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Grendel (story)
"Grendel" is an English language science fiction short story written in 1968 by Larry Niven. It is the fourth in the series of Known Space stories featuring crashlander Beowulf Shaeffer. The short story was originally published in ''Neutron Star'' (1968), and reprinted in ''Crashlander'' (1994). It has no connection to the creatures called Grendels in Niven's ''Heorot'' series. Synopsis Beowulf "Bey" Shaeffer is on a flight between Down and Gummidgy when the ship's captain, Margo Tellefsen, announces that she is dropping of out hyperdrive so passengers can witness a starseed setting sail. Just after this happens, all passengers are knocked out by a gas introduced in the ship's life system; while no cargo is missing, a Kdatlyno touch sculptor named Lloobee has vanished. Soon enough, the kidnappers make contact with the local government and demand ten million "stars" (the interstellar form of currency) for Lloobee's safe return. Because Kdatlyno cannot spend extended time in smal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the island of Great Britain. Existing on a dialect continuum with Scots, and then closest related to the Low Saxon and Frisian languages, English is genealogically West Germanic. However, its vocabulary is also distinctively influenced by dialects of France (about 29% of Modern English words) and Latin (also about 29%), plus some grammar and a small amount of core vocabulary influenced by Old Norse (a North Germanic language). Speakers of English are called Anglophones. The earliest forms of English, collectively known as Old English, evolved from a group of West Germanic ( Ingvaeonic) dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 5th century and further mutated by Norse-speaking Viking settlers starting in the 8t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neutron Star (short Story)
"Neutron Star" is an English language science fiction short story by American writer Larry Niven. It was originally published in the October 1966 issue (Issue 107, Vol 16, No 10) of ''Worlds of If''. It was later reprinted in the collection of the same name and '' Crashlander''.New York: Ballantine, 1994, pp. 8-28, The story is set in Niven's fictional ''Known Space'' universe. It is notable for including a neutron star before their (then hypothetical) existence was widely known. "Neutron Star" is the first to feature Beowulf Shaeffer, the ex-pilot and reluctant hero of many of Niven's ''Known Space'' stories. It also marked the first appearance of the nearly indestructible General Products starship hull, as well as its creators, the Pierson's Puppeteers. The star itself, BVS-1, is featured in the novel '' Protector'' (1973), where it is named "Phssthpok's Star". A prelude to the story is also included in the novel '' Juggler of Worlds''. Plot summary Beowulf Shaeffer, a na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Known Space Stories
Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinct from opinion or guesswork by virtue of justification. While there is wide agreement among philosophers that propositional knowledge is a form of true belief, many controversies in philosophy focus on justification: whether it is needed at all, how to understand it, and whether something else besides it is needed. These controversies intensified due to a series of thought experiments by Edmund Gettier and have provoked various alternative definitions. Some of them deny that justification is necessary and replace it, for example, with reliability or the manifestation of cognitive virtues. Others contend that justification is needed but formulate additional requirements, for example, that no defeaters of the belief are present or that t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fly By Night (story)
Fly by Night or Fly-by-Night may refer to: Film and television * ''Fly-by-Night'' (film), a 1942 American thriller * ''Fly by Night'' (TV play), a 1962 Australian TV play * ''Fly by Night'', a 1992 film directed by Steve Gomer * ''Fly by Night'' (film), a 2019 Malaysian crime thriller * ''Fly by Night'' (TV series), a 1991 Canadian adventure series starring David James Elliott * "Fly by Night" (''Mighty Max''), an episode of the television series ''Mighty Max'' Fiction * ''Fly by Night'' (Hardinge novel), a 2005 children's novel by Frances Hardinge * ''Fly-by-Night'' (Peyton novel), a 1968 children's novel by K. M. Peyton * "Fly-by-Night", a short story by Larry Niven included in the ''Man-Kzin Wars'' collections * "Fly-by-Night", a mysterious flower in the Japanese animated film ''Mary and the Witch's Flower'' Music * ''Fly by Night'' (album), a 1975 album by Rush * "Fly by Night" (Rush song), 1975 * "Fly by Night" (Andy Williams song), 1961 * "Fly by Night", a song ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghost (Niven)
''Crashlander'' is a fix-up novel by American writer Larry Niven, published in 1994 () and set in his ''Known Space'' universe. It is also a term used in the Known Space universe, denoting a human born on the planet ''We Made It''. Plot summary Crashlander brings together the short stories featuring the space pilot Beowulf Shaeffer — " Neutron Star" (1966), "At the Core" (1966), " Flatlander" (1967), " Grendel" (1968), "The Borderland of Sol" (1975), and " Procrustes" (1993). The stories are linked, and some of them extended, by a framing story, "Ghost". This story recounts Shaeffer's reunion with a ghostwriter whom Shaeffer had used to write about his adventures at the neutron star and at the core, Ander Smittarasheed. Ander, working for ARM In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the uppe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Procrustes (story)
"Procrustes" is an English-language science fiction short story written in 1993 by Larry Niven. It is the sixth in the series of stories about crashlander Beowulf Shaeffer. The short story was originally published in ''Bridging the Galaxies'' (1993). The story is retold, from the point of view of Sigmund Ausfaller, in '' Juggler of Worlds''. Plot summary Beowulf "Bey" Shaeffer, half-dreaming, fitfully remembers events leading up to the moment he is shot with an ARM punchgun, a weapon best described as a large-caliber handgun. The recent events, and his memories leading up to them, keep replaying in his head, and Shaeffer realizes that he must be inside Carlos Wu's special autodoc, and that he must be terribly damaged. When he finally awakens, Shaeffer learns he has been in the autodoc for four months and eleven days. He crawls out of the autodoc, feeling unbalanced, and finds himself on the same deserted island on which they had all landed, though he is alone. Moving to the cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Borderland Of Sol (story)
