Clarke's Third Law, Time Travel, and Power

I finished L. Sprague de Camp’s "Lest Darkness Falls" and enjoyed it. The story aside, I have to admit much of the fun came from the unique copy of it I procured from Powells bookstore in Portland. My copy is a 1949 magazine edition of the novel published by “Galaxy Publishers.” Don’t ask me why, but I took a lot of pleasure in the physicality of the book: its acidy paper, its margins that are far too narrow, its colorful cover.

Some summary: it’s about a guy who gets transported back in time just before the wars the resulted in the dark ages (not sure about the historical accuracy of this). Drawing upon equal parts civic altruism and selfishness (he doesn't want to live in the dark ages), he sets out to help the Goths defend Rome from the conquering armies of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. To do this he starts using his 1940s technological knowledge. For example, he introduces into 6th century Roman society the printing press, the telegram, and the canon. In the course of doing this, he comes to be considered by a lot of people as a sorcerer.

Some analysis: I love the way this story defies clear cut genre distinctions. It is considered by a lot of people as one of the founding texts of a specific genre called “alternative history.” But it can equally be situated within the “science-fiction” genre because of the novum of what is called “falling back into time” (i.e. the process by which the main character falls back in time nearly 15 centuries). It very cleverly, I think, dramatizes Clarke’s third law, which goes like this: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” The main character, Martin, in his ability to predict the future, “invent” technology, utilize the insights of modern medicine, comes to resemble a magician to the naive people who come to know him. Some even go so far as to accuse him of consorting with devils and “satanas”.

Aside from his critical/biographical work, this was my first exposure to de Camp’s fiction. In terms of his style: you can tell he was an engineer. It’s sparse and straightforward, and suggests the writing style of Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov. I know him mostly as a biographer of Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft and as a companion-in-arms to Lin Carter. Together they compiled (and some would say destroyed) many of the Conan stories of Robert E. Howard for Ace Science Fiction.

Let me bring this post to a head with an exercise: compose a scenario where an individual arrives to a community with a power the community *does not have access to.* For example, imagine a star traveler who comes to a primitive planet who can cure a disease that is ravaging its people. Imagine a sorcerer comes to a village on the eve of a great festival who can turn water to wine. The key issue in this scenario’s construction, I think, is the power differential and the personality of the one who holds the power. In spite of the their power, are they altruistic? Do they use their power to accumulate more power? To manipulate others? Or, does their power result in their being shunned by those who do not have the power?