dimen- some aspects, or indeed whole sions acquire ever more validity and branches, of mathematics may be, eventual reality. String theory, and not these findings and techniques will it alone, invokes hidden dimensions eventually become a necessary part of for its structure — these dimensions physics. Complex numbers, matrix were assumed to be incredibly tiny, mechanics, vector spaces, group but there is reason, as recent theory has theory, topological manifolds and ever shown, why they may be infinitely more esoteric mathematics are needed large. Other theories — the dynamics in order to understand reality. Or at of inflation and big bangs, for example least that which we believe to be reality — suggest that part of our universe — the model that the brain/mind cre- may ‘bud off’ into new universes. And ates from its sensory inputs. For some these offshoots could — almost cer- a good example of this: the typical people this ‘unreasonable effective- tainly — have physical laws different ‘Mandel Man’ is clearly visible in ness of mathematics’ (as Nobel Prize to ours. Or there may be a plurality of the detail below. Only when reality winner Eugene Wigner phrased it) is a other universes coexisting with ours. is not ours can this occur. philosophical conundrum. But even Even Kurt Gödel, over 60 years ago, G The hidden extra dimensions of though physics and mathematics showed that under appropriate condi- space are no longer invisible. The share many common features, the fact tions, in an appropriate universe, time first attempt at incorporating addi- that physical theory is concerned with travel was possible. tional dimensions into physics the concrete ‘what is’, while mathe- As ever, science fiction is ahead of theory was made by Theodore matics deals with the abstract ‘ideals’, science — even if the margin is narrow- Kaluza (1919), who showed that means that there are mathematical ing at an exponential rate, due, most writing the equations of general constructs that can never physically likely, to the burgeoning fraction of relativity in five dimensions (four exist. For example, fractals such as the contemporary scientists who are SF plus time) allowed Maxwell’s equa- Koch snowflake — a closed curve that readers — but over 40 years ago, Jack tions of electromagnetism to bounds a finite area, yet has an infinite Vance wrote a story, ‘The Men Return’, emerge in a natural manner. In 1926 length. Every point of this curve — that postulated a pocket of space in Otto Klein modified Kaluza’s ideas every infinitesimal point — is a cusp which the laws of physics were mutat- by assuming that the extra space (to which no unique tangent may be ing randomly. Having recently reread dimension was curled up into a tiny drawn). This object may be imagined that story, and Fredric Brown’s ‘Placet circle at every point in three- — and its properties and consequences is a Crazy Place’, and a few popular dimensional space — it exists, but discovered and examined — but it will books on modern physics, it was inevi- is so minuscule that it is hidden never be seen, because reality (physical table that I should try to see if I could

7 from us and our probes. And so the has a well-organised structure these vegetative vegetables that there Kaluza–Klein theory emerged. (even if it is in dissolution) as is is only one possible universe. Recently, the idea of even more hid- clear from the bricks from which it den dimensions has been invoked is constructed, and from the detail Technical notes by, for example, string theory — of those slabs. The terrain is a standard Mandelbrot here an additional six dimensions And that lists seven impossible fractal; the stars are a Magnetic Man- are required, all wrapped into a things; so without looking for more, delbrot. Both were generated using my microscopic bundle in the shape we already are ahead of Alice’s Red program djFractals, and imported into (one of many) of a Calabi–Yau Queen, and can safely settle down to Eon’s Vue Infinite 3D world-model- space. Superstring theory adds breakfast. With, however, one mystery ling software. The Calabi–Yau spaces another dimension. (Recently, of the Universe potentially solved — were generated using Wolfram’s group theory suggests that even that of dark matter. As the physicist, Mathematica 5, and also imported, this number of extra dimensions and Nobel Prize winner, Frank where they (and the mandels) were may not be enough.) In the cover Wilczek points out, any brick in deep texturised and manipulated. The small graphic, the objects dotted over the space (and the meaning of brick here is CY objects have a metallic surface, the surface are three-dimensional rep- that of everyday experience) would be floating CY was given a brick wall sur- resentations of the Calabi–Yau virtually impossible to be seen with facing (with turrets). The final image spaces. Their details are hard to our present technology and location — was tweaked in Adobe’s PhotoShop spot in the illustration, so a portion sufficient amounts of such bricks could CS2. of the latter is magnified above. easily account for what is now termed G Hidden dimensions are — unlike dark matter. The cover illustration References within our universe — solid objects, shows, with irrefutable Dalinian logic, Apart from the SF stories mentioned, and of different surface textures. that the region of space therein the following books were in the back G Solid objects can pass through each depicted is clearly a source of such dark of what is laughingly referred to as my other — which, unless one has the matter bricks . . . mind: technology described in Harry Har- Finally, another example of SF pre- G Derbyshire, John: Unknown Quan- rison’s marvellous short story ceding science. Wilczek, who works in tity. Joseph Henry Press, Washing- ‘Rock Diver’, is not a possibility for QCD theory, believes that because ton, 2006. us. Look carefully at the illustration there are so few constants that need to G Randall, Lisa: Warped Passages. Ecco above, and you will see Calabi–Yau be determined by experiment (he says (HarperCollins), New York, 2005. solids emerging from the cliffs. six) before every physical law follows, G Ronan, Mark: Symmetry and the G Spatial dimensions can seemingly then it is likely that a final theory will Monster. Oxford University Press, spontaneously disintegrate or de- need no arbitrary input, and that all 2006. structure, as is evidenced by the will be explained uniquely. Well — in G Susskind, Leonard: The Cosmic large floating object, once a six- the April 1935 issue of Astounding Sto- Landscape. Little Brown, New York, dimensional infinitesimal space, ries, Stanley G. Weinbaum’s yarn ‘The 2005. but now a macroscopic object, ap- Lotus Eaters’ describes an alien plant G Webb, Stephen: Out of This World. parently decomposing into indi- species of incredible intelligence that Copernicus Books, New York, 2004. vidual bricks. simply by observing any fact in its en- G Wilczek, Frank & Devine, Betsy: G Entropy can decrease. For us, vironment can deduce a likely uni- Longing for the Harmonies. W. W. organised objects do not spontane- verse. By examining more and more Norton, New York, 1987. ously arise out of chaos, and yet the facts, the unique nature of the entire deteriorating floating Calabi–Yau universe is exposed — and it is clear to — Dick Jenssen

8 The Eric Raymond debate, part 1

Critical Mass versus Eric Raymond

by Yvonne Rousseau

Yvonne Rousseau is a short-story Critical Mass is an SF discussion group Harris, Adam Jenkins, Roman Orszan- writer currently at work on a novel — in Adelaide, South Australia, and was ski, and I (Yvonne Rousseau). Since but her other publications include founded by the late John Foyster in none of us could provide a cassette The Murders at Hanging Rock October 1987. Like its older Melbourne recorder, I’m basing this report instead (1980) and a chapbook about Cherry counterpart, the Nova Mob (founded on my own handwritten notes of the in 1970, also by John Foyster), Critical meeting. Wilder’s science fiction, Minmers Mass meets on the first Wednesday of As ever, Zoran’s email had sup- Marooned and Planet of the Marsu- most months to hear and discuss a plied a number of URLs relevant to the pials (1997). As a member of the paper by a speaker whose name and topic of the month — unseen on this Science Fiction Collective editing topic are announced well in advance. occasion by Neil, whose computer had Australian Science Fiction Review On Wednesday, 1 November 2006, crashed. Neil therefore learned of the (2nd series), she assisted in publish- Jacq Felis (proprietor of Known Space evening’s topic only when he arrived ing articles by Critical Mass mem- Books) had intended to speak about at the meeting, where Zoran had sup- bers Zoran Bekric, Jeff Harris and Neal Asher’s works. Instead, on plied everybody with a printed copy Roman Orszanski. In her current Sunday 29 October, Critical Mass’s derived from Eric S. Raymond’s Critical Mass report, she is far less convener Zoran Bekric emailed that website. He had enclosed in paren- reliant on consultation than in her Jacq had been unexpectedly required theses a recently inserted paragraph to transfer her bookshop to different that did not appear in the 2002 version long-distance report of the famous premises, and had no time to prepare printed in Steam Engine Time: Cochrane–Gillespie Keele Street the advertised talk. The following day, garden party (Metaphysical Review Zoran emailed a suggestion from Many accounts have it that Hein- 18, March 1993). Nevertheless, she Roman Orszanski: ‘There’s actually a lein invented SFnal exposition by incorporates slight amendments very interesting article in the latest indirection, but credit for that inno- from Zoran Bekric, Ian Borchardt, Steam Engine Time [No 5, September vation may be due to none other Jeff Harris, and Juliette Woods. In 2006]: Eric S. Raymond (of “The Cathe- than Rudyard Kipling, whose 1912 addition, she suggested to Zoran dral and the Bazaar” fame) has a piece story With the Night Mail and Bruce that it was impossible to “A political history of SF” in which he anticipated the style and expository do justice to Zoran’s comments ex- makes various outrageous claims.’ mechanics of Campbellian hard cept by publishing them in full — and As a result, November’s Critical science fiction fourteen years before Mass transformed itself, at short Hugo Gernsback’s invention of the she is delighted by the outcome. notice, into a ‘First-Wednesday Essay ‘scientifiction’ genre and twenty- Club’. Bruce Gillespie in Melbourne is seven years before Heinlein’s first co-editor of Steam Engine Time, publication. Heinlein professed and I thought he would like to high regard for Kipling all his life know of our plan to discuss an and included tributes to Kipling in essay from the latest issue. several of his works; it is possible, Indeed, Bruce instantly per- even probable, that he saw himself ceived that a cassette recording as Kipling’s literary successor. of the discussion ‘could prove to be the ultimate letter of com- Brian (sitting across the table from ment’. He even offered to tran- me) had brought his own printout, scribe and edit such a recording adorned with copious annotations — ‘into an “answer article”’. most of which were kept secret from At 8 p.m. on 1 November, the other members. Beside me, Jeff pro- nine of us gathered around a duced a couple of fluorescent high- table at the South Australian lighters and began marking para- Writers’ Centre: Zoran Bekric, graphs in the copy Zoran had Ian Borchardt, Neil Cooper, supplied: some of them in orange Brian Edwards, Jacq Felis, Jeff (‘1970s hippie stuff!’ I opined) and others in pink (‘Communist bits!’). Thanks to Zoran’s URLs, most Yvonne Rousseau (photo: Jenny members had now read Raymond’s Blackford.) earlier comments on the Encyclopedia of

9 Adam Jenkins (l.) and Ian Borchardt (r.), January 2007. (Photo: Yvonne Rousseau.)

Science Fiction (ed. John Clute and Juliette Woods, at the 2002 World SF is always wrong, no matter who does Peter Nicholls, 1993). This material Convention in San José. As Roman it and no matter what the motive’. (sent to John Clute by Eric Raymond in reported, Raymond’s interest in guns Critical Massers decided that violating 1997) helped us to clarify some of the then became clear during one of the copyright is a metaphorical attack, and essay’s arguments. In addition, I men- panel discussions at the convention. thus that Raymondian libertarians tioned how taken I had been by Discussing Raymond’s definition would consider themselves entitled to Raymond’s saboteur-suggestion for of libertarianism, Zoran summed it up retaliate by shooting the violator. Bruce W. Ronald’s entry in the Encyclo- as rampant individualism where Roman believed that Raymond’s pedia: to add a reference to ‘Len everybody should own guns, and the article was powerfully wrong, but in- Deighton’s James Bond novels’. State is always evil. To Zoran’s sur- teresting in all sorts of ways. He was (Although nobody spoke it, the name prise, this American political ideology prepared to argue against Raymond’s ‘Ian Fleming’ doubtless flared in managed to combine the worst claims for the centrality of Campbel- everybody’s mind.) excesses of individualism and anar- lian SF, and his assertion that As further background informa- chy, while completely avoiding the libertarianism is implicit in Campbel- tion, Adam mentioned the current more admirable aspects of either. lianism. popularity of Everybody Loves Eric Ray- Ian raised the question of how this Critical Massers agreed with mond. This is a webcomic created by kind of individualist would defend Roman that Raymond excluded many John Leach, where Raymond is imag- copyright. In the suggestions that works that British and Australian ined as sharing an apartment with Raymond offered to the Encyclopedia of readers would perceive as ‘core’ SF. In other campaigners for open-access Science Fiction, he named a vital liber- particular, they were astounded by software. By contrast, two Critical tarian principle that is not mentioned Raymond’s belief (more explicit in his Massers have met Raymond in a real- in his essay: the ‘“Non-Aggression Encyclopedia suggestions) that Philip world setting: Damien Warman and Principle”, i.e. first use of force or fraud K. Dick had only a minimal influence on SF. Jacq Felis (l.) and Neil Cooper (r.), of Adelaide’s Known Space Books, at Critical Mass, Raymond named four contempo- February 2007. (Photo: Yvonne Rousseau.) rary winners of the Libertarian Futur- ist Society’s annual Prometheus Awards for SF: Neil Smith, F. Paul Wilson, Brad Lina- weaver, and J. Neil Schulman. He claimed that their works ‘sell astonishingly well’ (even when they are ‘shrill and indifferently written polemical tracts’). Yet Roman him- self had never read any of these authors. Zoran and some others re- ported having read them, however, and Jacq and Neil confirmed that they sold well.

10 mond’s own definition of failure cratic ideas, with the engineer as the seemed rather curious. Diagnosing competent man. three ‘failed’ revolts or revolutions Adopting Raymond’s use in his ‘against Campbellian SF’ in the past, essay of ‘America’ as shorthand for the Raymond classed the Futurians and ‘United States of America’, Zoran con- the New Wave as failures because their cluded that Raymond viewed politics ‘techniques and concerns’ were ‘easily’ through an America-centric and liber- or ‘rapidly’ absorbed into ‘the larger SF tarian-centric prism. As for Ray- field’. On the other hand, cyberpunk mond’s ‘telling’ point that the was a failure because it ‘attracted more Prometheus Award is unique as a notice outside the SF field than within ‘politically inspired award’ for SF, it’. Zoran said that this need not imply Jeff disagreed with Raymond’s libertarian strength. When socialists view that the Futurians were in revolt overthrew various governments, they against hard SF. Rather, they were try- felt no need to establish an award for ing to get back to Campbellian best socialist SF. When Roman joked standards. Similarly, the New Wave about a ‘Best Socialist SF’ award to writers were rebelling against a science rival the ‘Prometheus’ award, Jeff fiction that had grown dull at that time: amended this to the more authentic- its writers simply spinning the wheels sounding ‘the People’s Best Socialist and not thinking things through. Scientific Romance’. He later added Roman Orszanski, at Continuum 4, 2006. While rigorously developing the con- that this parahistorical award would (Photo: Eric Lindsay.) sequences of their assumptions, the have been called the ‘Yevgeny’ or the Since Raymond saw these writers as Futurians extended Campbell’s ideal ‘Zamiatin’. continuing the Campbellian SF tradi- by extending their range of assump- According to Raymond, ‘the post- tion, Zoran found it interesting that tions: making them social, political or Star-Wars boom’ transformed SF into they were inclined to diverge from SF economic. ‘the second most successful genre after into other genres: horror, in particular. Jeff said that Campbell had flour- romance fiction’. This interested Zoran Jeff said that the concept of ‘hard ished when atomic energy and rocket not only because of the local romance SF’ was derived from the 1950s, and flight were hypothetical. When they writers who insist that they, not Criti- that when Raymond attached this became matters of fact, Campbell cal Mass, are naturally entitled to the label to Campbellian science fiction, he betrayed his ideals. ‘Betrayed’ is a better of the two meeting rooms avail- was viewing the 1940s through the word Jeff is usually loth to apply, but able in the SA Writers’ Centre. In addi- lens of cold-war politics. Campbellian it seemed to him appropriate for tion, Zoran was surprised that, in writers were progressive thinkers at Campbell’s promotion of Dianetics, reporting how Star Wars ‘took the the time when they were being pub- psionics and other pseudo-science. imagery of pre-Campbellian space lished. Isaac Asimov, with his rigorous As Zoran reminded us, Campbell opera to the mainstream culture’, Ray- extrapolation of his robotic laws, is refused to buy any story (no matter mond failed to mention the big revolu- probably a better example of the how rigorously extrapolated) where tion that this brought about. The fans Campbellian ideal than Heinlein, with aliens triumphed over Earthmen. attracted by Star Wars don’t extrapo- his technotropic approach. Zoran therefore wondered why Ray- late from what they see, and have no While Zoran agreed with Raymond mond found it necessary to attach the notion of the Heinleinian technique about Heinlein’s influence on SF, and concept of ‘rock-ribbed objectivism’ to defined by Raymond as ‘description his application of rigorous extrapola- Campbellian SF. It seemed to be by indirection’ and as ‘subtly leading tion from scientific fact, he reminded merely Raymond’s preference: not the reader to fill in by deduction large us that Campbell also edited Unknown, intrinsic. Like Jeff, Zoran felt that the swathes of background’. Hard SF is a where he was publishing fantasy dur- Futurians, the New Wave and cyber- minuscule part of the contemporary ing his peak years as an editor. Jeff punk were not rebellions against field, where laser guns and the like are named Henry Kuttner, Theodore Stur- Campbellianism, but were notable for featured merely as tropes. One might geon, L. Sprague de Camp and A. E. the Campbellian ideal of strong as well be in company with John Carter Van Vogt as contributors to Unknown. extrapolation from assumptions. on the Mars depicted by Edgar Rice Jeff said that Raymond had missed After Ian had described the Camp- Burroughs. the point that the Campbellian revolu- bellian hero as the self-reliant man, The next topic was raised by tion failed. John W. Campbell began Zoran discussed Howard Scott’s Roman: whether ‘radial category’ was his editorship of Astounding Science- founding of the Technocracy Move- a useful concept for defining SF, and Fiction in 1937, but by 1949 his leader- ment: a two-month wonder in major whether Raymond used it appropri- ship was over, with the appearance of American newspapers and magazines ately. In Raymond’s example of the The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fic- in December 1932 and January 1933. category ‘fruit’, he specified the ‘apple’ tion and then Horace Gold’s Galaxy This technocratic vision of a govern- as the ‘central prototype’ and placed Science Fiction in 1950. Writers had ment controlled by scientists, engi- ‘coconut’ and ‘avocado’ on the peri- turned from Astounding to seek publi- neers and other experts was phery. But Roman and Zoran agreed cation in these magazines instead. superseded later in the 1930s by fascist that Raymond had failed to name the Indeed, Critical Massers were sur- and communist models. But it seemed prototypal core of SF: his ‘classics of prised that Raymond’s history failed odd for Raymond to omit technocracy hard SF’. to mention Horace Gold’s influence. from a political history of SF, since Adam suggested that ‘faceted clas- Earlier, Roman had said that Ray- early SF drew very much on techno- sification’ (used, for example, by

11 elements in the original model were for writing ‘carnographic conservative important to its success. Thus, the military SF’. (Jacq particularly earliest superheroes inspired by the admired this example of Raymond’s Superman comics were likely to wear way with words.) To illustrate the SDI glasses or to be employed as reporters attitude, Jeff mentioned what hap- because it was not yet clear which pened when Arthur C. Clarke came features of the prototype were crucial. along to one of the meetings about This was the reason why (as Jeff ways to stop incoming missiles from pointed out) the same things were reaching America. Clarke believed this gone through over and over again in plan was nonsensical, but that the tech- so many superhero stories. nology could be developed instead to Jeff mentioned the model of protect the whole planet from the memes: either domesticated (where threat of comets and asteroids. He was the traditions of the genre are well told to butt his nose out of American developed) or wild. In this context, politics. Zoran spoke about the failure of Having mentioned the USA’s attempts to establish a ‘jungle book’ refusal to put money into some Rus- genre based on the ‘Tarzan’ novels by sian Space Agency projects related to Edgar Rice Burroughs. The imitators the International Space Station, Ian failed because people didn’t want to also mentioned SDI’s role in fragment- Jeff Harris, at Critical Mass, February 2007. read about other jungle heroes: they ing the L5 Society (formed in 1975 to (Photo: Yvonne Rousseau.) wanted to read about Tarzan. promote the establishment of space As for the ‘ornery insistent indi- habitats that would orbit equidistant librarians) might be a better model, vidualism’ which Raymond claims as from the Earth and the Moon at the L5 because it acknowledges more than a trait of ‘SF’s libertarian tradition’, or L4 Lagrangian points). Among the one facet to everything. Thus, it allows Critical Massers agreed that in the members supporting SDI, Jerry ‘this book is SF — and — and —’ in- world around us we need look no Pournelle and Jim Baen were both on stead of merely ‘this book is SF’. While further than the typical political dicta- the society’s board of governors. Jeff and Zoran were disagreeing with tor for an example of ornery insistent On the topic of space colonies this analysis, Brian took up Raymond’s individualism. Ian also said that expo- defending themselves against the example of ‘fruit’ as a radial category nents of libertarian SF have appropri- Earth, Ian and Jeff discussed mis- — whereupon a slight argument ated heroes created by authors who understandings of the mass driver developed about whether a coconut is were not setting out a libertarian used by the Loonies in Heinlein’s 1967 a fruit. Jacq was emphatic that a nut is scenario. novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. not a fruit. Nevertheless, Roman pointed out Some enthusiasts had envisaged drop- Zoran was reminded of heated that individualism is natural in the SF ping rocks into space without ensuring arguments about whether a dolphin is genre, since the heroes are likely to be their acceleration to escape velocity. a fish. By linguistic analysis, it’s a fish: explorers or adventurers, who need to This reminded Ian of the pacified by biological classification, it’s not. be capable people. Moreover, the Moon in a story that Jeff also knew and Zoran then described a linguistic study thinking inquisitive individual is a later identified as ‘Men of Good Will’ conducted by Professor Eleanor useful story element. Zoran men- (Galaxy, June 1964), written by Ben Rosch, who argues that radial cate- tioned that, because the various genres Bova with ballistic advice from Myron gories reflect the way the human brain evolved in the pulp magazines, there R. Lewis. classifies things. North American was strong commercial pressure to In ‘Men of Good Will’, Russians and school children were asked specific establish rigid categories. Neverthe- Americans were fighting each other all questions in order to define their con- less, Zoran perceived a big overlap over the Earth and in space: every- cept of a bird: ‘Does a bird have between the genres, since (for the where except on the Moon. When a feathers? Does a bird have a beak?’ — dramatic purposes that Roman had United Nations representative arrived and so on. When the answers were outlined) they all featured the same to find out how the two sides managed toted up, the researchers concluded kind of hero. to live in peace on the Moon, he that a North American child thinking Raymond had named the polemical learned that the opposing bases had of a bird is thinking of a robin. (Note, writer Ayn Rand (who founded the fired off several thousand very-high- however, that this American robin is Objectivist philosophy) as an inspira- velocity bullets in an early battle. ‘As not the insectivorous little creature tion to libertarians. Zoran therefore in all battles, most of the rounds fired familiar in Britain and Australia but a thought it relevant to mention that the were clean misses.’ These bullets had larger bird — a type of thrush — often Ayn Rand Institute’s current advice is continued ‘in rather eccentric satellite to be seen hauling worms out of the to nuke all the Muslims. orbits’ around the Moon, and kept grass.) In adulthood, a person is likely Raymond mentioned approvingly returning to ‘shoot the living hell’ out to answer the questions differently, the role of libertarian SF authors in of both bases. Thus, the Moon was taking into consideration (for Ronald Reagan’s 1980s Strategic peaceful because both sides already example) flightless birds. Defense Initiative (SDI), and named needed all their computer capacity for Discussion turned to Raymond’s Robert Heinlein and Gregory Benford. tracking the current bullet storms, claim that ‘rock-ribbed objectivism’ Jeff pointed out that Jerry Pournelle without firing any more bullets. and ‘ornery insistent individualism’ also played a prominent role. Returning to Raymond’s essay, were core tropes of SF. Zoran said that, Although others describe Pournelle as Roman mentioned the ‘Radical Hard at the beginning of any genre, it takes ‘libertarian’, Raymond repudiates him SF’ promoted by David Hartwell and time for imitators to work out which

