XPost: rec.arts.sf.written   
   From: dtravel@sonic.net   
      
   On 10/16/2021 10:00 PM, Robert Woodward wrote:   
   > In article ,   
   >   Christian Weisgerber  wrote:   
   >   
   >> On 2021-10-16, Don  wrote:   
   >>   
   >>> Popularity's probably positively correlated to influence. And   
   >>> _Perry Rhodan_ is the most popular science fiction ever, with over two   
   >>> billion novellas sold. Bubonicon's a takeoff on a PR character named   
   >>> Gucky/Pucky. PR's matter transmitter's appeared years before Star Trek's   
   >>> transporters. PR's spherical space ships debuted decades before Star   
   >>> Wars' Death Star.   
   >>   
   >> I think PR's influence on Anglo-American SF is approximately zero.   
   >> And a good rule of thumb is that _nothing_ in PR is original.  It's   
   >> all been seen before.  (Which does not preclude independent   
   >> reinvention.)   
   >>   
   >> _The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction_ traces matter transmission   
   >> to the 19th century.   
   >>   
   >> I vaguely remember von Däniken explaining that a sphere is the   
   >> logical shape for a space-ship.  That idea must have been around   
   >> for a long time.  (And is completely irrelevant at the level of   
   >> magic technology in PR.)   
   >   
   > The warships in various H. Beam Piper's stories (_Space Viking_ as well   
   > as stories set in the Federation era and in the Empire Era) were   
   > spherical. For that matter, IIRC, the title spaceship in _Skylark of   
   > Valeron_ was also spherical.   
   >   
   IIRC spheres give the most volume with the least surface area.   
      
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   dirty old man.   
      
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