Read The Fortress in Orion Online
Authors: Mike Resnick
The Fortress in Orion (30 page)
Earth itself is way out in the boonies, on the Spiral Arm. I don't believe I've set more than parts of a couple of novels on the Arm.
At the outer edge of the galaxy is the Rim, where worlds are spread out and underpopulated. There's so little of value or military interest on the Rim that one ship, such as the
Theodore Roosevelt
of the Starship series, can patrol a couple of hundred worlds by itself. In later eras, the Rim will be dominated by feuding warlords, but it's so far away from the center of things that the governments, for the most part, just ignore it.
Then there are the Inner and Outer Frontiers. The Outer Frontier is that vast but sparsely populated area between the outer edge of the Re/files/10/19/58/f101958/public/Democracy/Oligarchy/Monarchy and the Rim. The Inner Frontier is that somewhat smaller (but still huge) area between the inner reaches of the Re/files/10/19/58/f101958/public/et cetera and the black hole at the core of the galaxy.
It's on the Inner Frontier that I've chosen to set more than half of my novels. In 1968's
Space Chantey
, the brilliant R. A. Lafferty wrote: “Will there be a mythology of the future, they used to ask, after all has become science? Will high deeds be told in epic, or only in computer code?” I decided that I'd like to spend at least a part of my career trying to create those myths of the future, and it seems to me that myths, with their bigger-than-life characters and colorful settings, work best on frontiers where there aren't too many people around to chronicle them accurately, or too many authority figures around to prevent them from playing out to their inevitable conclusions. So I arbitrarily decided that the Inner Frontier was where
my
myths would take place, and I populated it with people bearing names like Catastrophe Baker, the Widowmaker, the Cyborg de Milo, the ageless Forever Kid, and the like. It not only allows me to tell my heroic (and sometimes antiheroic) myths but also lets me tell more realistic stories occurring at the very same time a few thousand light-years away in the Republic or Democracy or whatever happens to exist at that moment.
Over the years I've fleshed out the galaxy. There are the star clustersâthe Albion Cluster, the Quinellus Cluster, a few others. There are the individual worlds, some important enough to appear as the title of a book, such as Walpurgis III, some reappearing throughout the time periods and stories, such as Deluros VIII, Antares III, Binder X, Keepsake, Spica II, some others, and hundreds (maybe thousands by now) of worlds (and races, now that I think about it) mentioned once and never again.
Then there are, if not the bad guys, then at least what I think of as the Disloyal Opposition. Some, like the Sett Empire, get into one war with humanity and that's the end of it. Some, like the Canphor Twins (Canphor VI and Canphor VII) have been a thorn in Man's side for the better part of ten millennia. Some, like Lodin XI, vary almost daily in their loyalties, depending on the political situation.
I've been building this universe, politically and geographically, for a third of a century now, and with each passing book and story it feels a little more real to me. Give me another thirty years, and I'll probably believe every word I've written about it.
APPENDIX 3
CHRONOLOGY OF THE UNIVERSE CREATED IN
BIRTHRIGHT:
THE BOOK OF MAN
| YEAR | ERA | STORY OR NOVEL |
| Â | ||
| 1885 A.D. | “The Hunter” (IVORY) | |
| 1898 A.D. | “Himself” (IVORY) | |
| 1982 A.D. | SIDESHOW | |
| 1983 A.D. | THE THREE-LEGGED HOOTCH DANCER | |
| 1985 A.D. | THE WILD ALIEN TAMER | |
| 1987 A.D. | THE BEST ROOTIN' TOOTIN' SHOOTIN' GUNSLINGER IN THE WHOLE DAMNED GALAXY | |
| 2057 A.D. | “The Politician” (IVORY) | |
| 2403 A.D. | “Shaka II” | |
| 2908 A.D. | 1 G.E. | |
| 16 G.E. | Republic | “The Curator” (IVORY) |
| 103 G.E. | Republic | “The Homecoming” |
| 264 G.E. | Republic | “The Pioneers” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 332 G.E. | Republic | “The Cartographers” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 346 G.E. | Republic | WALPURGIS III |
| 367 G.E. | Republic | EROS ASCENDING |
| 396 G.E. | Republic | “The Miners” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 401 G.E. | Republic | EROS AT ZENITH |
| 442 G.E. | Republic | EROS DESCENDING |
| 465 G.E. | Republic | EROS AT NADIR |
| 522 G.E. | Republic | “All the Things You Are” |
| 588 G.E. | Republic | “The Psychologists” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 616 G.E. | Republic | A MIRACLE OF RARE DESIGN |
| 882 G.E. | Republic | “The Potentate” (IVORY) |
| 962 G.E. | Republic | “The Merchants” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 1150 G.E. | Republic | “Cobbling Together a Solution” |
| 1151 G.E. | Republic | “Nowhere in Particular” |
| 1152 G.E. | Republic | “The God Biz” |
| 1394 G.E. | Republic | “Keepsakes” |
| 1701 G.E. | Republic | “The Artist” (IVORY) |
| 1813 G.E. | Republic | “Dawn” (PARADISE) |
| 1826 G.E. | Republic | PURGATORY |
| 1859 G.E. | Republic | “Noon” (PARADISE) |
