Inconstant Star
Encyclopedia
Inconstant Star is a science fiction
novel by Poul Anderson
. The stories Iron and Inconstant Star were first published in The Man-Kzin Wars and Man-Kzin Wars III, respectively.
In “Iron”, Saxtorph and the Rover, hired by the wealthy Crashlander
Laurinda Brozik, set out to explore a newly discovered red dwarf
star. When they arrive, they are challenged by a Kzinti warship. Separating the crew onto the shuttles, the Rover is captured and landed on one of the moons. The first shuttle sets on Prima, the first planet, and is held fast by a planet-sized organism that begins dissolving the shuttle. They broadcast for rescue, and are refused help by the Kzin.
Meanwhile, helpless to rescue their friends, Robert, Dorcas, and Laurinda make a plan to steal a tug and escape back to friendly space with the news of the Kzin base. Dorcas pilots the tug, and takes out the ship guarding the ‘’Rover’’. Robert and Laurinda land, fight off a Kzinti shuttle, and recover the Rover. They are able to rescue Juan and Carita, and destroy the base with a guided asteroid.
In “Inconstant Star”, Saxtorph and crew are hired by Tyra Nordbo to redeem her father’s honor, as he was accused of collaboration with the Kzin during their occupation of Wunderland. To do so, they must use notes he had left behind and follow a ship that had left 30 years prior to investigate a concentration of gamma rays. They travel to the coordinates, and find a massive artifact made of an unknown metal. A hole in the spherical artifact is pouring out lethal radiation. As the study it, they learn it is a weapon of the Tnuctip
. It is a shell around a “captured” black hole, one that had been holed by a meteorite and is thus releasing the Hawking radiation
. They then deduce the route of the original Kzin ship, and head off to the Father Sun, the star of the Kzin homeworld. En route, they locate the Sherrek, where Tyra’s father Peter had worked free of his Kzin captors. They rescue him and head back to the artifact. Another Kzin ship, Swordbeak, also finds the old ship. They, too, head to the artifact, and catch the Rover by surprise. Just when all looks lost, Robert and Dorcas conceive a plan to use the artifact's radiation against the Kzin warship. In a last act of defiance, a dying Weoch-Captain activates the artifact’s hyperdrive and heads out into unknown space.
Danger of hostile aliens.
The protagonists win by using their brains and improvising weapons.
, named after R. Buckminster Fuller
.
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 Poul Anderson
Poul Anderson
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
. The stories Iron and Inconstant Star were first published in The Man-Kzin Wars and Man-Kzin Wars III, respectively.
Plot introduction
Robert Saxtorph and his ship ‘’Rover’’ hire out for peaceful missions, yet run into Kzinti at every turn.Explanation of the novel's title
The title is from the tumbling alien artifact that sends out radiation. Due to the tumbling effect, the output can only be seen briefly from a given point in space, looking like a star, but then disappearing as the artifact moves.Plot summary
There are two parts to the novel, Iron, and Inconstant Star.In “Iron”, Saxtorph and the Rover, hired by the wealthy Crashlander
Crashlander
Crashlander is a fix-up by Larry Niven published in 1994 , set in his Known Space universe. It is also a term used in the Known Space universe-Crashlander :...
Laurinda Brozik, set out to explore a newly discovered 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....
star. When they arrive, they are challenged by a Kzinti warship. Separating the crew onto the shuttles, the Rover is captured and landed on one of the moons. The first shuttle sets on Prima, the first planet, and is held fast by a planet-sized organism that begins dissolving the shuttle. They broadcast for rescue, and are refused help by the Kzin.
Meanwhile, helpless to rescue their friends, Robert, Dorcas, and Laurinda make a plan to steal a tug and escape back to friendly space with the news of the Kzin base. Dorcas pilots the tug, and takes out the ship guarding the ‘’Rover’’. Robert and Laurinda land, fight off a Kzinti shuttle, and recover the Rover. They are able to rescue Juan and Carita, and destroy the base with a guided asteroid.
In “Inconstant Star”, Saxtorph and crew are hired by Tyra Nordbo to redeem her father’s honor, as he was accused of collaboration with the Kzin during their occupation of Wunderland. To do so, they must use notes he had left behind and follow a ship that had left 30 years prior to investigate a concentration of gamma rays. They travel to the coordinates, and find a massive artifact made of an unknown metal. A hole in the spherical artifact is pouring out lethal radiation. As the study it, they learn it is a weapon of the Tnuctip
Tnuctip
The 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...
. It is a shell around a “captured” black hole, one that had been holed by a meteorite and is thus releasing the Hawking radiation
Hawking radiation
Hawking radiation is a thermal radiation with a black body spectrum predicted to be emitted by black holes due to quantum effects. It is named after the physicist Stephen Hawking, who provided a theoretical argument for its existence in 1974, and sometimes also after the physicist Jacob Bekenstein...
. They then deduce the route of the original Kzin ship, and head off to the Father Sun, the star of the Kzin homeworld. En route, they locate the Sherrek, where Tyra’s father Peter had worked free of his Kzin captors. They rescue him and head back to the artifact. Another Kzin ship, Swordbeak, also finds the old ship. They, too, head to the artifact, and catch the Rover by surprise. Just when all looks lost, Robert and Dorcas conceive a plan to use the artifact's radiation against the Kzin warship. In a last act of defiance, a dying Weoch-Captain activates the artifact’s hyperdrive and heads out into unknown space.
Characters in "Inconstant Star"
- Robert Saxtorph – Terran. Captain of the Rover. Husband of Dorcas.
- Dorcas Saxtorph – Terran. First Mate of the Rover. Wife of Robert.
- Kamehameha Ryan – Terran (Hawaiian). Crewman on the Rover and logtime friend of the Saxtorphs’.
- Carita Fenger – Crewman on the Rover. JinxianJinx (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...
. - Juan Yoshii – Crewman on the Rover and aspiring poet. BelterBelter (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....
. - Laurinda Broznik – Astronomer who discovered the star in "Iron". CrashlanderCrashlanderCrashlander is a fix-up by Larry Niven published in 1994 , set in his Known Space universe. It is also a term used in the Known Space universe-Crashlander :...
. - Arthur Treginnis – Scientist. Mountaineer of Crew descent (who was a Colonist sympathizer during the revolution).
- Ulf Markham – Commissioner of the Interworld Space Commission and spy for the Kzinti. Wunderlander.
- Tyra NordboTyra NordboTyra Nordbo is a character from the Man-Kzin War series of books, introduced in the stories collected in Inconstant Star. She was a native of Wunderland, daughter of Landholder Peter Nordbo. During the First Man-Kzin War, Peter was pressed into service for the Kzin following their occupation of...
– Hires the Rover in "Incontstant Star". Daughter of Peter Nordbo. - Peter NordboPeter NordboPeter Nordbo is a character from the Man-Kzin War series of books, mainly the stories collected in Inconstant Star. He was an astronomer and noble on Wunderland, and during the First Man-Kzin War, was pressed into service for the Kzin following their occupation of the world...
– Former landholder on Wunderland, amateur astronomer, and slave of the Kzin. - Weoch-Captain – Kzin captain of the Swordbeak.
Major themes
Scientific discovery and exploration in space.Danger of hostile aliens.
The protagonists win by using their brains and improvising weapons.
Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
While trying to retrieve the Rover, Robert falls into a pit filled with buckyballsBuckminsterfullerene
Buckminsterfullerene is a spherical fullerene molecule with the formula . It was first intentionally prepared in 1985 by Harold Kroto, James Heath, Sean O'Brien, Robert Curl and Richard Smalley at Rice University...
, named after R. Buckminster Fuller
Buckminster Fuller
Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller was an American systems theorist, author, designer, inventor, futurist and second president of Mensa International, the high IQ society....
.
Trivia
One mountain in the novel is named Lookitthat, and another planet carries the name WeMadeIt. (see Known Space#Locations)Release details
- 1991, United States, Baen, ISBN 0-671-72031-7, Pub date 1 January 1991, Paperback