Misplaced Pages

#180819

52-588: (Redirected from Mac Arthur ) MacArthur or Macarthur may refer to: Arts and media [ edit ] INSS MacArthur , a fictional starship featured in the science fiction novel The Mote in God's Eye MacArthur (1977 film) , a movie biography of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur MacArthur (1999 film) , a two-part television documentary film about Douglas MacArthur Macarthur (novel) ,

104-473: A de facto planetary government , and later, an interstellar empire. Despite this, no other nations on Earth are given representation or membership. Other major powers become mere client states . It is governed by a "Grand Senate", which is composed of Senators chosen from the two superpowers. A CoDominium Council exists and appears to function as a judicial branch . The CD did not unify the United States and

156-459: A "Fyunch(click)", a Mediator who studies their human subject and tries to learn how to think like them. Back on MacArthur , the Watchmakers escape, and although it is assumed they have died, they have actually been breeding furiously out of sight. Undetected by the crew, they modify parts of MacArthur to suit their needs. When they are discovered, a battle for control of the ship erupts. The crew

208-617: A brown and white furred creature, is found dead. After much debate, MacArthur and the battleship Lenin are sent to the star from which the alien ship came, the Mote. MacArthur carries civilian researchers to make first contact with the aliens, quickly nicknamed "Moties". Admiral Kutuzov, aboard Lenin , has strict orders to avoid all contact with the aliens and ensure that human technology does not fall into their hands. The Moties seem friendly and have advanced technology that they are willing to trade, much to Bury's delight. Although they also possess

260-595: A former military base in Los Angeles, US Long Island MacArthur Airport , Suffolk County, New York, US MacArthur Center , shopping mall in Norfolk, Virginia, US MacArthur Foundation , private, independent grantmaking institution MacArthur Fellows Program , fellowship/grant awarded by the MacArthur Foundation MacArthur Freeway , segment of Interstate 580 Macarthur railway station ,

312-417: A mistake, allowing the "political officer" aboard the ship to snatch away the bomb, but the crew who are sick of the revolt overpower the officer. This preys on his mind during the events of the main novel. The rebel ship is taken as a prize, renamed Defiant , and commanded by Blaine during the final battle. "Motelight" was also originally written as part of the novel, but was never published except as part of

364-472: A novel by Bob Ong People [ edit ] Clan Arthur (also known as Clan MacArthur), a Scottish clan MacArthur (surname) , people with the surname MacArthur, including: Douglas MacArthur , a U.S. General of the Army Places [ edit ] Australia [ edit ] Macarthur, Australian Capital Territory , a suburb of Canberra, ACT, Australia Macarthur, New South Wales ,

416-404: A planet to prevent rebellion. In the year 3017, humanity is slowly recovering from an interstellar civil war that tore apart the first Empire of Man. The Second Empire is busy establishing control over the remnants left by its predecessor, by force if necessary. The Alderson Drive enables ships to travel instantaneously between " Alderson points " in specific star systems. After a rebellion on

468-929: A region of south-western Sydney, NSW, Australia Macarthur, Victoria , a town in the Western District of the state of Victoria, Australia Other countries [ edit ] MacArthur, Leyte , a municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines MacArthur, West Virginia , a census-designated place in the state of West Virginia, U.S. Sport [ edit ] Macarthur Rams FC , an Australian semi-professional football club based in Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia Macarthur FC , an Australian professional football club based in South Western Sydney, New South Wales Other uses [ edit ] Division of Macarthur , an electoral division in regional New South Wales, Australia Fort MacArthur ,

520-438: A result of cultural and environmental pressures which have shaped their own personal prejudices." Portsmouth Times reviewer Terry McLaughlin found the novel "a superior tale, told without the pseudo-psychology background that seems to mar many a new science fiction novel." Brian W. Aldiss and David Wingrove reported that while the imagined aliens were "fascinating creations", the "style and characterization [emphasize]