| 1888 G.E. | Republic | “Midafternoon” (PARADISE) |
| 1902 G.E. | Republic | “Dusk” (PARADISE) |
| 1921 G.E. | Republic | INFERNO |
| 1966 G.E. | Republic | STARSHIP: MUTINY |
| 1967 G.E. | Republic | STARSHIP: PIRATE |
| 1968 G.E. | Republic | STARSHIP: MERCENARY |
| 1969 G.E. | Republic | STARSHIP: REBEL |
| 1970 G.E. | Republic | STARSHIP: FLAGSHIP |
| 2122 G.E. | Democracy | “The 43 Antarean Dynasties” |
| 2154 G.E. | Democracy | “The Diplomats” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 2239 G.E. | Democracy | “Monuments of Flesh and Stone” |
| 2275 G.E. | Democracy | “The Olympians” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 2469 G.E. | Democracy | “The Barristers” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 2885 G.E. | Democracy | “Robots Don't Cry” |
| 2911 G.E. | Democracy | “The Medics” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 3004 G.E. | Democracy | “The Politicians” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 3042 G.E. | Democracy | “The Gambler” (IVORY) |
| 3286 G.E. | Democracy | SANTIAGO |
| 3322 G.E. | Democracy | A HUNGER IN THE SOUL |
| 3324 G.E. | Democracy | THE SOUL EATER |
| 3324 G.E. | Democracy | “Nicobar Lane: The Soul Eater's Story” |
| 3407 G.E. | Democracy | THE RETURN OF SANTIAGO |
| 3427 G.E. | Democracy | SOOTHSAYER |
| 3441 G.E. | Democracy | ORACLE |
| 3447 G.E. | Democracy | PROPHET |
| 3502 G.E. | Democracy | “Guardian Angel” |
| 3504 G.E. | Democracy | “A Locked-Planet Mystery” |
| 3504 G.E. | Democracy | “Honorable Enemies” |
| 3505 G.E. | Democracy | “If the Frame Fits . . .” |
| 3719 G.E. | Democracy | “Hunting the Snark” |
| 4026 G.E. | Democracy | THE FORTRESS IN ORION |
| 4375 G.E. | Democracy | “The Graverobber” (IVORY) |
| 4822 G.E. | Oligarchy | “The Administrators” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 4839 G.E. | Oligarchy | THE DARK LADY |
| 5101 G.E. | Oligarchy | THE WIDOWMAKER |
| 5103 G.E. | Oligarchy | THE WIDOWMAKER REBORN |
| 5106 G.E. | Oligarchy | THE WIDOWMAKER UNLEASHED |
| 5108 G.E. | Oligarchy | A GATHERING OF WIDOWMAKERS |
| 5461 G.E. | Oligarchy | “The Media” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 5492 G.E. | Oligarchy | “The Artists” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 5521 G.E. | Oligarchy | “The Warlord” (IVORY) |
| 5655 G.E. | Oligarchy | “The Biochemists” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 5912 G.E. | Oligarchy | “The Warlords” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 5993 G.E. | Oligarchy | “The Conspirators” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 6304 G.E. | Monarchy | IVORY |
| 6321 G.E. | Monarchy | “The Rulers” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 6400 G.E. | Monarchy | “The Symbiotics” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 6521 G.E. | Monarchy | “Catastrophe Baker and the Cold Equations” |
| 6523 G.E. | Monarchy | THE OUTPOST |
| 6524 G.E. | Monarchy | “Catastrophe Baker and a Canticle for Leibowitz” |
| 6599 G.E. | Monarchy | “The Philosophers” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 6746 G.E. | Monarchy | “The Architects” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 6962 G.E. | Monarchy | “The Collectors” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 7019 G.E. | Monarchy | “The Rebels” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 16201 G.E. | Anarchy | “The Archaeologists” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 16673 G.E. | Anarchy | “The Priests” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 16888 G.E. | Anarchy | “The Pacifists” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 17001 G.E. | Anarchy | “The Destroyers” (BIRTHRIGHT) |
| 21703 G.E. | “Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge” |
NOVELS NOT SET IN THIS FUTURE
ADVENTURES (1922â1926 A.D.)
EXPLOITS (1926â1931 A.D.)
ENCOUNTERS (1931â1934 A.D.)
HAZARDS (1934â1938 A.D.)
STALKING THE UNICORN (“Tonight”)
STALKING THE VAMPIRE (“Tonight”)
STALKING THE DRAGON (“Tonight”)
STALKING THE ZOMBIE (“Tonight”)
THE BRANCH (2047â2051 A.D.)
SECOND CONTACT (2065 A.D.)
BULLY! (1910â1912 A.D.)
KIRINYAGA (2123â2137 A.D.)
KILIMANJARO (2234â2241 A.D.)
LADY WITH AN ALIEN (1490 A.D.)
A CLUB IN MONTMARTRE (1890â1901 A.D.)
DRAGON AMERICA (1779â1780 A.D.)
THE WORLD BEHIND THE DOOR (1928 A.D.)
THE OTHER TEDDY ROOSEVELTS (1888â1919 A.D.)
THE BUNTLINE SPECIAL (1881 A.D.)
THE DOCTOR AND THE KID (1882 A.D.)
THE DOCTOR AND THE ROUGH RIDER (1884 A.D.)
THE DOCTOR AND THE DINOSAURS (1885 A.D.)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo by Hugette
M
ike Resnick
has won an impressive five Hugos and has been nominated for thirty-one more. The author of the Starship series, the John Justin Mallory series, the Eli Paxton Mysteries, and four Weird West Tales, he has sold sixty-nine science fiction novels and more than two hundred and fifty short stories and has edited forty anthologies. His Kirinyaga series, with sixty-seven major and minor awards and nominations to date, is the most honored series of stories in the history of science fiction. Visit him at his website,
http://mikeresnick.com/
, on Facebook,
www.facebook.com/mike.resnick1
, or on Twitter
@ResnickMike.