12 Kathryn Cramer in The Hard SF Renais- that it sold well. rial hero has to prove that the assassi- sance (2002). Raymond classed this as a Zoran said that Raymond dis- nation of his predecessor was inher- fourth rebellion against ‘Campbellian cussed the politics in SF not at all. This ently wrong because a diplomat is not SF’, where the proponents mistakenly was just as well, because most SF a politician. A subplot involves evil supposed that libertarianism was ‘a favours hierarchical systems on the aliens plotting a Pearl-Harbor right-wing phenomenon’ and that grounds that they have more dramatic scenario. Piper implies in this novel ‘approving of free markets somehow possibilities. All you need is the good that, given enough people of good will, implies social conservatism’. Roman counsellor, the good King, and the bad you can force any system to work. had brought with him the latest counsellor. Ian suggested that libertarians Monthly magazine (No 18, November Among the texts that Raymond de- want to be frontiersmen, but that (as 2006), which contained a relevant fined (in his Encyclopedia suggestions) Brian also said) the only frontier left article by Kevin Rudd: ‘Howard’s as ‘proto-libertarian’, Ian mentioned now is Space. Zoran commented that Brutopia’. Rudd discussed the Austra- Eric Frank Russell’s ‘. . . And Then the notion of delayed gratification gets lian Prime Minister John Howard’s There Were None’. Critical Massers all thrown out of the window by libertari- conflicting policies, which promote seemed fond of this story, set on a ans: lots of self-interest, but not much both ‘traditional conservative values’ planet colonised by weaponless enlightenment. For more on this sub- and ‘unrestrained market capitalism’. Gandhists who live by the motto: ject, Adam referred us to Leviathan Howard had neglected to explain ‘how ‘Freedom — I won’t!’ (1651) by Thomas Hobbes: man as a traditional social values of family, Poul Anderson was another of Ray- purely selfish creature, seeking only community and country are com- mond’s proto-libertarians. Jeff admit- his own advantage and resisting the patible with the ruthless economic ted having a soft spot for Anderson’s competing claims of others. Without utilitarianism of a market in which work. He found his politics hard to social covenants, there is ‘continual rampant individualism is dominant. take, but less obnoxious than some fear; and the life of man is solitary, [. . .] Howard, of all people, knows full others: quite readable when not push- poor, nasty, brutish and short’. well there is nothing sentimental about ing his barrow. Jeff saw no reason why Jeff commented that the American unrestrained self-interest.’ Thus, you can’t enjoy reading someone social system is very fractured — need- Roman agreed that the free market is whose politics you don’t agree with. ing intermediaries to bridge the gaps. not socially conservative: it is perhaps Roman thought that it was odd to The superhero is the mediator to save the greatest threat to current social settle on libertarianism as the core of the poor and the powerless (although structures. SF: why not socialism? In contempo- courts can sometimes act as a bridge). In Jeff’s opinion, Raymond omitted rary SF, Roman mentioned Kim Stan- In Australia, there is better integration from his essay the points that would ley Robinson as presenting a socialist between judiciary and parliament, have made sense of his analysis. In worldview. Raymond has claimed that which are nevertheless able to monitor spite of spending years in Britain, Campbell would have been a libertar- one another. continental Europe and South Amer- ian if he had lived beyond 1971, the Zoran said that the big advance of ica (as mentioned in his comments on year when the Libertarian Party was civilisation is the idea that we can the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction), founded. Zoran pointed out, however, resolve differences in a way that Raymond seemed to have a very blink- that Campbell was the man who ended doesn’t result in fatalities. By contrast, ered viewpoint. Zoran also thought up promoting Dianetics. the libertarian idea is to sort things out that, even in an American context, Raymond approved of SF’s ‘cele- by shooting one another. Recalling Raymond’s view seemed very naïve. bration of individualist anti-politics’: John Foyster’s opinion that the lead Among the models opposed by its storylines where ‘scientific break- characters of cyberpunk were adoles- Raymond’s libertarianism, Zoran through and free-enterprise eco- cent wish-fulfilment figures, Zoran mentioned the planned economy in nomics blend into a seamless whole’. said that admiration for the rugged the ‘Culture’ novels by Iain Banks. In Jeff mentioned novels by H. Beam individualist is also very adolescent. his Encyclopedia suggestions, Ray- Piper as examples of this theory of For a brainy powerless person, Sher- mond invoked the ‘Hayekian calcula- space travel, where private enterprise lock Holmes provides a role model tion problem’ to dismiss the Culture’s does better than the State. By contrast, who looks more feasible for carrying economy as unworkable. Against this, in the real world it took a major State over into adulthood. His promise that Jeff pointed out that the Minds of the operation to get to the Moon. being clever makes you really success- Culture are so brilliant that they could Ian and Zoran then discussed Lone ful is a welcome change. make anything work. Zoran felt that Star Planet (1958) (aka, A Planet for In conclusion, Critical Massers Raymond was inclined to declare Texans) written by H. Beam Piper with agreed that Raymond’s essay re- various ideas out of limits simply be- John J. McGuire. This novel is another mained secretive about his grounds for cause he didn’t like them. of Raymond’s proto-libertarian the points he made. His definition of As for military SF, Jeff mentioned examples: set on the planet of New SF appeared to derive from his own Baen Books — publisher of ‘awful mili- Texas where everybody has seriously preference, and works were then tary potboilers’, according to Ray- heavy armaments (required by the graded as passing or failing this defi- mond in his Encyclopedia suggestions. ranchers to deal with the planet’s nition. As Brian summed up the Ian said that since Jim Baen’s death (on supercows), and citizens have the right process, ‘It’s not that we’re exclusive or 28 June 2006), things had become even to assassinate politicians. In the New anything: it’s just that they aren’t worse. There were whole categories of Texan legal system, such a killing is not libertarians.’ military stuff. Zoran felt that while inherently wrong, and it is prohibited Baen had understood that military SF ‘only to the extent that what happened — Yvonne Rousseau, 4th amended was popular, he had not necessarily to the politician was in excess of what version, 21 January 2007 been an advocate of it. Jacq confirmed he deserved’. The novel’s ambassado-

13 Notes on Yvonne Rousseau’s On radial categories early Superman stories. article I agree with Raymond that radial Even Hugo Gernsback goes along categories are a useful way to look at with this approach. In his editorial in SF. He even goes further, suggesting the first issue of Amazing Stories (April that radial categories are a useful way 1926) he describes SF, or ‘scientifiction’ by Zoran Bekric to look at all the genres that developed as he called it, as being ‘the Jules Verne, in the pulp magazines during the first H. G. Wells and Edgar Allan Poe type half of the twentieth century. of story — a charming romance inter- Dear Yvonne, While Adam Jenkins is probably mingled with scientific fact and Some notes for your report: correct in saying that ‘faceted classifi- prophetic vision’. Gernsback thus cation’ is a more effective way of cata- identified the works of those three On the definition of Libertarianism loguing SF, the advantage with radial authors as being the core from which Actually I summed it up as an Ameri- categories is that they seem to reflect the genre radiates. can political ideology that manages to the way the human brain classifies This, of course, is where Raymond’s combine the worst excesses of indi- things. That is, the brain takes some essay falls down. He doesn’t identify vidualism and anarchism while com- central model and defines a category what he considers to be the core works pletely avoiding the more admirable around it, grouping things around the that define SF, instead just vaguely aspects of either. It’s also a political model based on how much they re- referring to ‘certain classics of hard SF’. party that (i) maintains the govern- semble it. According to Professor And Eleanor Rosch, professor of ment is always evil while (ii) using a Eleanor Rosch, this provides ‘maxi- psychology at the University of Cali- large, government-maintained statue mum information with the least cogni- fornia, Berkeley, was the one who did as its symbol — all without any appar- tive effort’ — which sounds like the research with children that deter- ent sense of irony. something evolution would select for. mined that the linguistic prototype for This led to a brief exchange with Ian That’s why you can still get into ‘bird’ is the robin, at least in North Borchardt, who objected that the arguments about whether or not a America. Statue of Liberty was actually a gift dolphin is a fish. According to the way from France. Who, he acknowledged, the brain organises things, a dolphin On Lone Star Planet after a bit of prodding, is also run by a falls into the linguistic category of I brought this up because Raymond government. ‘fish’ because that’s what it most specifically includes it as a proto- I don’t remember saying anything resembles. According to biology, libertarian text, but it doesn’t seem to about guns, but I probably did. It though, a dolphin is a mammal, not a be one to me. While the story involves sounds like the sort of crack I’d make. fish. Those who think about it are heavily armed, tough frontiersmen, I do recall Roman harrumphing at likely to go with the biological classifi- the actual plot revolves around a court the suggestion that anarchism could cation and say a dolphin is a ‘mam- case. That is, it’s about settling things have ‘worst excesses’. mal’; those who don’t think about it through the use of a government insti- will go with the brain’s natural ten- tution; a way of settling differences On the Technocracy movement dency to lump dolphins into the without fatalities. I also pointed out The name of the founder of the Tech- linguistic category of ‘fish’. that what are probably Piper’s best- nocracy movement which I couldn’t Higher and lower levels of classifi- known novels — Little Fuzzy (1962), remember on the night is engineer cation are organised logically. Thus, Fuzzy Sapiens (aka The Other Human Howard Scott. The movement was a superordinate categories are collec- Race, 1964) and Fuzzies and Other People two-month wonder in December 1932 tions of basic (radial) categories: furni- (1984) — are all also built around trials. and January 1933, with editorials and ture includes chairs, lamps, beds, Also, I didn’t mention it on the columns discussing it in all the major tables, etc. Subordinate categories are night, but I remember a scene in Little American newspapers and magazines. divisions of basic (radial) categories: Fuzzy where members of the military The ABC of Technocracy (1933) briefly deck chairs, bar stools, high chairs, garrison on Zarathustra’s outer moon became a bestseller. thrones, etc. are complaining about how the law The movement itself dates back to The history of the development of prevents them from intervening in 1919 and, surprisingly enough, still various genres follows this pattern. ‘that mess down there’. I don’t know exists. But then, so does the Prohibition There is a central story, which serves about Raymond, but I like the idea of League. It advocated switching to a as a model, with new stories being having a government structure that price system based on energy — with graded in terms of similarity to that prevents the heavily armed from just units of ergs and joules — and putting model, which determines their status taking over whenever they feel like it. those who understood modern tech- as good or poor examples of the genre. A little personal politics there. nology — scientists and engineers — To step outside of SF for a moment, In that sense, I question Piper’s in- in charge. It was this last aspect that the prototype western for the first half clusion on Raymond’s list. He seems appealed to many SF readers of the of the twentieth century was Riders of more conservative than libertarian to time, and it was probably the most the Purple Sage (1912) by Zane Grey. me. overtly influential political idea in This defined a set of conventions that what Raymond calls pre-Campbellian most subsequent westerns followed, As for ‘best socialist scientific SF. If I recall correctly, Heinlein even and were different to those found in romance’ . . . referred to it in a story — ‘The Roads earlier westerns, such as The Virginian I may be misremembering, but what I Must Roll’ (1940) — though he didn’t (1902) or the stories of Buffalo Bill think happened was: I mentioned Ray- care for it because of some of its social- found in the dime novels. Similarly, mond’s claim about the only ‘politi- istic share-the-wealth tendencies. the prototypes around which the cally inspired award presented superhero genre was built were the annually at the World Science Fiction

14 Convention’ being for libertarian SF. I awards with real economic and critical So, there is no specific award for then pointed out that the socialists clout. That is: they gave out literary socialist scientific romance, though it created by the late-nineteenth-century awards as a consequence of achieving could be said that, to the extent that literature Raymond refers to didn’t go power, not as an alternative to it. every government body and official off to found literary awards; they went Jeff picked up on that and said institution is dominated by non- off to found political parties and revo- something about (paraphrasing from libertarians, every literary award other lutionary movements that actually memory) ‘Best Soviet SF’, and Roman than the Prometheus is for socialist, achieved power. Once in power, they amended that to ‘Best Socialist Scien- liberal, moderate, conservative or took over the various organs of tific Romance’. Or it could have been fascist works, including SF. academia and gave out official literary vice versa. I’m not sure.

The Eric Raymond debate, part 2

Why libertarian politics don’t have much to do with SF

by Zoran Bekric

When asked to describe Zoran If Eric S. Raymond had titled his essay bluth, Moorcock, Ballard, Aldiss, Bekric, a friend once offered the something like ‘A history of libertarian Farmer, Ellison, Leiber, Pournelle, summation ‘Imagine Jupiter wearing SF’ I don’t think anyone would have a Vinge, Haldeman, Gibson, Stephenson pants’. A remarkably accurate as- problem with it. After all, as Raymond and Sterling — who wrote highly sessment since, like that celestial notes, there is a strong libertarian effective SF without being libertarians, stream in SF, with a number of overtly suggests that SF, like science itself, body, Zoran not only shines mostly libertarian writers and works. I’m even lends itself to any number of political by reflected light, he also puts out an willing to go along with Raymond’s persuasions. inordinate amount of chatter. Fortu- assertion that modern libertarians I agree with Raymond that Camp- nately, his signal strength is low draw some of their inspiration from bell did establish a dominant style of enough that he only occasionally the politics of John W. Campbell Jr and SF — we can even call it a ‘revolution’ interferes with the reception of more Robert A. Heinlein. The problem is if you like — but I think his achieve- interesting communications nearby. that I don’t think that those politics ment was primarily aesthetic, not In preparing to write this biography have anything much to do with SF. political. This can be a little hard to tell he has done many of the things That is, Raymond asserts that SF is sometimes, because as editor of As- people who write brief biographies inherently libertarian, but there’s tounding, Campbell published stories usually do, of which the most perti- nothing in his essay to support that that reflected both his aesthetics and idea. In fact, if anything, all the authors his politics, so the two are often found nent are that he has acted as con- he mentions — Asimov, Pohl, Korn- together. But I don’t think there’s any vener of Adelaide’s Critical Mass, on necessary link between them, and Ray- and off, for several years and, once mond doesn’t establish any such link upon a time, made slight contribu- in his essay. tions to the second edition of Clute So, what is this SF aesthetic? I and Nicholls’ Encyclopedia of Sci- would suggest that SF is primarily ence Fiction. built on what J. R. R. Tolkien called ‘subcreation’: the presentation of a vividly realised world, different from our own, that the reader experiences vicariously through the work. Often, this alternate world is connected to the real one in some way — it’s the real world with something added, or characters can travel from the real world to the alternate one. In early works in the genre, the only thing that distinguished SF from fantasy was that SF explained the differences in terms of science and technology, while

15 fantasy used elements traditionally discovery. bell’s writers (physics, chemistry, associated with fairy stories, supersti- Actually, Campbell went further: astronomy). This is more of an evolu- tions and mythology. he ditched the idea that the premise tion than a revolution. Some stories used the subcreation had to be scientifically or technologi- Where Raymond sees a series of to present extrapolation. Rather than cally plausible. In 1939 he launched revolutions, I would suggest there was just presenting a world that is different Unknown, a magazine that applied the only the ebb and flow of the genre. from our own, an author takes the dif- approach to fantasy. Stories like Hein- Each of the revolutions Raymond ference as a premise, works out what lein’s ‘Magic Inc.’ (originally ‘The identifies consists of a group of new consequences would follow and pre- Devil Makes the Law’, 1940) took the writers appearing and reinvigorating sents their conclusions in the story. In Laws of Magic identified in Sir James the genre. Each wave had an element stories like The Invisible Man (1897) and Frazer’s The Golden Bough (1890) and of self-promotion and posturing that ‘The Man Who Could Work Miracles’ applied an engineering sensibility to Raymond seems to take more (1898), H. G. Wells established the them, extrapolating consequences as if seriously than I think is warranted. style, presenting the ruthlessly work- they were actual physical laws. Such Each wave appeared with a burst of ing out and presenting consequences stories highlight that it’s the extrapola- creativity, but slowly lost steam and that were very different to what wish- tion rather than the science that’s became a bit stale, setting the scene for fulfilment fantasy might suggest. important. the next group of writers to make a Hugo Gernsback picked up on this Further, I would suggest it is the splash with their debut. If anything, element of extrapolation and empha- level of the extrapolation that consti- this series of waves is what’s kept SF a sised it in the magazines he published: tutes the ‘hardness’ in SF. There is a vital genre. There’s always something Amazing Stories, Science Wonder Stories spectrum running from stories with a new coming along. and Air Wonder Stories. Gernsback was strong emphasis on rigorous extrapo- The interesting thing is there was a primarily interested in applying the lation (hard SF), through those with revolution against the Campbellian extrapolation to technology. He milder extrapolation and an emphasis style. Star Wars came out in 1977 and, wanted authors to anticipate how the on other elements of the story (soft SF) as Raymond notes, set off a boom that technology of the day — aeroplanes, to those with almost no extrapolation, made ‘SF the second most successful radio, bigger and deadlier weapons — just pure subcreation (scientific genre after romance fiction’. This would develop, and then present those romances). All parts of the spectrum boom has played itself out in films, developments in the form of stories. are enjoyable, and various authors television, computer games, specialist That is, he saw SF as, at least in part, a have moved back and forth along it magazines, novel franchises and so on. way of predicting the future. over the course of their careers. It covers a range of properties, and is Now, this approach has never been As Raymond notes, Campbell was watched, read and consumed by a far a big part of SF, but it has strongly very lucky in finding a group of writ- larger audience than even the most influenced how those outside the field ers who shared his aesthetic and who successful SF novel. To the vast major- view it. Even now, some eighty years were capable of delivering a steady ity of people, it is SF. later, outside commentators still refer series of good stories. However, If anything has a claim to being the to SF as the literature about what life Campbell never published only hard SF mainstream, it’s the material that will be like in the future. SF. Alongside the writers Raymond makes up this boom. Original written Campbell built on Gernsback’s lists, he also included stories by writers SF is a very small slice of this much emphasis. He too wanted strong like A. E. Van Vogt, E. E. ‘Doc’ Smith, larger market. And works that are eli- extrapolation; only he broadened the Jack Williamson and Fritz Leiber. gible for something like the approach to include the social and cul- The problem with Raymond’s Prometheus Award are an even tural changes that would flow from a thesis is that none of the subsequent smaller subset of that slice. For Ray- development in science or technology. waves of writers challenged this mond to refer to that subset as the ‘SF Campbell introduced a style of SF Campbellian style. The Futurians, the mainstream’ is either extremely paro- characterised by: New Wave writers and the cyber- chial or the best bit of absurdist G rigorous extrapolation from a punks were all producing the same humour I’ve seen in a long time. premise sort of mixture of hard and soft SF as What makes this material revolu- G an emphasis on the social, cultural Campbell had published. The Futuri- tionary, in terms of this discussion, is and even legal consequences rather ans and the New Wave writers could that it rejects pretty much all the than just the technological be seen as competitors to Campbell’s elements of the Campbellian style. It G protagonists who were ordinary in- Astounding, in the sense that they were features protagonists who may start habitants of the imagined world associated with other magazines — out as relatively ordinary, but who rather than legendary heroes primarily Galaxy and The Magazine of soon become legendary figures and G presentation of the details of the Fantasy and Science Fiction for the are acknowledged as such within the imagined world through indirec- Futurians, New Worlds for the New narratives they inhabit. It’s all about tion and allusion rather than blocks Wave. However, the competition was subcreation, almost completely ignor- of exposition. entirely commercial, not political or ing extrapolation. And, no matter All these elements can be seen in aesthetic. what elements are introduced, they Heinlein’s first published story If anything, these subsequent have only a superficial impact on the ‘Life-Line’ (1939). A scientist develops waves of writers built on Campbell’s social, cultural, economic or political a way of predicting exactly when legacy, extending the process of rigor- structures portrayed. someone will die, and the conse- ous extrapolation to the soft sciences The audience for this material has quences that follow involve the efforts (ecology, linguistics, medicine, psy- little ability to make inferences from of the life insurance industry to dis- chology, sociology, cybernetics), not what’s presented in order to develop a credit and destroy the scientist and his just the hard ones favoured by Camp- picture of how the world being por-

