Startide Rising
Encyclopedia
Startide Rising is a 1983 science fiction novel by David Brin
and the second book of six set in his Uplift Universe
(preceded by Sundiver
and followed by The Uplift War
). It earned both Hugo
and Nebula Award
s for Best Novel. It was revised by the author in 1993 to correct errors and omissions from the original edition.
An early work by the now well-known author David Brin, it was extremely well reviewed when it was published, has remained popular, and served as the seed for three more novels which revolved around the crew of the Earthship Streaker
(the Uplift Storm Trilogy). It joins the ranks of double-winners of both the Hugo
and Nebula
awards for best novel along with classic science fiction novels such as Dune
, Neuromancer
, and Ender's Game
. Startide Rising also won the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 1984.
Parts of Startide Rising were published as "The Tides of Kithrup" in the May 1981 issue of Analog. The Tides of Kithrup was an early title of the novel; uncorrected proofs of the novel that still bear that title have become collector's items.
http://www.reocities.com/Area51/Corridor/8611/brin.htm, Terran spaceship
Streaker — crewed by 150 uplifted
dolphins, seven humans, and one uplifted chimpanzee — discovers a derelict
fleet of 50,000 spaceships the size of small moons in a shallow cluster. They appear to belong to the Progenitors, the legendary "first race" which uplifted the other species. The captain's gig
is sent to investigate but is destroyed along with one of the derelict craft — killing 10 crew members. Streaker manages to recover some artifacts
from the destroyed derelict and one well-preserved alien
body. The crew of Streaker uses psi-cast to inform Earth
of their discovery and to send a hologram of the alien.
When Streaker receives a reply, it is in code. Decrypted, it says only: “Go into hiding. Await Orders. Do not reply.” Attempting to comply, Streaker is ambushed at the Morgran transfer point
and pursued by opposing fleets of fanatical
alien races — all of them wanting the cluster co-ordinates
, and all of them desperate to prevent their enemies from getting them.
The novel begins about one month http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/albmont/brin_sr.htm&date=2009-10-25+12:17:11 after the discovery in the cluster as Streaker arrives on the planet Kithrup in an attempt to hide and make repairs. Almost immediately, the aliens begin to arrive — dashing Streakers hopes of hiding, but some time remains for repairs when the alien armadas begin fighting each other.
A Thennanin dreadnought
is damaged during the fighting and crashes into the ocean near Streakers hiding place. The resultant tsunami
strands several crew and causes several of the uplifted dolphins (called NeoFins) to panic and revert to an instinctual, pre-uplifted mental state. Some of the stranded crew encounter pre-sentient natives (called Kiqui).
Meanwhile, on Streaker, several crew members secretly plan a mutiny
and defection while the officers plan to salvage parts from the Thennanin wreck. Streaker cannot be moved for fear of detection and because of the ongoing repairs, and so the salvage team uses undersea transportation to get to the wreck. The salvage team discovers the wreck's hull is mostly undamaged, and the Terrans form a plan to hide Streaker inside the Thennanin dreadnought hull and make their escape. As a bonus, several crew members salvage the Thennanin dreadnought's micro-branch of the galactic library for comparison with the Streakers own copy, as Earth suspects their libraries have been sabotaged, with certain information redacted
by the senior patron races.
The mutinous crew, led by Takkata-Jim, cripple Captain Creideiki. Before he can be caught, Takkata-Jim flees in a shuttle, but the shuttle has been sabotaged by the loyal crew, and he is sent into the middle of the battle over Kithrup with his puny guns set to fire when any ship approaches and his radio disabled. Takkata-Jim draws off the two largest remaining fleets.
In the confusion, Streaker almost escapes without incident hidden in the Thennanin hull, but is confronted by several ships belonging to the Brothers of the Night (Brethren). Streaker is saved when six Thennanin ships, saving one of their "own", drive off the Brethren. Streaker then flees to the transfer point, but before fleeing, sends a mocking transmission to the alien armadas.
