Jinx (Known Space)

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Jinx is a fictional planet in Larry Niven's Known Space stories.

The world is a satellite of a gas giant named Binary in the Sirius A system, and is home to a human colony. One of the more unusual planets, it has been pulled by tidal forces into a prolate spheroid (a.k.a. a football- or egg-shape). The extreme variations in altitude caused by this unusual shape have resulted in five distinct environmental zones. Along the meridian, where the atmosphere is thickest, runs a narrow band of high-pressure not suitable for human habitation. On either side of the meridian are two zones or bands where the atmosphere is suitable for human habitation. These are known as the East Band (home to the well developed colony), and the West Band (still a developing frontier). The "tips" of the spheroid are the East End and West End which literally stick out of the planet's atmosphere into the vacuum of space. This makes the ends uninhabitable, but excellent for vacuum industries. The East End always points toward Binary. It has a period of rotation of 4 Earth days long. The Capitol and seat of Jinxian Government is located in the East Band city known as Sirius Mater.

Jinx is six times more massive than Earth, and very dense, with a surface gravity of about 1.78 times Earth gravity. Its nickel-iron core is half the diameter of the world, the rest being rocky mantle and crust. There is a distinct lack of radioactive materials.

Jinx is home to the Institute of Knowledge, one of the most advanced research facilities in Known Space, which also contains a comprehensive museum. The Institute is located in Sirius Mater. Most offworld visitors to Jinx stay at the Camelot Hotel adjacent to the Institute, as there is gravity control in the guest rooms. The bar and event halls in the Camelot are maintained at one Earth gravity throughout the facility. [1]

[edit] Jinxians

Due to the high gravity, the human inhabitants of Jinx have short, squat bodies with great strength (and a predisposition to heart failure). In The Borderland of Sol, Julian Forward says:

"We bred for strength, we Jinxians. At what cost to other factors? Our lives are short, even with the aid of boosterspice. Longer if we can live outside Jinx's gravity."

They also 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. Jinxians are also known for their proclivity toward puns. The early colonists had a strong tendency towards swearing,^[1] but this seems to have diminished by Beowulf Shaeffer's time.

[edit] Other Inhabitants

Jinx is also home to an intelligent race known as Bandersnatchi. Bandersnatchi inhabit the shores of Jinx's major body of water, a ring-shaped sea that runs along the meridian. The species is adapted to live in this high-pressure environment. At one time the sole intelligent inhabitants of Jinx, the Bandersnatchi 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.