572-630: A result. The elite, more technologically advanced colonies are ones settled and supported by the Earth countries. These elite worlds have their own fleets and enjoy some independence from the CD. These are apparently systems that retained enough technology after the Secession Wars to present a threat to the Second Empire, by resisting takeover and mounting raids against Empire systems. The presence or threat of Outies

SECTION 10

#1733085049181

624-556: A revitalized Soviet Union . This union, achieved in the name of planetary stability, reigns over the Earth for over a hundred years. In that time, it achieves peace of a sort, as well as interstellar colonization , but at the price of a complete halt in both scientific and political evolution. The CoDominium (CD) is a supranational alliance of the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. This alliance eventually becomes

676-517: A song based on the Los Angeles park Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title MacArthur . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MacArthur&oldid=1256563661 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

728-574: A sparsely populated area of Mote Prime. There the midshipmen find a fortified museum. It provides evidence of a very long and violent history, though the Moties had carefully portrayed themselves as completely peaceful. Following this discovery, the midshipmen are tracked down by Whitbread's Mediator Fyunch(click), who reveals that Moties (other than the short-lived, sterile Mediators) must become pregnant periodically or die. This inevitably results in overpopulation ... and civilization-ending wars. The Masters, whom

780-489: A symmetrical arrangement. Moties alternate between sexes as part of their reproductive cycle, except for Mediators who cannot reproduce and have shorter lives. Masters may become sterile males with hormone treatment, at which point they can become Keepers, who preserve resources considered too essential to be fought over. The Moties frequently refer to the mythical character they call "Crazy Eddie" when talking to humans. There are many Crazy Eddie stories, but all revolve around

832-564: A train station in Macarthur, NSW, Australia UWS Macarthur , a former campus of Western Sydney University See also [ edit ] General MacArthur, Eastern Samar , a municipality in the Philippines John D. MacArthur Beach State Park , West Palm Beach, Florida McArthur (disambiguation) MacArthur Boulevard (disambiguation) , multiple uses MacArthur Park , western Los Angeles, California "MacArthur Park" (song) ,

884-515: Is Lady Sandra "Sally" Bright Fowler, the niece of an Imperial senator and a traumatized former prisoner of the rebels. New Caledonia is the capital of the Trans-Coalsack sector, on the opposite side of the Coalsack Nebula from Earth. Also in the sector is a red supergiant star known as Murcheson's Eye. Associated with it is a yellow Sun-like star, which from New Caledonia appears in front of

936-436: Is a way to change this, and any Motie who comes to believe a solution is possible is labeled a "Crazy Eddie" and deemed insane. The current civilization is governed by a type of industrial feudalism , with coalitions of Masters in control of the planet. One faction, led by "King Peter", wanted to reveal the truth to the humans, but was overruled. Colonization of other planets would inexorably bring about conflict with humans, as

988-436: Is an "Engineer", possessing amazing technical abilities, but limited speech and free will. It brings along a pair of tiny "Watchmakers" as helpers. Some days later, a delegation of "Mediators" (like the dead pilot of the probe ship) arrive. Their specialty is communication and negotiation. The Mediators invite the humans to send a party to Mote Prime. After some debate, the invitation is accepted. Each person in this group acquires

1040-515: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages INSS MacArthur The Mote in God's Eye (originally titled Motelight ) is set in Pournelle's CoDominium universe, where a union of the United States and the Soviet Union produced a world government and a number of colonies in other star systems, followed by nuclear war on Earth and the rise of

1092-466: Is divided into several ministries, including External Affairs, War, and Science. Some planets are governed by an aristocracy , although at least one member world is a republic. For the most part, the stars with inhabitable planets in the CoDominium are obscure and unnamed on current star charts. For instance, the world of New Washington and its sister planet Franklin orbit a red dwarf at some distance from

SECTION 20

#1733085049181

1144-527: Is eventually forced to abandon ship after suffering casualties. The party on Mote Prime is quickly recalled without explanation and told to rendezvous with Lenin . Once MacArthur is evacuated, Lenin fires on and destroys her to prevent the potential capture of human technology. During the evacuation, MacArthur midshipmen Staley, Whitbread and Potter are cut off and forced to escape in Watchmaker-modified lifeboats. The lifeboats automatically land in