The dolphins in the novel speak three languages: Primal, Trinary and Anglic. Primal and Trinary are represented as haiku
-esque poems (two of the human characters quote Yosa Buson
), while Anglic is a hypothetical English-derivative (not to be confused with the actual Anglic family of languages containing modern English
, its ancestors, and its close relatives like Scots
), rendered for the reader as standard English.
The book shifts point of view frequently from character to character, ranging from humans, to dolphins, to a number of the alien races which are trying to destroy, capture, or help the Streaker. This allows the reader to get some idea of how the crew of the Streaker fits within the larger context of Galactic affairs. All of the alien races described in this book are further described and illustrated in the book Contacting Aliens: An Illustrated Guide to David Brin's Uplift Universe.
: "" ("A star wave is rising"), 1994. Danish
: "" ("Star Tide"), 1988. Finnish
: "" ("Nebula fills up"), 1987. French: "" ("Stellar tide"), 1998, 2001. German: "" ("Star Tide"), 1985, 1993, 2000. Italian: "" ("The Tides of Kithrup"), 1985. Korean
: "" ("시간여행 SF 걸작선"), 1995. Polish
: "" ("Star Tide"), 1997. Russian: "" ("Star Tide"), 1995, 1998, 2002. Serbia
: "" ("Startide Rising"), 1988. Spanish: "" ("Star Tide"), 1986. Swedish
: "" ("On the beach of the sea of stars"), 1990.
Cetacean intelligence
David Brin
Glen David Brin, Ph.D. is an American scientist and award-winning author of science fiction. He has received the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards.-Biography:...
and the second book of six set in his Uplift Universe
Uplift Universe
The Uplift Universe is a fictional universe created by science fiction writer David Brin. A central feature in this universe is the process of biological uplift.His books which take place in this universe:* Sundiver...
(preceded by Sundiver
Sundiver
Sundiver is a 1980 science fiction novel by David Brin. It is the first book of his Uplift trilogy, and was followed by the Hugo and Nebula award winning novel Startide Rising in 1983.-Plot summary:...
and followed by The Uplift War
The Uplift War
The Uplift War is a 1987 science fiction novel by David Brin and the third book of six set in his Uplift Universe. It was nominated as the best novel for the 1987 Nebula Award and won the 1988 Hugo and Locus Awards...
). It earned both Hugo
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
and Nebula Award
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
s for Best Novel. It was revised by the author in 1993 to correct errors and omissions from the original edition.
An early work by the now well-known author David Brin, it was extremely well reviewed when it was published, has remained popular, and served as the seed for three more novels which revolved around the crew of the Earthship Streaker
Streaker (David Brin)
Streaker is the name of a fictional starship from David Brin's Uplift Universe. It first appeared in Startide Rising, that tells what happens when Streaker tries to hide from the extraterrestrials in the Ocean of Kithrup...
(the Uplift Storm Trilogy). It joins the ranks of double-winners of both the Hugo
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
and Nebula
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
awards for best novel along with classic science fiction novels such as Dune
Dune (novel)
Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert, published in 1965. It won the Hugo Award in 1966, and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel...
, Neuromancer
Neuromancer
Neuromancer is a 1984 novel by William Gibson, a seminal work in the cyberpunk genre and the first winner of the science-fiction "triple crown" — the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. It was Gibson's debut novel and the beginning of the Sprawl trilogy...
, and Ender's Game
Ender's Game
Ender's Game is a science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. The book originated as the short story "Ender's Game", published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Elaborating on characters and plot lines depicted in the novel, Card later wrote additional...
. Startide Rising also won the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 1984.
Parts of Startide Rising were published as "The Tides of Kithrup" in the May 1981 issue of Analog. The Tides of Kithrup was an early title of the novel; uncorrected proofs of the novel that still bear that title have become collector's items.
