Isaac Asimov to Planet Stories, Jan 1951



Concerning C. Stewart Metchette's speculations on the origin of "Kalgan" as the name of a planet:

I did not consciously borrow Doc Smith's name. When I wrote "The Mule" in 1945, I needed a name for a planet. It was wartime and there was a large map of the Far East on the wall. Kalgan was on the map. It is the name of a sizable city in the province of Chahar (Inner Mongolia), which is located about one hundred miles northwest of Peking. It sounded like a good name, so I used it.

Concerning Mitchell M. Badler's speculations on the presumed identity of Mr. Coppel and myself:

Sorry, but Mr. Coppel is not me. Except for one extremely short piece long, long ago, I have never used a pseudonym. And thank you, Mr. Badler, for your kind words about the Foundation stories.