16 trayed is different from the one we live in. Actually, parts of the audience are actively hostile to even trying to read the material in that way. I know my attempts to do so have been dismissed as just being a demonstration of my inability to treat ‘fiction as fiction’ (whatever that means — I was never able to get a straight answer). This Star Wars-inspired boom was a revolution against the Campbellian style of SF and, what’s more, it was a highly successful one. The vast major- ity of SF produced and consumed these days has very little to do with the type of material produced by the cyberpunks, the New Wave, the Brian Edwards (l.) and Zoran Bekric (r.), Critical Mass, February 2007. (Photo: Yvonne Rousseau.) Futurians, Campbell’s group of writers or even the material promoted ideological and political opponents. not competent. Even the heroes of the by Hugo Gernsback. Campbellian- On that basis, one could argue that socialist utopian fiction Raymond re- style SF has been reduced to just being individualism is as much a feature of fers to are not only competent, but a source routinely mined for wild ideas overtly pro-socialist literature as it is of praised and admired for that compe- and exotic visual imagery that can be pro-capitalist (or pro-libertarian) fic- tence — in contrast to the capitalists used to spice up the worlds presented tion. Or, one could just recognise that they oppose, who depend on others to in this mainstream. heroic characters tend to be strongly do things for them. Rather than Campbell, or even individualist because that’s the way However, as I noted above, the Gernsback, the most influential person adventure fiction works, no matter Campbellian style featured relatively on the mainstream of modern SF is what the political inclinations of its ordinary inhabitants of the worlds probably Alex Raymond, creator and authors or readers. they lived in. While such characters the initial artist on the Flash Gordon As Alexis de Tocqueville noted in were competent in their areas of exper- comic strip. his Democracy in America (1835), indi- tise, they fell well short of the super- vidualism is a strongly American trait. competent characters that had The other problem with Raymond’s Given that, one would expect that any dominated pre-Campbellian SF. Just essay is his rather odd approach to genre produced mainly by Americans think of John Carter from Edgar Rice politics. Raymond refers to Campbel- — such as SF — would reflect it. Burrough’s Martian novels, or lian SF as having a ‘political aura’, then I must admit that the term ‘ornery’ consider this passage from chapter 7, goes on to describe a series of elements is one that I know only from American ‘DuQuesne’s Voyage’, of E. E. ‘Doc’ that, as far as I can tell, are simply movies where it’s generally applied to Smith’s Skylark Three (1930): features of adventure fiction. mules. However, there are any num- To take them in the order Raymond ber of literary figures who are dis- ‘You’re faster than I am, and that’s presents them: agreeable and contrary without being saying something. You’re chain libertarian. Gregory House, in the tele- lightning.’ Ornery and insistent individualism vision series House MD (2004) is ornery ‘Well, Seaton is at least that Pretty much all literature focuses on — or he may go beyond regular orner- much faster than I am. You’ve never the individual and his or her needs and iness to become cantankerous, seen him at work — I have. On that desires. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and curmudgeonly or even misanthropic, Osnomian dock he shot once before Juliet, the two title characters put their depending on the episode — but I I started, and shot four times to my mutual love ahead of the demands of don’t see any political dimension to three from then on. I must have their feuding families, but that’s less of that. The character doesn’t play been shooting for a full second after a political theme than a psychological favourites; he’s disagreeable with he had his side all cleaned up. To one — or, at least, it’s difficult to figure everyone, no matter what their social, make it worse I missed once with out what Shakespeare’s politics were economic or political position. As far my left hand — he didn’t.’ from the play. Confronting characters as I can tell, most of the protagonists in with familial and societal pressures SF are similar, if not as extreme. If any- Now, that’s competence! The only that conflict with their own wants is a thing, such an attitude represents an Campbellian writer, other than Smith, staple of literature. adolescent anti-authoritarianism that whose work seems to display a consis- Even the protagonists of the social- is a common feature of genre fiction. tent veneration — rather than just a ist utopian fiction Raymond refers to Nothing especially political about it. simple respect — of competence is one — by which I presume he means that Raymond doesn’t mention: A. E. novels such as Angel of the Revolution Veneration of the competent man Van Vogt. All the others, including all (1893) by George Griffith or The Iron On this one Raymond is on very shaky those Raymond does mention, Heel (1907) by Jack London — ground. Again, it’s a common feature featured much more ordinary displayed a strong sense of individual- of adventure fiction that protagonists protagonists. ism. They needed to, because the pro- be competent. After all, they’re Raymond refers to the Futurians as tagonists spent much of their time expected to overcome a serious of ob- ‘de-emphasis[ing] individual hero- moving in circles dominated by their stacles and that’s hard to do if they’re ism’, but he also describes much of

17 their material as ‘sharply satirical in and straightforward, with force only from one that doesn’t. The problem tone’. The question is: was the de- being needed to thwart the evil designs with that is there is no version of objec- emphasis on individual heroism a of those opposing the idealised sys- tivism that values knowing how things function of the Futurians’ politics? Or tem. Thus, in the utopian fiction Ray- work — well, not things outside of of the satire? Personally, I think it was mond refers to, socialism is achieved objectivism, anyway. the satire. Incompetent characters are without coercion; in libertarian fiction, Going by Ayn Rand’s Introduction simply funnier than competent ones. libertarianism is achieved in the same to Objectivist Epistemology (1967), objec- When I watch the Three Stooges or way. It’s all in the assumptions and, tivism believes that all true knowledge Abbott and Costello wrecking a bath- not surprisingly, an author who sup- can be gained by a process of theoreti- room while working as plumbers, I ports a particular political ideology cal deduction from its core axioms — don’t see it as a political statement. It’s generally assumes everyone else does a grander version of what Euclid does just a comedy routine. And funnier too — or will, once it’s been properly in his ‘Elements’, only applied to because of the characters’ creative explained to them. everything, not just geometry. It’s not incompetence. the first philosophy to take this A respect for competence is a A rock-ribbed objectivism that approach, and it probably won’t be the feature of any society. The difference is valued knowing how things work last. However, as a consequence, it’s in what types of competence are re- and treated all political ideologising quite antithetical to active investiga- spected. It’s a class thing. Among with suspicion tion or using experimentation to test labourers, it tends to be physical prow- Taking these three points in reverse ideas. It assumes that if the premises ess. Among craftsmen and the middle order, I would agree that most readers are correct and the logic valid, why, class, it’s technical know-how. Among are suspicious of political ideologising, then, the conclusions must be true. the managerial class, it’s financial and but would point out that refers to This is at serious odds with the scien- organisational skill. Since most SF overtly libertarian ideologising as tific method esteemed by most SF, tends to be aimed at a middle-class much as it does to any other sort. How- which is only too familiar with the sen- audience, the competence that tends to ever, I would point out that a suspicion timent expressed in Thomas Huxley’s get featured is mostly technical know- of political ideologising is not a politi- famous quote ‘The great tragedy of how. But that doesn’t mean that mem- cal position; if anything, it’s an anti- science — the slaying of a beautiful bers of other classes don’t appreciate political position — a type of political hypothesis by an ugly fact’. The real competence; it’s just that they don’t agnosticism. world has a way of not cooperating value that particular type of compe- Valuing a knowledge of how things with our ideas about how it should tence quite as much. work is simply the respect for technical work. know-how that I referred to above. It While the process of logical deduc- An instinctive distrust of coercive is indeed a feature of SF, but it’s not a tion resembles the rigorous extrapola- social engineering political one. During the Second World tion I listed above as a feature of hard As far as I know — with the possible War, all the major combatants SF, I think it’s much more likely that SF exception of the works of S. M. Stirling employed aircraft, and the engineers got it from the scientific process of — no-one’s in favour of coercive social and mechanics responsible for build- forming a hypothesis than from engineering. This is hardly a distinc- ing and maintaining those aircraft all Rand’s philosophy. SF is much closer tive feature of any type of SF. had a deep respect for knowing how to Ernst Mach’s notion of a gedanken- If anything, SF writers and readers they worked. They had to. Yet, their experiment (‘thought experiment’) than seem to be big fans of manipulative politics covered a spectrum that to any type of axiomatic philosophy. social engineering. The number of included Western democracy, Soviet While there may be SF writers and stories that feature characters who communism, German nazism and readers who are objectivists, objectiv- manoeuvre and, basically, trick others Japanese imperialism. ism is no more necessary to SF than into doing things the way they want Which brings us to ‘rock-ribbed scientology is. them to is legion. But then this is what objectivism’. I don’t know what Ray- Part of Raymond’s problem is that one would expect from a genre that mond means by ‘rock-ribbed’ — he seems to assume that because liber- appeals mostly to those who are tech- though Yvonne Rousseau suggested it tarianism sprang in part from SF, that nically adept, but politically and finan- might mean that it’s either ‘fossilised’ must mean that SF is somehow inher- cially powerless. or ‘petrified’ — but objectivism is the ently libertarian. I suppose if he had Also, I would point out that philosophy developed by Ayn Rand. written ‘A religious history of SF’ he coercion is a function of resistance. If a Given that Rand did most of her work would have conclude that, because population likes and supports social- in developing and promulgating scientology had sprung from SF, the ism, then introducing a socialist politi- objectivism in the 1950s and ’60s, I natural religion of all SF readers must cal system will be easy and won’t don’t know how applicable it is to be scientology — with various heretics require any coercion. On the other Campbellian SF that appeared in and schismatics trying to divide the hand, if a population opposes and dis- mostly in the 1940s. Still, it is the most One True Faith. After all, L. Ron Hub- trusts libertarianism, then introducing political aspect of the aura Raymond bard was one of Campbell’s writers, a libertarian political system is going describes and, I think, the most wrong- and Campbell was an early advocate to require a great deal of coercion to headed. of dianetics, the precursor to sciento- overcome the resistance. Most political Objectivism is a philosophy built on logy. That would have been an inter- fiction assumes that the general popu- a set of axioms — ‘existence exists’, esting essay to read. lation supports and agrees with what- ‘consciousness exists’ and ‘A is A’. I don’t know how serious Raymond ever political position is being Raymond’s phrasing suggests that he is about objectivism, but I will point advocated, and so the attainment of is distinguishing an objectivism that out that his discussion of radial cate- the desired political structure is simple values ‘knowing how things work’ gories is decidedly non-objectivist.

(Continued on page 25)

18 Jurisprudential difficulties in Heinlein’s The Star Beast

by E.B. Frohvet

JS: ‘E. B. Frohvet’ is the pen name of A host of legal issues are raised in can court has decided a case on home- a fan who lives in Maryland, USA. A Heinlein’s The Star Beast (1954), but steading law in sixty years. (Still, this reader of science fiction since child- many of them are, at best, highly is what precedents are for. According hood, he has been professionally questionable. to a quirk of the law in Howard County published as a fiction writer and In order to assess a legal finding, where I live, a bed-and-breakfast inn one must consider the legal system can only be licensed in a historic build- been active in fandom, on and off, involved. In Afghanistan under the ing. A couple who had filed for such a for more than 20 years in conrunning Taliban, flogging, stoning, beating licence in a modern building had their and fanzines, including his own women in the street, were all legal. As application rejected. Their lawyer, Twink. He has also had articles and reprehensible as most people in civi- obviously a man with a sense of hu- reviews published in numerous lised countries found that, let’s face it, mour, creatively refiled under long- other fanzines. many of us really didn’t give a shit disused statutes relating to boarding For those not familiar with the plot until September 11th. Even then our houses, leaving the county’s puzzled of The Star Beast, a very large alien principal concern was that the Taliban officials thumbing through old books: creature has been living on Earth for were giving aid and comfort to our the zoning board had not had to rule over a hundred years, tended and enemy. Had they turned over bin on such a case in decades.) guarded by several generations of Laden and denounced Al-Qaeda, Sergei Greenberg, who assumes which they were given an opportunity special jurisdiction of the case in TSB the Thomas family. Its name is Lum- to do, we would have let the Taliban on behalf of the Department of Spatial mox, and it likes to eat a wide variety go on beating women to their hearts’ Affairs, is an attorney. Still, he blows of things. One day, Lummox wanders content. the whole thing in the first five min- into town, and cause quite a commo- (There’s an old slang in politics: utes, before court is even in session. tion among the townsfolk despite its ‘Afghanistanism’, meaning, great It’s a question of what Heinlein friendly and gentle behavior. Its attention to events in a distant and chooses to call xenology, the study of appearance frightens and angers unimportant place.) sentient aliens. But it’s a matter of the people of the small town; the While there’s a North American xenology as it bears on legal concerns. town’s government is unable to de- Union, not a United States of America The people of any planet with which cide what, if anything, to do with in TSB, the legal system described is Earth has a treaty have human status Lummox, and a special agency one that, with some slight modifica- under Earth law. Less than citizenship, tions, any American would recognise. certainly, but recognition as ‘people’. called the Department for Spatial In Chapter 1, the police officer At the outset, Greenberg observes that Affairs steps in to determine a pun- Sergeant Mendoza demands that the Lummox can speak: not merely parrot- ishment for Lummox and his teen- protagonist John Thomas Stuart XI ing words, but using language mean- age owner, John Thomas. come with him. The boy responds, as ingfully, conducting conversations. by reflex: The lawyer himself observes:

‘You got a warrant or something?’ ‘It is a truism among xenists [sic.: a member of an alien race is a Nonetheless, he goes along, recog- ‘xenian,’ the adjective is ‘xenic’] that nising it’s in his own best interest to speech centers are only found in cooperate. In Chapter 3, when John is nervous systems that use them.’ roused at an ungodly hour to present himself and Lummox at court, Chief There’s a general precedent, quoted Dreiser came prepared with a warrant in Chapter 10, so basic it’s taught to — technically, a summons. Even then schoolchildren. John, with a typically American resis- Granted, as Greenberg later ad- tance to arbitrary authority, reads it mits, he was misled by the lack of and calmly points out: manipulative appendages (hands). Still, the fact that Lummox uses ‘It says ten o’clock. It doesn’t say I language meaningfully, even if in a can’t eat breakfast first, as long as limited fashion (and not even his own I’m there by ten.’ language), should have set off loud alarms in Greenberg of all people, a Ignore Betty’s absurd quibble about man who deals with sentient aliens for ‘homesteading.’ I doubt if any Ameri- a living, to the possibility of Lummox

19 being a person in the legal sense, not a ‘owner’ of Lummox, regarded as a insists on proceeding pro se, without an mere animal. At the least, he should chattel. attorney, having refused both Postle have continued the legal matters in- Mr Schneider is present as counsel and Andrews, that’s his problem. definitely while that issue was for the damaged department store, There are at least three reporters, pursued. Bon Marché, and for its insurer West- whom Greenberg orders back to the Perhaps Mr. Greenberg was influ- ern Mutual Assurance. spectator seats, but makes no effort to enced by the local magistrate, Judge Mr deGrasse, the store manager, at- have them removed. Again a very O’Farrell, who says: tends but plays no large role in the American notion, that court is a public trial. place. I can go up to Howard County ‘I don’t like last-minute postpone- Mr Ito, younger, is there repre- courthouse any day, go through the ments . . . It has always seemed un- senting his elderly father, owner of the metal detector, and sit down in any fair to me to order busy people to damaged greenhouses; also the attor- court to watch. It’s well known to any- gather together, to their expense ney, not named, for his insurance com- one who works in a court that there are and personal inconvenience, then pany. That’s a potential conflict of ‘regular’ spectators who come nearly tell them to come back another day. interest right there: the interest of Mr every day, it being their principal It doesn’t have the flavor of justice.’ Ito and his father may not at all co- hobby. Indeed it’s rather striking that incide with those of the insurer. All Ito in an event of such obvious local inter- That’s an admirable sentiment, but wants is for the farm’s loss to be made est, few people have turned up to one that appears excessively naive in a good. The insurance company almost observe the proceedings. judge. The reality is that any lawyer certainly wants either to pin the whole Finally there’s Dr Esklund, a nut can get nearly any action postponed, blame on Johnnie, or to get the incident case who styles himself amicus curiae, a for any reason or no reason at all, for declared an act of God, in legal terms ‘friend of the court’, prompting the weeks or months at a time. It’s a stand- ‘an event which no reasonable fore- humorous but apt response from ard tactic, to keep delaying trial as long sight or precaution could have pre- Greenberg: as possible, in the expectation that vented’, either of which will get them witnesses will get bored or pissed off off the hook. ‘This court insists on choosing its and fail to show up, or be less certain Marie Stuart is present as John’s own friends.’ in their testimony. And judges are so mother and guardian. afraid of providing any reason, how- Mr Postle is described as ‘the Stuart Sensibly, he is ejected. ever frivolous, for an appeal (however family lawyer’. If Postle is willing to act That’s twenty-three people, includ- frivolous) that they generally allow it. as the boy’s attorney, he has made zero ing eight lawyers, almost all of whom The convenience of witnesses, victims preparation for the duty, not even hav- have different interests in the case. Too and jurors is rarely a consideration. ing spoken to his putative client. That’s many. Most of the time, unless it’s a case that obviously inadequate representation, Betty’s suggestion that Lummox be has attracted substantial public inter- if not — again — conflict of interest called as a witness, and Greenberg’s est, it’s the clerk of the court that sets (Mrs Stuart’s interest not being identi- rejection of it on grounds the ‘star the docket anyway. cal to her son’s). beast’ is not a competent witness, is yet Then there’s combining criminal Mr Lombard, city attorney for the another mistake he could have spared and civil issues in the same trial: a municipality of Westville, is present, himself by removing her from court in mistake, as the standards of evidence which is fair in view of the city being the first place. He threatens Esklund differ. Most civil matters can be an injured party. Also Chief of Police with being held in contempt, demands decided on what laws call ‘preponder- Dreiser, on behalf of the public safety; order when someone laughs at Mrs ance of the evidence’. In some limited Sergeant Mendoza and Officer Karnes Donohue, but allows Betty to deliver instances of special import, civil find- are witnesses. an impassioned rant. ings may have to meet a requirement The public defender, Cyrus And we’re still at the stage of of ‘clear and convincing’ evidence. The Andrews, is one of the few who shows merely establishing the facts. Any evidentiary standard for criminal trials much sense in the matter; he is willing competent attorney representing John is ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’. This is to act as John’s lawyer, saying, Thomas Stuart would have disputed a distinctly tougher standard, and is the facts, disputed the admissibility of supposed to be. ‘I’ll need a recess to consult with my the facts, and disputed the relevance It’s evident that Sergei Greenberg principal.’ and interpretation of the facts, right sees the whole affair as a waste of his down the line. Inadequate repre- time; he bulls ahead, trying to get it all Then there’s Mrs. Donohue, wit- sentation again. over with in one day so he can get back ness and damaged party (her rose Moving along to the conclusions, to his real work. Thus he compounds bushes), and her attorney, Mr Bean- Mr Greenberg begins by denying two the initial error. field. petitions to destroy Lummox. One Consider who’s present at the trial. There’s Betty Sorenson, who pro- apparently got lost along the way, or Greenberg himself presides. poses to act as Johnnie’s counsel else Chief Dreiser never got around to Judge O’Farrell is present, but plays despite the fact she is also a minor, and formally submitting his. While I have no significant role. The same is true of not a lawyer. Greenberg gives far too no sympathy for the ‘Keep Earth the bailiff and the clerk of the court, much credence to this ridiculous Human League’, that their petition who are supposed to be there, but im- notion; he should have booted her out was denied unread (unless Greenberg partial and inconspicuous. the door. (Betty does at least have the is a speed reader and skimmed it while John Thomas Stuart is there, as wit to point out yet another conflict of his attention should have been on the defendant in the criminal actions, and interest, that Lombard and Andrews trial he was conducting) suggests an in his presumptive capacity as legal share a private law practice.) If John obvious ground for appeal.

20 advising you as to the law,

has fish of his own to fry. In short, this is about as complete a jurisprudential botch of evasion, double-talk, and inconsistency as one could imagine. Mr Green- berg, though technically a lawyer, obviously has very little trial experience; and he is motivated throughout by impatience, an arrogant sense of superiority over these local yokels, and in the end, greed, the desire to acquire Lummox as a specimen for the Depart- ment of Spatial Affairs. (While we can suppose that Greenberg had no financial interest, it could hardly fail to be to his professional advan- tage to secure such a unique Greenberg then dismisses all crimi- ‘Where does that leave us?’ specimen. Having inserted the Depart- nal charges on grounds that: ment into the matter as one having an Mr Greenberg then drops another explicit, privy interest in the outcome, ‘No criminal intent can be brick, with the proposal that speci- rather than an impartial dispenser of found . . .’ mens from the Trail Blazer voyage were justice, he has created such a conflict of government property, and therefore interest as should clearly require him That’s arguably true, but may not be Lummox, if a chattel, may not belong to recuse himself.) relevant. This is something of a grey to John Thomas Stuart at all: What should he have done? For an area in law. Minors under a certain obvious start, Greenberg ought never age, and the mentally deficient, can be ‘The source of relief may be a matter to have let anything go to trial while presumed to lack mens rea, criminal of more involved litigation.’ the status of Lummox, either as person intent; but they can still commit crimes or chattel, was in any doubt. Failing and still be confined as a public safety In other words, come back later: the that, he should have adjourned the measure. The difference between mur- very problem he was trying to avoid trial as soon as it became apparent that der and manslaughter is largely one of by barging ahead in the first place. he was in over his head, with too many intent, but you can still be prosecuted Note, no one raises on Johnnie’s interests at odds with each other. Or he for killing someone even if you did not behalf the suggestion that the govern- could have minimised the damage by intend to. (See the related concept of ment has failed to pursue any claim to agreeing to separate trials, as sug- ‘felony murder’: any death that results Lummox for more than a century, and gested by Mr Ito’s attorney. from the commission of a crime is mur- is therefore barred from asserting such That Mr Greenberg does none of der, even if there was no intent to cause a claim now under the doctrine of those things indicates a complete death.) estoppel. Further, that the Stuart absence of judicial prudence. John To his credit, Greenberg does con- family have established ownership (or Stuart recognises, though he might not sider the possibility of whether guardianship) of Lummox by pre- be able to articulate it clearly, that he Johnnie was criminally negligent in scriptive right, the same having been has received neither justice nor equity. allowing Lummox to get free, all else consummated by use and acknow- Thus his decision to blow the whole following from the alien getting out; ledged by civil authority: it has already thing off and flee, at least to buy time, ruling that the youth exercised ‘due been stipulated that Lummox was left is a reasonable one under the circum- prudence’ based on experience to that to John Thomas XI in his father’s will, stances. Finding an attorney of his point. This is one aspect of the ruling Mrs Stuart’s interest being only indi- own, as Thorby Rudbek eventually which actually makes sense. rect through her son. does in a similar situation in Citizen of In the civil litigation, he denies all I hate to keep harping on this the Galaxy, or Valentine M. Smith does punitive and exemplary damages, and phrase ‘inadequate representation’, in Stranger in a Strange Land, would then (far too late) continues all civil but like the proverbial elephant in the have been an excellent next step. actions pending further investigation. room, it’s difficult to ignore. Any com- In retrospect, John would have As Heinlein wittily comments: petent attorney having John’s interest been well advised to take an attorney as his principal concern would have to his meeting with Mr. Kiku as well. A fly would have had his choice of jumped all over those two points with However, that’s a matter of diplomacy open mouths. both feet. My point is that no one is rather than jurisprudence, and there- filling that role: certainly not Betty, fore outside the scope of this article. If that’s not enough, Mr Schneider who is unqualified, and not Green- blurts: berg, who despite blather about — E. B. Frohvet, 2005

