From: Michael Andre-Driussi <mantis@sirius.com>
Subject: (urth) those high fliers
Date: Thu, 5 Aug 1999 17:12:57 

Eep!

I hope my joke didn't misfire so completely that umbrage occured.  I'm too
fond of that phrase, "Everything you know is wrong," but not in the
put-down way, rather in the way of the snake-oil salesman pitch.

Anywho, since Wolfe was so anti-antigravity in 5HC, I personally find
myself less concerned with the motive force of the fliers (as I wrote
before, I first or second thought of magnetic monopoles, especially in
light of "magnetic sails" [which are like solar sails but they respond to
magnetic forces rather than photons; and might be used for planetary
liftoff if the flipping over part can be controlled], and then picked up
"legitimate" antigravity notions from Forward, which in turn makes me
laugh) than I am concerned with _the anchor ropes that tether the fliers to
the ground_.

But every reader finds some different angle or detail to worry about, this
is a given.

 . . .  like, if Urth receives barely enough solar insolation to maintain
habitability, then how does Verthandi manage to survive with even _less_
insolation?  With a Barsoomian brand atmosphere plant, naturally.

=mantis=



*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/