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Spaceways, v. 4, issue 5, whole no. 28, June 1942

Page 10

10     SPACEWAYS

LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP, CYNIC
by
SYLVESTER BROWN, JR.

My very esteemed S F Cynic:

I beg your indulgence as I am about to fry you in your own fat. So you think "Second Stage Lensmen" (SSL) is an hilarious matter, eh? Well, you won't be laughing when I finish. I will be the first to admit that SSL has inconsistencies: but not one of the inconsistencies that you mention (except one minor point concerning Chris). And I intend to prove that conclusively and back my statements up with quotes.
Perhaps the most glaring inconsistency (or error, if you will) of the trilogy is Helmuth's completely unwarranted possession of a thought screen. Practically every other inconsistency that I was able to find was in some way connected with said thought screens. If, my dear Cynic, you wanted to point out a rather glaring inconsistency in SSL, why did you not ask: How did the Arisians make Mac's Lens without her having ever been near the planet--without having "fitted" her for it? See, it's really very simple. But your statements! Ach, mein Gott!
You state, my most cogent entity, that"Civilization (C) and Boskonia (B), says Smith, differ basically in one respect. C recognizes the equality of women; B does not." That is a lie. Smight never wrote anything remotely resembling the above. You have, either accidentally or deliberately, misconstrued the facts; and I defy you to show me one--just one--passage where Smight says anything of the kind. Here are the true and untarnished facts which prove that your above quoted statement is entirely erroneous and misleading in the extreme:
The only possible passage where you could have possibly gotten that warped idea of yours was the time Kim said to the Lyranian (SSL, p I, p 41) "....I am a person of a race having two equal sexes." How you warped that statement to fit your own peculiar ideas, Cynic! Kinnison was explaining the sociology of C to a matriarch who had never even heard of C, let alone B, before. Boskonian culture never even entered the discussion as a matter of fact.
The following quote, however, alludes to the true difference between C and B. (SSL, p I, p 55, Kim to Illona) "....our C....is founded upon the freedom of the individual to do pretty much as he pleases, as long as it is not to the public harm. And, as far as possible, equality of all entities of C."
Again--(SSL, p IV, p 120, Kim to Lanion): "....Would you....prefer to keep on as you have been, working for personal power (-B-) , or would you rather team up with others to work for the good of all (- C-)?"
Here's the clincher, though: (Galactic Patrol (GP), p III, pp 147-148, Arisian to Helmuth): "....Your presence is particularly distasteful, representing as you do a despotic, degrading, antisocial culture. Evil and good are, of course, purely relative, so it cannot be said in absolute terms that your culture is evil. It is, however, based upon greed, hatred, corruption, violence, and fear. Justice it does not recognize, nor mercy, nor truth, except as a scientific utility. It is basically opposed to liberty. Now liberty--of person, of thought, of action--is the basis and the goal of civilization to which you are opposed, and with which any really philosophical mind must find itself in accord."
Does that sound like your interpretation of the basic difference between C and B, Cynic? Certainly it must be your interpretation alone, as no one else would lay claim to such an obviously false statement. Note the word antisocial:

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10 SPACEWAYS LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP, CYNIC by SYLVESTER BROWN, JR. My very esteemed S F Cynic: I beg your indulgence as I am about to fry you in your own fat. So you think "Second Stage Lensmen" (SSL) is an hilarious matter, eh? Well, you won't be laughing when I finish. I will be the first to admit that SSL has inconsistencies: but not one of the inconsistencies that you mention (except one minor point concerning Chris). And I intend to prove that conclusively and back my statements up with quotes. Perhaps the most glaring inconsistency (or error, if you will) of the trilogy is Helmuth's completely unwarranted possession of a thought screen. Practically every other inconsistency that I was able to find was in some way connected with said thought screens. If, my dear Cynic, you wanted to point out a rather glaring inconsistency in SSL, why did you not ask: How did the Arisians make Mac's Lens without her having ever been near the planet--without having "fitted" her for it? See, it's really very simple. But your statements! Ach, mein Gott! You state, my most cogent entity, that"Civilization (C) and Boskonia (B), says Smith, differ basically in one respect. C recognizes the equality of women; B does not." That is a lie. Smight never wrote anything remotely resembling the above. You have, either accidentally or deliberately, misconstrued the facts; and I defy you to show me one--just one--passage where Smight says anything of the kind. Here are the true and untarnished facts which prove that your above quoted statement is entirely erroneous and misleading in the extreme: The only possible passage where you could have possibly gotten that warped idea of yours was the time Kim said to the Lyranian (SSL, p I, p 41) "....I am a person of a race having two equal sexes." How you warped that statement to fit your own peculiar ideas, Cynic! Kinnison was explaining the sociology of C to a matriarch who had never even heard of C, let alone B, before. Boskonian culture never even entered the discussion as a matter of fact. The following quote, however, alludes to the true difference between C and B. (SSL, p I, p 55, Kim to Illona) "....our C....is founded upon the freedom of the individual to do pretty much as he pleases, as long as it is not to the public harm. And, as far as possible, equality of all entities of C." Again--(SSL, p IV, p 120, Kim to Lanion): "....Would you....prefer to keep on as you have been, working for personal power (-B-) , or would you rather team up with others to work for the good of all (- C-)?" Here's the clincher, though: (Galactic Patrol (GP), p III, pp 147-148, Arisian to Helmuth): "....Your presence is particularly distasteful, representing as you do a despotic, degrading, antisocial culture. Evil and good are, of course, purely relative, so it cannot be said in absolute terms that your culture is evil. It is, however, based upon greed, hatred, corruption, violence, and fear. Justice it does not recognize, nor mercy, nor truth, except as a scientific utility. It is basically opposed to liberty. Now liberty--of person, of thought, of action--is the basis and the goal of civilization to which you are opposed, and with which any really philosophical mind must find itself in accord." Does that sound like your interpretation of the basic difference between C and B, Cynic? Certainly it must be your interpretation alone, as no one else would lay claim to such an obviously false statement. Note the word antisocial: