Known Space

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

Known Space is the fictional setting of several science fiction novels and short stories written by author Larry Niven. It is the name given by humans to an area near the Earth which is explored and settled in the future. This Known Space reaches out approximately 60 light-years in all directions from the Earth. These stories span approximately one thousand years of future history, from the first human explorations of our solar system to the colonization of dozens of nearby systems (and with some references to the far distant past).

Contents

[edit] Overview

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Races

In the process of exploring space, humankind encounters several intelligent alien species, including the following:

  • The Kzinti, a very large and belligerent species of cat-like aliens with whom humans fight several brutal interstellar wars. Kzinti tactics are somewhat cat-like in nature: 'Scream and leap' being the primary mode of attack. Niven himself wrote little about the Man-Kzin wars. The Man-Kzin Wars short-story collections primarily were written by other authors. The Kzinti "crossed-over" in to the Star Trek universe in the animated episode The Slaver Weapon, which was written by Larry Niven.
  • Pierson's Puppeteers, a highly technologically advanced race of three-legged, twin-necked herbivores descended from herd animals, and noted for their so-called cowardice. Their commercial empire directly and indirectly controls events throughout Known Space and beyond, and Puppeteer plots are behind many of the larger events in Known Space.
  • The Outsiders, fragile, low-temperature aliens that cruise through deep space. These aliens trade information, and introduce FTL travel to humans. They have a mysterious connection with the starseeds.
  • The Pak, interstellar ancestors of humanity whose life-cycle mimics the stages of human aging. A Pak who lives long enough may become a 'Protector' of his descendants. Pak Protectors were the builders of the Ringworld.
  • The Kdatlyno, a slave species of the Kzinti until humans free them. Kdatlyno "see" by way of sonar and create sculptures intended to be "seen" by Kdatlyno, but which can be 'felt' by other species such as humans and puppeteers.
  • The Thrintun, an apparently long-extinct ancient species who ruled the galaxy through telepathic mind control. One of their technologies, the stasis field, has effects that include indefinite suspended animation and imperviousness to damage, which has figured in several Niven stories.
  • The Grogs, sessile furry cones, which can control animals telepathically. The Grogs turn out to be the descendants of the Thrintun species, after two billion years of de-evolution.
  • The Tnuctipun, another apparently extinct ancient race of carnivores contemporaneous with and mostly enslaved by the Thrintun; they were known for their technological prowess, especially in genetic engineering.
  • The Bandersnatchi, colossal slug-like creatures, originally created by the Tnuctipun to be grown as a food source by the Thrintun.
  • The Trinocs, named for their three eyes; they also have three fingers, and a triangular mouth. Methane breathers and culturally paranoid, at least by human standards.
  • Martians, primitive humanoids who lived beneath the sands. Recently made extinct on Mars itself, but still living on the "Map of Mars" on the Ringworld.
  • The Jotoki, sentient octopus-shaped beings formed by the joining of the lobes of five non-sentient eel-like life forms into a single brain. Former rulers of an interstellar empire, they used Kzinti as body guards, but the Kzinti rebelled and used the Jotoki technology to create their own empire.
  • Morlocks, semi-sentient humanoid cave dwellers on Wunderland. Named by humans for the creatures in H.G. Wells' The Time Machine.
  • Whrloo, Meter tall insectiods with long eyestalks, their homeworld has low gravity with a thick, high density atmosphere. They never saw the stars until they were enslaved by the Kzinti.

Also figuring in some stories were intelligent cetaceans and various offshoots of Homo sapiens lineage. Most life in Known Space shared similar biochemistries, since they evolved from the Thrintun practice of seeding barren worlds with food yeast.

[edit] Locations

One aspect of the Known Space universe is that most of the planets colonized by humans are suboptimal for Homo sapiens. Some planets were measured and declared habitable by relatively simple robot probes which were then followed by sleeper ships containing human colonizers who had to make the best of a bad situation.

  • Down is the home world of the Grogs (see above), notable for the Bussard ramjet that remains in orbit to destroy the Grog population should they take threatening action against humanity.
  • Fafnir is a former Kzin colony covered almost entirely in water. It was captured by humans during the Man-Kzin Wars.
  • The Fleet of Worlds are the five planets that are home to the Puppeteers (see above), presently being moved in formation at sub-light speeds out of the galaxy to avoid destruction as the wave of radiation from an explosion of the galactic core sweeps towards the outer reaches of the galaxy.
  • Home was one of Earth's most distant colonies, decimated by war with the Pak, but re-colonized in later centuries. The planet was so named by the colonists, due to its remarkable similarity to Earth. Home orbits the star Epsilon Indi.
  • Jinx, orbiting Sirius, is a massive moon of a gas giant, stretched by tidal forces into an egg shape, with gravity near the limits of human habitability. The poles lie in vacuum, the equatorial regions are Venus-like (and inhabited by the Bandersnatchi); the zones between have atmosphere breathable by humans. Jinx's poles become a major in vacuo manufacturing area.
  • Kobold was an artificial world created by Jack Brennan, a human Protector. Composed of a small sphere in the center ringed by a larger torus. Gravity generators facilitate movement between the two sections and are used in games and art.
  • Mars, fourth planet in our solar system and the first planetary colony in Known Space. Native Martians were exterminated by the Brennan Monster.
  • Plateau in the Tau Ceti system is Venus-like, with a plateau (called Mount Lookitthat), half the size of California, rising high enough into the dense atmosphere to be habitable. Inhabitants (mountaineers) are divided into rigid hereditary castes, the crew and the colonists, depending on whether their ancestors piloted the colonizing vessel. The crew are the upper caste, and hold power through their monopoly on organ transplantation. The original colonists signed the "Covenant of Planetfall", agreeing that this outcome was just recompense for the labors of the crew during the voyage; that they signed at gunpoint as they were awakened from hibernation was kept secret from later generations. This repressive system is changed by events in A Gift From Earth, and appears to be nonexistent by the time The Ethics of Madness takes place.
  • Ringworld, an artificial world a million times larger than earth, built in the shape of a giant ring orbiting its sun, a million miles across and with a diameter of 180 million miles.
  • Sheathclaws, a planet colonized by humans aboard Angel's Pencil and descendants of a rogue Kzinti telepath.
  • Warhead was an uninhabitable Mars-like world being used as a military outpost by the Kzinti, until it was hit with an experimental weapon which tore a long, kilometers-deep, but narrow hole into the crust. Most of the planet's atmosphere fell into this artificial canyon, resulting in a breathable environment. The planet was then renamed Canyon, for the crater, and settled by humans in a huge city running up the crater wall.
  • We Made It orbiting Procyon, got its name because the first colony ship crash-landed. Gravity is about three-fifths Earth's. The planet's axis is pointed along the plane of the ecliptic (like Uranus), creating ferocious winds during half of the planet's year of as much as 1,500 mph, forcing the people to live underground. Natives are known as Crashlanders, and tend to be very tall albinos. Their capital, which was the site of their ship's crash landing, is called Crashlanding City. We Made It also has one ocean.
  • Wunderland is an inhabitable planet circling Alpha Centauri, and was the earliest extra-solar colony in Known Space's human history. It has a gravity of 6/10's that of Earth's and is extremely hospitable to human life. Wunderland was invaded and its population enslaved by the Kzinti during the first Man-Kzin war. It was freed near the end of the war by the human Hyperdrive Armada.
  • Kzin, translates as Home-of-the-Kzinti or Kzinhome in the Hero's Tongue. It orbits 61 Ursa Majoris and has higher gravity than earth and more oxygen in the atmosphere. It has two moons, known as the Hunter's Moon and the Traveller's Moon.
  • Asteroid Belts are usually extensively colonized in Known Space. In them there is usually an abundance of valuable ores, which are easily accessible due to the low to nonexistant gravity of the rocks containing them. In Sol System, the asteroid belt is known simply as The Belt, and possesses its own government separate from Earth. In the Alpha Centauri system, the asteroid belt is known as the Serpent Swarm. Residents of the asteroid belts are usually referred to as Belters (particularly in Sol System).
  • Silveryes is, at the time of Ringworld, the furthest Human world from Earth (60 days at Quantum-I hyperdrive speeds).

[edit] Technology

The series also features a number of "gee whiz" inventions which figure as plot devices. Stories earlier in the timeline feature technology such as Bussard ramjets, and explore how organ transplantation technology enables the new crime of Organlegging, while later stories feature hyperdrive, invulnerable starship hulls, stasis fields, molecular monofilaments, Dyson Spheres, transfer booths (teleporters used only on planetary surfaces), the lifespan-extending drug boosterspice, and the tasp which is capable of stimulating the pleasure centers of the brain from a distance.

The impact of inventions and technology on society is a recurring theme in Niven's work. For example, addiction to electric brain stimulation resulting in Wireheads, or the effects of the invention of teleportation (not often addressed in the Known Space canon).

The milieu can be viewed as representing the climax of the pre-cyberpunk era of science fiction, as the cyberpunk themes of information technology and competition of various sub-governmental groups do not figure in the stories.

[edit] ARM

The ARM are the armed forces of the United Nations. ARM used to be an acronym for the Amalgamation of Regional Militia, though this is not a term in current usage by the time of the Known Space novels.

Their basic function is to enforce a number of laws to the effect of ensuring the long-term survival of the human race, specifically control of population growth and weapons of mass destruction. In short, the ARM hunts down women who refuse birth control and suppresses all new technologies. This makes them incredibly unpopular despite an ongoing campaign of propaganda—when asked, they will make claims of suppressing inventions that would destroy the world economy, force the legalization of murder, annihilate planets, etc. Of course, these claims, by their very nature, can never be proven. Early in their existence they were able to put on a friendly face by directing a portion of their efforts to policing "organlegging", but they were forced to abandon this when artificial organs were developed despite their anti-tech laws (see A Gift From Earth). However, they are able to maintain control through their monopoly on many advanced technologies that they have suppressed and developed themselves. Among the many technologies they control and outlaw are all trained forms of armed and unarmed combat, as well as chemical and electronic mind control (collectively known as psychistry). Agents of the ARM are commonly known as Schizes, due to the artificially induced state of paranoid schizophrenia they are kept in to enhance their usefulness as law enforcement officials in a society that keeps most of its populace docile and naive through the aforementioned science of psychistry (see Madness Has Its Place).

Their jurisdiction is limited to the Earth-Moon system; other human colonies have their own militia. Nevertheless, in many Known Space stories, ARM agents operate or exert influence in other human star systems through the "Bureau of Alien Affairs" (see In the Hall of the Mountain King, Procrustes, The Borderland of Sol, and Neutron Star). These interventions begin following the Man-Kzin Wars and the introduction of hyperdrive, presumably as part of a general re-integration of human societies.

Niven invented the organization as a literary tool to ensure that he could write multiple stories in in the same universe by ensuring that his technologically advanced society did not become unrecognizable. Unfortunately, he seems to have shot himself in the foot, as he can no longer write stories in this universe. Good stories require conflict, and the ARM, as of the early 31st century, has made Known Space so safe and staid that conflict is all but impossible to find (see Safe at Any Speed).

[edit] Stories in Known Space

Unlike many fictional universes, the component tales of known space were largely released as short stories or serials in various science fiction anthology magazines. These stories were generally subsequently released in one or more collection volumes. To add some further confusion, some of the shorter novels were also later re-released as part of collections. Due to the large number of stories, it is particularly difficult for a completionist fan of the series to have read the entire span of the work. There are also a number of short stories that are very similar to Known Space stories in style and technology, but which are not a part of the Known Space Universe. ("Bordered in Black" and "Wait it out" are examples.)

