ANALOG PLUS 50: Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact April 1971

ANALOG PLUS 50: Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, April 1971

The fourth issue in my ANALOG PLUS 50 series.

At some point, I'll stop numbering, but probably not until I do this for at least a year.

This was a less impressive issue than the past few.

In this issue:

The Editorial: "Ecological Collapse", by John. W. Campbell. An ecology can collapse but Ecology keeps going, albeit in a different form. Campbell starts by talking about one of the greatest Earth-changing elements ever: oxygen. It altered the atmosphere and what life could live on this planet forever. From there, it's on to other types of pollution, like thermal pollution from nuclear reactions. They can heat rivers, and that could kill off the current wildlife in those rivers, but it could spark other life to move into those rivers. There are lots of side effects to consider, good and bad.

Novelette: "The Unreachable Stars" by Stanley Schmidt, with an illustration by Kelly Freas, showing a background of skyscrapers against a night sky and the outline of people in the midground. Above to the left is what appears to be the head of some kind of feline animal humanoid species. The caption reads, There are choices which, once made can't be reversed -- and typical of these is the choice of immediate desire over long-term need!

First thoughts: the title, to me, invokes "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha, which was a 1965 musical, but the movie didn't come out until 1972.

The story is set in a far (at least I hope far) future when space has been abandoned and forgotten, and Earth is overpopulated. Anthon Hillar goes to the Regional Planning Director Olaf Karper about a discovery. He's unearthed some books from a crypt of a 21st century eccentric at one of the new energy and food complexes in Kaliforn. Bypassing his chain of command, he showed them to Mylo Gotfry, a professor of Ancient English in a government school. He thinks they are important. They are books about the stars and other worlds. Olaf doesn't seem interested and Anthon is afraid a coverup will take place instead of talking about going out there (not that there's money to go out there when there are people to feed and house). Anthon goes AWOL trying to figure out what to do next, wondering if the books are a hoax, when a voice in his head tells him, "They're not a hoax." Ozrlag, the feline-like alien, is trying to influence Anthon mentally, much to the consternation of Mizhjar. They're trying to get information about Earth, and they already know about Mylo. They want him to go to the crypt and get the other books. In the end, Ozrlag has to join Anthon and they are confronted by Karper, who predicted their movements. There's a little twist in the epilogue.

Interesting story, without a lot of speaking parts, and only two short, feline aliens needed, which could be either male or female. None of the speaking parts are tied to any race or gender. Despite the grand scale of the story, most of the sets would be simple, and everything else could be handled with establishing shots and montages to suggest overpopulation and the brink of starvation. It could be adaptable, but from these past four months, it woouldn't be one of my top choices.

Science Fact: "Real Science for Real Problems" by John R. Pierce. The caption reads, It isn't obvious that Bell Laboratories runs a major educational "univeristy" -- but it does, because it has to. Educational psychology is, consequently, highly important to the Labs. And because it is a business -- utility commissions and stockholders alike want expenses down! -- Bell Labs has been applying the "Schwartzberg test" to educational psychology for years. Any theories have to work! [(P)] In the process of learning how to learn, the "University of Bell Labs" has developed solid proof that students should not be allowed to determine how they are to be taught, and what is "relevant"! The Editor

Fifty years old, and still relevant when it comes to student learning. At the time, the Bell System was the largest university instituation in the country after the U.S. Government itself. By applying research, Bell was able to shrink one course from 7 weeks to 7 days, and they had better results. And through tests, they discovered that students didn't always choose the best methods for learning and retaining information. Credit for programmed instruction is credited to B. F. Skinner, whom I learned about somewhat in an Educational Psychology course a long time ago.

There's some information that's interesting, at least as a historical note, so it's worth finding a copy of the article.

Bell increasing relied on programmed instruction instead of lecture and text books. In front, when the programs, there often wasn't a teacher in the room. It also showed that if there were breaks in the text to asks relevant questions about what they just read or saw, there was better retention of the material. Of course, just because programmed instruction can be evaluated doesn't mean that a course has been appropriately assessed. It's possible that people will score well on the test questions without taking the course at all. Or that seasoned employees will do better than recent graduates just starting. That shows that the course didn't work as advertised.

One outdated piece of trivia, people remembered phone numbers longer if the chunks were reversed. Most people would make calls to the same area code and usually to one of a handful of exchanges. It was only the last four digits that changed the most. And yet, as you dial, those are the four digits that get forgotten by the time you dial them.

Novelette: "Heart's Desire and Other Simple Wants" by W. Macfarlane, with an illustration by Vincent Difate, showing a bare-legged, bare-footed man in an overcoat, swinging a sword. There's half a wheel on the ground (with a shadow) and a car heading toward a wooden covered bridge which turns into more of a steel trestle.The caption reads, Given infinite mobility, you have absolute immunity. But if there is a place you want to be -- thereby you're limited!

