Elvis M. Sternberg (born May 7, 1966) is an American writer, and the former keeper of the
alt.sex
alt.sex is a Usenet newsgroup – a discussion group within the Usenet network – relating to human sexual activity. It was popular in the 1990s. An October 1993 survey by Brian Reid reported an estimated worldwide readership for the newsgroup o ...
FAQ. He is also the author of many erotic stories and articles on sexuality and sexual practices, and is considered one of the most notable and prolific online erotica authors.
Sternberg's best known piece of writing is probably the
erotic short story “The Only Fair Game”, which became famous/infamous for raising legal questions about
fan fiction
Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settin ...
. Its speculation about homosexual and
BDSM
BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...
practices among
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His best-known works are ''Ringworld'' (1970), which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards, and, with Jerry Pournelle, ''The Mote in God's Eye'' ...
's
Kzinti
The Kzinti (singular Kzin) are a fictional, warlike and bloodthirsty race of cat-like aliens in Larry Niven's ''Known Space'' series.
The Kzinti were initially introduced in Niven's story "The Warriors" (originally in ''Worlds of If'' (1966), ...
got Sternberg a
cease-and-desist
A cease and desist letter is a document sent to an individual or business to stop alleged illegal activity. The phrase "cease and desist" is a legal doublet, made up of two near-synonyms. The letter may warn that, if the recipient does not disc ...
letter from Niven's lawyers in an incident that to date remains notorious within the
SF fandom community. Elf Sternberg claims the story is covered under
parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
protections; Larry Niven maintains that the story is a violation of
copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...
, but has not pursued further legal action. Larry Niven commented directly on this issue in a
Slashdot
''Slashdot'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''/.'') is a social news website that originally advertised itself as "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters". It features news stories concerning science, technology, and politics that are submitted and evalu ...
interview.
Sternberg is also the creator of ''The Journal Entries of Kennet R'yal Shardik'', a long-running series of short
erotica
Erotica is literature or art that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erotic art may use a ...
featuring a massive body of work covering the fictional
ringworld
''Ringworld'' is a 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. ''Ringworld'' tells the story of Louis Wu and his companions on a mission to the Ringworld, a ...
Pendor (''The Pendorwright Projects''), and the wide variety of humans, humanoid species,
robot
A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...
s, and
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
s that inhabit it.
He has been a regular poster on the Usenet groups
alt.sex
alt.sex is a Usenet newsgroup – a discussion group within the Usenet network – relating to human sexual activity. It was popular in the 1990s. An October 1993 survey by Brian Reid reported an estimated worldwide readership for the newsgroup o ...
, rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.sf.composition and
alt.atheism, and is listed on the Net.Legends FAQ.
Pendor
Pendor is a fictional
ringworld
''Ringworld'' is a 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. ''Ringworld'' tells the story of Louis Wu and his companions on a mission to the Ringworld, a ...
from the Pendorwright stories written by Elf Sternberg. It rotates around a center star Pin, its day-night cycle simulated by a ring of shadow blocks rotating between Pendor and Pin, creating 292 day/night cycles per earth year. The system also includes a planet called Pandora, its moon Pindam and a space station called Parma.
In one of the earliest Journal Entries, Kennet Shardik travels back in time to give an earlier version of himself his
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
, named Fawn Destiniere. The earlier Shardik, after consultation with Fawn, decided to create Pendor. They created it in a "
pocket universe
A pocket universe or bubble universe, also colloquially called pocket dimension is a concept in inflationary theory, proposed by Alan Guth.
Description
It defines a realm like the one that contains the observable universe as only one of many infl ...
", where it developed while Shardik was in suspended animation. When it was ready to support life, Shardik, Fawn, and other
AIs developed new species to live there, including Centaurs, Dragons, Felinzi, and Tindals. Immediately before the first Centaur was decanted, Shardik delivered Fawn to himself and, on his return, dumped all of the databanks, so that the inhabitants, both silicon- and carbon-based, would have to explore and learn about it on their own. 93 Pendorian years later, the pocket universe was opened up and Pendor moved into our universe. As Pendor is explored, a network of
SDisks is built, facilitating transportation around the world.
At the end of the universe, Fawn maintains a base on Pindam through to the singularity, and then causes a second
Big Bang
The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...
, speaking the words, "Let there be."
Pendor, and the races originating from Pendor collectively known as "Pendorians", are the subject of many of Sternberg's "Journal Entries", which form one of the oldest
and certainly one of the largest erotic science fiction story collections ever created within a single universe.
References
External links
Elf's WebsitePendorwright ProjectsElf’s Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sternberg, Elf
American science fiction writers
1966 births
BDSM writers
Living people
Usenet people
Known Space
American male novelists