1196-618: Is mentioned in all the Second Empire stories as a reason for the Imperial Navy having to deal with events in the most expeditious way possible, rather than allowing time to achieve ideal solutions. Pournelle's daughter, Jennifer R. Pournelle, has drawn on these themes, writing Outies , an authorized sequel to King David's Spaceship , The Mote in God's Eye , and The Gripping Hand , that attempts to marry hard science fiction with social science fiction as it explores what it means to be an "alien" in this Empire, and to what degree biology

1248-906: Is the asymmetric arrangement of arms, with two dexterous right arms and one heavily muscled left arm whose musculature attaches to the head, so that Moties have no left ear to match the large, membrane-like right ear. The backbone is jointed rather than flexible and the entire upper body swivels to turn the head. The face is simple and incapable of expression. Gestures replace facial expression. Masters have all-white fur, described as silky. Engineers have brown fur, while Mediators, bred of Masters and Engineers, have patchy fur in brown and white and are sterile. Siblings tend to have identical patterns of patches. Masters are obeyed by all other Motie subspecies, though Mediators have some independence to negotiate between Masters. Other Motie subspecies include Warriors, Doctors with extra dexterity, and semi-sentient Farmers who raise crops. Watchmakers are small and have four arms in

1300-453: The "Church of Him", which was founded when the Mote became intensely bright and was regarded as part of the Face of God, is shown in decline, its founder having committed suicide when the light from the Mote went out. The Second Empire sees its mission as uniting humanity into one government to prevent war. But in service of this mission, the empire is capable of extreme brutality; it has sterilized

1352-550: The Alderson Drive, none of their ships have ever returned. This is because, unknown to the Moties, the Mote's only Alderson exit point lies within the outer layers of the star Murcheson's Eye. Human warships can survive there for a limited time because of their protective Langston Fields , which the Moties do not have. The Moties are an old species, native to a planet that the humans label Mote Prime, that has evolved into many specialized subspecies. The first taken aboard MacArthur

1404-567: The CD becomes a de facto planetary government and later an interstellar empire, though it halts scientific and political evolution. The U.S. during the CD era is a welfare state with distinct social classes: Citizens and Taxpayers. The empire is organized by sectors, ruled by a Viceroy, and governed by various ministries. Colonies in the CoDominium are established on habitable planets, founded by various groups such as ethnic minorities, religious groups, and businesses. Elite colonies have advanced technology and fleets, allowing them some independence from

1456-538: The CD. The Outies, systems that retained enough technology to pose a threat, serve as a constant challenge for the Imperial Navy. Jennifer R. Pournelle's novel Outies is a sequel that explores themes of alienation and the impact of biology on destiny. The point of departure of Pournelle's history is the establishment of the CoDominium (CD), a political alliance and later union between the United States of America and

1508-569: The CoDominium era, instantaneous interstellar travel as a result of the Alderson Drive gave humanity the ability to explore, colonize, and exploit various star systems. As a result, many of the space settlements are on planets that are similar to Earth. At the very least, a colony world was barely inhabitable for human life without technological support. Many colonies were founded by ethnic minorities, religious groups, or political groups. Some are started by businesses, for commercial reasons. Most lack an industrial base and have little advanced technology as

1560-519: The Eye. Since some see the Eye and the Coalsack as the face of God, the yellow star is known as the Mote in God's Eye. Approaching New Caledonia, MacArthur is ordered to investigate when an alien spacecraft, propelled by a solar sail , is detected. After the spacecraft fires upon MacArthur , Blaine has its main capsule detached from the sail and taken aboard at great risk to his ship and crew. Its sole occupant,

1612-486: The First Empire based on the planet Sparta several centuries before the events of the novel. There is a reference to these events in Pournelle's novel King David's Spaceship . Many, but not all, humans are part of the Second Empire, held together by an interstellar navy modeled on 19th century British lines, with all-male crews, a highly competent officer corps grown from midshipmen recruited in their teens and trained on

