Jinx (Known Space)
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Jinx is a fictional planet in Larry Niven's Known Space.
Human colony on satellite moon of a gas giant named Binary in the Sirius A system. One of the more unusual planets, it has a distinct horizontal oval or egg shape resulting in 5 very distinct environmental zones. At the center, or "waist", is a vertical band of high-pressure atmosphere. On either side are habitable zones known as the East Band, a civilized area, and the West Band, still a developing frontier. At the ends are the East End and West End which literally stick out of the planets atmosphere, making it excellent for vacuum industries. The East End always points to Binary. It has a period of rotation of 4 Earth days long.
Jinx is dense, with a gravity of 1.78g, owing to it being six times more massive than Earth, and solid rocky material halfway to a nickel-iron core. There is a distinct lack of radioactive materials.
Thanks to the high gravity, Jinxians have adapted to develop short, squat bodies with great strength (and a predisposition to heart failure). They tend to have very dark skin because of the intense sunlight of Sirius. Jinxian architecture is similarly shaped, with short, squat buildings so as to not collapse under their own weight.
Jinx is home to the Institute of Knowledge. [Source: http://www.oinc.net/knownspace/Enc/display.php?73]
Jinx is also home to the Bandersnatchi, who inhabit the edges of Jinx's sole major body of water, at the center. At one time, the sole intelligent inhabitants of Jinx, they have allowed humans to settle the planet, and have exchanged hunting rights for themselves (a most risky endeavor, as one human usually dies for every bandersnatch killed) in exchange for technology.
