These notes were written before I finalized the timeline. This is a listing of the many inconsistencies I found between books. Most of those were resolved when I finally solved the timeline puzzle, but a few remained even then.
(See also Appendix B: Creating the timeline)
Imagine Andre Norton for a moment as a collector of ancient stories in a far future rather than as the contemporary author. Then imagine yourself as a a history student reviewing those fragmentary records from a distant past.
As a history student, you would not expect 100% consistency between ancient stories, on the contrary. The absence of inconsistencies would raise suspicion about the authenticity of the stories, because the historic telephone game would have caused changes in details during the retelling though the generations.
From that viewpoint, the few remaining inconsistencies between the various stories are imo not at all problematic.
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CONFLICT WARNING: |
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He knew that [the wall] had stood so for perhaps three hundred years. |
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Rememberers had counted some three hundred years from the end of one world and the beginning of this one. |
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CONFLICT WARNING: The Galactic Council was solidly behind this emigration policy which worked two ways. First it got rid of the drifters and those outside the law on the civilized worlds, and second, it helped to open new planets. Thus both problems were settled to the satisfaction of all but the victims, who had no political power anyway. Galactic Council???
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From: ("The Secret of the Lost Race") “ Terrans had been exploring the galaxy now for little less than three centuries." * * * * * * * “These aliens …/… were comrades-in-arms and good friends to other races who preceded us into space, those who built the ruins we now find on dead worlds, for we are new to come into an old, old region.” |
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From (“Catseye”) Chapter 1 Also from (“Catseye”) Chapter 5 CONFLICT WARNINGS:
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CONFLICT WARNING: A. early history story ca. 4000-4300 A.D.
B. BEFORE Moonsinger cycle. “Thax Thorman had trading rights on Rohan back in 3949. .../... Nowadays, since the Free Men have had their own confederation, combines can’t pull such tricks. " This suggest that the League of Free Traders was founded sometime about 4000 A.D. C. BUT AFTER the 1st Warlock story. "...the strange Wyverns, ..." D. POLITICAL REFERENCE “In the name of the Council, the Four Confederacies, the Twelve Systems, the Inner and Outer Planets,” |
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From Uncharted Stars: “You have certainly heard of the Caverns of Arzor and of that Sargasso planet of Limbo where a device intended for war and left running continued to pull ships to crash on its surface for thousands of years." CONFLICT WARNING #1: |
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Time references From: Ordeal in Otherwhere: ...the medical knowledge her species had been able to amass during centuries of space travel, experimentation, and information acquired across the galaxy... Of course, sooner or later, Central Control would investigate. But not for months was any government ship scheduled to set down on Demeter. "...a world named Warlock. Heard of it?” Charis shook her head. There were too many worlds; one could never keep up with their listing. ...“Are you a Beast Master?” she asked. “No, Survey doesn’t use animals that way—as fighters or sabotage teams. ... |
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... some of the galactic elite who made Korwar their playground had good reason to fear sudden death ... ... they crossed the edge of the Dipple, .../... Almost her full lifetime the Dipple had been there, a blot that Korwar, and this part of the galaxy, tried to forget but could not destroy. Ziantha was a human of Terran—or past-Terran—descent. But from what race or planet she had come in that dim beginning, when the inhabitants of dozens of worlds (the noncombatants, that is) had been driven by war to land in the “temporary” camp of the Dipple, she could not tell. These references to Korwar and Dipple place Forerunner Foray contemporary with the other Dipple books, a decade or so after the War of Two Sectors = ca. 8060 AD. Two years ago there had come the discovery of a world which was a single huge city, the apex of one of the civilizations of star-traveling races. .../... A ring with a strange and deadly gem stone had been the key to the city-world. The story of that quest had been told and retold on tri-dee casts a thousand times. This clearly refers to the unnamed Forerunner city-planet from Uncharted stars. While such discovery would be widespread news, a timeframe of 2 years to retell the story 'a thousand times' on tri-dee casts seems somewhat unrealistic. ... My name is Ris Lantee, and I am Wyvern trained .../... But I was born on [Warlock, the Wyvern] world; my parents are mind-linked liaison officers ... |
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From (“The Sioux Spaceman”) When Terrans started pushing out into space [away from Central Control], they met up with the Styor. * * * * * * * ... the atomic wars had ended one civilization and allowed the return of his own race from backwaters of desert and mountain land... Editor's Comment: |
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“There was a discovery made and ill-used on a world named Korwar. ...." One of my colleagues was able to find an entire planet city, stretching completely round the world which supported it, of a highly technical civilization. Ch.18: “In the name of the Council, the Four Confederacies, the Twelve Systems, the Inner and Outer Planets,” he recited formally, as he must have done many times before, it came so easily to him, “this agreement shall hold by planet law and star law.” "... to venture into the unknown in one of these [space ships]—But men had been doing it now for hundreds of seasons." What does not make sense in this story: |
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Gorth is also mentioned in ("Moon of Three Rings") CONFLICT WARNING:
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CONFLICT WARNING: |
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Beltane had been in existence about a century at the outbreak of the Four Sectors War. That war lasted ten planet years. This links the story to the ('Beast Master") cycle, where Terra was burned off at the end of a 10-year war. |
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One of the very few number dates: 2301-2483 AF = ca. 5800-6000 A.D. ??? CONFLICT WARNING: COMMENTS: If Andre Norton had made this a small in-system war instead of something sector-wide, this would not have been a problem at all. Localized conflicts and pirate raids would happen even in a period of galactic peace. |
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'Firm' date Ca. 4700-5000 A.D.
