Simulation of a 'star crosser' (hollowed asteroid) like in Long Sun!

Jeff Wilson · 17 May 2012, 08:45 · from 2012-May.txt.gz

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From: jwilson at clueland.com (Jeff Wilson)
Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 03:45:08 -0500
Subject: (urth) Simulation of a 'star crosser' (hollowed asteroid) like
 in Long Sun!
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On 5/17/2012 3:25 AM, Daniel Petersen wrote:
> His people knew what they were doing.
>
>
> Yeah, that's the assumption back of the entire Solar Cycle, which is
> highly effective in giving a powerful sense of decay, and, even more so
> to me, the possibility that Wolfe's narrators are only following the
> exploits and dramas of basically 'left behind' 'backwater' communities
> (however vast and seemingly complex and important to themselves, with an
> Autarch and what have you).  It actually has a strong plausibility to it.
>
> It seems only too likely that a (inter)galactic space-faring
> multi-terrestrial empire (or mega-galactic interaction of cultures of
> some kind) of the magnitude suggested in the works would have 'pockets'
> of leftover cultural decay in the 'boondocks' of that massive
> crisscrossing of interstellar economy.  And these pockets would have
> their overlords that would seem immensely powerful to the inhabitants,
> but are really lackeys and peons in the larger scheme, petty tyrannical
> landlords in the grip of an ultimately laughable megalomania - .e.g
> Typhon.  (This would fit in very well with and hugely deepen Wolfe's
> whole focus on the 'outcasts' in the Solar Cycle.)
>
> Has anybody else felt like Urth and co. are just a forgotten 'tribal
> village' tucked away in a vastly advanced cosmic mega-culture?

I get that sense, but that Urth has staggered on in obstinate mediocrity 
long after the mega-culture has flamed out. Typhon sets up shop between 
the trunkless legs of Ozymandias.

-- 
Jeff Wilson - jwilson at clueland.com
Computational Intelligence Laboratory - Texas A&M Texarkana
< http://www.tamut.edu/CIL >

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