21 Grouches on Gethen: Improbabilities in The Left Hand of Darkness

by David Lake

David Lake writes: ‘I’m basically OK; I first read The Left Hand of Darkness themselves. Yes, indeed: and I get pretty fit at 77, occasionally writing (henceforth, LHD) soon after it was annoyed by one or two such things in poetry or short prose pieces. I am published in 1969, and I was bowled the tragedies of Shakespeare. In King also teaching a good deal in various over with admiration. (I was going Lear, for instance, the good guys treat voluntary ways. One is, I help a cer- through a Taoist phase at the time, Lear, even after his fall, with enormous which probably helped.) Later, for respect, and we are supposed to be- tain intelligent foreigner improve his many years I taught the book in an SF lieve that he has been a great and good English by reading with him texts we course at the University of Queens- king — yet in Act I he behaves like a both enjoy. We’ve recently done land. Each time I re-read it (I’ve lost tyrannical old fool, cursing and Cat’s Cradle and The Wizard of count how often), I was again awed. I banishing the people who love him. Earthsea, and are beginning The Left once published an article in Science Fic- This is a serious internal problem, Hand of Darkness.’ tion Studies on its profoundly symbolic worse than the Oedipus thing: yet we sets of images. I have written to Ursula swallow the contradiction for the sake fan letters, to which she has graciously of the wonderful poetry based on it. replied. At the moment I am in a sense In LHD, there is a great deal of con- teaching it again, reading it with a tradiction or improbability to swallow. young foreigner who wants to im- I am not now referring to the two prove his English. We have read four big impossibilities that form a necessary chapters, but I have leapt ahead of him basis for this and for Le Guin’s other and re-read the whole book again. I ‘Hainish’ novels. Those two are: have also recently read or re-read the 1 The ansible, the ‘radio’ that allows related short stories ‘Winter’s King’ instant communication across and ‘Coming of Age in Karhide’. Once countless light years. This violates more, I am impressed by the richness Einsteinian relativity, which for- of the poetry, the depth of the themes. bids any information travelling And yet: each time I am uncomfort- faster than light. ably aware of the improbabilities in the 2 The postulate that we humans, and story. They do not destroy the great- the Gethenians, are really Hainish ness of LHD; but they do irritate this colonists planted long ago on reader. planets with unrelated life-forms. This is not a problem confined to Le The close relation between our Guin’s work. It is perennial. Several DNA and that of all other life-forms acclaimed works of literature have on Earth is just a huge coincidence: very dodgy plots. Aristotle noticed we are not related to chimpanzees. this, about 330 BCE. In his short book (Wow! Worse than the ansible.) Poetics he twice remarks (chapters These two impossibilities are neces- 15.10 and 24.20) that Oedipus Rex is sary for Le Guin’s novel; and anyway, based on a glaring improbability: why they precede the main story. Aristotle hasn’t Oedipus, through all the long would have approved. And you’ve got years of his reign, inquired into the to allow SF writers one or two crazy details of the murder of Laius? postulates: that is fundamental to the Aristotle, however, says that writers genre. The ansible and the Hainish col- can get away with such things if they onisation don’t bother me at all. tuck them away in the background be- What does bother me is the series of fore the story starts. He is more severe subsequent oddities: some six improb- on inconsistencies within the stories able things you have to believe before you can sit down to breakfast on Gethen. Here they are: Leo and Diane Dillon’s cover to the first G edition of Ursula Le Guin’s The Left Hand of First (a mild bother) the Ekumen, Darkness (Ace Science Fiction Special formerly known as the League of paperback, 1969). Worlds: a confederation of 83

22 planets and some 3000 nations, would be well over a century. Is he West Fall (the large area that bor- with headquarters on the planet not, therefore, an escapist, a misfit, ders on Orgoreyn), there must have Hain. This is a super-UN, pursuing a nut? Could the Ekumen trust him been people living there. If not a completely benevolent policy to remain sane on Gethen? Orgota, then who? This ‘settlement’ through hundreds of years; and in- There is one way out of this prob- must in fact have been a conquest; viting other planets to join when lem. It is, that Genly is basically of and conquest implies war. they are judged ready for it. I know the temperament of a priest or Not only Karhide, but also this is a great SF cliché, but it still monk. He is supposed to be a Orgoreyn has been a nation (a jars on me. The Ekumen and all its normal male; yet on Gethen, for Communist one, at that) for ‘several representatives are completely years, he enjoys no sex whatever. hundred years’ (chap. 8, p. 115). So saintly, and several sacrifice their He has at least two chances, but he both nations on the Great Continent lives in approaching new planets. avoids both: once in the prison- have been well organised for that All right, we have to believe this; truck with a Gethenian in female time. We know there is plenty of but our present UN on Earth ‘kemmer’, that is, oestrus (chap. 13, violence at least in Karhide — mur- doesn’t inspire much confidence in p. 171), and again with Estraven on ders, assassinations, ‘forays’ be- such organisations. Has there been the Gobrin Ice. tween the tribal groups called a change in human or Hainish One presumes, therefore, that in Hearths. Well, an organised nation nature? Is there no danger of cor- Genly the Ekumen chose an under- acquainted with violence on a small ruption in this long-lived bureau- sexed loner who had broken with scale is surely capable or organising cracy? Apparently not. his family, and his friends (if he ever it on a large scale: that is, capable of G A much more serious problem con- had any). One can only hope he is war. cerns the saintly envoys them- not unbalanced. So I find it very hard to believe selves: for example, Genly Ai, the G Karhide, the nation on the Great that before Genly there have been Earthman, one of the two heroes of Continent of Gethen which is the no wars on Gethen. Yet Genly’s LHD. He is presented as a normal great rival of communist Orgoreyn. mission is largely to save Gethen male Earthling, well-meaning, For me, Karhide is a great problem, from war . . . dedicated, if a bit stupid. Yet how full of inconsistency. It is supposed I also find it hard to understand normal could a man be, who dumps to be feudal and anarchic, and, up the organisation of Karhide. How for ever all his family and friends on to Genly’s arrival, incapable of war. did the often mutually hating Earth, to cross 80-odd light years, (There is no word for ‘war’ in Hearths ever combine into a and only return to Earth (perhaps) Karhidish.) But that is very far from nation? What intermediate struc- after a couple of centuries? We are the impression it makes in the early tures are there: dukedoms, prov- given these facts clearly at the be- chapters. The King, Argaven XV, inces, states? We never find out. ginning of chapter 16 (Ace edition, decrees the banishment of his good The Hearths with their surround- 2000, p. 221). Genly’s parents are prime minister Estraven (Genly’s ing Domains are easier to under- ‘seventy years dead’, and though great friend). He does this without stand: they are aggregates of (you can work it out) in lived time consulting his parliament. The matrilineal families, with one he is 26, he was born on Earth ‘a decree states that Estraven must be family usually noble, that is, lords hundred and twenty years ago’. out of Karhide in three days, or die; of the Hearth. This is not much like the Apollo and nobody must help him; and at G But then we have the peculiar incest astronauts, who were all carefully once, almost everyone obeys the law, or rather half-incest law. selected as normal family men, all decree. Except for his lover Ashe, Siblings are allowed to have sex married, to ensure that they were no one dares to approach him or with each other until one child is mentally stable. Le Guin actually give him a lift in any vehicle. This is born to one of the pair. After that picked up on this problem in a short not a feudal anarchy: it is very they must separate, and never do it story, ‘Vaster Than Empires And much like a Tsarist autocracy. The with each other again. More Slow’, first published in 1971; kings of Karhide seem to be abso- A law like this takes my breath that is, two years after LHD, and lute monarchs. away. Among us humans, all incest collected in The Wind’s Twelve Quar- I know that Karhide is said to be is usually tabu, for good Darwinian ters (Bantam, 1976). This story con- changing in this direction, under the reasons. Some societies have cerns a Terran expedition to a far rule of the new prime minister Tibe; allowed it (such as Ancient Egypt). planet — farther off than Gethen, but it looks very much as though it But the point is, incest is either but not significantly so. On the first changed long ago. There have been allowed altogether or forbidden page of this story we read: ‘All the kings in Karhide for 1700 years; and altogether: this ‘one child’ law is volunteers to the Extreme Survey 700 years ago King Argaven the incredible. shared one peculiarity: they were of First moved out of his old capital This law is not structural in the unsound mind. No normal human Rer, and took the new capital plot. But we know why Le Guin put being who had experienced time- Erhenrang, when he crossed the it in: to reinforce the betrayal-and- slippage of even a few decades Kargav Mountains and ‘settled the exile theme. Estraven is betrayed by between League worlds would great valley of the West Fall’ and separated from his dead volunteer for a round trip of centu- (chap. 5, p. 53). That move and ‘set- brother Arek (they have violated ries. The Surveyors were escapists, tlement’ looks again like a violent the law); and at the end of the story misfits. They were nuts.’ piece of autocracy. Gethen has been Genly has taken the place of Arek, Well, but Genly too has experi- industrial and developed for at with once more, themes of betrayal enced a time-slippage of more than least 3000 years (chap. 3, p. 28), so and separation (this time, again, by a few decades; his ‘round trip’ when Argaven the First took the death).

23 Beautiful symbolism: but the law tirely at the mercy of the natives. she does so in a story that is very itself is incredible. The results of this policy are often odd, coming from a self- G In Orgoreyn, there is a major plot not very pleasant. At the beginning proclaimed atheist. I would say that problem. Karhide and Orgoreyn of chapter 3 (p. 27), we learn that on (unknowingly?) Le Guin has writ- are having a ‘cold war’ arising out some planets at least one envoy has ten a variation on the story of of a border dispute. Estraven, been killed, and three in succession Christ. Genly comes down from prime minister of Karhide, sud- ‘locked up with madmen’. Not very heaven like an angel (angels are denly loses the King’s favour and is surprising. If we had one human- God’s messengers), saying ‘Believe exiled on pain of death. He escapes looking alien land in a small flying in me, and you will be saved’ (from to a port of Orgoreyn, where he is saucer, and make such claims, war or other unpleasantness). But recognised by local officials. But would we believe him? The best hardly anyone does believe in him. then he is ignored by the govern- policy would probably be polite Jesus had at least twelve believers ment of Orgoreyn for four months! ‘protective custody’ until confirma- (Genly has eleven, but they are He is granted residence, and works tion arrives that he is indeed an tucked away in his invisible star- for three months in a fish market, accredited Envoy, and not some ship). On Gethen, Genly has only after which he ‘calls’ the govern- criminal or madman on the run one: Estraven. Who actually saves ment. Then he becomes a secretary from his home planet. the Saviour, risking his own life and to one of the inner ruling group. But All this is done so as not to finally dying in what may be con- still he is ignored. It is only one frighten the natives. In chapter 15 sidered a blood sacrifice. It is like a month later that he is called up for (p. 209), Estraven asks the obvious rewrite of the Gospel of John, with an interview concerning Genly, question: ‘Why did you come the Beloved Disciple being who has applied to enter Orgoreyn alone?’ Genly replies ‘One alien is a martyred instead of his Master. (chap. 6). curiosity, two are an invasion.’ Are This is not how things used to be they really? I don’t believe it. Two It was said of the Charge of the Light done in Moscow! A prime minister unarmed aliens might be much Brigade: ‘Magnificent, but not war’. I of a rival nation who defects . . . more reassuring than one. On am tempted to say of LHD, ‘Magnifi- Why is he not immediately interro- Gethen, a loving pair, a man and a cent, but not SF’. Of course, that would gated? Perhaps an explanation woman, would be both convincing be outrageous; but could not a similar lurks in Gethenian psychology. But and acceptable. They could pretend tragedy of love and self-sacrifice be it is not in the text; and I am left at first to be a kemmering couple; written of some place on Earth? A his- incredulous. The case is like that of and after that, all would go well. torical novel, perhaps. Estraven is to Oedipus, who doesn’t ask relevant Especially if their starship were Genly rather what Pocahontas was to questions for years. The Orgota clearly visible overhead. Captain John Smith. And Genly, don’t ask relevant questions for The obvious best way for the priest-like Genly, is essentially a mis- months. But the case is worse in Ekumen to approach Gethen sionary. One could imagine a Christian LHD, because it occurs in the midst would be to place the starship in missionary placing himself among a of the story. (Oh, Aristotle!) orbit round the planet itself, circling warlike tribe of native Americans, and G And now for the biggest improba- for months. The Gethenians have being nearly martyred, but saved at bility of all, which is also central to no SAM missiles, so the ship would the last moment by a loving native the whole plot. This is the method be safe; but they do have radios. woman who gives her own life instead. used by the Ekumen in making con- There could be a long dialogue and Probably stories like that have been tact with new planets, such as negotiations by radio before any- written, or filmed. Gethen. The Ekumen sends in one descends to the planet. This But LHD provides us with a richer secret Investigators, who learn the need not be very frightening. The experience than any such novel. Its vir- world’s lore and languages. Then a Ekumen would show that they cer- tues are perhaps not those of a novel at biggish starship is despatched, with tainly had great power, but were all, but of a highly original lyric poem, some dozen people aboard. But the not using it in a hostile way. Then with its oddly paired images of light- starship remains invisible, in an the little rocket-lander could come plus-cold versus darkness-plus- orbit far from the planet. From the down in a place designated by the warmth, signifying knowledge-and- ship one Envoy, the Mobile, natives, and the nice couple would destruction versus ignorance-and-life; descends in a little rocket-lander, come out — and all would be well. and these image-pairings are main- and says, in effect: ‘Take me to your And approaches like that have been tained beautifully through the whole leader. I represent 83 planets in made in other SF novels. (I did text. One can only be grateful to Ursula Outer Space. We would like you to something like that in my novel The Le Guin for giving us all this — even join our federation.’ To back up this Gods of Xuma.) Le Guin does some- though it is based on incredibilities. claim the Mobile (here, Genly) has thing quite singular. Why? I wonder what Aristotle would only himself (slightly alien- I believe the answer is, that she have said? looking), and his small rocket, and wants a great tragic drama of faith a bag of hi-tech tricks, including and loyalty versus unfaith and be- — David J. Lake, 26 June 2006 one ansible. He is unarmed and en- trayal. And she achieves that. But

24 Coda: Estraven’s early life

One irritation for some readers of The throwing himself into an attack when you know. Left Hand of Darkness is the nagging he knows he has a high probability of question: what actually happened being killed. But that is not suicide. Not This sounds like a real, permanent ex- between Estraven and his brother guilty. ile from his Domain. Yet at the end of Arek, 20 years and then 14 years before Now let us return to the business of the story, at Estre, it is made clear to the year of the novel itself? All we have Arek. Here too, I believe Estraven is Genly that his family, his parent Sorve are hints scattered across the text — completely innocent. But we need to senior, Lord of Estre, and his child hints followed by our guesses. get some facts clear before we can clear Sorve junior, have loved him, and now This is certainly intentional on the his name. care deeply for his honour and public part of Le Guin: it is part of the ‘dark- The big problem arises from the reputation. This is not like the case of ness’ of Ignorance, which is one great ‘half-incest’ law of all the nations of Getheren, the man in the chapter 2 theme of the novel. But still, the left Gethen, pointedly including Estra- legend, who was violently and hand of darkness is light; and I think a ven’s Karhide. This law is stated in two officially expelled from his family little more light on the facts would be non-narrative chapters, 2 and 7. hearth-domain. useful here. Therem Estraven is, after Chapter 2 is a Karhidish legend, There is another detail that counts all, the real hero of LHD. He is the one chosen and inserted by Genly because against any legal–official exile from who does the crucial deeds, and in the it is relevant, a significant parallel. In Estre for Estraven. When he is publicly end, like a proper tragic hero, pays for the legend, we read: exiled from Karhide on pain of death, them with his life. Genly, the Earth- he first thinks: ‘Why should I not go man, is more of an observer and a vic- In those days, as now, full brothers east and so come home to Estre?’ (ch. 6, tim than a hero. He is the overall editor were permitted to keep kemmer p. 72). He is deterred from trying this and main narrator of the story; but he until one of them should bear a only by the near-certainty that he himself admits that it is really Estraven child, but after that they must sepa- would be caught and killed by Tibe’s who has controlled his movements rate; so it was never permitted them agents. I submit, therefore, that he (end of chapter 8, Ace, 2000, p. 121). to vow kemmering for life (p. 21). could have gone home, into hiding, and There are some things we never get to so he has not been formally exiled by know because Genly himself never In chapter 7, a previous Investiga- his family. knows them, perhaps never wants to tor states: ‘Siblings are not however And consequently, Estraven cannot know them. In the end he has meta- allowed to vow kemmering, nor keep be guilty of causing Arek’s suicide (if phorically become Estraven’s brother, kemmering after the birth of a child to that death was suicide). Estraven stays taking the place of the dead Arek. But one of the pair’ (p. 92). away from home for 20 years for other the focus of the novel is Estraven; we Well, in the legend we are told that reasons, connected with Arek. Perhaps warm to him as a really heroic figure. in the Hearth-and-Domain of Shath he prefers to avoid embarrassment And so we want to know if he was, or (north Karhide), two siblings violated and sorrow. was not, guilty of serious wrongdoing this rule. The ‘Lord of Shath com- Did Arek in fact commit suicide? in the past. On his planet, Gethen, sui- manded them to break their vow and He may have merely died ‘of a broken cide is the worst possible crime, as it is never meet in kemmer again’. The sib- heart’, or in ambiguous circumstances. a betrayal of life and friends. So: is ling who bore the child then commit- Arek wrote a letter to Estraven, quot- Estraven guilty of causing his brother’s ted suicide; and the other ‘brother’, as ing the poem ‘Tormer’s Lay’, ‘before suicide? guilty of breaking the law and causing his death’ (ch. 16, p. 233). But ‘before’ One may add, also: in the end, does the suicide, was driven with violence need not mean ‘immediately before’. he commit suicide himself? out of Shath into permanent exile from Genly, reading Estraven’s diary, may My verdict is no. Not guilty on his Domain. suspect a suicide note, but he doesn’t either count. Now, let us look at the parallel hap- know. And neither do we. One can dispose of the second penings between Arek and Therem One important thing is in Estra- charge briefly. Genly feels Estraven’s Estraven. (Actually, all the family are ven’s favour: he left Estre for good six death is a suicide–betrayal, but he is Estravens, but for simplicity I will re- years before Arek’s death. For he left wrong. Estraven has to leave his coun- serve that name for our hero, Therem.) 20 years ago, whereas Arek has been try, Karhide, where he is outlawed and We know that Estraven and Arek dead only 14 years (ch. 18, p. 254). So facing death at the hands of his enemy produced a child, for we meet him it seems Estraven obeyed the law of Tibe, the new prime minister. He is (Sorve junior) at the end of the novel. separation after the birth of a child, and making for Orgoreyn, where he faces He is then aged, Genly thinks, about 19 did not immediately cause Arek’s death. a grim fate (possible imprisonment in or 20. We know that Estraven has been Another point: did Estraven violate a gulag camp), but not necessarily in ‘exile’ of some sort from his Domain the law by ‘vowing kemmering’ to death. As he reaches the border, he is of Estre for 20 years (ch. 19, p. 275). A Arek? The ambiguous evidence for blocked by Tibe’s armed guards, who few days before he dies, Estraven says this comes in chapter 6, page 74. Estra- call to him to stop. He ignores the or- to Genly: ven tells his later kemmering-partner der, rushes on, and is shot dead. But if Ashe: he had obeyed the order, the guards But I haven’t expected to see my would certainly have killed him any- home again for a long time now. The only true vow of faithfulness I way. His action is like that of a soldier I’ve been in exile for twenty years, ever swore was not spoken, nor

25 could it be spoken, and the man I so, during the Ice journey (chapters 16 Year Events swore it to is dead and the promise and 18). If he had been fertile at age 17, broken, long ago. and had borne or sired a child then or 0 Estraven 17, Arek 18. They a year later, then 20 years later he meet in kemmer. From this it seems that Estraven did would be 37 or 38 — near but not quite 1 The child Sorve is born. Es- ‘vow’ and ‘promise’, but not in spoken past menopause. We know that Arek traven leaves home at once. words. The promise he made to Arek was one year older (ch. 18, p. 254). 7 Arek dies. was therefore not a legally recognised A minor point is that Estraven and 11 Estraven and Ashe vow vow. And so—he is not guilty of break- Ashe began kemmering ten years be- kemmering. ing any part of the incest law. fore the events of the novel, and the 18 Estraven and Ashe part. affair lasted seven years. Ashe bore 21 Events of the novel. We can now reconstruct a chronicle of two children. Estraven’s life. But one more basic Here is the table of events I have One detail must remain a mystery. datum is needed: how old, exactly, is constructed. Unlike the Karhiders, I We cannot know whether Estraven he during the events of the novel? I will call the year of Estraven’s love- was the father or the mother of young would say, about 37 or 38, with very making with Arek ‘Year Zero’. And I Sorve. The hints we have cancel out. little uncertainty. The Investigator will place the events of the novel Perhaps Genly never wanted to ask. says that Gethenians are fertile, at least within one year, which is roughly true. (I have my own preference, but, like in female phase, ‘between seventeen Genly, I’m not going to tell.) and thirty-five or so’ (ch. 7, p. 93). Praise then darkness. Much beyond 35, then, they would not come into kemmer; but Estraven does — David J. Lake, 7 July 2006

The Raymond Debate (from p. 18) prototype. He just vaguely refers to quickly discover, they constantly dis- ‘certain classics of hard SF’. Contrast play a number of traits: they’re According objectivism’s Law of Iden- this to Hugo Gernsback’s editorial in intensely nationalistic; have a highly tity — ‘A is A’ — a category such as SF the first issue of Amazing Stories (April developed sense of exceptionalism; are would have to be defined as an abstract 1926) in which he describes SF, or preoccupied with macho posturing, concept derived through a process of ‘scientifiction’ as he called it, as being wanting to always appear strong, measurement omission (don’t ask). A ‘the Jules Verne, H. G. Wells and Edgar tough and hard; have little empathy for sort of ‘SF is SF’. Rand’s term for people Allan Poe type of story — a charming the suffering of others; and have a who accepted such linguistic ideas as romance intermingled with scientific strong belief in the efficacy of violence, ‘radial categories’ was ‘subjectivist’, fact and prophetic vision’. generally advocate it as the first, and and her dismissal of them was quite Even though he was unaware of the often only, response to perceived scathing. idea of radial categories, Gernsback slights and frustrations. If you think of However, I think Raymond’s dis- zeros in on exactly what he considered politics as a radial category, and you cussion of radial categories is the most to be the core from which the genre ask ‘What other political ideologies interesting part of the essay. What’s radiates. It’s also a core that covers a display these traits?’ you will find them more, I agree with him that radial cate- broader spectrum than Raymond’s all neatly clustered at the right end of gories are a very useful way to ap- vague reference and, if you add Edgar the chamber. While I’m sure that the proach SF. I would go further and Rice Burroughs, I think you’d have a minor differences between libertarian- suggest that they are a highly effective core from which pretty much all sub- ism and other right-wing ideologies way to approach almost all the genres sequent SF can be derived. loom very large to those in the middle that flourished in the American pulp of that cluster, they seem very, very magazines of the first half of the twen- Finally, Raymond’s claim that libertari- small to those in the gallery and who, tieth century. anism isn’t right wing is probably the in Raymond’s own words, regard ‘all The only deficiency is that Ray- oddest part of the essay. As anyone political ideologising with suspicion’. mond doesn’t identify what he consid- who has interacted with, or even just ers to be the core works that form the observed, libertarians online will — Zoran Bekric, 2006