After the mid-1970s, Larry Niven began to write significantly less Known Space stories. In his note that accompanies "Man-Kzin Wars", he indicates that it had become more and more difficult to be inspired to write in the universe as, as said above, good stories require conflict, and the ARM, as of the early 31st century, has made Known Space so safe and staid that conflict is all but impossible to find. (see Safe at Any Speed). At that point, he opened up the series to works by other authors.

In the Known Space stories Niven had created a number of technological devices (GP hull, stasis field, Ringworld material) which, combined with the 'Teela Brown' gene, made it very difficult to construct engaging stories beyond a certain date—the combination of factors made it tricky to produce any kind of creditable threat/problem without complex contrivances. Niven demonstrated this, to his own satisfaction, with Safe at Any Speed.

[edit] Stories by Niven himself

Title Published First Appeared In Collection
The Coldest Place 1964 Worlds of If Tales of Known Space
World of Ptavvs 1965† Worlds of Tomorrow —
Becalmed in Hell 1965 The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction Tales of Known Space
Eye of an Octopus 1966 Galaxy Magazine Tales of Known Space
The Warriors 1966 Worlds of If Tales of Known Space
Neutron Star 1966 Worlds of If Neutron Star
How the Heroes Die 1966 Galaxy Magazine Tales of Known Space
At the Core 1966 Worlds of If Neutron Star
A Relic of the Empire 1966 Worlds of If Neutron Star
At the Bottom of a Hole 1966 Galaxy Magazine Tales of Known Space
The Soft Weapon 1967 Worlds of If Neutron Star
Flatlander 1967 Worlds of If Neutron Star
The Ethics of Madness 1967 Worlds of If Neutron Star
Safe at any Speed 1967 The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction Tales of Known Space
The Adults 1967† Galaxy Magazine —
The Handicapped 1967 Galaxy Magazine Neutron Star
The Jigsaw Man 1967 Dangerous Visions Tales of Known Space
Slowboat Cargo 1968† Worlds of If —
The Deceivers 1968† Galaxy Magazine Tales of Known Space
Grendel 1968 (collection only) Neutron Star
There is a Tide 1968 Galaxy Magazine Tales of Known Space
The World of Ptavvs 1968 (novel) —
A Gift From Earth 1968 (novel) —
Wait It Out 1968 Futures Unbounded Tales of Known Space
The Organleggers 1968† Galaxy Magazine The Shape of Space
Ringworld 1970 (novel) —
Cloak of Anarchy 1972 Analog Science Fiction Tales of Known Space
Protector 1973 (novel) —
The Defenseless Dead 1973 (collection only) The Long ARM of Gil Hamilton
The Borderland of Sol 1974 Analog Science Fiction Tales of Known Space
ARM 1975 Epic The Long ARM of Gil Hamilton
The Ringworld Engineers 1980 (novel) —
The Patchwork Girl 1980 (novel) —
Madness Has Its Place 1990 (collection only) Man-Kzin Wars III
Procrustes 1994 (collection only) Crashlander
Ghost 1994 (framing story, collection only) Crashlander
The Woman in Del Rey Crater 1995 (collection only) Flatlander
The Ringworld Throne 1996 (novel) —
Choosing Names 1998 (collection only) Man-Kzin Wars VIII
Fly-By-Night 2002 (collection only) Man-Kzin Wars IX
Ringworld's Children 2004 (novel) —
The Hunting Park 2005 (collection only) Man-Kzin Wars XI
Fleet of Worlds (co-authored with Edward M. Lerner) 2007 (scheduled) (novel) —
Juggler of Worlds (co-authored with Edward M. Lerner) 2008? (scheduled) (novel) —

† Additional Notes:

  • "World of Ptavvs" was expanded and republished as a novel in 1968.
  • "The Adults" was expanded and republished as "Protector" in 1973.
  • "Slowboat Cargo" was expanded and republished as "A Gift From Earth" in 1968.
  • "The Deceivers" was subsequently renamed "Intent to Deceive"
  • "The Organleggers" was subsequently renamed "Death by Ecstasy"

(Note that most stories appeared in more than one collection, though only one each is listed here.)