Plot summary
In the year 2489 C.E.Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
http://www.reocities.com/Area51/Corridor/8611/brin.htm, Terran spaceship
Starship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
Streaker — crewed by 150 uplifted
Biological uplift
In science fiction, uplift is the development or transformation of animals into an intelligent race by other, already-intelligent beings. The concept appears in David Brin's Uplift series and other science fiction works.-History of the concept:...
dolphins, seven humans, and one uplifted chimpanzee — discovers a derelict
Abandonment
The term abandonment has a multitude of uses, legal and extra-legal. This "signpost article" provides a guide to the various legal and quasi-legal uses of the word and includes links to articles that deal with each of the distinct concepts at greater length...
fleet of 50,000 spaceships the size of small moons in a shallow cluster. They appear to belong to the Progenitors, the legendary "first race" which uplifted the other species. The captain's gig
Captain's Gig
The captain's gig is a boat used on naval ships as the captain's private taxi. It is a catchall phrase for this type of craft and over the years it has gradually increased in size, changed with the advent of new technologies for locomotion, and been crafted from increasingly more durable...
is sent to investigate but is destroyed along with one of the derelict craft — killing 10 crew members. Streaker manages to recover some artifacts
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
from the destroyed derelict and one well-preserved alien
Extraterrestrial life in popular culture
In popular cultures, "extraterrestrials" are life forms — especially intelligent life forms— that are of extraterrestrial origin .-Historical ideas:-Pre-modern:...
body. The crew of Streaker uses psi-cast to inform Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
of their discovery and to send a hologram of the alien.
When Streaker receives a reply, it is in code. Decrypted, it says only: “Go into hiding. Await Orders. Do not reply.” Attempting to comply, Streaker is ambushed at the Morgran transfer point
Hyperspace (science fiction)
Hyperspace is a plot device sometimes used in science fiction. It is typically described as an alternative region of space co-existing with our own universe which may be entered using an energy field or other device...
and pursued by opposing fleets of fanatical
Religious fanaticism
Religious fanaticism is fanaticism related to a person's, or a group's, devotion to a religion. However, religious fanaticism is a subjective evaluation defined by the culture context that is performing the evaluation. What constitutes fanaticism in another's behavior or belief is determined by the...
alien races — all of them wanting the cluster co-ordinates
Celestial coordinate system
In astronomy, a celestial coordinate system is a coordinate system for mapping positions on the celestial sphere.There are different celestial coordinate systems each using a system of spherical coordinates projected on the celestial sphere, in analogy to the geographic coordinate system used on...
, and all of them desperate to prevent their enemies from getting them.
The novel begins about one month http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/albmont/brin_sr.htm&date=2009-10-25+12:17:11 after the discovery in the cluster as Streaker arrives on the planet Kithrup in an attempt to hide and make repairs. Almost immediately, the aliens begin to arrive — dashing Streakers hopes of hiding, but some time remains for repairs when the alien armadas begin fighting each other.
A Thennanin dreadnought
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
is damaged during the fighting and crashes into the ocean near Streakers hiding place. The resultant tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
strands several crew and causes several of the uplifted dolphins (called NeoFins) to panic and revert to an instinctual, pre-uplifted mental state. Some of the stranded crew encounter pre-sentient natives (called Kiqui).
Meanwhile, on Streaker, several crew members secretly plan a mutiny
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
and defection while the officers plan to salvage parts from the Thennanin wreck. Streaker cannot be moved for fear of detection and because of the ongoing repairs, and so the salvage team uses undersea transportation to get to the wreck. The salvage team discovers the wreck's hull is mostly undamaged, and the Terrans form a plan to hide Streaker inside the Thennanin dreadnought hull and make their escape. As a bonus, several crew members salvage the Thennanin dreadnought's micro-branch of the galactic library for comparison with the Streakers own copy, as Earth suspects their libraries have been sabotaged, with certain information redacted
Sanitization (classified information)
Sanitization is the process of removing sensitive information from a document or other medium, so that it may be distributed to a broader audience. When dealing with classified information, sanitization attempts to reduce the document's classification level, possibly yielding an unclassified...
by the senior patron races.