26 Letters of comment

DARRELL SCHWEITZER Lewis’s Perelandra was reissued by Avon 6644 Rutland Street, as Voyage To Venus with a naked lady on Philadelphia PA 19149-2128, USA the cover. Another Avon book of the time was famously banned, then Perhaps we can understand my friend exonerated, so that the publisher Ben Indick’s doubts about my photo [in bandied it about in very self-important SET 5] on account of his youth. After terms thereafter. They took a very all, a downy-cheeked lad of 82 may ordinary volume entitled Chinese Love have a different perspective, and we Stories, retitled it Eastern Shame Girl, must respect that. But the photo I gave and gave it the full Avon treatment. You you is my standard publicity photo, can imagine the result. Rather like what taken by I know not whom, but a good Dr Allen describes for The Werewolf Of example of a black and white (easier to Paris. reproduce) with adequate contrast, and I am afraid that at the end of the a not-too-goofy expression on my day, the good doctor judged the book otherwise cacodaemonic visage. I do by its cover. If it had been a Penguin, not photograph well. The problem is, of with a chaste cover, I am sure the course, that the camera cannot be matter simply would not have come up. persuaded to lie. 31 October 2006 In any case, that photo, which also occurs on four of my Wildside Press I was active in fanzines as far back as books, probably does need updating. I 1968. I came out largely on the think it is from the late 1990s, which, The real Darrell Schweitzer? (Photo: Jason anti-New Wave side, though I would as we all slip unto dissipated oblivion Van Hollander.) break ranks and write favourable reviews is, egad, almost ten years ago. I can’t of Stand On Zanzibar or Camp wrong-headed in some ways, could have read the name of the con on the name Concentration or even Barefoot in the made a publishable book review. I get badge, but I think this was taken at a Head. I was the only American fan I the impression that in the USA most Boskone about 1997. I am, right now, knew who actually read New Worlds. My censors or would-be censors are just 54. I would have been in my mid forties objection to the New Wave was not that ignorant, bigoted and afraid. You know, in the photo. It is true that I employed of Lester del Rey or J. J. Pierce. I wasn’t the kind of people who object to the same portraitist as Dorian Gray with all that worried about its pessimism or Huckleberry Finn because it contains the the same results, that my boyish even its anti-science, but more about n-word and therefore must be racist, appearance (I avoid the cliché ‘good its opacity. I didn’t object to Bug Jack who fear that Harry Potter will make looks’) was preternaturally prolonged, Barron, which is a comprehensible story, your kid worship Satan, or who think but the damn fool never did learn to use but to things like the Ballard condensed that Slaughterhouse-Five will undermine the right kind of preservative. On the novels or Pamela Zoline’s ‘The Heat patriotic values. That sort of thing. painting, I mean. I am otherwise Death of the Universe’, which do not But here we have a censor with some reminded of that great exchange from seem to have any content. I looked at erudition and even literary ‘The Addams Family’ in which little the Zoline again recently and it still understanding. He can cite other Wednesday tells the travelling seems pretentious and empty. Similar examples of werewolves in literature, saleswoman about cosmetic use in the writers in NW would have included from Petronius to Rider Haggard. He household. ‘Uncle Fester uses a spray-on Michael Butterworth, James Sallis and quotes Tennyson. His literary preservative.’ ‘Oh . . . ? To keep young?’ Langdon Jones, not exactly names to background is probably a bit ‘No, just to keep.’ conjure with these days. old-fashioned, but this guy was neither Attached is a more recent and much entirely stodgy, nor ignorant. more revealing photo, produced by the As for what he was really driving at, [BRG: I loved Langdon Jones’s stories noted artist (and my sometime I think that comes through clearly that appeared in New Worlds and The collaborator) Jason Van Hollander. I enough. He let himself be distracted by New SF anthology, because he wrote don’t know why some people suspect the Avon edition’s notoriously lurid very good sentences, and some of his that this has been touched up. I don’t cover. You will recall that all Avon stories made deep metaphorical know if you can read the shirt. It says: books of the period, even if pure as the sense. (At the age of twenty-two, I ‘VINTAGE PERSON. Been around long driven snow, were made to look like the knew what ‘deep metaphorical sense’ enough to be back in style.’ raciest pornography. It sold books. As meant.) I wondered what had hap- On another matter, I read the article an editor in our field explained to me pened to him after 1971. A Google about Australian censorship with years later, actual literary merit in a search found his website, where he interest, particularly the bit about The paperback ‘must be carefully concealed’ reveals himself somewhere in the Werewolf of Paris. While one can never if you want to sell copies. How much English countryside clumping about approve of censorship, I was impressed more so in 1951, when most paperbacks in his wellies. His website does not that Dr Allen took the trouble to were mystery novels with dead dames tell us what he actually does for a actually read the book and attempt a on the covers. living these days. But why should I close analysis of it. His report, while This was the era in which C. S. imagine that he ever earned any not favourable and decidedly money from his fiction?]

27 The conclusion I’ve come to is that of SF can do to someone. What they Cordwainer Smith, looking forward to there are brief times when, largely for don’t realise is that in the reading the paper. And she loved the critical/ideological reasons because no adolescent-looking ‘before’ photo, I am title. one wants to seem unsophisticated, actually thirty-six. The Dune people, the fanatical writers like that can fake their way into 1 November 2006 Fedaykin, on the other hand, have been the field without actually learning to a bit of problem. Their puerile pursuits write a story. But they do not survive. DAMIEN BRODERICK will not admit of subtleties or mysteries The New Wave is remembered more fa- San Antonio TX 78212, USA beyond The Great Man, Himself vourably precisely because these folks (apparently). Two of them blocked me are forgotten, and we think of Camp Con- Harry Buerkett allegedly wrote: from correspondence, and another centration or ‘Behold the Man’ instead, claimed difficulties in finding your which are still powerful stories with ac- Since both authors abandoned around eFanzines site (?), and has not tual emotional and intellectual content. 1960 texts in favour of reworking the responded since. People do not remember the actual con- theme into 1963 final forms, it seems Ah, c’est la guerre! tents of, say, Orbit, just the few classic some text in the public domain for the 6 November 2006 stories that came out of it like Wolfe’s first time after 1960, perhaps, might ‘Seven American Nights.’ provide an answer to the riddle. [BRG: I gave out the wrong web address for eFanzines.com. Go to [BRG: Again I disagree. I remember What would that mean in English? It’s http://efanzines.com, then scroll Orbits 5, 6 and 11 as being among the not entirely plausible that both down my section of the site.] best anthologies of that Era of Great Linebarger and Herbert abandoned one Original Fiction Anthologies. In thousand nine hundred and sixty texts I really loved the article by Eric those days, I read all the ones I could in order to write their novels. Could Raymond about Libertarian SF, and find obtain, and took the trouble to write Harry mean something like: I agree with him on a good deal of it. about them.] I’m not as big a fan of ‘technological Since in 1960 or thereabouts both fiction’ as he is (The Killer Bs), and find authors stopped writing new texts in I have suggested of late that much (with Amis and Disch) most of the favour of reworking the old theme into of the literary fantasy and slipstream is works revered here in the States to lack final forms published in 1963, perhaps repeating the mistakes of the New Wave some third writer’s text, entering the even a passing familiarity with literary era and it is again possible for some public domain for the first time after conventions of style and writers to get published, even widely, 1960, might provide an answer to the characterisation, which should without being able to communicate any- riddle. determine form and plot, respectively. thing. But I think that, say. D. F. Lewis It has become a convention for SF will go the way of the minor New Or maybe: writers to force their characters’ Wavers, for the same reason. emotions and actions, thereby foisting So maybe that makes me an Since in 1960 or thereabouts both the plot upon them (and the unreconstructed Second Foundationer, authors started reworking the theme of unfortunate reader), and it seems in but I doubt it. Remember that? J. R. earlier texts into final forms published in most cases as if the novel were a grind Pierce started a crusade against the 1963, perhaps some third text, influenc- to write (which certainly comes through New Wave. It was largely a one-man ing each of them separately, had entered in the reading). What’s bothersome is movement, in the classic fannish the public domain for the first time after not so much the execrable pulp stylings manner. I am sure he counted me as a 1960, and might provide an answer to the of so many writers in the field, member and fellow-traveller, but I am riddle. inherited from their predecessors, as not sure I did. It was more that he was that the readers do not demand better. willing to publish some of my stuff — But neither of those recastings seems to I’ve come to agree with Lem (and Amis, including several juvenile and awful fit reality. and Disch) that SF is a hopeless case — ‘satires’ — in his fanzine. 3 October 2006 with exceptions (though they be few). I have a few issues of SF Raymond, however, has identified a root Commentary. I certainly saw a few of HARRY BUERKETT cause for why the genre will not, maybe them. But I guess I just reached a point 507 West High Street, cannot, change: we look to SF for that of over-expansion and there were only Urbana IL 61801, USA frontier spirit, the can-do attitude, and so many fanzines I could participate in. not for literary complexity and depth of I remember writing (nothing of any As to Damien’s recasting of the feeling; it’s a gosh-wow! whiz-bang! consequence) for another Australian sentence, it seems he got my meaning; sense of wonder kind of expression, not fanzine of the period, Gegenschein. and I absolutely agree it defies ‘reality’ so much about how the universe works, Keep up the good work with SET. It as we know it. So the question remains but how we can work it (through the is one of the best such publications (the reason for my paper): why are the practical science of technology); not going. I’d certainly rank it with The New texts so structurally similar, point for the science of knowledge and reason, York Review of SF or Foundation. point, given the fact that the authors but the technological know-how As for the gag photo, it is indeed demonstrably did not collaborate, and whereby, by God, we get our hands more recent. There was a photo of me in yet they wrote their works dirty! Anything beyond the didactic and Locus not all that long ago, some group simultaneously? pedagogical purpose of expounding that picture from a convention. There are 4 October 2006 thought-experiment is considered at some photos of me online, including least dross, if not heresy, and is somewhere a set of ‘before’ and ‘after’ I got a nice note from Karen Hellekson, anathema. photos of me, showing what a lifetime who wrote The Science Fiction of 17 November 2006

28 comparison article is very well researched and presented. It makes me want to struggle into Dune again. I love looking at fandoms that I have little connection to. The view of Roger Dard is wonderful, and it opened my eyes to exactly how much things have changed during the twentieth century. Even in China, where there’s a quickly growing fandom that is nearly totally isolated, people are regularly ordering and reading issues of American prozines. That’s in China, the People’s Republic of China, where folks are getting some pretty radical stuff sent their way. 5 October 2006

ALAN SANDERCOCK 2010 Desmond Drive, Decatur GA 30033, USA

We are fine here in colourful Atlanta [JGS: ‘Literary complexity and depth sudden. (the leaves are all changing and we of feeling’ can be found in contempo- Eric Raymond and I disagree on a lot move, finally, into cooler autumn rary SF, you just have to know where of subjects, not the least of which is weather). I appreciate your continuing to look. I suggest the SF novels of C. J. the significance of the Free Software to send the ‘dead tree’ issues of your Cherryh (who’s presently at work on Movement and his views on Islam. On publications, and certainly I’ll accept another novel in the Alliance/Union the other hand, he does present his the PDF version. It’s much faster and universe, a sequel, I believe, to ideas very nicely and in a highly cheaper for you as well and it really will Cyteen), Elizabeth Bear (her Jenny readable style. Go figure. I totally agree suit me fine. By the way Jane was Casey trilogy in particular) and Peter with his view of Hard SF. I was on a interested in the John Brosnan issue [of Watts (who has followed up the panel with a few folks back at Con Jose *brg* 46] even though she had no idea splash he made with the Rifters Saga where one of them said it was called who this person was. I think she was (Starfish, Maelstrom, Behemoth: â- Hard SF because of how hard everyone touched by the obvious fan enthusiasm Max, and Behemoth: Seppuku)) with will be on you if you get anything that surrounded John, and how this Blindsight, a current Hugo nominee), wrong. To me, the real change in SF could all finally result in a publication to start.] happened in 1951 when Farmer with photos and articles remembering published The Lovers and changed SF something of his life and times. I only CHRIS GARCIA forever, but that’s just me. met him the one time, back in 1976 at 1401 North Shoreline Boulevard, Everything else in SF either rode a a One Tun Pub evening. Mountain View CA 94043, USA traditionalist horse or followed in the At the moment I’m really anxious to steps of Farmer and Sturgeon. Without Right off the bat we get a Ditmar cover, Farmer and Sturgeon, you have no New which makes me happy! Wave. Really, Cyberpunk is more or less Despite being an SF media fan, I’m traditionalist SF with a post- not big on ‘Babylon 5’. The Cinco, as Farmer–Sturgeon worldview. [JGS: I’ve often referred to it while on panels, From my readings of Cyberpunk is a good enough show, with complex (admittedly mostly Bruce Sterling’s takes on politics and religion, but I just work), this doesn’t parse. Care to never had much fun watching it, and expand on the idea in an article? I that’s what usually hooks me to a show. mean, you have so much time, Sadly, I too am having troubles with right?] my printed issues of the various zines I I love Cordwainer Smith. It was do. Postage has been ridiculous (I used Howard Hendrix who really introduced to spend about 40 bucks on postage his work to me, along with some of the sending out 25 issues of Claims personal writings of John Pierce. Department before I took it to FAPA), Norstrilia is my personal favourite. and printing, when I can’t get it for free [JGS: Oh, crap, now I really will at work, is insane. I love eFanzines.com have to find some of Smith’s works. because it allows me to do colour, and The stack of books will never extra pages if I feel like it. It also disappear!!!] allows for an unexpected reader base, There is one giant difference and while that can cause trouble, it’s between Dune and Norstrilia: I’ve never always nice to have someone you know once come close to finishing Dune. I’ve nothing about drop you a line all of a tried. Oh My Ghod have I tried. The

29 finally get to see what the film-makers Since then I have cranked out a one or deported at any time. It’s unlikely that made of Chris Priest’s novel The Prestige. two a year, as a freelancer. (All the either will happen, but he’s still I think we are only about a week to ten Disney comics writers for Egmont are suffering both psychologically and days away from release here in the US, freelancers, as are all the artists.) It’s practically from the lack of certainty. and by all accounts it’s going to be an hardly enough volume to make a living All the people I knew personally, and interesting film. It’s curious that at it, but it does help to pay the I think all the long-term detainees another film called The Illusionist (Ed mortgage occasionally. It’s rather (three years or more), have now been Norton playing a magician/illusionist) ironic, since I am rather a hard-core released, but the policy certainly has been released a few weeks ago and Marxist communist to be writing for remains virtually as horrible as ever, and it’s been doing very well. I recommend Disney, but I enjoy the challenge. there’s nothing to stop more people it. After this Barcelona seminar, I have getting stranded for years. 16 October 2006 three story ideas to write up, which I I don’t know if I’ll ever write need to do very soon. (We submit two- anything substantial about the refugee [JGS: Both were, I thought, quite well or three-page summaries of proposed issue. It leaked into one short story — done on all accounts, and told differ- stories to the editors, which, if a lightly fictionalised account of ent enough stories to make both approved, we can then turn into full refugees from alternative histories worth seeing.] scripts. If these scripts are approved, called ‘Lost Continent’, which will we get paid.) Most of my stories have appear in a US YA anthology [in 2007] JEFF HAMILL some sort of low-level SF elements in — but for the immediate future I’m just 4903 Fremont Avenue North, them, and often some sort of ‘message’ trying to be glad that all my friends are Seattle WA 98103, USA is hinted at. For example, in one of my out, and get on with thinking about stories Scrooge McDuck replaces all his other things. Maybe in a couple of years Yes, it has been awhile. I’ve been fine, factory workers with robots; to his I’ll have enough distance from it, and although I had heart surgery in June — consternation the robots demand to be the relevant people will be in safe an attempt to correct my erratic treated like people, and go on strike. Of enough situations, for it to be possible heartbeat(s). It’s too early to tell if the course, being a Disney comic, you can’t to tell some of their stories in more operation was a success — my actually say that people are on strike, detail. heartbeat is sometimes regular, but when you have a bunch of workers 25 October 2006 sometimes erratic, and it can change surrounding a factory with picket signs from hour to hour. They tell me that it and chanting demands, it is pretty MARTIN MORSE WOOSTER should settle down — one way or obvious what is going on. PO Box 8093, another — within a year. The days of anonymous writers and Silver Spring MD 20907, USA I just got back yesterday from two artists are over; all of us are given weeks in Barcelona, where I went for a bylines when the stories are printed. I Janine Stinson’s comparison of ‘Babylon Walt Disney comics writers’ could write an article, ‘My Life and 5’ to a detailed, complex novel is not seminar/conference, all expenses paid, Disney’ — in fact, you just read it. new. [JGS: I was aware of that, which was very nice. (During the second 28 October 2006 specific to B5.] About ten years ago, week, after the seminar was over, I was Martha Bayles, an American cultural joined by Agnes — my wife — and we GREG EGAN critic, got into trouble with her peers spent that week sightseeing. We were Perth WA 6001 with her claim that ‘ER’ and ‘NYPD Blue’ on our own financially for that part, of were not only great serialised dramas, course, but it was sort of her fiftieth [BRG, in an email to Greg:] I presume but were more riveting than any fiction birthday present.) that in some important way you have produced at the time. [JGS: And she 23 October 2006 been able to arrange a satisfactory set- was probably right, if she was tlement for the person you were help- referring to contemporary ‘popular’ I skimmed through the first part of Eric ing in detention camp? The last I saw fiction.] But the problem with Stinson’s Raymond’s ‘A Political History of SF’. I from you on the matter was the letter claim is, as I understand it, that find what I read very hard to take in The Age. Somehow I thought you ‘Babylon 5’ creator J. Michael seriously. The idea that the Futurians might eventually relate the whole Straczynski was not given approval for a were fellow-travellers of the Communist story in a magazine such as The fifth season until very late, so that the Party I can accept as plausible (I don’t Monthly. The fundamental situation, drama he envisioned actually ends after know enough about them to have an as far as refugee rights, still seems to the fourth season, with the fifth being a opinion on whether it’s actually true), me as horrifying as ever, but you sort of afterthought. but the only well-known SF writers who might have much more information I would have been willing to call Marxist available to you than is available to [JGS: That is an incorrect under- were the Strugatsky brothers. Maybe. the usual newspaper-reading public.] standing. JMS wrote the show outline [JGS: There are different as a five-year story, and had to do definitions of ‘Marxist’, too.] Peter Qasim was released from some scrambling with his episode As for Disney comics . . . The chief detention back in July 2005, mostly scripts toward the end of the fourth editor at Egmont Creative (a children’s thanks to lobbying by Dick Smith season, when it appeared the show’s book and Disney comics publisher [well-known Australian self-made rich network was going to cancel it. Fortu- located in Copenhagen, Denmark), person and philanthropist], after six nately, there was enough audience Byron Erickson, is a good lifelong friend years and ten months in detention. But protest to allow for the planned fifth of mine. He invited me to try writing he still doesn’t have a permanent visa; season, and those rewrites never had some Disney stories several years ago, he’s on a ‘removal pending visa’ under to happen.] once I became too ill to work regularly. which he could be re-detained and/or

30 I saw much of the first four seasons, curate novels with competent heroes support. It certainly helps when the but gave up on season five after seeing don’t necessarily want a political mes- author being so used is dead. [JGS: one unfortunate episode where the char- sage attached to their fiction. With the Which is why ‘Consider the source’ acter played by Tracy Scoggins spent exception of Vernor Vinge, SF writers is always an important guide to most of the hour complaining about her who are fairly explicit about their Liber- reading such material.] father’s alcoholism. tarian politics (L. Neil Smith, Victor I’ve been considering doing a Nova Koman, Brad Linaweaver) don’t sell very Mob talk on SF critics for a while, but [JGS: Too bad you let one episode put well. the theme needs developing. I don’t you off the rest of that season. Only James Doig and Milan Smiljkovic’s want to get bogged down in criticising after watching the entire series, in article on Roger Dard was a very the tendency of some to be of the ‘I’ve episode order (thanks to Netflix) did interesting contribution to fan history. got a theory and I’m going to bang on I fully comprehend the extent of All I know about the Australian about it endlessly’ type. Straczynski’s achievement. Each sea- Literature Censorship Board is what 27 October 2006 son had its weak points, but taken these authors have told me, but they altogether, B5 was probably the most have found a very interesting archive [BRG: Early in 2007, Julian delivered fully realised novel-as-TV ever aired, that ought to be mined further. Dard an enjoyable paper about M. John and certainly holds its own with comes across as someone who was Harrison, particularly his two recent shows like ‘ER’ and ‘NYPD Blue’. eccentric and more than a little novels, Light and Nova Swing, to a With the end of the current ‘Battlestar obsessive, but wholly admirable in his Nova Mob meeting in Melbourne. No Galactica’ series in sight, I look for- efforts to build his collection and defy sign of a written-out version yet, but ward to re-viewing all its episodes to some pretty stupid censors. I look we’re still hoping.] see whether it was able to hold to the forward to Doig and Smiljkovic’s next high standard that B5 set for SF TV article. ART WIDNER series.] 9 November 2006 35501 South Highway No 1, Unit 122, Gualala CA 95445, USA Since Janine asked: I actually do JAMES DOIG watch a great deal of SF and fantasy on 36 Tinderry Circuit, G’day Bruce (and Jan): TV. I even spent an enjoyable half-hour Palmerston ACT 2913 Gotcher snile mile tother dye. U sed at the 2003 World Fantasy Convention ‘paying to send a fanzine oseas . . . asking the chairman of the 2004 conven- Thanks Martin! It was good fun putting financially daunting.’ Yes, tiz, but tion to summarise the first eight epi- it together — and nice to link dry old considering what i’ll b getting in return sodes of Smallville, all of which I had censorship records with the (hav alredy gotten 4 0!) of course i’ll missed. I don’t feel compelled to watch reminiscences of ‘real’ people. My trade. I have a whole box full of Y 53 & every episode of every SF drama on TV. collector mate, Milan, did a good job 54 wch i pponed sending to UK & Oz chasing up Dard’s shady acquaintances bcoz of $$$. Wch ones r u missing? I [JGS: It would be beneficial not only in Perth, but sadly never located his had hoped to join Anzapa after Bill to me, but to our readers, for you to collection. Wright so kindly sent me a sampl, but add details like this in your locs. Sup- The other censorship article, first tween my travels & 3 apas, i cant wej it porting evidence of statements published in All Hallows, and reprinted in. I’m scared to go to efanzines for fear makes a position stronger in discus- in the same issue of SET, has also been i’ll be inundated. i dont kno how to sion. Since you seem uninterested in picked up by a new Aussie publishing send the copy i have on computer since answering my question ‘Why does venture: i still do some fizikl cutting & pasting the next question have to be “What http://www.brimstonepress.com.au/adfh2 after i printout. U wdnt get the flavor of sort of jazz?”’, I won’t ask it again.] 006.htm. Interesting to see a ‘best of’ the whole zine. I dont kno how to send anthology publishing non-fiction. pix either. i’ll also send U Quarto (SAPS) Eric S. Raymond’s article is provoca- 4 November 2006 & Web (Intercourse) altho theres tive but wrongheaded. I agree with him getting 2B a lot of overlap lately. Arnie that hard SF is the core of the field and JULIAN WARNER sends me VFW direct, so i read that. that many hard SF writers are Libertari- 13 Frederick Street, Lately ive been trying desperately to ans. But there are many hard SF writers Brunswick VIC 3056 clear up 50 years of kipple after a runin who were not Libertarians; Isaac Asi- (row) w my ‘eldest’ (courtesy of CEB) mov, for example, was a man of the I’ve been reading both Steam Engine gdotr, wch i think i told U abt. If i dont left. Today, Stephen Baxter is a popular Time and Parietal Games, the book of M. i fear the valuabl will wind up in the writer with a PhD in a hard science who John Harrison’s book reviews and dump withe worthless. ‘I have been to produces novels that are scientifically articles about Harrison’s writing. I am Ludlow Fair’ & a’ that. Hope i may see U correct but very depressing. Moreover, struck by a common theme in both agn some day . . . on this side, that is. Michael Moorcock, Raymond’s nemesis, publications of (mis-) appropriation or Keep yer billabong up, mate, Art calls himself an anarchist, which I inter- possibly (mis-)attribution of qualities to 31 October 2006 pret as someone who is in favour of lib- others’ works. erty but sceptical about capitalism. Eric Raymond shares the same faults [BRG: Assuming this issue appears [JGS: That’s the most unusual inter- (or achievements) as his Marxist foes in before October 2007, I can wish you a pretation of an anarchist I’ve ever bending the writings of others to fit his happy ninetieth birthday, Art. West read.] I also believe that the Sam Gold- worldview and political aspirations. Coast fanzine fandom plans to de- wyn rule — if you want to send a mes- I’m sure that most authors would not scend on Gualala to celebrate the sage, use Western Union — applies to appreciate being used as an exemplar event. Thanks again for being a great SF. Readers who enjoy scientifically ac- for ideas that they might not personally host during my trip in 2005.]

