A Thematic Trilogy

James Blish's After Such Knowledge (ASK) is a thematic, not a linear, trilogy. My summary here suggests a spurious linearity. To reformulate that summary:

I. One demon (maybe) speaks.
IIa. Many demons attack Heaven.
IIb. The chief demon becomes God.
III. He (maybe) creates.

Thus, I have generated a dramatic sequence that is not present in the texts. First, the two "maybe"s are significant. Secondly, Volume I is about Roger Bacon, not about his (hypothetical) demon. Thirdly, Satan's assumption of divinity in IIb has no bearing, either direct or even indirect, on his (again hypothetical) creativity in III.

Volume II, written in two parts, was written last. But, in any case and whatever the order of writing, the theological revolution in II and the theological problem in III are unrelated narratives.

The theme of the trilogy is the question whether the desire for secular knowledge is evil. One question can be addressed in otherwise inconsistent and even mutually contradictory narratives. Indeed, before IIb was written, the world had ended in the twentieth century in II, yet still existed in the twenty first century in III - but, nevertheless, ASK remained a thematic unity, three related works, not one tripartite work.

Communication

In the Haertel overdrive futures:

telepathy unites the Central Empire;

the Lithians have a Message Tree and the CirCon radio is instantaneous;

the Dirac transmitter will unite an expanding intergalactic civilization although, in an intermediate period, High Earth may or may not be Old Earth, the Traitors' Guild motto is "Mundus vult decipi," "the world wishes to be deceived," and the Green Exarch is served by shape-shifters;

the Angels communicate on a universal scale -

"Like sparks in a column of smoke, the discussion whirled and danced away throughout the galaxy and throughout the universe..."
-James Blish, Mission To The Heart Stars (London, 1980), p. 127.

In Cities In Flight, the Web of Hercules leaves a record that is read in a subsequent universe.

In The Seedling Stars, many original human beings remain prejudiced against Adapted Men, i.e., in this case, a lack of communication.

Another Summary

See Future Historical References.

After Such Knowledge
A demon possibly inspired Rogen Bacon.
Demons definitely win Armageddon.
Satan, now God, reverses Armageddon.
Satan possibly created the planet Lithia, which is reached with the Haertel overdrive.

Demons are definite in fantasy but only possible in historical fiction and sf. This demonic/Satanic sequence begins with Roger Bacon, founder of scientific method, and ends with two scientific achievements, the FTL Haertel overdrive and the instantaneous CirCon radio.

The Haertel Scholium
Haertel flies to Mars.
A base is established on Mars.
Garrard test flies a Haertel overdrive ship to Proxima Centauri.
After Garrard, Arpe discovers parapsychology in the microcosm.
Parapsychology unites the galactic Central Empire.

This Haertel Scholium sequence begins with Haertel but ends with interstellar travel on the Standing Wave, replacing both the Haertel overdrive and the Arpe Drive.

So far, there have been two climaxes: the destruction of Lithia and conflict with the Central Empire. The two other Haertel overdrive timelines culminate in transgalactic utopias.

Future Historical References

After Such Knowledge (ASK), Volumes I and II
I, Doctor Mirabilis: Roger Bacon, founder/discoverer of scientific method, is possibly inspired by a demon.
IIa, Black Easter: twentieth century magicians conjure major demons, causing Armageddon.
IIb, The Day After Judgment: after Armageddon.

The Haertel Scholium
Welcome To Mars: Haertel on Mars.
"No Jokes On Mars": later on Mars.
"Common Time": Haertel and Garrard.
"Nor Iron Bars": after the Haertel overdrive, tested by Garrard, the Arpe drive.
"This Earth of Hours": after the Arpe drive, the Standing Wave.

The Star Dwellers: a version of the Haertel overdrive that is a Standing Wave.
Mission To The Heart Stars: sequel; references to Garrard and to the Centaurians that he encountered.
"A Dusk of Idols": references to the star-dwelling Angels and to the Heart Stars.

