astronomy

The Black Corridor

The Black Corridor is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Black Corridor rather than just read about it. In short: The Black Corridor is a science fiction novel by Michael Moorcock. It was published in 1969, first by Ace Books in the US, as part of their Ace Science Fiction Specials series, and later by Mayflower Books in the UK.

Key takeaways

The Black Corridor belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Black Corridor to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Black Corridor from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Black Corridor is a science fiction novel by Michael Moorcock. It was published in 1969, first by Ace Books in the US, as part of their Ace Science Fiction Specials series, and later by Mayflower Books in the UK. It is essentially a novel about the decay of society and the deep personal and social isolation this has caused, and tells of a man fleeing through interstellar space from Earth, where civilisation is collapsing into anarchy and wars. The author uses techniques ranging from straight narrative to entries in the spaceship's log, dream sequences and 1960s-style computer printouts.

Plot summary Ryan is a tough-minded British businessman appalled by the breakdown of society at the end of the 20th century. He feels that he is one of the few sane men in a world of paranoiacs. With a small group of family and friends, he has stolen a spaceship and set out for Munich 15040 (Barnard's Star), a planet believed to be suitable for colonisation. Now he keeps watch alone, with his 13 companions sealed in cabinets designed to keep them in suspended animation for the many years of the journey. He makes a daily report on each one: it is always "Condition Steady". Ryan is tormented by nightmares and memories of the violence on Earth; he starts to fear he is losing his grip on reality. The shipboard computer urges him to take a drug that eliminates all delusions and hallucinations; but he is strangely reluctant to use this drug.

Authorship Although the novel is credited to Michael Moorcock, it includes many scenes based on a rough draft dystopian novel started but not finished by Moorcock's then-wife, Hilary Bailey, "a straight future disaster story – collapse of society stuff". Moorcock took Bailey's scenes set on Earth and heavily rewrote them, adding all the scenes that occur on the Hope Dempsey.

All the scenes in the ship are mine. Many of the scenes back on Earth are Hilary's. That's why it was never presented as a regular collaboration. She didn't want it done that way. So I worked in acknowledgements in the dedication.

Typographical art The novel contains sequences of typographical art, where, in the words of the author, "words create a pattern of other letters forming other words". In various editions of the book, these sequences have not always been presented correctly. The first American edition (Ace, 1969) got the art right, although the book's opening passages were cut. The first UK edition (Mayflower, 1969) restored the opening passages but the typesetters messed up the typographical art, although they did get the art on their correct pages, something that subsequent American printings failed to do. When John Davey edited the Tales of the Eternal Champion omnibuses for Orion (in the UK) and White Wolf (in the US) in the 1990s, every effort was made to ensure that the typographical art was perfect in the volume containing The Black Corridor (Sailing to Utopia). These omnibuses (particularly the White Wolf edition) are regarded by Moorcock as being the "most accurate typographically".

Critical response Barry N. Malzberg reviewed the novel unfavorably on its release, saying that "it is not good. It is really not at all good", but concluding: "I remain convinced that someday Moorcock will write a substantial novel, fully worthy of his pretensions and our expectations." The Black Corridor was cited by Karl Edward Wagner as one of the thirteen best science-fiction horror novels. The author China Miéville has described the book as "an underrated and chilling piece of political pulp modernism".

Footnotes

References "Moorcock's Miscellany". Archived from the original on 1 November 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2007. "Internet Speculative Fiction Database". Retrieved 14 December 2007.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Black Corridor

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Black Corridor claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Black Corridor before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Black Corridor ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Black Corridor

In research: The Black Corridor appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Black Corridor in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Black Corridor is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1969 American novels, 1969 English-language novels, 1969 science fiction novels, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Black Corridor outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Black Corridor in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Black Corridor means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Black Corridor out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Black Corridor in simple terms?

Why does The Black Corridor matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Black Corridor?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Black Corridor.