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38-538: 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 Space" refers to a small region in the Milky Way galaxy , one centered on Earth. In the future that the series depicts, spanning roughly

76-439: 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" (1967). He used the setting for much less short fiction after 1968 and much less for novels after two published in 1980. Late in that decade, Niven invited other authors to participate in a series of shared-universe novels, with

114-477: A limitation based on the laws of physics. In Niven's novel Ringworld's Children the Ringworld itself is converted into a gigantic Quantum II hyperdrive and launched into hyperspace while within its star's gravity well. Ringworld's Children reveals that there is life in hyperspace around gravity wells and that hyperspace predators eat spaceships which appear in hyperspace close to large masses, thus explaining why

152-571: A mirrored artifact known as the Sea Statue must be actually an alien in a stasis field. They place it with a human envoy, who is a telepath, and envelop both in field. By doing this, they unleash the last living member of the Slaver species on the world. Stepping disks are a teleportation technology. They were invented by the Pierson's Puppeteers , and their existence is not generally known to other races until

190-546: A part of the Known Space universe: "One Face" (1965) and "Bordered in Black" (1966)—both in the 1979 collection Convergent Series —and possibly "The Color of Sunfire", published online and listed here. 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

228-600: A possible future history told by people that may or may not have all their facts right." The author also published an "outline" for a story which would "destroy" the Known Space Series (or more precisely, reveal much of the Known Space background to be an in-universe hoax), in an article entitled "Down in Flames" Archived 2013-09-17 at the Wayback Machine . Although the article is written as though Niven intended to write

266-545: A single fictional universe in the short story "A Relic of the Empire" ( If , December 1966), by using background elements of the Slaver civilization from the Belter series as a plot element in the faster-than-light setting. In the late 1980s—having written almost no Tales of Known Space in more than a decade—Niven opened the 300-year gap in the Known Space timeline as a shared universe , and

304-493: A stasis field ( Ringworld ) or a gravity compensating field. In Fleet of Worlds , the characters tour a General Products factory and receive clues that allow them to destroy a General Products hull from the inside using only a high-powered interstellar communications laser. In Juggler of Worlds , the Puppeteers, attempting to surmise how this was done without antimatter, identify another technique which can be used to destroy

342-482: A structure as large as the Ringworld can safely engage the hyperdrive in a star's gravity well. One phenomenon travelers in hyperspace can experience is the so-called 'blind spot' should they look through a porthole or camera screen, giving the impression that the walls around the porthole or sides of the camera view screen are expanding to 'cover up the outside'. The phenomenon is the result of hyperspace being so fundamentally different from normal/'Einsteinian' space that

380-548: A traveler's senses cannot truly comprehend it, and instead the observer 'sees' a form of nothingness that can be hypnotic and dangerous. Staring too long into the 'blind spot' can be insanity-inducing, so as a precaution all view ports on ships are blinded when a ship enters hyperspace. The Puppeteer firm, General Products , produces a series of invulnerable starship hulls, known simply as the General Products hull . The hulls are impervious to any type of matter or energy, with

418-555: Is immediately deposited in a corresponding booth at the destination. Longer-range booths operate similarly, but are housed in former airports due to requiring "equipment to compensate for the difference in rotational velocity between different points on the Earth". They are inexpensive: a trip anywhere on Earth costs only a "tenth-star" (presumably equivalent to a dime). Introduced by one of Gregory Pelton's ancestors, apparently bought from, and based on, Puppeteer technology. "A displacement booth

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456-456: Is invulnerable to anything occurring outside the field, as well as being preserved indefinitely. A stasis field may be recognized by its perfectly reflecting surface, so perfect that it reflects 100% of all radiation and particles, including neutrinos . However one stasis field cannot exist inside another. This is used in World of Ptavvs where humans develop a stasis field technology and realize that

494-578: Is not a term in current usage by the time of the Known Space novels. An agent of the ARM, Gil Hamilton , is the protagonist of Niven's science fictional detective stories, a series-within-a-series gathered in the collection Flatlander . (Confusingly, "Flatlander" is also the name of an unrelated Known Space story.) Their basic function is to enforce mandatory birth control on overcrowded Earth, and restrict research which might lead to dangerous weapons. In short,