MacArthur - Misplaced Pages Continue

1664-582: The Langston Fields protecting their cities from bombardment, until one day the field fails and they see the Coal Sack with a glowing green Eye. The story also mentions "Howard Grote Littlemead", who believes that the bright Mote is really the Eye of God, and founds the Church of Him. It is in one of the churches that Potter shows Renner and Staley a holographic picture of the Coal Sack showing the intense green glow of

1716-476: The Masters would never submit. However, a Mediator comes up with a third option: a blockade of the system's only Alderson exit point. This plan is adopted, over the strenuous opposition of Bury, who views the Moties as the greatest threat humanity has ever faced. Moties are described as bipeds, about 1.3 meters (4 ft 3 in) tall, covered with fur whose color depends on the subspecies. Their most obvious feature

1768-501: The Mediators obey, have also concealed the existence of one Motie subspecies from the humans: Warriors more deadly than any human, even Sauron supersoldiers . The museums exist to help restore civilization after a collapse. The "Cycles" of civilization, war, and collapse have gone on for hundreds of thousands of years, leaving the Moties fatalistically resigned to their destiny. Only a mythical character called "Crazy Eddie" believes there

1820-514: The Meiji colony. Viewed from Earth, 82 Eridani is a star of the fourth magnitude at 20 light-years distance. Beyond 50 light-years such stars are below sixth magnitude and therefore invisible to the naked eye, so they are unnamed and largely unrecorded, except in astronomical sky surveys. These are the stars likely to host colonies of the CoDominium. There is no mention in the canon of closer candidate systems such as Tau Ceti and Epsilon Indi . During

1872-525: The Mote. Larry Niven also wrote a poem, "In Memoriam: Howard Grote Littlemead", that was published much later. CoDominium CoDominium is a series of future history novels written by American writer Jerry Pournelle , along with several co-authors, primarily Larry Niven . The CoDominium (CD) is a political alliance and union between the United States and the Soviet Union in Pournelle's fictional history. Formed to maintain planetary stability,

1924-480: The Solar System. Such stars are very common in the galaxy but even the closest ones are too dim to observe without equipment, Proxima Centauri being the obvious example. Other habitable systems in the CoDominium have stars in the stellar classes F, G and K, which are common but dim compared to the named stars in the night sky. One of the few stars explicitly named in the CoDominium stories is 82 Eridani , containing

1976-711: The USSR, who appear to retain their separate identities and mutual distrust. The CD was only created for the shared benefit of the two member states. It does not govern either nation, and each state has been allowed to retain their government structures, nationalities, military forces, and to run their own internal affairs. The United States of the CoDominium Era is a welfare state divided into two social classes: Citizens and Taxpayers. "Citizens" are welfare dependents who are required to live in walled sections of cities called "Welfare Islands." People are given whatever they need, including

2028-465: The authors extensive advice on a draft manuscript, described it as "a very important novel, possibly the best contact-with-aliens story ever written". Theodore Sturgeon , writing in Galaxy , described The Mote in God's Eye as "one of the most engrossing tales I have encountered in years", stating that "the overall pace of the book [and] the sheer solid story of it" excuse whatever flaws might remain, with

2080-533: The battle for New Chicago, told from the rebels' point of view. MacArthur , with Captain Cziller in command and Blaine as executive officer, engages and defeats a rebel ship, but because of the technology, particularly the Langston Field, the ship is still deadly and surrender is a complex matter. Midshipman Horst Staley is sent to board and disable the ship while carrying a suicide bomb to prevent interference. He makes

2132-409: The drugs like Borloi to keep them pacified. There are no limits to welfare if they want it, except that they must live on a Welfare Island. Although people are free to gain an education and work or become a colonist, many citizens did not, preferring to live their whole lives supported by the government. Generally, citizens are uneducated and illiterate. Some BuReLoc involuntary colonists are Citizens. By

MacArthur - Misplaced Pages Continue

2184-526: The inevitability of repeated cycles of collapse of Motie civilization and the pointlessness of trying to prevent them. The drive that humans call the Alderson Drive, which allows human ships to travel between star systems, is called by Moties the Crazy Eddie Drive, because although it is founded in sound science and has been reinvented many times by Motie civilizations, ships that attempt to use it disappear and are never seen again. The Moties do not know that

