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Fantascience Digest, v. 2, issue 2, January-February 1939
Page 11
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FANTASCIENCE DIGEST Page 11 SIMILARITY WITH DIFFERENCES by MILTON A. ROTHMAN The names of Smith and Campbell go together in the minds of every science fiction reader as being the two authors who joined together cold science and tremendous fantasy better than any others have done. I use the word "tremendous" advisedly, for that is the only word to describe the scope of the stories of these two authors, and that is what they are mainly noted for. Their stories run the gamut of the universe, are filled with energies and velocities running into astronomical figures, and yet at the same time are always bound down to earth by the thread of science that does not go beyond present-day knowledge. The "Skylark" series and the "Arcot-Wade-Morey" series are without a doubt the greatest group of interplanetary stories that have ever been conceived. In some ways the latter series is better than the former, although the name of "Skylark" has had much more notoriety than the other. It is difficult to judge, though, because they are both such marvelous pieces of imaginative work. Both series start with fundamental principles, and gradually, by an accumulation of knowledge, work up to a point where all the energy of the universe is at the command of the characters, and any operation can be performed by the mere process of thinking about it. Aside from this basic resemblance, there is a piece of coincidence to be seen that is really startling. Perhaps the word coincidence is incorrectly used, for what it really represents is the fact that: starting with a given setting, character, and conditions, two different authors working absolutely separately can evolve plots for stories that are identical even down to almost minor details. It is as though the two authors said, "Here is a plot; let us see how each of us would write the story. For that is exactly how the result appears. The plots are the same, but the development, the treatment of the science, even the scientific systems follow the separate inclinations of the authors. The stories I refer to are "Skylark Three," and "Invaders from the Infinite". The plots are, broadly: Invasion, accumulation of sufficient knowledge to repel the invaders, and then a smash climax in which the invaders are repelled. The reason for this basic similarity of plot is obvious. In the stories preceding these in the respective series, powers of huge magnitude, and velocities faster than light have been used. This means, then, that the present stories must be of interstellar scope. For the sake of plot, there must be a conflict. There are no equal forces within known systems, therefore the conflict must be with outsiders. The obvious motive is invasion and repulsion. At the beginning of the stories the invaders have the edge on the power; this is to make the obstacles higher, according to all laws of plotting. During the story knowledge is accumulated until the protagonist has the edge over the antagonist, and then: Wham! All of this follows by logical sequence, but now notice how
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FANTASCIENCE DIGEST Page 11 SIMILARITY WITH DIFFERENCES by MILTON A. ROTHMAN The names of Smith and Campbell go together in the minds of every science fiction reader as being the two authors who joined together cold science and tremendous fantasy better than any others have done. I use the word "tremendous" advisedly, for that is the only word to describe the scope of the stories of these two authors, and that is what they are mainly noted for. Their stories run the gamut of the universe, are filled with energies and velocities running into astronomical figures, and yet at the same time are always bound down to earth by the thread of science that does not go beyond present-day knowledge. The "Skylark" series and the "Arcot-Wade-Morey" series are without a doubt the greatest group of interplanetary stories that have ever been conceived. In some ways the latter series is better than the former, although the name of "Skylark" has had much more notoriety than the other. It is difficult to judge, though, because they are both such marvelous pieces of imaginative work. Both series start with fundamental principles, and gradually, by an accumulation of knowledge, work up to a point where all the energy of the universe is at the command of the characters, and any operation can be performed by the mere process of thinking about it. Aside from this basic resemblance, there is a piece of coincidence to be seen that is really startling. Perhaps the word coincidence is incorrectly used, for what it really represents is the fact that: starting with a given setting, character, and conditions, two different authors working absolutely separately can evolve plots for stories that are identical even down to almost minor details. It is as though the two authors said, "Here is a plot; let us see how each of us would write the story. For that is exactly how the result appears. The plots are the same, but the development, the treatment of the science, even the scientific systems follow the separate inclinations of the authors. The stories I refer to are "Skylark Three," and "Invaders from the Infinite". The plots are, broadly: Invasion, accumulation of sufficient knowledge to repel the invaders, and then a smash climax in which the invaders are repelled. The reason for this basic similarity of plot is obvious. In the stories preceding these in the respective series, powers of huge magnitude, and velocities faster than light have been used. This means, then, that the present stories must be of interstellar scope. For the sake of plot, there must be a conflict. There are no equal forces within known systems, therefore the conflict must be with outsiders. The obvious motive is invasion and repulsion. At the beginning of the stories the invaders have the edge on the power; this is to make the obstacles higher, according to all laws of plotting. During the story knowledge is accumulated until the protagonist has the edge over the antagonist, and then: Wham! All of this follows by logical sequence, but now notice how
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