From : (“Sargasso of Space”):
"Galactic Trading was well-established and Trade was becoming a closed clan-based occupation. …/…
... There are Terran colonies over a thousand years old…"
COMMENTS:
The Astra colony ship left Terra ca. 2030, with transit time of "at least three hundred years" Although there were at least 2 earlier 'galactic expeditions,' Astra is the earliest successful and surviving colony mentioned e.g. in (“Plague Ship”) which could place the Solar Queen as early as ca. 3500 A.D. It is more likely that most of the early colonies originated during or shortly after the 1st Atomic Wars (Ca. A.D. 2900-3500)
Assuming that ‘over 1000 years’ = 1050-1300 years and with a few centuries added for cold-sleep travel time that was common in these earliest ships, this places Solar Queen Ca. 4700-5000 A.D.
REMINDERS of nearby event:
* Founding of 1st Galactic Empire = 5000 A.D. ("Star Rangers")* * * * * * *
From (“Redline the Stars”)
By now, many human races had been found, descendants from the lost Terran colonies.
Eight nonhuman races were known and three chemically different races including the Rigellians and Salariki.
None knew anything about the Forerunners, even though the Rigellians were known to have had interstellar travel before Terrans.
CONFLICT WARNING:
Zacathans are mentioned in ("Star Guard")
It seems unlikely they would not have known about Forerunners at that time already.
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Relative date Ca. 6000-6500 A.D.
From ("Moon of Three Rings")
Long ago all ships carried felines for the protection of the cargo, since they hunted to rout out any pests stowing away. For centuries they were inseparable crew members. But their numbers grew less and less; they did not have as large or as many litters any more. We had forgotten where that animal had originated, so fresh stock could not be obtained to renew the breed. There were still a few at headquarters, highly prized, protected, tended, in hope that the breed might be reinstated.
“What is treasure, Krip Vorlund? On Zacon it is knowledge, for the Zacathans look upon learning as their treasure. .../... On Sargol it is a small green herb, once common on forgotten Terra..."* * * * * * *
From ("Exiles of the Stars")
#1. " How many years has this system been settled? If they were of the first wave, perhaps a thousand years, a little less .../... Terra took to space a thousand years ago .../...
#2. "Limbo—that had been the startling discovery of a Free Trader in the earlier days."
These time references are somewhat contradictory:
1. The less-than-1000-year reference in #1suggests this story happens shortly before to contemporary with Sargasso of the Sea (Solar Queen cycle) which states "There are Terran colonies over a thousand years old... "
2. However, #2 places it later than the Limbo discoveries, and 3 (in the earlier days) makes that considerably later.
#3 "...nowadays even Terra is half legend..."
This comment is very similar to the one in ("Dread Companion") "...where Terra lies is in dispute... " which is one of the very few stories that Norton gave firm dates for: 2300-2500 A.F.WARNING: ("Zero Stone") before (("Exiles")
#4 ...the Forerunners were not a single civilization, either—even a single species. Ask the Zacathans—they can count you off evidence of perhaps ten which have been tentatively identified, plus fragments of other, earlier ones which have not! The universe is a graveyard of vanished races, some of whom rose to heights we cannot assess today.
In ("The Zero Stone") the Zacathans only know of 3 races of Forerunners, which would place that story earlier than this one.
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We are late comers into space, even though we have been for centuries now star voyagers. |
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Some time before 4900 A.D.: |
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This story mentions the same on-planet marriage customs for Survey scouts as Dread Companion |
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CONFLICT WARNING: These 2 stories are listed as a separate series because they are a continuing story, even though they would be a good fit in the 'Forerunner Planets' series. Simsa visits Forerunner cities on 2 different planets in these stories. |
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From: (“Ice Crown”) |
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The Dreamers of Ty-Kry are able to visit alternate worlds, linking this story to ("Android at Arms") and ("Star Gate") |
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"Yul had been in ruins when the first of her own species had come to Benold’s world a thousand planet years ago." Yul appears to be a Forerunner city, although it is not specifically named so. |
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".../... any planet where the Council had an Embassy." |
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EVENT: ca. 5000. A.D. The Galactic Empire has managed to keep the peace for nearly 3000 years… (“Star Rangers”) CONFLICT WARNING 2. 3000 years would not be enough to restore a world that was burned off to a radioactive cinder ("Beast Master'). Let's just assume it wasn't really THAT bad... |
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CONFLICT WARNING: The name of the planet is not specified. We could assume that Terra's destruction in ("Beast Master") wasn't that bad after all + a distant enough future, or that it is not Earth but one of the colony planets ... |
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Word Searches, Quotes, etc.
Word-searches I used to figure out what books belong in this collection. This is rough draft text that has not been cleaned up, but you're welcome to review it.