2236-419: The inevitable Motie population explosion would force them to seek to take over human worlds. Nonetheless, the more powerful coalition sees this temporary solution as preferable to the impending collapse. Both factions send Warriors after the midshipmen, one to capture them, the other to rescue them. The stronger group's Warriors trap the midshipmen, but the trio refuse to surrender and die as a result. Unaware of

2288-426: The job, and well-armed, well-organized Marines to carry out ground missions. Those who prove themselves worthy can be promoted into the aristocracy. The aristocrats themselves tend more towards duty than privilege. The Empire is predominantly Christian, but other religions are more or less tolerated. The people of the planet Dayan are Jewish, while Horace Bury is a Muslim business magnate from Levant. An upstart religion,

2340-530: The late CD era, the Welfare Islands were three generations old. "Taxpayers" are the working, educated, and privileged middle to the upper class. They carry identification cards to separate them from Citizens. The Empire is organized by sectors, ruled by a Viceroy who serves as a representative of the Crown. Each sector has its own Council, headed by a Lord President, and its own Parliament. The Imperial government

2392-459: The midshipmen's fate, Lenin leaves the Mote system, taking with it three ambassadors, a sterile Master and two Mediators, whose mission is to open the galaxy to their species while concealing their terrible secrets. An Imperial Commission is on the verge of granting colonies to the Moties, but MacArthur Sailing Master/Lieutenant Kevin Renner figures out the truth just in time. It is the passengers on

2444-407: The non-fiction piece "Building 'The Mote in God's Eye'" that appeared in Pournelle's collection "A Step Farther Out". It describes how two astronomers on the planet New Scotland try to continue their work during the war with neighboring New Ireland, and are thus the first to see the sudden brightening of the Mote due to the laser launch system being activated. The rest of the population are hiding under

2496-498: The one complaint being that he found it unlikely the Moties would not have used genetic engineering at some point to curb their population growth. Don Hawthorne , one of the creators of the related "War World Series" and creator of the Saurons in those books, has stated, "This, of course, is the 'beam' in the Moties' own 'eye'; their inability to see a solution to their problem because of a lack of objective understanding of their situation,

2548-401: The original probe, deliberately ejected into space, that give the game away. Not only is there a Warrior among the group, but several are visibly pregnant, demolishing any argument about them being statues or religious icons. The decision is made to gather a battle fleet to either disarm or try to annihilate the Moties. The ambassadors are faced with the extinction of their species, knowing that

2600-558: The planet New Chicago is quashed, Captain Bruno Cziller of the Imperial battlecruiser INSS MacArthur remains behind as Chief of Staff to the new governor, while Commander Roderick Blaine is given temporary command of the ship, along with secret orders to take Horace Hussein Bury, a powerful interstellar merchant suspected of instigating the revolt, to the Imperial capital, Sparta. Another passenger

2652-652: The ships they send appear inside the hot photosphere of Murcheson's Eye. Human ships are protected by the energy-absorbing Langston Field. The point in space where the Alderson Drive operates is known to the Moties as the Crazy Eddie Point. This is the title of the second part of the novel. The other parts are titled "The Crazy Eddie Probe", "Meet Crazy Eddie", and "Crazy Eddie's Answer". From the Moties point of view, humans are Crazy Eddie. Several Moties, including Rod Blaine's Fyunch(click), become Crazy Eddie after exposure to human attitudes. Robert A. Heinlein , while giving

SECTION 50

#1733085049181

2704-444: The weaknesses of both Niven and Pournelle." Pournelle and Niven followed up with the sequel The Gripping Hand and in 2010 Pournelle's daughter, Jennifer, published an authorized sequel entitled Outies . 60,000 words were cut from the novel before publication. The short story "Reflex" was instead published in 1983 in the first There Will Be War collection, edited by Pournelle and John F. Carr . It details an early phase of

#180819