Originally Posted By fkurucz I've been reading the Foundation and Robot series (quite a few books!). Anyway, I was wondering, did Asimov ever explain in detail how the Spacers changed themselves to have such long lifespans?
Originally Posted By alexbook Not that I can remember, but then I haven't read all the books. Greater future human longevity was a pretty common assumption in mid-20th Century science fiction. The usual explanation wasn't one particular development but a continuation of the various trends that have led to greater longevity over the last few centuries (improved nutrition, medical care, sanitation, etc.). Robert Heinlein's "Time Enough for Love" and Larry Niven's "The Long ARM of Gil Hamilton" come to mind as books that deal with the subject extensively.
Originally Posted By fkurucz In Robots and Empire, Gladia remarks that "earth people" and "spacers" have incompatible genomes, and thus cannot have offspring. I just haven't read about how the spacers changed their genetic makeup from human to spacer.
Originally Posted By alexbook Have you gotten to "Caves of Steel" and "Naked Sun"? It's been a while since I re-read them last, but I have a vague impression that there was a debate about this in one of those books between Lije Bailey and a Spacer scientist. IIRC, the scientist asserted that the Spacers were evolving into a new, superior, species, while Lije claimed that their differences were purely the result of the environments in which they were raised. I think R. Daneel may have sided with Lije on that one. I'm sure somebody out there will correct me if I've misremembered. ;-)
Originally Posted By alexbook Yeah. It's the second Lije Bailey novel, after "Caves of Steel" and before "Robots of Dawn." Really good stuff, all three of them, I thought.
Originally Posted By Ursula Hey, I didn't know you folks liked these books. I read them when I first started dating my husband, and boy, did I enjoy them. I guess it's time for a re-read now.
Originally Posted By beamerdog Wow, I agree with Ursula. Way back when my DH gave me the whole series as a holiday gift. In paperback, lol. He had a dickens of a time getting one or two of them --it would be easier now with the internet.
