The Wheels of If
Encyclopedia
"The Wheels of If" is a classic alternate history science fiction
story by L. Sprague de Camp
. It was first published in the magazine Unknown Fantasy Fiction
for October, 1940, and first appeared in book form in de Camp's collection The Wheels of If and Other Science Fiction
(Shasta
, 1940). It later appeared in the paperback edition of the collection published by Berkley Books
in 1970, in de Camp's subsequent collections The Virgin & the Wheels
(Popular Library
, 1976) and Years in the Making: the Time-Travel Stories of L. Sprague de Camp
(NESFA Press
, 2005), and in the anthology Unknown Worlds: Tales from Beyond (Galahad Books, 1989). It also appeared, together with a sequel by Harry Turtledove
, in The Pugnacious Peacemaker/The Wheels of If (Tor Books
, 1990) and Down in the Bottomlands and Other Places (Baen Books
, 1999). The story has also been translated into German
.
. Each morning he discovers he has become someone else, in a world changed from his own. Ultimately he finds himself a bishop in the alternate New York of New Belfast, in Vinland
, a North America colonized by descendants of the Vikings and now divided between Norse-derived and native polities. He determines that this new world's differences from his own stem from two divergences in the course of history, relative to his own world.
The first was that King Oswiu of Northumbria
was persuaded by Celtic
Christianity, rather than the Roman Catholic Church
at the Synod of Whitby
in 664 CE. The other was that the Franks
lost the Battle of Tours
in 732 CE, aborting the later rise of Charlemagne
and disrupting the formation of France
due to continued Ummayyad insurgency and occupation.
The displacement of his consciousness turns out to have been incidental to a plot directed against his other self, Bishop Ib Scoglund, whose campaign to extend civil rights to Vinland's native inhabitants, the Skrellings
, has aroused opposition. To get home Park must continue his counterpart's struggle while somehow unraveling the mystery of how to reunite the minds of all his selves with their proper realities. Ultimately successful in these goals, he decides the life he has built for himself as "Scoglund" is better than anything he would be likely to achieve in his original life, and elects to remain in Vinland.
described the story as a "typical de Camp adventure with an alternative future wryly reminiscent of certain episodes in our own history."
(1939), the story is in some ways "an even more ambitious" work. While most such works "limited themselves to the first few years after the change occurred," this story focuses on the consequences of divergences from actual history taking place over a thousand years in its past. It "opened the floodgates" of the field, with "approximately 1,500 novels and short stories ... published since de Camp first began exploring the field" as of 1998 (the figure is attributed to bibliographer Robert Schmunk).
Sandra Miesel
identified it as one of the influences of Larry Niven
's The Magic Goes Away
series.
wrote a sequel, "The Pugnacious Peacemaker", in which Park/Scoglund serves as a diplomat attempting to defuse a war between his world's still-existent Inca Empire
and the Muslims who have colonized Brazil
. It was published together with de Camp's original story in The Pugnacious Peacemaker/The Wheels of If (Tor Books
, 1990), and later in Down in the Bottomlands and Other Places (Baen Books
, 1999).
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
story by L. Sprague de Camp
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors...
. It was first published in the magazine Unknown Fantasy Fiction
Unknown (magazine)
Unknown was an American pulp fantasy fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1943 by Street & Smith, and edited by John W. Campbell. Unknown was a companion to Street & Smith's science fiction pulp, Astounding Science Fiction, which was also edited by Campbell at the time; many authors and...
for October, 1940, and first appeared in book form in de Camp's collection The Wheels of If and Other Science Fiction
The Wheels of If and Other Science Fiction
The Wheels of If and Other Science Fiction is a 1948 collection of science fiction stories by L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardback by Shasta and in paperback by Berkley Books in 1970. It has also been translated into German...
(Shasta
Shasta Publishers
Shasta Publishers was a science fiction and fantasy small press specialty publishing house founded in 1947 by Erle Melvin Korshak, T. E. Dikty, and Mark Reinsberg, who were all science fiction fans from the Chicago area...
, 1940). It later appeared in the paperback edition of the collection published by Berkley Books
Berkley Books
Berkley Books is an imprint of Penguin Group that began as an independent company in 1955. It was established by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein, who were working for Avon and formed "Chic News Company". They renamed it Berkley Publishing Co. in 1955. They soon found a niche in science fiction...
in 1970, in de Camp's subsequent collections The Virgin & the Wheels
The Virgin & the Wheels
The Virgin & the Wheels is a 1976 collection of two short science fiction novels by L. Sprague de Camp, published in paperback by Popular Library...
(Popular Library
Popular Library
Popular Library was a New York paperback book company established in 1942 by Leo Margulies and Ned Pines, who at the time was a major pulp magazine, newspapers and magazine publishers...
, 1976) and Years in the Making: the Time-Travel Stories of L. Sprague de Camp
Years in the Making: the Time-Travel Stories of L. Sprague de Camp
Years in the Making: the Time-Travel Stories of L. Sprague de Camp is a 2005 collection of short stories by science fiction and fantasy author L. Sprague de Camp edited by Mark L. Olson and illustrated by Bob Eggleton, published in hardcover by NESFA Press....
(NESFA Press
NESFA Press
NESFA Press is the publishing arm of the New England Science Fiction Association, Inc. The NESFA Press primarily produces three types of books:...
, 2005), and in the anthology Unknown Worlds: Tales from Beyond (Galahad Books, 1989). It also appeared, together with a sequel by Harry Turtledove
Harry Turtledove
Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.- Life :...
, in The Pugnacious Peacemaker/The Wheels of If (Tor Books
Tor Books
Tor Books is one of two imprints of Tom Doherty Associates LLC, based in New York City. It is noted for its science fiction and fantasy titles. Tom Doherty Associates also publishes mainstream fiction, mystery, and occasional military history titles under its Forge imprint. The company was founded...
