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When the Earth Tilted single work   short story   science fiction  
Issue Details: First known date: 1932... 1932 When the Earth Tilted
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The preservation of life is said by biologists to be the fundamental instinct of all animal life including man. And when life itself is at stake, the veneer of civilization vanishes and man becomes the beast. This is no less true of a race than it is of an individual; and many wars, including the present conflict in China, is [sic] being fought because of a belief that racial survival is at stake.

'Suppose then that in all the earth there was only one source of food, and that it could support but one of two dominant races. It is obvious that the race in control of the food supply might fight with relentless ferocity to maintain its source of life. And the other race, what would it do under the circumstances?

'Mr. Walsh in this unusual story has a new answer to this intriguing problem, and he shows how science can settle it, perhaps to the satisfaction of everyone concerned.'

Source: Magazine blurb.

Notes

  • Climate change in this story is the result of a comet's passing, which shifts the Earth's tilt, leading to molten ice caps, flooding, and food scarcity.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Wonder Stories vol. 3 no. 12 May 1932 13657456 1932 periodical issue science fiction 1932 pg. 1342-1351

Works about this Work

A Short Pre-History of Climate Fiction Andrew Milner , J.R. Burgmann , 2018 single work criticism
— Appears in: Extrapolation , vol. 59 no. 1 2018; (p. 1-23)

'The paper argues that contemporary climate fiction is a subgenre of sf rather than a distinct and separate genre for two main reasons: first, because its texts and practitioners relate primarily to the sf “selective tradition”; and, second, because its texts and practitioners articulate a “structure of feeling” that accords centrality to science and technology, in this case normally climate science. Not only is “cli-fi” best understood as sf, it also has a much longer history than is commonly allowed, one that arguably stretches back to antiquity. The paper distinguishes between texts in which extreme climate change is represented as anthropogenic and those where it is represented as theogenic, geogenic, or xenogenic;it also provides a brief sketch of the (pre-)history of stories of anthropogenic, xenogenic, and geogenic extreme climate change.'

Source: Abstract.

A Short Pre-History of Climate Fiction Andrew Milner , J.R. Burgmann , 2018 single work criticism
— Appears in: Extrapolation , vol. 59 no. 1 2018; (p. 1-23)

'The paper argues that contemporary climate fiction is a subgenre of sf rather than a distinct and separate genre for two main reasons: first, because its texts and practitioners relate primarily to the sf “selective tradition”; and, second, because its texts and practitioners articulate a “structure of feeling” that accords centrality to science and technology, in this case normally climate science. Not only is “cli-fi” best understood as sf, it also has a much longer history than is commonly allowed, one that arguably stretches back to antiquity. The paper distinguishes between texts in which extreme climate change is represented as anthropogenic and those where it is represented as theogenic, geogenic, or xenogenic;it also provides a brief sketch of the (pre-)history of stories of anthropogenic, xenogenic, and geogenic extreme climate change.'

Source: Abstract.

Last amended 18 Jun 2019 14:21:49
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