Rome

‘A Canticle for Leibowitz’ by Walter M. Miller is a minor classic of mid-century science fiction. I read it many decades ago and am currently revisiting the novel. A central theme of the tale is the Catholic Church as unifier in a post-apocalyptic world, safeguarding civilization and science. That is, of course, an idea borrowed from the history of the Middle Ages; the church may have not had quite as central a role in keeping classical learning intact as we once taught, but it still was important.

Be that as it may, I am sure this book (and probably that medieval history as well) played a role in my portrayal of the Roman church in my Jack Mack novels, of it serving as catalyst in the settling and terraforming of new worlds, and continuing to be a source of historical knowledge. Not that I was thinking of this novel when I wrote the books, but it was undoubtedly an influence.

I can mention that neither Jack McFee nor most of his friends are Catholic. Scotians mostly tend toward Neo-Zoroastrian beliefs. But he does attend the University of Rome (New Rome, of course, on the planet Avignon) and his friend, the priest John Barbosa, is an important character in the third novel, ‘Dim Distant Stars.’