World of Ptavvs
Encyclopedia
World of Ptavvs is a science fiction
novel by Larry Niven
, first published in 1966 and set in his Known Space
universe. It was Niven's first published novel and is based on a 1965 short story of the same name.
, a member of a telepathic race that once ruled the galaxy
through mind control
.
Eons ago, Kzanol's spaceship had suffered a catastrophic failure; its reactive drive system failed and the navigation computer automatically jettisoned it. Faced with insufficient fuel, Kzanol sent his amplifier helmet to the planet he had just left (Neptune), aimed his ship at an uninhabited Thrint planet (which turns out to be Earth) used to grow yeast for food, and turned his spacesuit's emergency stasis field on to survive the impact. Although he assumed that the resident thrint overseer would be able to rescue him after seeing his ship's impact, his timing could not have been worse; while in stasis on the way to the planet, the slave races revolted against the Thrint. Facing extinction, the Thrint decided to take their enemies with them by constructing a telepathic amplifier powerful enough to command all sentient species in the galaxy to commit suicide. They set it to repeat for centuries and every sentient being in the galaxy perished. After hundreds of millions of years, the yeast food mutated and evolved into complex life on Earth.
After his telepathic encounter with the Thrint, Greenberg is confused by having two sets of memories, his own and Kzanol's. He instinctively assumes he is the Kzanol. Both Greenberg and the real Kzanol steal spaceships and race to reclaim the thought-amplifying machine on Neptune
, which is powerful enough to enable control of every thinking being in the Solar System
. Eventually, Greenberg's personality reasserts itself and, armed with the knowledge of how to resist the Power (one of Kzanol's own memories), Greenberg traps Kzanol again in a stasis field.
A major element of the story is the Cold War
existing between Earth and the "Belters
," which threatens to burst into a highly destructive war over control of the same device.
described World of Ptavvs as "snappy, ingenious, and upbeat," praising Niven for "treat[ing] telepathy as the phenomenon it should logically be."
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel by Larry Niven
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...
, first published in 1966 and set in his Known Space
Known Space
Known Space is the fictional setting of some dozen science fiction novels and several collections of short stories written by author Larry Niven. It has also in part been used as a shared universe in the Man-Kzin Wars spin-off anthologies sub-series....
universe. It was Niven's first published novel and is based on a 1965 short story of the same name.
Plot summary
A reflective statue is found at the bottom of one of Earth's oceans, having lain there for 1.5 billion years. Since humans have recently developed a time-slowing field and found that one such field cannot function within another, it is suspected that the "Sea Statue" is actually a space traveler within one of these time fields. Larry Greenberg, a telepath, agrees to participate in an experiment: a time-slowing field is generated around both Greenberg and the statue, shutting off the stasis field and revealing Kzanol. Kzanol is a living ThrintThrint
The Thrintun , in Larry Niven's fictional Known Space universe, were a long-extinct species which ruled the galaxy through telepathic mind control. Humans knew them as "Slavers", since "Thrint" is unpronouncable to the human larynx...
, a member of a telepathic race that once ruled the galaxy
Galaxy
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...
through mind control
Mind control
Mind control refers to a process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator, often to the detriment of the person being manipulated"...
.
Eons ago, Kzanol's spaceship had suffered a catastrophic failure; its reactive drive system failed and the navigation computer automatically jettisoned it. Faced with insufficient fuel, Kzanol sent his amplifier helmet to the planet he had just left (Neptune), aimed his ship at an uninhabited Thrint planet (which turns out to be Earth) used to grow yeast for food, and turned his spacesuit's emergency stasis field on to survive the impact. Although he assumed that the resident thrint overseer would be able to rescue him after seeing his ship's impact, his timing could not have been worse; while in stasis on the way to the planet, the slave races revolted against the Thrint. Facing extinction, the Thrint decided to take their enemies with them by constructing a telepathic amplifier powerful enough to command all sentient species in the galaxy to commit suicide. They set it to repeat for centuries and every sentient being in the galaxy perished. After hundreds of millions of years, the yeast food mutated and evolved into complex life on Earth.