31 SARA CREASY thirteen-year-old Honda Civic make the fiction, and has to do with the range somewhere in America trip (I’m only part-time faculty, at the wars of the nineteenthth century. Beef rank of Lecturer . . . that’s plenty for herders on horseback won out against It was lovely to hear from you — my me . . .). I teach ‘Writing 211: shepherds on foot, and that’s hardly dad forwarded your letter to me in Fundamentals of Creative Writing,’ and fiction. Interesting too is that, as in Tucson, Arizona. Yes, this is my new enjoy it immensely Argentina, said range wars were home. I got married last December after (http://www.uwo.ca/writing/). This is financed by British capital while at the what you might call an internet the second year I’ve done it. The writing same time the same Australia was being romance, to one Mr Micheal Planck. We and the teaching have all come capitalised to live ‘on the sheep’s back’. met early last year, accidentally, on an together nicely. Proof of that is his stating that much of atheist discussion board (not something Daniel is six years old and in grade America’s lamb actually comes from you’d want to proclaim too loudly here one. Amazing. either Australia or New Zealand. in God’s own country) and I moved in 3 November 2006 Complicating things yet further is that November after some fairly painless, but Australian lamb tastes the same way endless, rounds of paperwork. We have DORA LEVAKIS that its artists paint it, in pastels, and two dogs, a few geckos running around 16 Deakin Street, Yarraville VIC 3013 New Zealanders are quite right in saying the place, and a woodpecker in the that if an Aussie wants to see what backyard who likes to attack the I was overjoyed to read that Gerald green really looks like he has to go to ten-foot dead cactus. I’m very happy. Murnane was nominated for the Nobel. New Zealand. Weirder yet is that some I’ve been doing some long-distance That was Thursday, 12 October, the of the best lamb I’ve ever tasted — and editing for Heinemann, but Adrienne same time that a visual artist I had met, Wooster’s never tasted? — is from Ralph has left and the work may fall off. Patrick Moss, and had classes with (in northern Nevada and southern Idaho. Time to think about a real job again. 1980) was enjoying a near sellout of his Local wits say it’s because Basques I would love to read Steam Engine current exhibition. I had met Gerald in know how to talk to sheep, but I know Time online and have browsed through 1981 and it tickled a big smile across it has to do with being free-ranged and the latest copy. I was interested in the my face to see that these two were all that sage brush and pine nuts editorial because Micheal and I just right now being taken to another level. they’ve been eating. Maybe because it’s watched ‘Babylon 5’ from start to finish not in supermarkets across the country on DVD. [BRG: Long-time readers of Gillespie is why he’s no idea what I think about 31 October 2006 zines will remember that Gerald Americans eating lamb. Murnane, my friend whom I met [BRG: Sara Creasy put in an enor- when he was working at Publications [JGS: Um, well, I live in a ‘small town’ mous amount of work on Aurealis, Branch, Education Department of (probably less than 1500 in popula- one of the two Australian SF maga- Victoria, in 1971, wrote some reviews tion) and the local grocery stores zines that dominated the scene dur- for SF Commentary in the 1970s, and (within 5 miles of my home) both ing the 1990s.] that Norstrilia Press (which was carry lamb regularly, so someone Carey Handfield, Rob Gerrand and around here must be eating it. Or per- TERENCE M. GREEN me) published two of Gerald’s books: haps I misunderstood your state- 154 Randolph Road, The Plains and Landscape with Land- ment, and you actually were referring Toronto ONT M4G 3S4, Canada scape. His work, having gained many to your own country?] admirers in Sweden, has come to the [BRG: When he sent the following notice of the judges of the Nobel As for his, Janine Stinson’s and letter, Terry Green also sent a copy of Prize for Literature, and he was nomi- Gregory Benford’s quandaries about ‘jazz his novel: Sailing Time’s Ocean nated for the award in 2007. Mean- as a way to define how ideas are passed [http://www.fitzhenry.ca/detail.asp while, his work is still mainly from one generation to the next in SF’ x?ID=9916] (reissue, retitled, early ignored in Australia, where he was and/or any other means of expression, September 2006, of the 1992 novel won no prizes other than the Patrick what should be said is that it became Children of the Rainbow, with a new White Award.] too intellectual for its own commercial Intro, Afterword, etc.).] good. Niches are like that; and a perfect I’d submitted a self-portrait this year example of that is that John Coltrane’s I’d be flattered if you got around to to the Archibald, painted onto a piece ‘My Favourite Things’, aside from being using the autobiography [in a of the weatherboard entitled The Colour mine as well, has always been a lot forthcoming issue of SF Commentary or Of My House Is Always With Me. I flew to more intelligent than Julie Andrews’ Steam Engine Time]. Figured it was a Sydney with it as hand luggage and ever was. small chance, given the economics of when, surprise, surprise, I had to re- Then again, the best jokes are your ventures (I’ve already read SET 5 trieve it some tourists took a photo of invariably the ones nobody else gets. — your editorial too), and understand me with it in front of the Sydney Har- 30 October 2006 completely. (I found the article about bour Bridge. the censorship involved in getting 4 November 2006 STEPHEN CAMPBELL books and magazines into Australia 2/29 Kelp Street, quite fascinating). E. D. WEBBER Warrnambool VIC 3280 Something new: I’ve joined the 19 Leslie Avenue, Gorokan NSW 2263 faculty of the University of Western Steam Engine Time received with Ontario (London, Ontario — some In answer to Martin Morse Wooster’s gratitude and pleasure. Coincidentally, two-hour drive from Toronto). One day a query why I think Americans don’t eat I’ve just recently re-read Norstrilia, week (Wednesday) this old body and its much lamb, the answer is hardly science which I found (to my surprise) in the

32 local library. Linebarger’s writing is, to existence has enabled me to finish my tralian fandom, as a continuous me, still some of the most entertaining eighty-page ‘comic strip’ called stream of activity, seems to come into speculative work I have read, either in Transitoria. It’s innovative, and I hope being in 1980 or thereabouts. That’s recent years or from the past. He has it’s readable. Very simple in design and when the first Swancon took place. In managed to capture and understand structure, with little reference to any the 1990s, that state became the main core aspects of the Australian psyche genre (it’s virtually a genre in itself) but publisher of new SF and fantasy in that even most Australian writers still with enough ideas to generate further Australia.’] don’t seem to appreciate or understand. work to entertain myself with. I hope to The laidback attitude that we have to have a ‘dummy’ photocopy of it soon Au contraire, the first Swancon was in our own enormous resources and (finance permitting), and when I do I 1976, in Tony Peacey’s house, attended prosperities, as well as to the will be curious to know your and by a few notables. In fact, it was sophisticated ‘securities’ and regulating Elaine’s opinions of it. inspired by Aussiecon 1, in 1975, to authorities that we have in place to I hope you and Elaine (give her my which an intrepid band of voyagers protect that wealth, are part of this. It love) and your incumbent feline made their way. There was a first all still seems to come down to the passengers are all well in your new fandom, of sorts, in Perth before that, spirit of: ‘Is he an all right bloke?’ and spaceship out there in Greensborough. going back to the sixties. I came into ‘She’ll be right mate’. I don’t write this Late October 2006 contact with them when I went to my in a patriotic or nationalistic sense (we first Swancon, number 2, in 1977. I’ve still have a lot of work ahead of us to JERRY KAUFMAN been to every Swancon since, and I hear shake off the American corporate P.O. Box 1835, Seattle WA 98346, USA tell that Swancon may be the propaganda viruses that threaten to longest-running uninterrupted undermine our peculiar identity), but Harry Hennessey Buerkett draws so convention in Australia. As far as the these are some characteristics that we many detailed parallels between nineties goes, Ticonderoga and Eidolon have that seem to be uniquely Norstrilia and Dune that I’m tempted to were brave attempts, but I think ‘Australian’. I do get horrified by the reread both of them to see if I would Aurealis was out by then, and phrase ‘un-Australian’, though that agree with him. As it is, I’m ready to publishing more. Certainly Ticonderoga, seems to be bandied about a bit at the believe they were written in as a small press, has to be matched up moment — shades of that maniac Non-Euclidean reality — the parallels against other publishers, and the bigs McCarthy creeping into our vast, arid appear to converge just over the event were publishing a fair bit of SF. Eidolon space that we live in here in relative horizon. The basic story sounds as had a great reputation, and had great peace and tranquil apathy. I have never though it could have come from some promotion, but it was very variable and understood how something can be nineteenth-century European novel, highly irregular; i.e., the issues didn’t protected by engaging in an antipathy except for the stroon/melange and the appear on time. It published a lot of to what it represents. ornithopters. Perhaps some alien world good stuff, but the taste was I tried to read a recent Robert beamed its greatest novel to Earth, and idiosyncratic, to my mind. Silverberg fantasy novel recently, but only Herbert and Smith picked it up. 6 November 2006 lost interest after forty pages, and a What sort of fillings might they have collection of American SF short stories had in their teeth? JOHN BAXTER left me similarly disenchanted. I did, Lots of very interesting stuff in the 18 rue de l’Odean, Paris, France 75006 however, become absorbed and Eric Raymond political history of SF. I entertained by Singularity Sky by Charles think he misses one revolution, though. Just to correct a couple of errors . . . Stross. Hardcore old-fashioned SF He might have noticed that his The order of the people in the pic I sent written in 2004, published by Orbit revolutions come about one a decade, is (left to right) Nigel Burwood, Bill Books (ISBN 1 841 49 3341). The and he’s skipped the 1970s. The Blackbeard and Martin Stone — not ‘Festival’ and the ‘Critics’ who introduce revolution that fits in there is the Burwood, Stone and Blackbeard. a ‘singularity’ to Rochard’s planet are feminist SF revolution. It had critics, And it’s quite untrue that I was able hilarious, as well as the primitive writers, fanzines, programming at to live in the UK during the 70s through attempts of the ‘New Republic’ to conventions. (At the end of the decade the convenience of a British-born suppress it. Serious ‘science’ fiction. a specific convention was founded in parent or grandparent. The last member I also recently received a copy of Bill large part to explore the topic, Wiscon, of my family to hail from the Old Dart Wright’s Interstellar Ramjet Scoop. It and both the con and the award it was a great-great-great-great etc seems that fandom reaches out to birthed, the Tiptree, continue to this paternal grandmother who was embrace me again after these decades day.) transported at the time of George III for of strange toil and learning that I’ve 6 November 2006 the theft of a bucket — contents received, and that embrace leaves me unknown. Plenty of 100% Australians with a warmth of familiarity that the [JGS: The first Wiscon was held in like myself were able to reside in the UK uncertainty of my path has lacked. I 1976, which is nearer mid-decade. if they knew the residency rules and reside here in rural Warrnambool, which I’ve only attended Wiscon 29, but didn’t become a charge on the state (as, is a world unto itself, and beneath its found it both intellectually stimulat- ironically, John Brosnan did, despite his mundane exteriors lie unfamiliar and ing and plain ol’ fun.] status as legal resident). sometimes almost arcane culture, which I met scores of Australians passing I learn to appreciate. Did Cordwainer IAN NICHOLS through London while I lived there. Smith get this far south? It seems that 241 Hancock Street, Most, however, were as anxious to get the Instrumentality did. Unfortunately, Doubleview WA 6018 back to the comforting warmth of there is no C’mell here, and I continue Australia as I had been to escape. Some to live monkish and hermit-like. This [BRG emailed to Ian: ‘Western Aus- even turned down offers of residency

33 plummeted around 1980 and has never recovered. But I hope to venture at least one more time to Europe, which remains my spiritual home.

PS: Ron Smith said to me (in 1985): ‘I can afford to live in America, but I can’t afford to die there.’ 11 November 2006

It’s that picture again, courtesy of John Baxter. Correct order, left to right: Nigel STEVE SNEYD Burwood, Bill Blackbeard and Martin Stone. 4 Nowell Place, Almondbury, Huddersfield, and work. I remember listening, aghast, me up on several matters, especially West Yorkshire HD5 8PB, England as a young film director who’d been about his nonexistent British grand- given an internship at the BBC parents. By the time I felt I might like The ‘praise song’ for ‘Babylon 5’ seemed explained that, though he’d been to move overseas (to try I-know-not- to fall between two stools: too long for offered a full-time director’s post, he what), the immigration rules had be- its essential message, ‘This is/was preferred to return to Australia and come far more restrictive for Britain. great’, too short to say anything new in raise a family. He subsequently made a The English-grandparent rule had any developed way. [JGS: It was an few features, then disappeared into the come in by 1973. I was far more inter- editorial, and the title contains the twilight zone of TV. Another, now a ested in trying to find some way to get word ‘meditation’. Those two items prominent film reviewer in Australia, into publishing in America, but I should have clued you in; sorry you arrived in Europe at the start of an could see no way of beating the Green missed the bus.] all-expenses-paid ‘scholarship’ that Card restrictions. I was always sur- The piece on Australian censorship included visits with all his heroes, only prised that you did not use that Aus- seems to prove a point about work to lose his nerve the night before the tralia Council grant to go overseas, at expanding to fill time available: a load first interview, and flee back home. least to meet the SF folks in America. of clerks reading loads of pulps and Maybe having to work for it is what Still, thanks to John you did get to see having to ban plenty of them to justify made people like me hang on. Paris and parts of France, and that’s spending their working days so. Or was 7 November 2006 something I’m never likely to do. My there popular support for this policy? second trip, last year, was a complete Were there any opinion polls on LEE HARDING surprise, but it did have strings at- censorship taken in those days? What Toorak VIC 3142 tached — I felt under obligation to killed this level of censorship in the meet fans on the West Coast, espe- end? There is room for a follow-up If Rog Dard was indeed the Aussie rep cially at two conventions in Califor- article. for Operation Fantast, then he was my nia, rather than cross the country. first fan contact in this country. We Seattle was a nice surprise — like [BRG: A lot of Australian history has shared a long correspondence, and at Toronto, it felt like a city a Mel- been written about our long tradition one stage I was part of a group letter burnian could live in. New York, of ferociously puritanical censorship; that also included local luminaries Lyell which I reached in 1973, is the most most of the historical journal papers Crane (Sydney) and Bill Veney exciting place I’ve ever visited, but I can probably be Googled these days. (Brisbane). Rog may also have passed cannot see how anyone can afford to But James Doig might want to send on Race Mathews’ address, though I live there.’] us yet another entertaining article on seem to recall Race writing me as rep the subject.] for some overseas fan organisation. John took off for England in 1970, Either way, the wheels were set in at the tail end of the Great Oz Migration Raymond’s Libertarian analysis of SF motion and the rest followed . . . (Germaine Greer, Clive James et al.). could well have concluded its analysis But what prompted that howler re But it wasn’t exactly a Plunge Into the with the marketing viewpoint, briefly John Baxter having English Unknown. He had been promised digs touched on when talking about why the grandparents? Not so! In those days, with the guy who ran Zwemmer/Tantivy New Wave faded out. The Libertarian many of us talked about going to Press in London, having published Holly- viewpoint supports readers who are seek- England, but John actually did it. Grant wood In the Thirties with Zwemmer in ing a power fantasy [JGS: Why no sup- him that. 1968; he had also sold his first novel, porting facts for this opinion?]; 11 November 2006 The God Killers, to Ace and Moorcock however, the loner ‘mad scientist’ trope had serialised it in New Worlds; and he hardly accords with the way big science [BRG emailed back: ‘Thanks for the had sold a second novel, Meadows of is actually done, through state or big updates on various matters, includ- Capricorn — alas, now lost — to Vision corporation space programs [JGS: ing extra information on Roger Dard. of Tomorrow, which subsequently ceased Again, the lack of supporting facts publication (the novel died with it). So I’m pretty sure Dard had one letter of makes this statement specious at he sorta left on a high, with the prom- comment in ASFR, but John Bang- best]. Even the countervailing forces, sund didn’t get to meet him when he ise of movie work in London and on- often criminal, which oppose the big visited WA. Instead he met John going fiction sales to the SF mags. government/big corporation approach, Brosnan, and helped persuade John Why didn’t I go overseas in 1983–84 are big corporations in their own way. to move — anywhere. Which John or whatever? Don’t let the Oz Council Re: the intriguing Norstrilia/Dune did, to Sydney and then to London. grants fool you: not only did I have a piece: I was reminded most of the ‘feral ‘John Baxter has already picked wife and child, my interest in SF

34 scholarship’ of Robert Graves’ wonderful collection. new ones in exchange, so I guess it all The White Goddess. I haven’t read a great deal of science evens out.. 9 November 2006 fiction and fantasy compared to you. I 12 November 2006 didn’t even go to university. When I did ROBERT ELORDIETA my Year 12 (Form 6) in 1989, I was I did not read Janine’s editorial in 20 Custer Circle, Traralgon VIC 3844 struggling with it. I got Ds, Es and Fs Steam Engine Time 5 for a good reason. mid-year. When I was offered a full time One of the gifts I got for Christmas was I hope that I can catch up with you. It job at K-mart, I saw the money and Season One of ‘Babylon 5’, which I had might be a while. The reason I say this took it. I have no regrets that I did requested for several years since I never is because I work at K-mart, Monday to that. I’ve always struggled at school. actually watched any of the original Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. I I don’t know much about the Hard episodes. I don’t spent much time have dinner at home with my parents. Science Fiction, The New Wave, The Old watching TV, although there are several After working all day I must admit that New Wave, Cyberpunk. etc. I’ve read one shows that look interesting. There are I don’t feel like driving for 2 hours and book by Robert Heinlein, called Starship just too many books to read and things 30 minutes to a Melbourne Science Troopers, and I’ve read one book by to write for TV watching to be a Fiction Club meeting. Don’t get me Arthur C. Clarke, called Rama. priority. The problem now is that I am wrong; I do like the MSFC. I am just 11 November 2006 slowly accumulating a collection of afraid that I will fall asleep behind the DVDs that I am not watching, such as wheel of my car trying to get to a [BRG: Heinlein and Clarke are defi- Monty Python’s Life of Brian, the meeting. I don’t like that at all because nitely from the Golden Age of SF complete Fawlty Towers, and concerts by of the risk of either killing myself or (1939–54); recent Hard SFers include Pink Floyd and Bruce Springsteen. killing someone else. Stephen Baxter and Alastair Rey- In the past I always watched a lot of nolds; William Gibson and Bruce [JGS: I watch a lot more TV now than TV and I also read some books. I mainly Sterling are usually considered the I ever have, mainly because the two read mainstream books like The Three leading Cyberpunk writers (1984 on- chronic illnesses I have, Meniere’s Investigators, The Hardy Boys, Alistair wards). The New Wave is now close disease and ulcerative colitis, force MacLean, Desmond Bagley, Wilbur to forty years old, so it is the Old New me (when their symptoms flare up) to Smith, Tom Clancy, C. S. Forrester, Colin Wave. There doesn’t seem to have lie down a lot. Meniere’s often causes Forbes, etc. I did read some fantasy and been one since, unless you count Slip- vertigo, so when it comes calling, I science fiction, but not very much. I’ve stream.] sleep (oddly, when my eyes are read some of C. S. Lewis, such as The closed, the spinning sensation stops) Magician’s Nephew and The Lion, The ROBERT SABELLA because I can’t read or watch TV at Witch and the Wardrobe. I remember 24 Cedar Manor Court, that time. With the UC, the pain meds reading a book in primary school but I Budd Lake NJ 07828-1023, USA make me too sleepy to focus on read- can’t remember the name of it. It was a ing. Fortunately, I’ve excellent health fantasy book. It was about a staff and Since I am no longer sending out paper practitioners available and the symp- sword and how they both held great copies of Visions of Paradise, and saving toms flare up less often; even then, power and that the sword could defeat considerable mailing costs in the rest is still required on a daily basis the staff. [BRG: Many, many books process, I no longer feel comfortable to maintain relative good health for fit that description.] forcing other faneds to send me paper me.] I was born on 11 July 1971. So the copies when I can read their zines at first TV show that I watched which was http://efanzines.com. Instead of I enjoyed Eric Raymond’s ‘Political science fiction was Doctor Who. It was a printing out paper copies, I can save History of SF’, but I generally disagree repeat run. At the time the repeat run them on the computer as well. So with his premises. He states that ‘the was showing the thirrd Doctor, who was thanks for the offer, but I think we first and greatest of the revolutions’ was portrayed by Jon Pertwee. I really should ‘swap’ zines online in the future. 1937, when Campbell and Heinlein dras- enjoyed it. Concerning Bruce’s editorial, particularly tically altered what was effectively a In recent years I have started to Janine’s exhortation, ‘Publish pulp genre at the time. While I gener- read some more science fiction and electronically. Publish on Efanzine.com’, ally agree that was the ‘greatest revolu- fantasy. I have read some short stories and Bruce’s retort, ‘There are still many tion’, calling it the ‘first’ takes as its by Ray Bradbury and Theodore readers who do not have a computer’: I natural premise that all pre-genre SF Studgeon. I haven’t read Kurt Vonnegut, underwent similar considerations when I (that is, pre Amazing Stories) was basi- but he has been recommended to me. decided to switch VoP to primarily an cally one steady flow with only natural I’ve also read a ‘Star Wars’ book by online zine rather than primarily a evolution along the way. I am not sure Timothy Zahn. I’ve read a ‘Mechwarrior’ printzine. Previously I had about 80 I agree with that. Certainly H. G. Wells book by Michael Stackpole. I’ve also non-FAPA readers who were receiving engendered a revolution in science fic- read the first trilogy that Raymond Feist print copies, costing me great amounts tion, and probably Edgar Rice Burroughs did: Magician, Silverthorn, A Darkness At of copying/collating time and $100+ did as well. The fact that SF faded into Sethanon. I really enjoyed that trilogy. mailing cost each issue. Now I only a pulp genre as a result of the splitting I’ve read a ‘Babylon 5’ novel by J. send 16 copies to readers who do not up of the all-fiction zines into category Gregory Keyes. I still haven’t had the have computer access, while the others zines should not reduce the impact of chance to read one of your favourite have the choice of reading VoP online those two pre-genre writers. authors, Christopher Priest. I’ve read or reading an attached Word (or In Raymond’s statement that ‘the some Harry Turtledove novels. Some of WordPerfect) version. I suspect I might first revolt against hard SF came in the his novels are alternative history, and have lost a few readers in the process, early 1950s’, he gives all the credit to that is mainly what I read of his but I have already picked up several the Futurians (who were certainly