[edit] Man-Kzin Wars

Title Published Collection Written By
Iron 1988 Man-Kzin Wars Poul Anderson
Cathouse 1988 Man-Kzin Wars Dean Ing
Briar Patch 1989 Man-Kzin Wars II Dean Ing
The Children's Hour 1989 Man-Kzin Wars II Jerry Pournelle & S.M. Stirling
The Asteroid Queen 1990 Man-Kzin Wars III Jerry Pournelle & S.M. Stirling
Inconstant Star 1990 Man-Kzin Wars III Poul Anderson
The Survivor 1991 Man-Kzin Wars IV Donald Kingsbury
The Man Who Would Be Kzin 1991 Man-Kzin Wars IV Greg Bear & S.M. Stirling
In The Hall Of The Mountain King 1992 Man-Kzin Wars V Jerry Pournelle & S.M. Stirling
Hey Diddle Diddle 1992 Man-Kzin Wars V Thomas T. Thomas
The Heroic Myth Of Lieutenant Nora Argamentine 1994 Man-Kzin Wars VI Donald Kingsbury
The Trojan Cat 1994 Man-Kzin Wars VI Mark O. Martin & Gregory Benford
The Colonel's Tiger 1995 Man-Kzin Wars VII Hal Colebatch
A Darker Geometry 1995‡ Man-Kzin Wars VII Mark O. Martin & Gregory Benford
Prisoner Of War 1995 Man-Kzin Wars VII Paul Chafe
Telepath's Dance 1998 Man-Kzin Wars VIII Hal Colebatch
Galley Slave 1998 Man-Kzin Wars VIII Jean Lamb
Jotok 1998 Man-Kzin Wars VIII Paul Chafe
Slowboat Nightmare 1998 Man-Kzin Wars VIII Warren W. James
Pele 2002 Man-Kzin Wars IX Poul Anderson
His Sergeant's Honor 2002 Man-Kzin Wars IX Hal Colebatch
Windows of the Soul 2002 Man-Kzin Wars IX Paul Chafe
One War For Wunderland 2003 Man-Kzin Wars X Hal Colebatch
The Corporal In The Caves 2003 Man-Kzin Wars X Hal Colebatch
Music Box 2003 Man-Kzin Wars X Hal Colebatch
Peter Robinson 2003 Man-Kzin Wars X Hal Colebatch
Three At Table 2005 Man-Kzin Wars XI Hal Colebatch
Grossgeister Swamp 2005 Man-Kzin Wars XI Hal Colebatch
Catspaws 2005 Man-Kzin Wars XI Hal Colebatch
Teacher's Pet 2005 Man-Kzin Wars XI Matthew Joseph Harrington
War And Peace 2005 Man-Kzin Wars XI Matthew Joseph Harrington
Destiny's Forge 2006 Destiny's Forge Paul Chafe

‡ Additional Notes:

  • "A Darker Geometry" was expanded and republished as a novel in 1996.

[edit] Playground

Niven has described his fiction as "playground equipment", encouraging fans to speculate and extrapolate on the events described. Debates have been made, for example, on who built the Ringworld (Pak Protectors and the Outsiders being the traditional favorites, but see Ringworld's Children for a possibly definitive answer), and what happened to the Tnuctipun.

Niven was also reported to have said that "known space should be seen as a possible future history told by people that may or may not have all their facts right."

A rough draft of a "final" Known Space story titled "Down in Flames" is in circulation, which includes a controversial revelation about the Tnuctipun. However, the publication of Ringworld appears to make this draft obsolete.

Note: The writing of "Down in Flames" was a result of a conversation between Norman Spinrad and Niven in 1968, but at the time of its first publication in 1977 some of the concepts were invalidated by Niven's writings between '68 and '77.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../k/n/o/Known_Space_79ab.html"
In other languages