532-508: The Belter stories set roughly from 2000 to 2350 CE and the Neutron Star / Ringworld stories set in 2651 CE and later. The earlier, Belter period features solar-system colonization and slower-than-light travel with fusion -powered and Bussard ramjet ships. The later, Neutron Star , period features faster-than-light ships using "hyperdrive". Niven implicitly joined the two settings as

570-726: The Ringworld novels. If there is a difference in velocity between two disks, any matter transferred between them must be accelerated by the disk accordingly. If there is not enough energy to do so, the transfer cannot take place. This becomes a problem with disks that are a significant distance apart on the Ringworld 's surface, as they will have different velocities: same speed, different direction. Transfer booths or displacement booths are an inexpensive form of teleportation. Short-range booths are similar in appearance to an old style telephone booth : one enters, "dials" one's desired destination, and

608-441: The pleasure centers of the brain), and explore how organ transplantation technology enables the new crime of organlegging (as well as the general sociological effects of widespread transplant technology), while later stories feature hyperdrive, invulnerable starship hulls , stasis fields , molecular monofilaments , transfer booths ( teleporters used only on planetary surfaces), the lifespan-extending drug boosterspice, and

646-493: The tasp which is an extension of the droud which works without direct contact. "Boosterspice" is a compound that increases the longevity and reverses aging of human beings. With the use of boosterspice, humans can easily live hundreds of years and, theoretically, indefinitely. Developed by the Institute of Knowledge on Jinx, it is said to be made from genetically engineered ragweed (although early stories have it ingested in

684-522: The third millennium , humans have explored this region and colonized many of its worlds. Contact has been made with other species, such as the two-headed Pierson's Puppeteers and the aggressive felinoid Kzinti . Stories in the Known Space series include events and places outside of the region called "Known Space" such as the Ringworld , the Pierson's Puppeteers ' Fleet of Worlds and the Pak homeworld. The Tales were originally conceived as two separate series,

722-609: The ARM hunts down women who have illegal pregnancies and suppresses all new technologies. They also hunt organleggers, especially in the era of the "organ bank problem". Among the many technologies they control and outlaw are all trained forms of armed and unarmed combat. By the 25th century, ARM agents were kept in an artificially induced state of paranoid schizophrenia to enhance their usefulness as law enforcement officials, which led to them sometimes being referred to as " Schizes ". Agents with natural tendencies toward paranoia were medicated into docility during their off duty hours, through

760-521: The First Man–Kzin War. In addition to winning the war for humanity, it allowed the re-integration of all the human colonies, which were previously separated by distance. Standard (Quantum I) hyperdrive covers a distance of one light-year every three days (121.75  c ). A more advanced Quantum II hyperdrive introduced later is able to cover the same distance in one and a quarter minutes (420,768  c ). In Niven's first novel, World of Ptavvs ,

798-676: The Man-Kzin Wars and the introduction of hyperdrive, presumably as part of a general re-integration of human societies. The Tales of Known Space were first published primarily as short stories or serials in science fiction magazines. Generally the short fiction was subsequently released in one or more collections and the serial novels as books. Some of the shorter novels (novellas) published in magazines were expanded as, or incorporated in, book-length novels. There are also two or three short stories which share common themes and some background elements with Known Space stories, but which are not considered

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836-541: The Man–Kzin Wars as their setting. The first volume was published in 1988. Ringworld (1970) won the annual Nebula, Hugo, and Locus best novel awards. Protector (1973) and The Ringworld Engineers (1980) were nominated for the Hugo and Locus Awards. 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

874-515: 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 also states that this is not an invitation to violate his copyrights, warning potential publishers and editors not to proceed without permission. Niven was also reported to have said that "Known Space should be seen as

912-656: The aforementioned science of psychistry (see Madness Has Its Place and Juggler of Worlds ). 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

950-413: The arm replaced from an organ bank on Earth, the ability persisted. "Plateau Eyes" (introduced in A Gift From Earth ) is an ability on the part of some to hide in plain sight, by causing others not to notice them. Population control is tight on Earth, but these abilities can gain the possessor a license to have more children. The Pierson's Puppeteers engineer a lottery for child licenses on Earth to increase

988-596: The character Halrloprillalar died when in ARM custody after leaving the Ringworld, as a result of having taken boosterspice after having used the Ringworld equivalent. Boosterspice only works on Homo sapiens , whereas the Tree-of-Life compound will work on any hominid descended from the Pak. Faster-than-light (FTL) propulsion, or hyperdrive, was obtained from the Outsiders at the end of