35 influential in that particular revolution), exponentially over the last 10–15 years, [BRG: That’s very nice of you, Larry, but he makes no mention of either H. L. I find myself dealing with Toffler’s but hardly accurate. Philip K. Dick Gold, or Boucher and McComas, who timely concept of future shock more always had important, vocal advo- were certainly as important as Pohl, frequently than I care to admit. cates, especially in Britain (Aldiss Knight and Wollheim . After all, they While my job allows me to have an and Brunner), but nobody seems to provided the venues, and the income that can cover my have written at length about his corresponding encouragement, for the reading/collecting urges, I am still works between the mid 1960s and writers of that era to place their fiction. limited in time! I cannot cover all these 1969, when my essays appeared in SF He mentions several times that SF bases the way I used to, not because I Commentary. (I wrote them at the end ‘absorbed’ several of the revolutions, am slowing down as I age (I remind of 1967.) Soon Phil had everybody on which he considers victories of the myself I am only 52!), but because we his side — Science-Fiction Studies’ Campbell’s hard SF. Instead I view them have ready access nowadays to so much complete Philip K. Dick issue in 1973; as the natural broadening of SF to the so easily. [JGS: That’s why I try to also in 1973, Stanislaw Lem’s ‘A point where hard SF retreated from the prioritise everything I do; Hopeless Case — With Exceptions’ forefront of SF to one of its categories; otherwise, I’d never get any reading (PKD being the exception); my own no longer the leader but one aspect or writing done.] I have come to book Philip K. Dick: Electric Shepherd among many equals. I do not agree that realise that this is the true in 1975; and a flood of material soon ‘hard SF is the vital core of the field’, manifestation of the future, not the after.] but rather I view extrapolative future promise of space travel we all were so change as the core of the field, with entranced by decades ago. That costs E. B. FROHVET hard SF as one of its aspects. Is hard SF too much. A new PC or Mac is cheaper 4716 Dorsey Hall Drive #506, important to the field? Definitely. But is and appears to redefine Ballard’s ‘inner Ellicott City MD 21042 USA a story any less SF because the space’. scientific aspect is minor rather than In some ways, I yearn for the The receipt of Steam Engine Time 5 is all-encompassing? Not at all. A while halcyon days of hardcopy zines, so much appreciated. Presumably we can ago I examined Locus’s list of the top receiving SET is like a message through write off the twenty-one-months- 50 SF novels of all time, and was not time. I have continued to pursue back between-issues thing as a problem on surprised to find that the majority of issues of SF Commentary, and am very which we are unlikely to agree. You will them held science in the background happy to tell you I only need No 68 say unavoidable; I will say rather than in the forefront. Considering now, having tracked down all the other unsatisfactory; no one is likely to gain that science is always in the background numbers over the past couple years much by extended discussion of the of our technological society, it is hard primarily via eBay, primarily from Mike topic. to write any future without some Resnick, although most of those issues I will have to stand by my ignorant science peeking through. But that does were Bill Bowers’, may he rest in peace. statement that science fiction is, and not necessarily mean the stories are I got to know Bill through his fanzine has generally been, an English-language themselves about science. auctions over the past years, and he event. (I also stand by my account that Overall, a good issue of SET with a was clearly still an involved, dedicated manga is not SF — and neither is fabulous cover. Keep up the good work. guy who loved our field. I am happy to Magister Ludi.) Name a major writer in And if online publishing is responsible have had the opportunity to put the field whose work was written in for more issues of SET, then I’m all for together runs of various fanzines other than English. Verne, certainly; it! (including yours!) for the sake of Lem, depending on how one defines 2 January 2007 posterity, but also because it allows me ‘major’. Name another. It may well be to take a trip back through time to that much SF, even by my definition, is LARRY BIGMAN when real books made of paper, cloth being produced in other languages; the 21 Bel Air Drive, and leather existed and were treated absence of rendering this into English, Orinda CA 94563, USA with the respect they deserve. I cannot the obvious central language of the read long digital tomes without my eyes genre, makes its impact insignificant. I am truly envious of folks like Paul glazing over. I like being able easily to Kincaid and Harry Buerkett who take a book with me wherever I choose [JGS: On a global basis, certainly. In apparently have more hours in their to go. The natural materials of books their home countries, less so.] days or are way more organised than I, keep us connected to our ancestors’ allowing them to do detailed, repeated views of information storage. The same [BRG: It’s more that English- readings of texts, leading to their very is true in a more underground way language readers are intellectually interesting thoughts on Priest, Herbert about zines. As such, I hope you will provincial, and becoming more so. and Smith. The bane of my existence is finally publish SFC 80. After almost 38 Which means publishers cannot the chronic limitations of twenty-four years, I suspect you can hear the siren afford to translate more than a tiny hours in a day. Between my still being call still. section of the vast amount of SF being gainfully employed (which usually eats Anyway, I will continue to buy books published in other languages. Which up 50-plus hours a week), my peculiar and even find time to read some of means we have no real idea who is out attachment to at least a few hours of them. Thank you once again, Bruce, for there waiting to surprise us. It’s diffi- sleep a night, and my wife’s desire that your contributions. As I told you at cult enough to gain a snapshot of cur- I spend some time with her, I find that Potlatch, I hold you responsible for rent English-language publishing. only leaves a few hours a day in which keeping interest in Phil Dick alive until Encouraged by John Foyster, John to try to be conscious. As the internet, the rest of the world also figured out Bangsund, Dick Geis and me, Franz cable TV, and music and book how wonderful he was and is. Rottensteiner used to try to introduce publishing have all expanded seemingly 13 November 2006 English-language readers to up-and-

36 coming European SF writers, but think such an attitude would be an Paul Kincaid’s article on Priest’s The eventually Franz gave up.] automatic disqualifier for an SF reader! Separation strikes me as focusing on However, even within the context of small details that would be important Eric Raymond would separate liber- Earthbound books, no, I have read only if some more basic questions were tarianism from hard-right politics. Un- Wyndham and Wells and many other first answered satisfactorily. As happily, in the US libertarian thought British writers successfully despite not described, the book clearly borrows overlaps extensively with fanatic anti- knowing the exact geography. I recently from SF the device (or ‘trope’, as people government (and frequently racist and cited to Sue Bursztynski in Melbourne insist on calling it lately) of the sexist) zealotry; as the case of the man the case of a mystery novel set largely alternate world, but it does not treat it who felt it an infringement on his in Australia and New Zealand. in a logical or self-consistent manner as ‘rights’ that he should need to be Americans do eat lamb, especially in SF or even genre fantasy, and clearly licensed to deal in high explosives. I for Easter. But probably not as will not satisfy the expectations of accept Mr Raymond as a knowledgeable frequently as in Australia. (There’s a anyone reading the novel as if it were a SF fan — though I suspect our tastes scene in, if memory serves, Sandra work of SF or genre fantasy. It seems to would not overlap much; and many of Miesel’s Dreamrider, set in Illinois, fall into a category more like magic his points are convincing within his defi- where the main character sends back realism or dream-literature. So (1) why nition. I fear that definition has been her meal in a snotty restaurant, should SET’s readership care? Just custom-tailored for the purpose of the claiming they offered lamb and served because Priest has at times in the past article. mutton.) written SF? Just because he borrows an The first thought which occurs to me Claire Brialey reflects on ‘the purpose idea invented, or at least long about Gillian Polack’s analysis of of reviewing’. I see review and criticism developed, in SF and turns it to an Cordwainer Smith is to wonder how Eric as two very different exercises, with unrelated use? (he is, after all, far from Raymond would fit Smith into his radial thematic analysis somewhere in the first author to do so); and (2) scheme of SF. Unfair question, I know. between. considering the novel on its own terms, The tale of Roger Dard is indeed a Everyone could make their list of what is, or might be, the point of this strange and rather sad one. It seems ‘great’ SF, and then of ‘favourite’ SF — highly peculiar use anyway? What impossible in this day and age that in my case there might not be much insight or emotional effect does it minor clerks in government prohibited overlap, for whatever that says about evoke in the reader? books — I sure would like to know what me. Of Arthur Hlavaty’s list, only one Eric Raymond’s article was ‘encouragement to depravity’ means. If would make my ‘great’ list. I’ll leave it interesting, and caused me to think anything, the wheel has turned full as an exercise for the reader to guess quite a bit, but he puts forward his circle: local religious leaders and some which. assertion with so many qualifiers (only government officials have struggled in 3 November 2006 ‘Campbellian SF’, only a ‘radical vain to evict Howard County’s only category’ admitting of major exceptions pornography store. A statute to prohibit PATRICK MCGUIRE even at its core [Raymond admits that such businesses within a fixed distance 7541 Weather Worn Way, Unit D, Asimov was no Libertarian], and so of residences or schools was found Columbia MD 21046, USA forth), that I think his contention is unequal to the task under the doctrine next to impossible to prove or disprove of ex post facto. In the case of Roger I thought ‘Babylon 5’ was a good show, and of little help even as an organising Dard, unhappily, I would guess that his as SF TV shows go (even the best of principle. I marked a number of places collection probably wound up in the them being far less sophisticated and where I could dispute details of the trash. rigorous than good written SF), but it argument, but I’m running out of time, The local libraries present an annual was not something I got fanatic about. so I will only mention one glaring one. ‘Read a Banned Book’ program. It might However, Jan’s editorial set me off on a Raymond calls SF (after, evidently, the (or might not) come as a surprise to tangent by its mention of the B5 mid 1970s) ‘the second most successful many of these self-appointed protectors material in Wikipedia. I still haven’t genre after romance fiction’. But this is of the public morality, that one of the gotten around to reading what the publishing category ‘SF’, which is, most frequently objected-to books was Wikipedia says about B5, but I did poke and was even in the mid 70s, mostly the Bible — sometimes on the basis of around a little and found that Wikipedia populated by fantasy. [JGS: What, no the Song of Solomon, but most often has pretty detailed articles on many US statistics to back this claim? What’s because it is not the exact translation SF writers, and even useful ones in the genesis of this propensity of fen favoured by a particular group. In the English on some Russian SF writers. It is to make such statements and then US, I would suppose that science fiction clearly becoming a repository of a provide no factual back-up for mostly escaped censorship from the significant amount of fanac. (Or support? It’s a bad habit.] The outside because of self-imposed amateur scholarship, if you like; authors category is only called ‘SF’ for historical restrictions, for example, Heinlein’s of Wikipedia articles might in principle reasons, coupled with the fact that running feud with a prudish editor at have no other contact with fandom, and many SF writers can also successfully Scribner’s. we could argue about whether write fantasy. Many of them also John Baxter’s description of a contributing to a general if voluntary successfully write mysteries, but that literary gathering in London was so encyclopedia in itself constitutes was already an established category. acidly funny that I enjoyed it, despite fanac.) Very little on Japanese SF, This highly successful fantasy is not really having much idea what he however, regrettably. I suppose more probably on the whole much more was talking about. Russian fans than Japanese ones both socially conservative than is SF. (Along Lloyd Penney inquires whether speak English and are interested in the same lines, note that two writers of American fans are turned off to find contributing to an English-language socially conservative historical novels books ‘set in a foreign land’. I would encyclopedia. set in the period of roughly 1800–1825,

37 Patrick O’Brian and Georgette Heyer, imposed in an attempt to promote characterise the High Church position.) have been adopted by the community as domestic industry and domestic wage The Cordwainer Smith website run by his honorary SF writers.) A lot of the levels, not to keep Australians living an daughter says that, contrary to non-fantasy remainder of the SF austere life for the good of their earlier-published information, publishing category consists of media psyches, as on Norstrilia. That part was Smith/Linebarger and his second wife spinoffs whose connection to invented by Smith, or at least borrowed only chose Episcopalianism (the US Campbellian SF is tenuous at best. That from the sumptuary laws and so forth of version of Anglicanism) after their 1949 leaves a little Campbellian SF hiding in premodern or non-Western cultures. And marriage, because she had been a the cracks, with, these days, many of of course there is an element of parody Catholic but had married the divorced the best authors being British and in Smith’s view of Old North Australia Linebarger (and thereby Australian, writing far from the (the full name of Norstrilia), with its excommunicated herself). The daughter birthplace of both John Campbell and reverence for Her Absent Majesty Queen says that Linebarger’s grandfather had the Libertarian Party. Campbellian SF Victoria. Smith may have liked Australia been a Methodist minister, and I gather hardly looks like the driving force of the enough to consider retiring there, but from unclear wording that Linebarger publishing category SF, even if a slightly he did not swallow it whole. (Polack himself had been raised a nominal stronger case can be made for its role does mentions this mocking element, Methodist, although his parents were within the literary category SF. but only at the very end of her article.) not very religious. Methodism is not Turning from Raymond’s article to Since Smith had seen social change Calvinism, but it sure isn’t High Church my own soapbox, I will add that I think wipe away the America of his youth, I either. It’s not impossible that with the SF would have a far better chance of very much doubt that he would have zeal of a convert, Smith had become a reconstructing a Campbellian-like been ‘astonished by the current thorough High Churcher in the ten years community for the exchange and Australia’. He might have been a little between conversion and the start of development of ideas and the disappointed at the enthusiasm with work on Norstrilia, but I suspect that improvement of the genre if fantasy, which Oz has embraced change recently, Polack is not really talking about the like mystery, were recognised as a but I think he would have been hoping High Church, and that perhaps we have separate publishing category and only for the old Australia to last out his all been misled by earlier biographical allowed to live its own life, but I see no lifetime, which to a significant degree it mistakes into overrating High Church sign of that happening soon.[JGS: might have, even if he had lived to influence, as opposed to more With this, I wholeheartedly agree. I retire there rather than dying generalised Christian ones. dimly recall seeing the word prematurely at age 53 in 1966. My The ‘Abba-Dingo’ entry in Anthony R. ‘Fantasy’ on the spine of understanding is that Australian values Lewis’s Concordance to Cordwainer Smith paperbacks that I bought in the have changed rapidly and fairly (NESFA Press, second edition, 1993) 1970s and 1980s, so for at least some recently. (The Doig–Smiljkovic and Doig gives ‘Abednego’ as a possible origin, so publishers, fantasy used to be a articles certainly support this.) Even others before Polack have considered separate publishing category.] At with better health, Smith would have this interpretation. For the Hebrew–Oz least many bookstores are now been dead and buried long before the alternative, Lewis interprets ‘dingo’ not alphabetising the media books present. as the wild dog, but as ‘Australian slang’ separately from the non-media ones, Polack seems to be using ‘High for ‘to betray’ and thereby comes up thus pushing that distraction somewhat Church’ in a different sense than mine with ‘father of lies’, which does not aside. and the dictionary’s, and I have no clear sound too convincing for something In trying to discern the effect of idea what her meaning is. My dictionary that can utter true prophecy. Given the Australia on Cordwainer Smith and his says that ‘High Church’ is ‘that party of Abba-Dingo’s overt function as an work, as Gillian Polack does, a the Anglican Church which emphasizes arcade game, I wonder if Smith had in complicating factor is that Smith is the importance of the priesthood and of mind the popular song ‘Paper Moon’, recalled (somewhere in the material traditional rituals and doctrines, as which starts out proclaiming the that Bruce has previously published on opposed to Low Church’. That is, the artificiality and triviality of the world, him) as saying that he liked 1960s High Church inclines more in the asserting among other things that ‘it’s a Australia precisely because it was direction of (Roman) Catholicism and melody played in a penny arcade,’ but socially as the US used to be (probably less in that of, say, Presbyterianism or concludes ‘but it wouldn’t be in the 1920s or 1930s when he was a Calvinism. So why is it ‘very High make-believe if you’d believe in me’. child or very young man, or even as he Church’ to be ‘abstemious and full of (Quotes from memory; precise lyrics are pictured it from the stories of self-restraint’? That all sounds very doubtless out there in cyberspace expatriates — he lived abroad a lot). At Church-of-Scotland or Puritanical to me. somewhere.) Smith (using eros as a that earlier time the US too had had Likewise, whereas I have elsewhere model for caritas) may be proposing protective tariffs. Outside of the big pointed out that D’Joan is transparently that life is meaningless and futile cities and a few ethnic farming based on a Catholic saint, Polack here unless religious faith gives it communities, the northern states, at brings in D’Joan as an exemplar of significance, just as faith preserved least, were still pretty Anglo and in the someone ‘chosen almost before their Abednego in the furnace. South the exception were the blacks, birth and with predestined Cordwainer Smith was known on who in those days somehow did not accomplishments’, and the emphasis on occasion to base his stories on earlier count conceptually. So probably what predestination again sounds somewhat works. I had more trouble seeing Frank struck Smith was not so much Oz values, Calvinist rather than High Church to me. Herbert doing that, but had never but the fact that the values had lasted (I do not deny that a High Church studied him in detail, and was willing to at least a few decades longer in Oz than adherent could support abstemiousness be persuaded. the US. Recall also that Oz protective and some mild variety of Harry Hennessey Buerkett’s leadup, tariffs, like the older US ones, were predestination, but I dispute that they explaining his theory of a common

38 source (‘Q’) for Norstrilia and Dune, by Buerkett’s own admission other SF In the lettercol, Bruce (p. 34) sounded plausible. Cordwainer Smith, has wing-flapping flying machines (and discusses SF in languages other than after all, was known on occasion to base still more SF has bioengineered or English, and opines that there is a great his stories on earlier works. I had more extraterrestrial flying animals capable of quantity of it out there. There is trouble seeing Frank Herbert doing that, carrying humans, a possibility Buerkett certainly some. Russian-language SF but had never studied him in detail and does not mention). continues to be written and published, was willing to be persuaded. However, When Buerkett says that both heroes despite the increased competition from once I read far enough, I found undergo an ordeal in a Green Box, he translations brought on by the end of Buerkett’s detailed explications to be sounds like he’s on to something. Then censorship. I understand that one of less than convincing. we learn that, although there is a more the fantasy novels of Russian author Take the ornithopters. Are they or less literal green box in Dune, the Sergey Lukyanenko has been, or is to literal and actually called ornithopters object in Norstrilia is green only in that be, published in the UK, but he has also in Q? Then the source has to be science it flashes green a ‘go’ light and has written SF, much of it worth attention. fiction, and almost certainly in a plants inside. My computer monitor is Some of his other SF, alas, consists of Western language. Did Frank Herbert box-shaped and has a green power-on interminable adventure stories even read any foreign languages? Unlike LED, and working with it is often an borrowing elements from role-playing most Americans, a fair percentage of SF ordeal! Buerkett then lists some games. I can’t yet speak to other writers do, but nothing in the brief similarities that in places look more post-Soviet Russian authors, since I’ve Herbert biographies in available convincing, but after this piece of Green only read a few to date. So far haven’t reference works suggests that he was Box oversell, he has lost me, and I found another author I really like, but I among them. (The idea crossed my mind retreat to probability theory. There are have by no means given up hope. that he might have been taught only so many ways to tell a story. It is My German is not as good as my Japanese in the military in WWII and not an amazing coincidence that out of Russian, but the SF section in German then served as an interrogator, but the all the years that SF has been written, bookstores still seems to be dominated Wikipedia says he instead was briefly a in one of those years two novels would by translations from English, and the Seabee and then a military be published displaying parallels that domestic German work often seems to photographer.) If not, either Q has to could not result from one’s copying the consist of military SF–adventure novels. be in English or there has to have been other. Especially when the inquirer gets [JGS: Is Germany where Perry an English translation, and Buerkett by to pick the parallels and to ignore all Rhodan novels are still very his own admission can’t find any. The the features in the two novels that do popular?] There may be a few 1908 OED ‘ornithopter’ citation not coincide. I am reminded of the long contemporary exceptions, of course, mentioned by Buerkett is in fact to an list that has been drawn up of the and Germany did publish quite a bit of ornithoptère, with an -e on the end and parallels between the presidencies and native SF in the early twentieth century, italicised as a foreign word, presumably assassinations of J. F. Kennedy and little of which has been translated, so French, France being the centre of early Abraham Lincoln. there may be a few undiscovered old ornithopter research. Linebarger read In the multiday course of writing gems. Outside of having sampled, all in French, and if Herbert knew any foreign this loc, I reread ‘The Lady Who Sailed translation, a little anime, manga and language it was probably French or The Soul’, and I saw that its basic idea borderline SF such as Inter Ice Age 4 Spanish, since those are most commonly is the same as that of Heinlein’s The and Japan Sinks, I know little about taught in the US. But French science Door Into Summer: a romance doomed Japanese SF, and it seems I have missed fiction is well researched, and if by age disparity is resolved when the reading an anthology or two of Buerkett has been at this since 1992, I man goes into hibernation while the translations. The SF Encyclopedia says would think that any French Q would woman ages to end the disparity. that about 400 original SF books, have shown up. (For starters, there is ‘Lady’’s 1960 publication was three years including reprints, are published a year no entry for ‘Ornithoptères’, or mention after Door’s, but if ‘Lady’ was written (early 1990s data), but this broadly of them under ‘Aviation’, in Versins’s significantly before publication, as defines SF. One wonders how much new Encyclopédie.) sometimes happened with Smith, real SF is left once the borderline Suppose they are not called perhaps we have here another ‘amazing’ material is eliminated. Anatomy of ‘ornithopters’ or a cognate. Suppose convergence. Wonder (second edition) does list some they are instead either, say, Later: I do, however, note that the works that seem to qualify, and ‘bird-machines’ in some piece of Chinese SF Encyclopedia mentions the possible probably there are newer ones. After or Japanese proto-SF (Herbert having influence on Smith of an early Verne, the Romance-language countries somewhere acquired an otherwise twentieth-century German SF author I seem to incline mostly to social satire unattested command of Far Eastern had never heard of, Alfred Döblin. Did and to fantasy. I’ve heard little word of languages), or something out of fantasy Herbert read German? Does Döblin good hard SF in Spanish, French, such as enchanted giant mechanical contain the elements required of Q? Italian, Romanian, etc., although I’m birds or even just human-bearing giant Versins has an entry describing only one sure a few undiscovered gems may lurk. birds or dragons. Then it might be more of his books, as and the same book is I eagerly hunted down a copy of plausible that the source has gone covered in Anatomy of Wonder, secnd Baxter’s A Pound of Paper in Toronto, undiscovered, but the mutual use of the edition. Sounds a little like the period where the British edition was available. word ornithopter becomes irrelevant as of chaos in Smith’s future history before I had read and liked Baxter’s book on SF a hint of Q’s existence, since Smith and the Vomact sisters. No ornithopters movies. This one, as Darrell Schweitzer Herbert would each independently still mentioned. Anyway, presumably this is says (p. 8), is mostly about collecting. I have to decide to use the word in their a dead end, since Buerkett cites the SFE am afraid I was rather set back by the fiction. The use of the idea of article on Smith that mentions Döblin, glee with which Baxter recounts how he ornithopters is less of a pointer, since and thus presumably knows about him. used his special knowledge to make sure