The mutinous crew, led by Takkata-Jim, cripple Captain Creideiki. Before he can be caught, Takkata-Jim flees in a shuttle, but the shuttle has been sabotaged by the loyal crew, and he is sent into the middle of the battle over Kithrup with his puny guns set to fire when any ship approaches and his radio disabled. Takkata-Jim draws off the two largest remaining fleets.
In the confusion, Streaker almost escapes without incident hidden in the Thennanin hull, but is confronted by several ships belonging to the Brothers of the Night (Brethren). Streaker is saved when six Thennanin ships, saving one of their "own", drive off the Brethren. Streaker then flees to the transfer point, but before fleeing, sends a mocking transmission to the alien armadas.
The dolphins in the novel speak three languages: Primal, Trinary and Anglic. Primal and Trinary are represented as haiku
Haiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
-esque poems (two of the human characters quote Yosa Buson
Yosa Buson
was a Japanese poet and painter from the Edo period. Along with Matsuo Bashō and Kobayashi Issa, Buson is considered among the greatest poets of the Edo Period. Buson was born in the village of Kema in Settsu Province...
), while Anglic is a hypothetical English-derivative (not to be confused with the actual Anglic family of languages containing modern English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, its ancestors, and its close relatives like Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
), rendered for the reader as standard English.
The book shifts point of view frequently from character to character, ranging from humans, to dolphins, to a number of the alien races which are trying to destroy, capture, or help the Streaker. This allows the reader to get some idea of how the crew of the Streaker fits within the larger context of Galactic affairs. All of the alien races described in this book are further described and illustrated in the book Contacting Aliens: An Illustrated Guide to David Brin's Uplift Universe.
Film version
A screenplay, written by Trevor Sands and based on the book, was in development at Mace Neufeld Productions. Its title is also Startide Rising. However, according to Trevor Sands, the option expired and the screenplay has been tabled.Translations
Chinese: 星潮汹涌, 1998; 星潮闪电, 2001 BulgarianBulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
: "" ("A star wave is rising"), 1994. Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
: "" ("Star Tide"), 1988. Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
: "" ("Nebula fills up"), 1987. French: "" ("Stellar tide"), 1998, 2001. German: "" ("Star Tide"), 1985, 1993, 2000. Italian: "" ("The Tides of Kithrup"), 1985. Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
: "" ("시간여행 SF 걸작선"), 1995. Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
: "" ("Star Tide"), 1997. Russian: "" ("Star Tide"), 1995, 1998, 2002. Serbia
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
: "" ("Startide Rising"), 1988. Spanish: "" ("Star Tide"), 1986. Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
: "" ("On the beach of the sea of stars"), 1990.
See also
- AkeakamaiAkeakamaiAkeakamai was a female Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, who along with a companion female dolphin named Phoenix, as well as tankmates Elele and Hiapo, were the subjects of Louis Herman's animal language studies at the Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Laboratory in Honolulu, Hawaii...
– the real-life dolphin from Louis Herman'sLouis HermanLouis Herman is a researcher of dolphin sensory abilities, dolphin cognition, and humpback whales. He is currently professor in the Department of Psychology and a cooperating faculty member of the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawaii at Manoa...
animal languageAnimal languageAnimal language is the modeling of human language in non human animal systems. While the term is widely used, researchers agree that animal languages are not as complex or expressive as human language....
research, after whom a neo-dolphin member of the
Cetacean intelligence
Cetacean intelligence denotes the cognitive capabilities of the Cetacea order of mammals, which includes whales, porpoises, and dolphins.-Brain size:...
External links
- Startide Rising at Worlds Without End