, 1990) and Down in the Bottomlands and Other Places (Baen Books
Baen Books
Baen Books is an American publishing company established in 1983 by long time science fiction publisher and editor Jim Baen. It is a science fiction and fantasy publishing house that emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, military science fiction, and fantasy...
, 1999). The story has also been translated into German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
Plot summary
New York lawyer Alister Park is inexplicably torn from his normal existence and thrust into a series of parallel universesParallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
. Each morning he discovers he has become someone else, in a world changed from his own. Ultimately he finds himself a bishop in the alternate New York of New Belfast, in Vinland
Vinland
Vinland was the name given to an area of North America by the Norsemen, about the year 1000 CE.There is a consensus among scholars that the Vikings reached North America approximately five centuries prior to the voyages of Christopher Columbus...
, a North America colonized by descendants of the Vikings and now divided between Norse-derived and native polities. He determines that this new world's differences from his own stem from two divergences in the course of history, relative to his own world.
The first was that King Oswiu of Northumbria
Oswiu of Northumbria
Oswiu , also known as Oswy or Oswig , was a King of Bernicia. His father, Æthelfrith of Bernicia, was killed in battle, fighting against Rædwald, King of the East Angles and Edwin of Deira at the River Idle in 616...
was persuaded by Celtic
Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity or Insular Christianity refers broadly to certain features of Christianity that were common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages...
Christianity, rather than the Roman Catholic Church
Latin Church
The Latin Church is the largest particular church within the Catholic Church. It is a particular church not on the level of the local particular churches known as dioceses or eparchies, but on the level of autonomous ritual churches, of which there are 23, the remaining 22 of which are Eastern...
at the Synod of Whitby
Synod of Whitby
The Synod of Whitby was a seventh century Northumbriansynod where King Oswiu of Northumbria ruled that his kingdom would calculate Easter and observe the monastic tonsure according to the customs of Rome, rather than the customs practised by Iona and its satellite institutions...
in 664 CE. The other was that the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
lost the Battle of Tours
Battle of Tours
The Battle of Tours , also called the Battle of Poitiers and in Battle of the Court of the Martyrs, was fought in an area between the cities of Poitiers and Tours, located in north-central France, near the village of Moussais-la-Bataille, about northeast of Poitiers...
in 732 CE, aborting the later rise of Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
and disrupting the formation of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
due to continued Ummayyad insurgency and occupation.
The displacement of his consciousness turns out to have been incidental to a plot directed against his other self, Bishop Ib Scoglund, whose campaign to extend civil rights to Vinland's native inhabitants, the Skrellings
Skræling
Skræling is the name the Norse Greenlanders used for the indigenous peoples they encountered in North America and Greenland. In surviving sources it is first applied to the Thule people, the Eskimo group with whom the Norse coexisted in Greenland after about the 13th century...
, has aroused opposition. To get home Park must continue his counterpart's struggle while somehow unraveling the mystery of how to reunite the minds of all his selves with their proper realities. Ultimately successful in these goals, he decides the life he has built for himself as "Scoglund" is better than anything he would be likely to achieve in his original life, and elects to remain in Vinland.
Reception
P. Schuyler MillerP. Schuyler Miller
Peter Schuyler Miller was an American science fiction writer and critic.-Life:Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a life-long interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as an amateur archaeologist and a member of the New York State Archaeological Association.He...
described the story as a "typical de Camp adventure with an alternative future wryly reminiscent of certain episodes in our own history."
Influence
"The Wheels of If" is one of de Camp's most notable works. A thematic follow-up to his first significant work of alternate history, the novel Lest Darkness FallLest Darkness Fall
Lest Darkness Fall is an alternate history science fiction novel written in 1939 by author L. Sprague de Camp. The book is often considered one of the best examples of the alternate history genre; it is certainly one of the most influential...
(1939), the story is in some ways "an even more ambitious" work. While most such works "limited themselves to the first few years after the change occurred," this story focuses on the consequences of divergences from actual history taking place over a thousand years in its past. It "opened the floodgates" of the field, with "approximately 1,500 novels and short stories ... published since de Camp first began exploring the field" as of 1998 (the figure is attributed to bibliographer Robert Schmunk).
Sandra Miesel
Sandra Miesel
Sandra Louise Miesel is an American medievalist, writer and science fiction and fantasy fan. Her early work was science fiction and fantasy criticism, fields in which she has remained active. She is a literary analyst; has described herself as "the world's greatest expert" on Poul Anderson and...
identified it as one of the influences of Larry Niven
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
's The Magic Goes Away
The Magic Goes Away
The Magic Goes Away is a fantasy short story written by Larry Niven in 1976, and later expanded to a novella of the same name which was published in 1978...
series.
Sequel
Many years after publication of de Camp's story, Harry TurtledoveHarry Turtledove
Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.- Life :...
wrote a sequel, "The Pugnacious Peacemaker", in which Park/Scoglund serves as a diplomat attempting to defuse a war between his world's still-existent Inca Empire
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...
and the Muslims who have colonized Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. It was published together with de Camp's original story in The Pugnacious Peacemaker/The Wheels of If (Tor Books
Tor Books
Tor Books is one of two imprints of Tom Doherty Associates LLC, based in New York City. It is noted for its science fiction and fantasy titles. Tom Doherty Associates also publishes mainstream fiction, mystery, and occasional military history titles under its Forge imprint. The company was founded...
, 1990), and later in Down in the Bottomlands and Other Places (Baen Books
Baen Books
Baen Books is an American publishing company established in 1983 by long time science fiction publisher and editor Jim Baen. It is a science fiction and fantasy publishing house that emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, military science fiction, and fantasy...
, 1999).