39 that he, rather than various heirs of ballast on American ships (I’ve heard sented as a double challenge. (To be collectors, got most of the value out of this often reported, but also disputed honest, at the BSFA Open Day, when the collection. There are ethical issues and it always struck me as an odd and she made this statement, I think it was here that Baxter never addresses. To a rather inefficient form for ballast to the second, the championing of SF as greater or lesser degree there is a lot of take) whether British customs and commerce over art, that caused more this going on with all collecting, but censors would taken an equally dim comment.) commercial dealers, such as used view of some of the more lurid and As for Buerkett’s ‘Of Haggis and booksellers, having declared themselves sensational covers and contents if they Hagiography’, the point-by-point to be professionals, seem to me to be had been deliberately imported. As it comparison of the plot development of fairer game than private individuals, was, it left its legacy of starstruck Norstrilia and Dune sounds superficially and the proportionate losses involved readers and would-be UK authors in the convincing, although I haven’t read are greater for the individual. Unlike 40s and 50s. Possibly the UK authorities either book in a long time, and my some readers, I have trouble finishing a were more concerned with what they recall of Dune is now filtered largely novel once the protagonist has lost my saw as dubious ‘Continental literature’ through the film version. I am also wary sympathy. I had similar problems making its way into the UK at that time. when writers start throwing in finishing Baxter’s memoir. It should, of I wonder if Dennis Wheatley’s more numerological arguments for course, also be a warning to all sensational occult novels would have correspondence, and the statistician in collectors to keep proper records and made it into Australia under C&E rules? me starts to rear up and point out you make proper arrangements for their I remember reading these when I was can add a bunch of unrelated numbers estates. young, and I’m not sure one or more of in all sort of ways to get them to come 13 November 2006 them (The Ka of Gifford Hilary?) didn’t out the way you want (see Figuring by even make it into that bastion of Shakantala Devi and Mathematician’s In my loc, I referred to Alfred Döblin as middle-class respectability, Readers’ Delight by W. W. Sawyer). It may be that ‘a German SF author I had never heard Digest Condensed Books. I was amused both Dune and Norstrilia have an of’. Embarrassingly enough, when I at the high literary tone of Australian underlying model. This in itself is not looked him up in more general sources, censor L. H. Allen, dropping in really new or shocking. After all, many it turned out that later in his career he references to and quotations from fantasy (and probably SF) texts derive wrote well-known mainstream works, Coleridge and Tennyson when assessing from an ur-source that involves the including Berlin Alexanderplatz, which whether certain works were liable to basic elements, such as trial by ordeal, I’d never read, but certainly have heard corrupt or deprave. If, as the saying exile, and coming into power. Enough of. His SF and possibly relevant goes, a critic is a failed writer, is a that Clute can build a generic model of Expressionist work evidently was more censor, then, a failed critic? fantasy-as-process and thread it or less limited to what the SF throughout the Encyclopaedia of Encyclopedia cites as possible Smith [BRG: Peter Nicholls once applied for Fantasy. The trick would be whether this influences. Unfortunately I’m weak on the position of Australia’s Chief Cen- level of correspondence was specific to German literature because I learned the sor, but at that stage he had not even Norstrilia and Dune, or whether it could language on my own and mostly with finished working on the second edi- also be done for any other two selected daily living in Germany and reading SF tion of the Encyclopedia, let alone texts, in which case it might indicate a in mind. Thus every so often I trip up. other critical projects, so nobody wider, although less challenging 17 November 2006 could have called him a ‘failed critic’ argument about plot and provenance. — today, he’s a ‘retired critic’.] (Plot and Provenance: sounds like a lost STEVE JEFFERY Jane Austen title. Which reminds me, 44 White Way, Kidlington, I cannot truly recall whether it was Molly Brown’s just sent me a splendid Oxon OX5 2XA, England SF writer Ken Macleod who wrote, ‘poli- new definition: ‘Austentacious: A book tics in science fiction is an extended ar- written in the style of, or influenced by, One of the advantages of PDF gument with Heinlein’, but the phrase Jane Austen. See Emma Tennant, Karen documents over paper is probably that came back sharply when I was reading Joy Fowler.’) they remain in pristine condition and Eric Raymond’s article ‘A Political His- What would be interesting, and don’t go all wrinkly at the edges when tory of Science Fiction’. It sounds as if where Buerkett’s article stops, is where you read then in the bath. But then it ought to be convincing, and yet . . . this ur-text — if it exists — comes there are probably other, more Neither the New Wave nor cyberpunk from. My own guess is some older, and immediate, hazards at trying to read a (much less the New Weird, Mundane SF probably non-Western, mythology or PDF format fanzine in the bath that I and other ‘movements’ of their ilk) were myth cycle that both had encountered am not willing to put to the test. primarily intended to be political revolu- at some point, maybe years before, and My immediate reaction on reading tions, but primarily stylistic revolutions that unconsciously presented itself SET 5 is that, apart from Paul’s excellent against a form which, in their opinion, when they needed a frame to hang a article on Priest’s The Separation, the had become jaded rather than being novel on. But until anyone can identify historical articles on Norstrilia and seen as the crushing oppression of domi- it, that’s just conjecture. censorship might equally have come nant ideology. (Did I just write that 5 December 2006 from somewhere like Fantasy phrase? Gosh). I think it’s also been Commentator. This isn’t a criticism; I taken for granted that the default politi- JOSEPH NICHOLAS find Fantasy Commentator fascinating in cal position of SF in the UK is left of 15 Jansons Road, Tottenham, its own right, but both those sections centre, which is why, when author London N15 4JU had that scholarly historical quality. Karen Traviss identifies herself as both I wonder, if the American pulps ‘right wing’ and unapologetically writing I can’t say that I’m terribly surprised by hadn’t come across into the UK as for the (US) market, it is almost pre- your statement that you disagree with

40 Eric Raymond’s ‘A Political History Of 1960s [BRG: And West Australian the reason for Raymond’s cockeyed view SF’; so do I, so (I imagine) will most Greg Egan, whose work is praised of scientific enquiry may lay in the fact readers of Steam Engine Time — albeit highly] — the position he has taken that genre science fiction itself arose at that we probably do so for different up means that he is required to ignore a time when science did appear to be reasons. So this is my take: the fact that, because they have a dominated, at least as far as the public Raymond is open from the outset different background (a different mind was concerned, by solitary about the political vision he brings to history, a different culture, a different inventors and experimenters — Nikola his argument, but at the same time as set of traditions, a different Tesla, Guglielmo Marconi, Thomas he sets out his parameters he understanding of identity) they are not Edison, Ernest Rutherford, Albert hamstrings himself by showing how working against his Campbellian model, Einstein, et al. As we know, however, myopic and one-dimensional that either explicitly or implicitly, but that era has passed — indeed, it was political vision actually is — and then appropriating SF tropes and metaphors passing even as they were defining hamstrings himself further by the in pursuit of a wholly different project science in the public mind — and while various pretences and subterfuges to that owed nothing to the American lone geniuses live on in genre science which he has to resort to carry his genre model. (After all, we Brits fiction they are now almost entirely argument. To explicate: although his invented science fiction in the first unknown in the real world (indeed, the article purports by its title to be a place — it’s the Americans who turned only modern example of one I can call narrative survey of all of science it into a genre.) to mind is James Lovelock, proponent fiction’s various political currents, it is This refusal to consider science of the Gaia hypothesis). [JGS: So in fact solely a history of American fiction except through the distorting Stephen Hawking doesn’t count?] genre SF, from its origins in the pulp lens of his argument actually makes One reason for this strange afterlife magazines through the Campbellian some parts of his article mildly in American genre SF may be because so Golden Age to the satire of the fifties to amusing: for example, his spending much of that science fiction takes its the anti-Vietnam War of the sixties, around a quarter of it trying to cue from American popular history, blah blah blah: the same dull demonstrate how and why a ‘radical specifically that history’s vision of the chronology we’ve heard many times hard SF’ revolution had failed without creation of the USA as the taming and before. But in this lies Raymond’s first once appearing to grasp that the term conquest of a wilderness by small bands sleight of hand: because his political was invented by David Pringle in an of self-sufficient pioneers — a vision vision requires him to focus solely on editorial in an early issue of Interzone which of course lives on SF’s high American genre SF, that SF has to be in the 1980s, not by David Hartwell in frontiers and final frontiers. As a vision presented as not just its core but as an anthology published a mere three of a possible future history, however, it fully representative of science fiction as years ago. In consequence, Raymond is so disconnected from the real world a whole — a conceit that by its nature gets his chronology of ‘failed as to be surreal, since the cost of has to pretend that the science fictions revolutions’ wrong too, because his gaining the high frontier (if indeed it is of all other cultures are merely satraps historical schema forces him to present ever gained) is so high that it could of the American hegemon, incapable of his radical hard SF ‘movement’ as a only be achieved by the governments of other than slavish replication of it. successor to cyberpunk rather than as nation-states, not entrepreneurial Having perpetrated that one that ran parallel to it. individuals (or even multinational legerdemain, however, Raymond then (And of course there are real corporations, because the time horizons has to manage another two in order to laugh-out-loud moments, such as the required for any return on the shore up the political vision he wishes assertion about halfway through that gargantuan investment would be so to impose. First, he has to create a science fiction writers were responsible great that no shareholders or directors template into which American genre SF for the creation of SDI and thus for would risk it). But government won’t can be procrusteanly forced — in this bringing about the end of the Soviet spend the money necessary either, case, a Campbellian, hard-science, Union: ‘The Berlin Wall fell three years because they have no political will to libertarian–individual, hero–technician, later; science fiction saved the world.’ do so and more pressing problems to competent-man template with which (as To attribute the implosion of the Soviet attend to here on Earth (such as sometime readers of American genre SF) Union to one single, solitary cause is, securing re-election). we’re all familiar. Second, having however philosophically satisfying, imposed this template, he then has to entirely too simplistic and unhistorical [JGS: Governments have spent present the various alternatives to the — and to advance Campbellian SF as plenty on space exploration and pro- Campbellian model that have flourished having any actual role in that implosion jects since the end of the Apollo era since the 1940s as attempts to is just ridiculous, a claim altogether too in the US, but the majority of it seems ‘overthrow’ or ‘break free’ of it, all of far.) to have gone toward non-manned ex- which have (necessarily) ended in The other problem with Raymond’s ploration (such as the Mars landers, ‘failure’ — so demonstrating that it is argument is that it seems to be the Venus lander, and Cassini and the only template available, and thus hermetically sealed against the real Huygens) over longer stretches of inevitably and ineluctably ‘proving’ its world. For example, he seems to view time than that needed to visit the accuracy, so (in turn) reifying it beyond scientific enquiry as an endeavour Moon. Only recently has the Bush question. As any kind of history, this is pursued by lone experimenters with administration started talking up simply preposterous. unlimited private funding — whereas building a moon base for humans and Thus, on the rare occasions when anyone who knows anything about the sending people to Mars. Private en- Raymond does mention some subject will know immediately that terprise has gotten more involved non-American SF writers — in fact, science has been a collective, even a with reusable/recoverable human there’s only one occasion, concerning corporate endeavour since at least the transport options to and through some leading British writers of the First World War. I suspect that part of space via the X Prize and allowing

41 paying passengers to travel into imaginative conclusions, and the fate of certainly is written by the victors, such space, all within the last five years. most of the characters we came to care an obvious truism we rarely stop to Commercial interests will, in my about. The sequel failed, but the consider the implications. view, certainly push space explora- subsequent TV movies added more and 29 December 2006 tion in at least our own solar system more to the fabric of the B5 universe; once the financial costs are out- yet, when Richard Biggs and Andreas FRANZ ROTTENSTEINER, weighed by the potential gains. It’s Katsulas passed away, we knew that our Marchettigasse 9/17 A-1060, simple economics. However, I don’t full access to this universe would end. Vienna, Austria think that’ll arrive for some time (at The demand for more passages into that least another decade).] universe is still there; a project called I read with particular interest the ‘Babylon 5: The Lost Tales’, has started review of Christ Priest’s The Separation, So that was my response to Ray- production, with some of the actors which seems to me to be his best novel mond’s ‘political history’. May we expect involved in the series signed up to yet; I was not so enthusiastic about yours in a future issue? reprise the characters they played. I will some of his previous books, which to 9 December 2006 be there to watch what happens. my mind followed too closely the I cannot make much comment on pattern of the modern women’s gothic. [BRG: My line is that the various Eric Raymond’s essay, except to agree The other was ‘Politics and Science changes in science fiction (one could with him on his comments on Greg Fiction’. Politics is a topic on which SF hardly call them ‘revolutions’) have Egan’s Diaspora. This was the hardest is not to be trusted, I think; much of been changes of style rather than book I’ve ever tried to read, but it was the ‘individualism’ of SF appears as pure basic political orientation. To move definitely worth the struggle. conformism from where I sit, and many from reading Heinlein, to Vance, to 21 December 2006 Libertarian convictions appear to be a Dick, to Le Guin, to Wolfe, to Priest, kind of fascism. I once noted that to Miéville is to move from one writer [BRG: And its author is Western Aus- American SF had nothing to say on representing one particular style to tralian, not American or British.] Communism, a political conviction that another, rather than moving from one ruled a large percentage of humanity, political–social thinker to another. GARY DALKIN with the result that I was called a Raymond’s ‘Libertarianism’, to me, is 3 Lydford Road, Bournemouth, Marxist, although I had just stated a just a variation on the adolescent Dorset BH11 8SN, England fact, and I must confess that I never wish-fulfilment fantasy structure had much interest in Marxism. that has dominated SF from its genre I have to agree — people write more The most blatant example of the beginnings until now: the reader is substantial and thoughtful pieces for an ‘political innocence’ of science fiction invited to step into the role of saving apa than a blog, and there is much was Enemies of the System, which so the world singlehandedly. Occasion- more of a conversation in an apa, with intelligent a man as Brian W. Aldiss ally some SF writers really try to look everyone getting the latest instalment offered as proof that you could write, in at individuals within their societies, together. Blogs are, ironically, much capitalism, about a future where but not often, and few have that sense more solitary, and I have very little time communism ruled; whereas in of the organic and historical nature of for them. Make that no time. communist countries you could not societies that one finds in (say) the I’ve read the editorials and Paul write in the same way about capitalism. major nineteenth-century European Kincaid’s piece on The Separation. I’m Now if Aldiss had published a story in novels. Indeed, that sense of the hu- grateful for that as it helped me clarify which he said not that Communism was man endeavour been disappearing in my thoughts a little on a very difficult the greatest political system ever modern literary novels as well. Over and confounding novel. I just re-read it invented (we will not exaggerate), but the last hundred years literary fiction a few weeks ago, along with The perhaps could be a humane and has moved towards the genre fictions, Extremes and The Prestige, and it struck efficient system that should be rather away from them. Joyce Carol me as a very different book from the endorsed, and get such a work Oates, for instance, does what horror first time I read it. Somehow, published in the USA, that might indeed writers think they are good at, but approaching it as a Christopher Priest have proved something. But he just said much better — while retaining her novel, I completely overlooked the huge what the mass of Americans think: that sense of the jagged peculiarities of significance of the political dimension. communism is a lousy and tyrannical American society.] You may have noticed I’ve system, and he wrote just another interviewed Chris in the latest anticommunist pamphlet. No problem LLOYD PENNEY Interzone. The interview focuses on The with publishing such a thing; even 1706-24 Eva Rd, Prestige, but I began reading some of McCarthy would have approved of this Etobicoke, ON M9C 2B2, Canada the excellent content on Chris’s website story! Now it seems that many SF and from there went on to read one of writers take a more sympathetic view of ‘Babylon 5’ was the last SF TV show I the books about Hess that Chris socialism; in more recent stories you watched faithfully. It compelled us to recommends: Double Standards. This is a can find more comments that are not watch mostly because it had an truly astonishing book, which Chris only disparaging, as in Kim Stanley interesting selection of characters (alien came across as he was close to finishing Robinson’s ‘Mars’ novels. I attribute this or otherwise), and once they were The Separation. I can only wonder what to the fact that the Soviet Union is no established, they were given influence Double Standards might have longer the big threat, and thus back-stories, and they began to evolve. had on The Separation had he read it socialism can be used neutrally as The story arc was revealed, and each earlier. It is the sort of book that makes world-building material. But the US episode, with few exceptions, drove the one completely reconsider what you government apparently cannot go characters and us towards the thought you knew about WWII. History without some ‘empire of evil’ or other.

42 Now available American Kindness: The BBB Fund Trip Report

You sent Bruce Gillespie to America in 2005; now read all about it: 44 pages; many photos.

To order in the USA and Canada, send US$10 (includes postage) to: Robert Lichtman, 11037 Broadway Terrace, Oakland, CA 94611-1948 To order in Australasia, send Au$10 (includes postage) to: Bill Wright, Unit 4, 1 Park Street, St. Kilda West, Victoria 3182 To order in the UK, send 5 pounds (includes postage) to: Mark Plummer, 59 Shirley Road, Croydon, Surrey CR0 7ES, United Kingdom

The great Libertarian novel of SF is a way that makes me want to go and not believing anything that I’ve written of course not some Heinlein treatise but read the novel all over again (had I but above. Cyril M. Kornbluth’s Syndic, and this time!), a couple of articles on Happy birthday, Bruce. novel might be profitably read by the Cordwainer Smith, looks at censorship Neocon idiots who defend ‘democracy’ in Australia and politics in SF. All credit [BRG: Thanks, Tony, but I can’t say I with bombings of civilians (who then to current co-editor Jan Stinson, but feel better for turning sixty. I agree become ‘terrorists’ by virtue of being one can’t help but feel that a lot of the with you in all but two things: (a) it dead), torture, concentration camps, impetus is Bruce’s — certainly the fact was Jan Stinson who prompted me to the installation of Orwellian modes of that SET survived the departure of re-start Steam Engine Time after Paul surveillance and the curtailing of civil Bruce’s original co-editors, Paul Kincaid and Maureen lost interest; Jan re- rights. and Maureen Kincaid Speller, must be stored my faith in SET as an interna- Hope you get enough jobs to down to Bruce. tional fanzine about SF, and has done survive; I am now retired, but still And yet I also feel that SET is but a her best to kick us along; (b) I cannot doing some things, including still side-project to Bruce. The really claim superiority to anybody at all. editing my magazine. important thing seems to be SF What I enjoy so much about fandom 5 February 2005 Commentary. He’s right, of course. This is that every active fannish writer has is an iconic sercon fanzine, of a type a special personal quality that no one TONY KEEN that few produced in the past fifty years else can copy or emulate. 48 Priory Street, Tonbridge, can hold a candle to (Australian Science But deep inside, I know I’d Kent TN9 2AN, England Fiction Review and Peter Weston’s trounce all the other fanzine editors if Speculation, both long ceased, are the I had the money and time to publish [BRG: Tony put this on his LiveJour- only ones that immediately come to regularly.] nal blog, which is why I didn’t see it mind). And it’s good, as well. The first until he told me to look for it. A very time I saw a copy, I was extremely [JGS: Um, gosh. I can’t take all the pleasant birthday present, Tony . . . impressed, both by presentation and by credit for SET’s re-emergence; after many thanks.] content. It is as essential a tool for the all, Bruce could’ve said no. I’m very SF critic as Foundation or Vector. glad he didn’t, especially because he According to Google it is now 1:32 AM Bruce doesn’t write all of this wouldn’t have read such glowing on Saturday 17th February in Australia. himself, of course. But when he does, praise otherwise.] Which means it is now Bruce Gillespie’s he manages to imbue discussions of the 60th birthday. For thirty-nine of his likes of the non-SF fiction of Philip K. [BRG: We also heard from GILLIAN sixty years, as and when finances allow, Dick with his own personality. No one POLACK (Canberra); LORNA Bruce has been producing fanzines such else writes sercon articles like Bruce TOOLIS (Toronto); MARTIN as SF Commentary and The Metaphysical Gillespie. Bruce Gillespie is, in my DUNNE (Adelaide); JAMES ALLEN Review. I say fanzines, and they are, for opinion, the world’s greatest living (Gladstone Park, Victoria); ANDY Bruce is not paid for them. But they fanwriter, and I will fight anyone who SAWYER (Liverpool, England); NED bear about as much relationship to the says different (unless they’re bigger BROOKS (Lilburn, Georgia); A5 Xeroxed booklets I’ve put out in the than me). That he’s never won a Hugo is WENDY WARING (in transit); past as Austen’s Pride and Prejudice an injustice. The biggest FRANK WEISSENBORN (North does to EastEnders. Like that nice disappointment of the 2006 GUFF race Caulfield, Victoria); ROB GER- professional layout Pete Young does on not going ahead was that I missed out RAND (St Kilda, Victoria); JOHN Zoo Nation? Bruce does it better. Never for a while on meeting Bruce. PURCELL (College Station, Texas); mind Banana Wings getting all those In short, Bruce is the measure by TERRY JEEVES (Scarborough, Eng- Novas and FAANs and Hugo nominations which we all, as fan writers, fanzine land); DAVID GRIGG (North Bal- — the best science fiction fanzine editors, or SF critics, judge ourselves (or wyn, Victoria); DAVID J. LAKE published in 2006 was Steam Engine if we don’t, we bloody well ought to). (Brisbane) (David’s mighty contribu- Time 5. This is a top quality sercon SF Almost every time we will find ourselves tion to SET is mentioned on p. 2); and publication, which can easily hold its wanting — and I’m sure Dave, Mark, DAVID CURL (Southampton, Eng- head up with the likes of Foundation Claire, Pete and many others would land)]. and Vector. Look at the contents: Paul agree with me on this point. Bruce Kincaid writing about The Separation in maintains his own standards by simply — 5 July 2007

43 JOHN BAXTER ZORAN BEKRIC LARRY BIGMAN IAN BORCHARDT DAMIEN BRODERICK HARRY BUERKETT STEPHEN CAMPBELL NEIL COOPER SARA CREASY GARY DALKIN DITMAR (DICK JENSSEN) JAMES DOIG BRIAN EDWARDS GREG EGAN ROBERT ELORDIETA JACQ FELIS E. B. FROHVET CHRIS GARCIA BRUCE GILLESPIE TERENCE M. GREEN JEFF HAMILL JEFF HARRIS LEE HARDING STEVE JEFFERY ADAM JENKINS JERRY KAUFMAN TONY KEEN DAVID J. LAKE DORA LEVAKIS PATRICK McGUIRE JOSEPH NICHOLAS IAN NICHOLS ROMAN ORSZANSKI LLOYD PENNEY FRANZ ROTTENSTEINER YVONNE ROUSSEAU DAVID RUSSELL ROBERT SABELLA ALAN SANDERCOCK DARRELL SCHWEITZER STEVE SNEYD JAN STINSON JULIAN WARNER E. D.WEBBER ART WIDNER MARTIN MORSE WOOSTER are in

Steam Engine Time

Issue 6 August 2007

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