1026-467: The events of The Ringworld Engineers . The stepping disks are an outgrowth and improvement of the transfer booth technology used by humans and other Known Space races. Unlike the booths, the disks do not require an enclosed chamber, and somehow can differentiate between solid masses and air, for example. They also have a far greater range than transfer booths, extending several astronomical units . Several limitations to stepping disks are mentioned in

1064-477: The exception of antimatter (which destroys the hull, as demonstrated in "Flatlander"), gravitation (demonstrated in "Neutron Star"), and visible light (which passes through the hull). While invulnerable themselves, this is no guarantee that the contents are likewise protected. For example, though a high speed impact with the surface of a planet or star may cause no harm to the hull, the occupants will be crushed if they are not protected by additional measures such as

1102-667: The form of edible seeds). In Ringworld's Children , it is suggested boosterspice may actually be adapted from Tree-of-Life , without the symbiotic virus that enabled hominids to metamorphose from Pak Breeder stage to Pak Protector stage (mutated Pak breeders were the ancestors of both Homo sapiens and the hominids of the Ringworld). On the Ringworld , there is an analogous (and apparently more potent) compound developed from Tree-of-Life, but they are mutually incompatible; in The Ringworld Engineers , Louis Wu learns that

1140-462: The hyperdrive used by the Thrintun required a ship to be going faster than 93% of the speed of light. However, this is the only time that hyperdrive is described this way. In the vast majority of Known Space material, hyperdrive requires that a ship be outside a star's gravity well to use. Ships which activate hyperdrive close to a star are likely to disappear without a trace. This effect is regarded as

1178-410: The new organs, allowing transplants to "take" for life. It also enabled the crime of " organlegging " which lasted well into the 24th century. A Slaver stasis field creates a bubble of spacetime disconnected from the entropy gradient of the rest of the universe. Time slows effectively to a stop for an object in stasis, at a ratio of some billions of years outside to a second inside. An object in stasis

Known Space - Misplaced Pages Continue

1216-548: The occurrence of "luck", which they think is a paranormal ability humans have that has enabled them to defeat races such as the Kzinti. In Ringworld , the character Teela Brown is said to have this ability (although possibly not to the same extent as others who avoided being included in the expedition). The ARM is the police force of the United Nations. ARM originated as an acronym for "Amalgamation of Regional Militia", though this

1254-517: The otherwise invulnerable hulls, one which does suggest some potential defense options. The strength of the hulls was revealed to be based on the fact that they were essentially one giant molecule. On Earth in the mid-21st century, it became possible to transplant any organ from any person to another, with the exception of brain and central nervous system tissue. Individuals were categorized according to their so-called " rejection spectrum" which allowed doctors to counter any immune system responses to

1292-556: The outline was published in N-Space in 1990.) Future history Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 108593073 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 08:39:33 GMT Tree-of-Life Too Many Requests If you report this error to

1330-493: The stories of the Man-Kzin Wars volumes fill in that history, bridging the two settings. One aspect of the Known Space universe is that most of the early human colonies are on planets suboptimal for Homo sapiens . During the first phase of human interstellar colonization (i.e. before humanity acquired FTL), simple robotic probes were sent to nearby stars to assess their planets for habitation. The programming of these probes

1368-463: The story, he later wrote that the article was only an elaborate joke, and he never intended to write such a novel. The article itself notes that the outline was made obsolete by the publication of Ringworld . "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 1968 and 1977. (A further edited version of

1406-460: Was a glass cylinder with a rounded top. The machinery that made the magic work was invisible, buried beneath the booth. Coin slots and a telephone dial were set into the glass at sternum level" (from Flash Crowd ). Some individuals in the stories display limited paranormal or "psionic" abilities. Gil Hamilton can move objects with his mind using his phantom arm, which he gained after losing an arm in an asteroid mining accident. When he finally had

1444-498: Was flawed: they sent back a "good for colonization" message if they found a habitable point , rather than a habitable planet . Sleeper ships containing human colonists were sent to the indicated star systems. Too often, those colonists had to make the best of a bad situation. The series features a number of "superscience" inventions which figure as plot devices. Stories earlier in the timeline feature technology such as Bussard ramjets and drouds (wires capable of directly stimulating

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