The Currents of Space
Dust-jacket illustration from the first edition
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| Author | Isaac Asimov |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Empire series |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
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Publication date
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1952 |
| Pages | 217 |
| Preceded by | The Stars, Like Dust |
| Followed by | Pebble in the Sky |
The Currents of Space (1952) is a science fiction novel by the American writer Isaac Asimov. It is the second (by internal series chronology) of three books labeled the Galactic Empire series, though it was the last of the three he wrote. Each occurs after humans have settled many worlds in the galaxy — after the second wave of colonization that went beyond the Spacer worlds — and before the era of decline that was the setting for the original Foundation series.
Asimov stated in 1988 in the "Author's Note" to Prelude to Foundation that book #6 in the Foundation universe chronology was The Currents of Space (1952) and that this was "the first of my Empire novels"; book #7 was The Stars, Like Dust (1951), which was "The second Empire novel".
The story takes place in the backdrop of Trantor's rise from a large regional power to a galaxy-wide empire, unifying millions of worlds. This story occurs around the year 11,000 AD (originally 34,500 AD, according to Asimov's early 1950s chronology), when the Trantorian Empire encompasses roughly half of the galaxy.
The independent planet Sark exploits the planet Florina and derives its great wealth from "kyrt", a versatile and fluorescent fiber that can only be grown on Florina. The relationship between the two planets is analogous to the situation between European imperial powers and their colonies during the 19th century, where the Florinians are forced to work in kyrt fields and are treated as an inferior race by the Sarkites. Attempts to break the Sark monopoly and grow kyrt on other worlds have thus far been unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Trantor would like to add these two worlds to its growing empire.
There is a hidden irony in Sark's dominion over Florina: clear parallels to the American South growing cotton with slave labor. The Florinians are one of the lightest-skinned people in a galaxy where racial categories seem to have been forgotten, except by the people of Sark. One of the characters, Dr. Selim Junz, comes from Libair, a planet with some of the galaxy's darkest-skinned people, and feels sympathy for the Florinians. (The planet Libair takes its name from Liberia, a country in Africa, which would explain a dark-skinned genetic inheritance. Liberia was also settled by freed slaves from America.) Also, Asimov chose the name of "kyrt" to be rather similar to "cotton", and he explains that it contains cellulose.
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