"The Borderland of Sol" is a science fiction novelette by American writer Larry Niven. It is the fifth in the ''Known Space'' series of stories about crashlander Beowulf Shaeffer. The story was originally published in ''Analog'', January 1975, printed in the collection ''Tales of Known Space'', Niven, Del Ray, reissued 1985 (), and reprinted in '' Crashlander'', Larry Niven, New York: Ballantine, 1994, pp. 160–207 (). The story won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 1976 and was nominated for the Locus Poll Award for Best Novelette in 1976. It is one of the earliest works of fiction to feature a black hole. Segments of the novel ''Fleet of Worlds'' serve as a prequel to the story. Plot summary A rash of spaceship disappearances around Earth results in a dearth of available transit, stranding Beowulf "Bey" Shaeffer on Jinx away from his love, Sharrol Janss. While visiting the Institute of Knowledge he runs into his old friend Carlos Wu. Carlos is the father of Janss' t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flatlander (story)
"Flatlander" is an English language science fiction short story by American writer Larry Niven, published in 1967. It is the third in the series of ''Known Space'' stories featuring crashlander Beowulf Shaeffer. The short story was originally published in '' Worlds of If'', March 1967, and reprinted in ''Neutron Star'', and '' Crashlander''.''Crashlander'', Larry Niven, New York: Ballantine, 1994, pp. 57–101 () Plot summary Traveling to Earth after his trip to the core of the Milky Way Galaxy, Beowulf "Bey" Shaeffer befriends Gregory Pelton, a fabulously wealthy and gregarious flatlander (Earth-born human) who calls himself Elephant. Irritated at always being labeled a flatlander despite having logged many hours in space, Elephant decides to visit the most unusual system in or near Known Space and has his agents put in a call to meet with the nearest Outsider vessel. Elephant, as well as two women named Diana and Sharrol, show Shaeffer around Earth for a few days; Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
At The Core (story)
"At the Core" is an English language science fiction short story by American writer Larry Niven, published in 1966. It is the second in the series of ''Known Space'' stories featuring crashlander Beowulf Shaeffer. The short story was originally published in '' Worlds of If'', November 1966, and reprinted in ''Neutron Star'' (1968) and '' Crashlander'' (1994). The novel ''Fleet of Worlds'' is set in the aftermath of the story, from the Puppeteer point of view. The story is retold, from the point of view of Sigmund Ausfaller, in '' Juggler of Worlds''. The events are also referred to in ''Ringworld''. Plot summary Four years after the events in the other short story "Neutron Star", spaceship pilot Beowulf Shaeffer is on Jinx, a planet orbiting Sirius B, when he is again contacted by the Puppeteers, this time by the Regional President of General Products on Jinx, who offers him a chance to guide a cramped (but very fast) experimental ship to the center of the galaxy as a promotion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kdatlyno
This is a list of fictional characters featured in the '' Known Space'' novels by Larry Niven. Individual characters Sigmund Ausfaller Sigmund Ausfaller, a native of Earth, is a member of the Amalgamated Regional Militia ("ARM"), working in the Bureau of Alien Affairs on Earth. To protect puppeteer (and Earth) interests, in "Neutron Star" Ausfaller plants a bomb in the lifesystem of Shaeffer's ship, the ''Skydiver'', so that Shaeffer will not attempt to steal it. Years later, in ''The Borderlands of Sol'', when Shaeffer encounters him on Jinx, he offers Shaeffer and Carlos Wu a ride home to Earth on his ship, ''Hobo Kelly'', in hopes of attracting the attention of whoever or whatever was causing ships to disappear when entering or leaving Sol system. Some years later, Ausfaller, having almost caught up with Shaeffer on Fafnir, is killed by Ander Smittarasheed in order to protect Smittarasheed's interest in the special nanotechnology autodoc developed by Carlos Wu, left on Fafnir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, extraterrestrial life, sentient artificial intelligence, cybernetics, certain forms of immortality (like mind uploading), and the singularity. Science fiction predicted several existing inventions, such as the atomic bomb, robots, and borazon, whose names entirely match their fictional predecessors. In addition, science fiction might serve as an outlet to facilitate future scientific and technological innovations. Science fiction can trace its roots to ancient mythology. It is also related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction and contains many subgenres. Its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers. Science fiction, in literature, film, television, and other media, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Known Space
Known Space is the fictional setting of about a dozen science fiction novels and several collections of short stories written by Larry Niven. It has also become a shared universe in the spin-off ''Man-Kzin Wars'' anthologies. The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) catalogs all works set in the fictional universe that includes Known Space under the series name Tales of Known Space, which was the title of a 1975 collection of Niven's short stories. The first-published work in the series, which was Niven's first published piece was "The Coldest Place", in the December 1964 issue of '' If'' magazine, edited by Frederik Pohl. This was the first-published work in the 1975 collection. The stories span approximately one thousand years of future history, from the first human explorations of the Solar System to the colonization of dozens of nearby systems. Late in the series, Known Space is an irregularly shaped "bubble" about 60 light-years across. The epithet "Known Spac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
