Re: IFR ticket

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Larry Niven wrote a series of science fiction stories collectively known as
the Ringworld stories. These were in turn part of a larger body of science
fiction that he wrote that could be called the Man - Kzin mythos. A
prominent character in the stories is Teela Brown, the product of hundreds
of generations of interference in human breeding by a mysterious alien race
called the Puppeteers. Basically, the Puppeteers were trying to find out if
luck was hereditary and if it was possible to breed an exceptionally lucky
person. The Puppeteers were so cautious and conservative that their chief
was called the Hindmost, rather than Leader. They chose humans for their
experiments because of humanity's extreme adaptiveness and resilience.

They succeeded beyond their wildest expectations, but they did not
anticipate the consequences of creating such an individual. Whatever
happened in the vicinity of Teela Brown happened for her specific benefit,
often at the expense of everybody around her. Associating with her was a
good way to drastically shorten your life expectancy. At one point, for
example, Teela's life is saved as a weapon intended for her instead beheads
the Hindmost (fortunately he had a spare).

The Puppeteers wanted to use Teela Brown to conduct dangerous missions. In
particular they wanted her to accompany an expedition to an artificially
constructed world called the Ringworld, find out who built it, why they
built it, and why it was abandoned, hoping her aura of luck would protect
the expedition. They hoped in this way to avoid the effects of the entire
galaxy going supernova, an event that the Puppeteers knew about but did not
bother to tell anyone else. It turned out the Ringworld was an ancient human
habitation predating the settlement of Earth, that adult humans were really
just a larval stage for a race called Protectors, and that the
transformation from human to protector could only be accomplished by eating
a plant that was found only on the Ringworld. Teela Brown ends up becoming a
protector stranded on the Ringworld, isolated from the rest of humanity.
Most of the rest of the expedition are either killed or are left to wander
as individuals around the Ringworld, trying to figure out how everything
works. The Hindmost, who planned the whole thing, ends up buried alive,
suspended in a stasis field under tons of rock where he will live for
millennia until he is rescued.

The stories are told from the point of view of one Louis Wu, an extremely
interesting character in his own right. It is Louis who discovers what the
real agenda of the Puppeteers is, figures out what the Protectors are, and
discovers the origins and final destiny of the Ringworld.

"John Clonts" <jclonts@hot.rr.com> wrote in message
news:hQ358.29227$Ar5.1442309@typhoon.austin.rr.com...
|
| "Andrew Gideon" <ag7337@tagonline.com> wrote in message
| news:a32ea7$hrb$3@muffin.int.tagonline.com...
| > In article <3c5475ea$1@news.comindico.com.au>,
| > "geoff and jodie" <geoff_san@hotmail.com> writes:
| > >
| > > If you read the sequel then you might not agree, her luck didn't end
up
| > > having her personal preferences in mind... or do you really want to be
a
| > > dead protector?
| >
| > It was Louis's theory that her luck was outweighed by that of
| > the Nth generation descendents of the other lottery winners.
| > But he might as well have assumed that the entire sequence was
| > constructed by one such descendent and a time machine.
| >
| > In other words, it was not proven; merely speculation of an
| > old man.
| >
| > If Louis hadn't been unrelated to his adopted father, I'd
| > sooner bet that it was Louis who inherited luck from
| > Baewulf (sp?). He was one lucky fellow. But perhaps luck
| > is learned rather than inherited?
| >
| > That works for me; I've a lucky CFII.
| >
| > - Andrew
|
| What in the world are y'all talking about?
|
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|