The Draco Tavern
Encyclopedia
The Draco Tavern by Larry Niven
is a 2006 collection of science fiction short stories concerning the activities of Rick Schumann, the bartender of the Draco Tavern.
, near the Mount Forel spaceport. The tavern was created after a race of sentient aliens called Chirpsithra who landed on Earth
. They stand 11 feet tall with salmon pink exoskeleton
s. All of them appear to be female. Their equivalent of alcohol's effect on humans is a mild electrical current. They originated on tidally locked planets around red dwarf
suns. Eventually, they had control over every single red dwarf sun in the galaxy, or so they claim. They enjoy the company of other sentient beings, and are extremely intelligent. Units of currency used for Chirp-Human commerce are the 'svith' and trade markers, mentioned in the story Cruel and Unusual.
When they first put their mile-wide bubbleships into orbit around the Moon and landed in Siberia, they brought a host of aliens with a desire to eat, drink and socialize, thus the Draco Tavern was designed to cater to their individual, very diverse, and often conflicting interests.
. The stories included in this anthology are mostly printed in the chronological order in which they were originally published.
"Grammar Lesson"
"Assimilating Our Culture, That's What They're Doing"
"The Schumann Computer"
"The Green Marauder"
"The Real Thing"
"War Movie"
"Limits"
"Table Manners"
"One Night at the Draco Tavern"
"The Heights"
"The Wisdom of Demons"
"Smut Talk"
"Ssoroghod's People"
"The Missing Mass"
"The Convergence of the Old Mind"
"Chrysalis"
"The Death Addict"
"Storm Front"
"The Slow Ones"
"Cruel and Unusual"
"The Ones Who Stay Home"
"Breeding Maze"
"Playhouse"
"Lost"
"Losing Mars"
"Playground Earth"
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
is a 2006 collection of science fiction short stories concerning the activities of Rick Schumann, the bartender of the Draco Tavern.
Fictional background story
The Draco tavern is located in SiberiaSiberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, near the Mount Forel spaceport. The tavern was created after a race of sentient aliens called Chirpsithra who landed on 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...
. They stand 11 feet tall with salmon pink exoskeleton
Exoskeleton
An exoskeleton is the external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal skeleton of, for example, a human. In popular usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as "shells". Examples of exoskeleton animals include insects such as grasshoppers...
s. All of them appear to be female. Their equivalent of alcohol's effect on humans is a mild electrical current. They originated on tidally locked planets around red dwarf
Red dwarf
According to the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, a red dwarf star is a small and relatively cool star, of the main sequence, either late K or M spectral type....
suns. Eventually, they had control over every single red dwarf sun in the galaxy, or so they claim. They enjoy the company of other sentient beings, and are extremely intelligent. Units of currency used for Chirp-Human commerce are the 'svith' and trade markers, mentioned in the story Cruel and Unusual.
When they first put their mile-wide bubbleships into orbit around the Moon and landed in Siberia, they brought a host of aliens with a desire to eat, drink and socialize, thus the Draco Tavern was designed to cater to their individual, very diverse, and often conflicting interests.
Publication information
Several of the Rick Schumann/Draco Tavern short stories which have appeared in other short story collections by Larry Niven were not reprinted in this book, thus it is not a Draco Tavern omnibusOmnibus
Omnibus may refer to:Law* Omnibus bill, a single legislative document containing many laws or amendments* Omnibus spending bill, a single legislative document that sets the budget of many government departments* Omnibus clause* Omnibus hearing...
. The stories included in this anthology are mostly printed in the chronological order in which they were originally published.
Short stories included
"The Subject is Closed""Grammar Lesson"
"Assimilating Our Culture, That's What They're Doing"
"The Schumann Computer"
"The Green Marauder"
"The Real Thing"
"War Movie"
"Limits"
"Table Manners"
"One Night at the Draco Tavern"
"The Heights"
"The Wisdom of Demons"
"Smut Talk"
"Ssoroghod's People"
"The Missing Mass"
"The Convergence of the Old Mind"
"Chrysalis"
"The Death Addict"
"Storm Front"
"The Slow Ones"
"Cruel and Unusual"
"The Ones Who Stay Home"
"Breeding Maze"
"Playhouse"
"Lost"
"Losing Mars"
"Playground Earth"