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Interzone # 197 - March/April 2005
01/06/2005 . Source: Rod MacDonald 
magazine: UK publisher/editor address: Andy Cox, TTA Press, 5 Martins Lane, Witcham, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB6 2LB. Price: £ 3.50 (UK), $ 6.00 (US). check out website: www.ttapress.com
Occasionally we come across a story which hits the right mark. Of course, what affects one person may produce the opposite in another but for me as a reviewer of 'Interzone', the short story 'Threshold Of Perception' by Scott Mackay was worth the purchase price of the magazine just for itself.
Set in Paris in 1910 during the golden age of observational astronomy, we learn that astronomy or any other science for that matter isn't always about precise measurements. It doesn't matter how accurate instruments are, the final analysis always involves the human factor. In realty, science is just a faith...a matter of religion you could suggest.
I remember a friend recalling experiments he conducted while doing a physics PhD many years ago. The results from a particular experiment showed no pattern he could discern but after the professor pointed out what he should see, everything became clear and lucid in accordance with the theory or dogma traditionally accepted at the time. Of course, this was only one perception. Others existed and the so called realty of the science was based solely on human interpretation.
Anyway, back to the story. In 1910, observational astronomy was probably at its peak. Though photographic emulsions existed, they could not produce the detail that the human eye could see. The trouble was that an exposure made through a telescope took a few seconds or longer during which atmospheric currents blurred the image. A human observer could catch lucid moments of detail in between fluctuations of the air movements. In 1910, astronomers actually looked through their telescopes, making observations and drawings while precariously perched on a ladder in freezing cold conditions. Nowadays, they sit in offices and direct the telescope via a computer, maybe thousands of miles away.
1910 was also a golden age of Science Fiction where stories by Wells and Verne were extremely popular. This story is written in a style reminiscent of a century ago. Remember also that this is an age where nobody really knew the process that fuelled the sun and other stars. Nuclear physics was only a baby back then. Planetary science held sway over stellar physics and was popular amongst the general public.
I would also wager that Scott Mackay is an amateur astronomer. He captures so much planetary atmosphere in this story that he must have been there himself - the exuberance, even excitement of a crisp night with Mars shining in the sky ready to reveal its secrets! He builds up such a clear picture of the main character going to the Meudon Observatory in Paris with its huge 33 inch refractor telescope that we can see ourselves with him.
The so called canals of Mars, while largely discredited by most professional astronomers, still proved to be a subject of popular discussion at the time. First seen some thirty years before, the main exponent was the American amateur astronomer and philanthropist Percival Lowell who made detailed maps of a multitude of canals criss-crossing the surface of Mars. Canals are not natural features - they implied the existence of Martians.
Lowell was only about fifty in 1910 but his health wasn't great. Our astronomer in the story feels sympathy for his plight and isn't too harsh when he fails to see the canals after countless observations with the best telescopes. Strange as it may seem, Lowell even stopped down the aperture of his telescopes saying the images were too bright to allow the fine detail of the canals to be seen.
If this wasn't bad enough, Lowell then suggested that Halley's Comet, which was due to reappear in 1910, had been shifted in its orbit further out in the Solar system, sending it on a collision trajectory with Earth. Naturally enough, nobody believed him. Poor old Lowell has a stroke, most think he's demented and the comet continues on its way...to Earth.
You've guessed it. This isn't our universe but it's close enough to be real and you'll have to buy the magazine to read the rest. All in all, an excellent story.
Shame I couldn't say the same for 'Dee-Dee And The Dumpy Dancers' by Ian Watson & Mike Allen. Alien turkeys speaking gobbledegook isn't for me. It was just too silly and as everyone knows I don't like silliness.
There were three other stories plus the traditional columns you would associate with this magazine. They were all entertaining and at a high standard, as was the artwork which seemed better than usual. I would also like to mention the interview with Ian Macleod. However, for me the highlight had to be the story mentioned above.
Rod MacDonald
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