The Quincunx Of Time: the Haertel overdrive; a planet named after Hammersmith, who traveled with Arpe; Dirac messages from the futures described in the two subsequent works.
"A Style in Treason": the Imaginary Drive, an auctorial comment on Haertel's and other FTL drives.
Midsummer Century: reference to Thor Wald, inventor of the Dirac communicator.

ASK, Vol III/The Haertel Scholium
III, A Case Of Conscience: a Haertel overdrive future with a theological or demonological problem.

Comments
This sequence is not linear. Armageddon is not necessarily a discontinuity because its effects are reversed at the end of ASK, IIb. However, four futures diverge although they are directly or indirectly linked by references to Haertel.

These four futures culminate in:

conflict between the Terrestrial Matriarchy and the telepathic Central Empire;
conflict between the UN/Angels alliance and the Heart Stars;
an expanding intergalactic civilization based on a monopoly of prescience while civilizations guided by higher mental states rise and fall on Earth;
the problem posed by the Lithians. 

Year 2018!

We have just received Radio Times, 6-12 January 2018, with 2018 in large numbers on the front cover but I can only find this film guide on google.

Year 2018! was the title of a paperback edition of James Blish's Cities In Flight, Volume I, discussed in:

Cities In Flight, Volume I
Bliss Wagoner
The Structure Of They Shall Have Stars

We have passed 1984, 2000 A.D. and 2001 and are about to enter 2018, a big year for fans of James Blish.

The Haertel Scholium Connections

A Martian Diptych
Welcome To Mars and "No Jokes on Mars" have a common setting.

The Galactic Cluster Trilogy
"This Earth of Hours" refers back to "Nor Iron Bars" which refers back to "Common Time."

The Heart Stars Trilogy
Both Mission To The Heart Stars and "A Dusk of Idols" refer back to The Star Dwellers.

The Quincunx Trilogy
Midsummer Century refers back to The Quincunx Of Time which refers forward to "A Style In Treason" and to Midsummer Century.

Characters
Adolph Haertel is in Welcome To Mars and "Common Time."
Jack Loftus is in The Star Dwellers and Mission To The Heart Stars.
Thor Wald is in The Quincunx Of Time and mentioned in Midsummer Century.
In Quincunx, Wald invents the Dirac transmitter which exists in a different form in Cities In Flight.

Written Wisdom

During their long journey to the galactic Heart Stars, Jack Loftus, Sandbag Stevens and their mentor, Dr Langer, have a lot of time to think and talk. They discuss a Biblical passage which Sandbag renders as:

"'He who darkens counsel without knowledge isn't earning his keep.'"
-James Blish, Mission To The Heart Stars (London, 1980), Chapter Eight, p. 91.

When Jack asks what good is written wisdom when we cannot understand it until we have experienced it for ourselves, Langer replies:

"'Not very much good, in my opinion...Written wisdom, it has always seemed to me, is like an algebraic formula: it states the general case as elegantly as possible, but all the terms in the equation are parameters which you must fill specifically in terms of your own experience. You need to have led a rich and thoughtful life before the formula becomes applicable to you. If you are, in addition, especially thoughtful, you may in the long run be able to refine the formula itself. But that doesn't happen very often. It's a noble ambition, though, I think.'" (ibid.)

Interesting. But how many people can refine proverbs? Blish usually discusses and dramatizes the acquisition of new knowledge through science, not the formulation of timeless wisdom.

When I was at University, a fellow undergraduate made an interesting distinction between proverbs and slogans. Proverbs are relatively changeless and timeless whereas slogans focus the need for immediate action to change something:

"No taxation without representation!"
"Liberty, equality, fraternity - or death!"
"Land, peace and bread!"
"All power to the soviets!" (When those were still popular, democratic institutions, of course.)

I looked up Blish's discussion of experiential knowledge because I had read:

"'Training does only so much. Experience you have to get the hard way.'"
-SM Stirling. The Tears Of The Sun (New York, 2012), Chapter Fifteen, p. 465 -

- which in turn reminded me of some reflections on Poul Anderson's Time Patrol series. See More On Everard and The Quotable Time Patrol.