I honestly have no idea what was going on in this story. Despite a line like, "I thought my operation was secure with baffles, dead ends, double bluffs and a chain of command trustworthy as a paperclip necklace. I figured I was safe as the nissing side of a Mobius strip", I'm not sure where it went off the rails. Maybe if I reread the portion in the middle.

Arleigh Ravenshaw takes his order from General Craddock, who tells him he's a marked man. It seems to be an X-Files situation where they investiage alien artifacts, witchcraft and odd occurrences. Craddock sends Ravenshaw on a cross-country trip that starts in Saratoga Springs and leads him down South and then out West. His first stop seems to be a couple of New Age hippies (but, again, this is written in 1970) and it's long on conversation, and then it moves on, and on, and on. Maybe I was dulled by this and didn't pick up the common thread. When he gets to a town called Nak-a-tosh, he phones a woman named Mrs. Aubray Chalmers, which brings him to a coven and a ceremony that he's about to take part in. One of the women involved was named Nell Rowley whom Ravenshaw managed to not ogle ("goggle") by ogling another woman instead. It wasn't until I was writing this up that I realized that Nell Rowley was mentioned very early in the story and is known to both Ravenshaw and Craddock. I missed this.

Anyway, Rowley grabs Ravenshaw and pulls him out of the coven before anything stupid happens. They flee in a car, and the coven gives chase. And some point, this road trip takes a major detour as they start hopping, leaping, jumping or sliding between dimensions and realities. Start thinking about something (like a bridge) and it appears. This causes problems as they are moving around in alternate realities acting odder than a $2.50 bill, which actually exists. They finally figure a way back, but I really haven't a clue what was going on. If someone wanted to adapt it, they'd need to leave out a lot of the beginning and explain what was going on better.

Serial: "The World Menders" by Lloyd Biggle, Jr., with an illustration by Kelly Freas, showing a line of hairy humanoids walking, one with a torch, two carrying another who seems to be passed out or injured, and a female seems to be dancing. The caption reads, Third of Three Parts. One of the problems that has never been adequately considered is "When is a slave not a slave, so freeing him is impossilbe." That unconsidered problem presents aspects that make it inherently insoluble.

This Part 3 of 3, so I chose to wait to read this. I may do a separate entry for two or three serials.

Short Story: "Higher Centers" by F. Paul Wilson, with an illustration by Vincent Di Fate, showing a dog looking at two people, one standing, and one getting up, on top of some kind of platfrom, and a second platform has a lamp that looks to be projecting the title "higher centers", and there's a flat skyline and two moons. The caption reads, The efficient way of doing things is to have a strong, centralized Center of Command that makes all the decisions. Well-l . . . at least as long as the thing works at all . . .

The higher centers refer to parts of the brain. Spoiler: unraveling a mystery on another as to why some people are having trouble breathing, and can't sleep for more than an hour at a time. Side effects include the government screwing everything up because affected employees cannot function properly, and people are starting to riot. Due to some kind of accident (I'm not sure what), the people suffering have a problem where their higher centers have taken control over some body functions that the lower centers should handle, such as breathing. No solution is offered, and the problem with be passed onto another authority.

This story is too cerebral to make a good sci-fi story. Even as a medical drama, it fails because there is no solution to the problem.

The Analytical Library: The top five stories from January 1971, when I started reading. Gordon R. Dickson's serial takes the top spot with an incredibly low score (low is good), and "The Telzey Toy" was next. I liked that one. I couldn't argue with the placement of the rest of the stories. I had to think about the titles a moment to remember much about them.

The Reference Library , by P. Schuyler Miller.
Books reviewed include: Dread Companion (Andre Norton), The House in November (Keith Laumer), The Dark Symphony, and Anti-Man (both by Dean R. Koontz), and The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge (Harry Harrison). Also there are mini reviews of books reprinted in hardback: The Stainless Steel Rat (Harry Harrison), The Wanderer (Fritz Lieber), I Am Legend (Richard Matheson), A Gift From Earth (Larry Niven), Nightwings (Robert Silverberg), and Rebirth (John Wyndham).

Brass Tacks:
Stan was incorrect to assert that 3,000 tons of coal dust could cause a 3 kiloton explosion -- it's closer to 33, but since it isn't efficient, at a 10% rate, he'd be close. Rick Cook gave an update to his bacteria article published in November 1970. (I haven't seen the article but I skimmed then skipped most of the letter.) Drugs are bad enough when they're good, but when they're cut with arsenic, rat poison or such, they're even worse, and the users don't know what they're getting. (Sounds like getting pharmaceuticals over the Internet!) Pot and alcohol are also menaces. And a couple more editorial responses.

On to May, and whatever else is in the TBR stacks in Kindle, iBooks, and the physical nightstand.