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From: rcb@rti-sel.UUCP (Randy Buckland)
Newsgroups: net.books,net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: THE CRUCIBLE OF TIME
Message-ID: <56@rti-sel.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 3-Jan-85 12:58:47 EST
Article-I.D.: rti-sel.56
Posted: Thu Jan  3 12:58:47 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 5-Jan-85 23:41:52 EST
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Organization: Research Triangle Institute, NC
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Xref: watmath net.books:1164 net.sf-lovers:5474

> And his planetary system is entirely
> too close to our own: Sunbride is a thinly disguised Venus and Swiftyouth is
> an even more obvious Mars, with its seasonal changes that scientists in
> later chapters attribute to melting polar caps.  There are the two gas
> giants, Steadyman and Stolidchurl.  Even the events mirror our own--we see
> an incident where two characters who have discovered/invented lenses and the
> telescope hold a telescope up to Steadyman (I believe) and see satellites
> circling it which could not be seen with the naked eye.
> 

	I will admit that I have not read this book up front. (I have it on
order) However, the above quibbles don't seem like problems to me. They 
seem like what I would expect to happen. There are theories of planitary
development that would tend to indicate that a lot of systems should be
a great deal like our own. Also, the development of the telescope and
discovery of the moons of the gas giant should happen together. As is
said somewhere (I believe it was Heinlien)

	When the time comes in history to Railroad, you Railroad.

	This can be loosely translated as when all the elements of a new
discovery are available in a society. That discovery will occur. If Galileo
did not invent the telescope and discover Jupiters moons, someone else
in that time period would have.

					Randy Buckland
					Research Triangle Institute
					...!mcnc!rti-sel!rcb