StoryID: Alternate history where physics is based on angelology.
December 31, 2008 5:17 PM Subscribe
StoryID: Alternate history where physics is based on angelology.
Probably 20+ years ago I read a science fiction story about a relatively high-tech alternate world where the Church still dominated, and entities from physics such as radio waves and elementary particles were thought to be angels. Can anyone name this story?
I seem to recall this story was in one of the ubiquitous SF anthologies of the 1970s and 80s, such as Universe, but it might have been in a magazine, of which I read plenty at the time.
I'm particularly interested in this story because of its anthropomorphizing of physical concepts, much like the book There Are No Electrons, by Kenn Amdahl, in which electrons are "really" little green men [sic] who love parties.
Speaking of which: happy 2009!
Probably 20+ years ago I read a science fiction story about a relatively high-tech alternate world where the Church still dominated, and entities from physics such as radio waves and elementary particles were thought to be angels. Can anyone name this story?
I seem to recall this story was in one of the ubiquitous SF anthologies of the 1970s and 80s, such as Universe, but it might have been in a magazine, of which I read plenty at the time.
I'm particularly interested in this story because of its anthropomorphizing of physical concepts, much like the book There Are No Electrons, by Kenn Amdahl, in which electrons are "really" little green men [sic] who love parties.
Speaking of which: happy 2009!
I remember hearing about a science fiction story or novel where radio messages were carried by angels. I can't come up with the title ... yet.
posted by zippy at 5:26 PM on December 31, 2008
posted by zippy at 5:26 PM on December 31, 2008
Response by poster: mulligan: Thanks, but I read His Dark Materials and that's not it. I'm pretty sure it was a relatively short work, anyway.
zippy: Thanks! I think you may be on the right track.
posted by rwhe at 5:40 PM on December 31, 2008
zippy: Thanks! I think you may be on the right track.
posted by rwhe at 5:40 PM on December 31, 2008
Kingsley Amis's The Alteration, perhaps? A novel, but a short one. The Church is still in charge, but they've got zeppelins and diesel engines.
There's also Keith Roberts' Pavane, which is broadly similar, and is a fix up of separately published short stories.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:18 PM on December 31, 2008
There's also Keith Roberts' Pavane, which is broadly similar, and is a fix up of separately published short stories.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:18 PM on December 31, 2008
Best answer: Philip Jose Farmer's Sail On! Sail On! .
posted by MiamiDave at 8:45 PM on December 31, 2008
posted by MiamiDave at 8:45 PM on December 31, 2008
The description made me think of "Sail On! Sail On!" too, which first appeared in Startling Stories in 1952, but has been frequently anthologized.
posted by Zed at 11:36 PM on December 31, 2008
posted by Zed at 11:36 PM on December 31, 2008
Response by poster: MiamiDave: Found it. Read it. Bingo.
Thanks.
posted by rwhe at 2:17 AM on January 1, 2009
Thanks.
posted by rwhe at 2:17 AM on January 1, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by mulligan at 5:23 PM on December 31, 2008