After his telepathic encounter with the Thrint, Greenberg is confused by having two sets of memories, his own and Kzanol's. He instinctively assumes he is the Kzanol. Both Greenberg and the real Kzanol steal spaceships and race to reclaim the thought-amplifying machine on Neptune
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun in the Solar System. Named for the Roman god of the sea, it is the fourth-largest planet by diameter and the third largest by mass. Neptune is 17 times the mass of Earth and is slightly more massive than its near-twin Uranus, which is 15 times...
, which is powerful enough to enable control of every thinking being in the Solar System
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
. Eventually, Greenberg's personality reasserts itself and, armed with the knowledge of how to resist the Power (one of Kzanol's own memories), Greenberg traps Kzanol again in a stasis field.
A major element of the story is the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
existing between Earth and the "Belters
Belter (Niven)
In Larry Niven's fictional Known Space universe, a Belter refers to a resident of the Asteroid Belt around Sol, sometimes known as the Sol Belt to differentiate it from Alpha Centauri's Serpent Swarm....
," which threatens to burst into a highly destructive war over control of the same device.
Reception
Algis BudrysAlgis Budrys
Algis Budrys was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names "Frank Mason", "Alger Rome", "John A. Sentry", "William Scarff", and "Paul Janvier."-Biography:...
described World of Ptavvs as "snappy, ingenious, and upbeat," praising Niven for "treat[ing] telepathy as the phenomenon it should logically be."
Concepts
- The ThrintThrintThe Thrintun , in Larry Niven's fictional Known Space universe, were a long-extinct species which ruled the galaxy through telepathic mind control. Humans knew them as "Slavers", since "Thrint" is unpronouncable to the human larynx...
un had been mentioned in the earlier Known SpaceKnown SpaceKnown Space is the fictional setting of some dozen science fiction novels and several collections of short stories written by author Larry Niven. It has also in part been used as a shared universe in the Man-Kzin Wars spin-off anthologies sub-series....
story "The HandicappedThe Handicapped"The Handicapped" is a science fiction short story written in 1967 by Larry Niven, set in the Known Space universe. The story introduces the Grogs; the sessile but sentient inhabitants of the planet known as Down.-Plot:...
". World of Ptavvs reveals a number of new aspects to them, including that they were not a particularly intelligent species and only built their empire through the control of more intelligent species.
- A Ptavv is a Thrint who lacks telepathicTelepathyTelepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
powers. Thrintun consider it a matter of great shame to have a Ptavv in their family and usually tattoo them pink and sell them as slaves.
- BandersnatchiBandersnatch (Known Space)The Bandersnatch is a fictional alien species in Larry Niven's Known Space universe. The species is named for Lewis Carroll's Bandersnatch.-Characteristics:...
are enormous intelligent creatures, consisting of one gigantic cell, and resembling a mountain-sized white slug. They were supposedly created as food animals for, and were found delectable by, the Thrint, but were actually spies for their designers, the TnuctipTnuctipThe Tnuctipun are a fictional extinct alien species in Larry Niven's Known Space series.Tnuctipun were small, arboreal pack predators, averaging about 3–4 feet long. Their heads were long and lean, and their eyes opened laterally...
un, a highly intelligent slave species that led the revolt against the Thrintun. Only the Bandersnatchi survived the war, as they were specially designed to be immune to Thrintun mind control. Humans encountered the Bandersnatchi when they colonized the planet JinxJinx (Known Space)Jinx is a fictional world in Larry Niven's Known Space stories.-Description:The world is a satellite of a gas giant named Binary in the Sirius A system, and is home to a human colony. Jinx is six times more massive than Earth, and very dense, with a surface gravity of about 1.78 times Earth gravity...
, and were able to deduce that they were intelligent.
- Larry Greenberg, the protagonist of World of Ptavvs, had volunteered to emigrate with his wife to JinxJinx (Known Space)Jinx is a fictional world in Larry Niven's Known Space stories.-Description:The world is a satellite of a gas giant named Binary in the Sirius A system, and is home to a human colony. Jinx is six times more massive than Earth, and very dense, with a surface gravity of about 1.78 times Earth gravity...
to help the colonists communicate with the Bandersnatchi. By the end of the story he is even more qualified now knowing the Thrint writing system which the Bandersnatch appear to use.