Monday 20 August 2012

"Martians"

"Martians" usually means "natives of Mars." (See HG Wells, Olaf Stapledon, CS Lewis, ER Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein etc.) Poul Anderson thought of two other meanings. In his Technic History, extrasolar aliens for whom Mars is habitable colonize it and come to be called "Martians."

In The Fleet Of Stars, Terrans and Lunarians colonize Mars, and thus become "Martians," because:

both species can breed in Martian gravity which is neither too low for Terrans nor too high for Lunarians;
dwellings do not need domes or excavations as on Luna;
altered species can flourish on the surface;
mineral mining is profitable;
low gravity and proximity enable Martians to export to the asteroidal colonies.

Thus, many generations live on Mars so that some individuals and families want to remain there even when the original economic reasons no longer apply. Anderson understood that societies develop their own momentum.

No comments: