Tnuctip
Encyclopedia
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. They were highly intelligent (average IQ estimated around 130–140, according to the short story "In the Hall of the Mountain King") and social. As befits their carnivorous nature, they were also ruthless, aggressive, and cunning. Their word for alien most closely translates to "food that talks". Two billion years before human
s evolved, the galaxy was ruled by the Thrint
un, who telepathically
enslaved other species, including the Tnuctipun.
The Tnuctipun invented most of the technologies from that era, including stage trees (trees containing solid rocket fuel in their trunks, originally used as cheap rocket boosters, now evolved to seed themselves across star systems), sunflowers (flowers with integral parabolic mirrors that can focus sunlight to deadly effect), and stasis fields (a time dilation device). They were also known to have direct conversion of mass to energy and a telepathy shield (these two technologies are lost by the time most Niven stories take place). In order to think creatively, the Thrintun allowed the Tnuctipun some freedom. The Tnuctipun used that freedom to stage a rebellion against their masters, the culmination of a carefully thought out, centuries-long plan.
The true nature of some of their inventions became clear: Bandersnatchi, thought to be non-sentient
livestock
, were in fact intelligent, created as spies immune to telepathy. Sunflowers turned against their masters and burned Thrint homes to the ground. Other Tnuctip inventions were designed to shape Thrint society to weaken it. Sunflowers encouraged a trend for the slavers to live in isolated manors, surrounded by slaves. Mutated racing viprin (fast-running creatures raced for entertainment and gambling) ruined the existing viprin herding business, which along with other similar inventions led to an economic depression prior to the Tnuctip revolt.
The war escalated until the Thrintun, rather than accept defeat, employed a device that amplified the sphere of influence of a Thrint's mind control to encompass the entire galaxy. And they gave a simple command: Die. And everything in the galaxy that had evolved a backbone
perished, including any Thrintun not protected by a stasis field. This course of events is alluded to in the novel World of Ptavvs
and a still functioning suicide amplifier itself is discovered in the short story "Peter Robinson" by Hal Colebach, at which point it is destroyed.
Several other Tnuctip inventions are inadvertently discovered in the various known space novels, including a prototype hyperspace shunt, discovered during the first Man-Kzin War
(in the novelette Inconstant Star
by Poul Anderson
). The Kzin
ti lose the war before they can bring news of it home, and the device itself is lost.
A recent Man-Kzin Wars short story - "Teacher's Pet" by Matthew Joseph Harrington, in Man-Kzin Wars XI - claimed that the Tnuctipun are responsible for creating the Pak Protectors. As with most Man-Kzin Wars material, its canonicity has not been confirmed by 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...
's 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....
series.
Tnuctipun were small, arboreal pack predators, averaging about 3–4 feet long. Their heads were long and lean, and their eyes opened laterally. They were highly intelligent (average IQ estimated around 130–140, according to the short story "In the Hall of the Mountain King") and social. As befits their carnivorous nature, they were also ruthless, aggressive, and cunning. Their word for alien most closely translates to "food that talks". Two billion years before human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s evolved, the galaxy was ruled by the Thrint
Thrint
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...
un, who telepathically
Telepathy
Telepathy , 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...
enslaved other species, including the Tnuctipun.
The Tnuctipun invented most of the technologies from that era, including stage trees (trees containing solid rocket fuel in their trunks, originally used as cheap rocket boosters, now evolved to seed themselves across star systems), sunflowers (flowers with integral parabolic mirrors that can focus sunlight to deadly effect), and stasis fields (a time dilation device). They were also known to have direct conversion of mass to energy and a telepathy shield (these two technologies are lost by the time most Niven stories take place). In order to think creatively, the Thrintun allowed the Tnuctipun some freedom. The Tnuctipun used that freedom to stage a rebellion against their masters, the culmination of a carefully thought out, centuries-long plan.
The true nature of some of their inventions became clear: Bandersnatchi, thought to be non-sentient
Sentience
Sentience is the ability to feel, perceive or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences. Eighteenth century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think from the ability to feel . In modern western philosophy, sentience is the ability to have sensations or experiences...
livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
, were in fact intelligent, created as spies immune to telepathy. Sunflowers turned against their masters and burned Thrint homes to the ground. Other Tnuctip inventions were designed to shape Thrint society to weaken it. Sunflowers encouraged a trend for the slavers to live in isolated manors, surrounded by slaves. Mutated racing viprin (fast-running creatures raced for entertainment and gambling) ruined the existing viprin herding business, which along with other similar inventions led to an economic depression prior to the Tnuctip revolt.
The war escalated until the Thrintun, rather than accept defeat, employed a device that amplified the sphere of influence of a Thrint's mind control to encompass the entire galaxy. And they gave a simple command: Die. And everything in the galaxy that had evolved a backbone
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
perished, including any Thrintun not protected by a stasis field. This course of events is alluded to in the novel World of Ptavvs
World of Ptavvs
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.-Plot summary:...
and a still functioning suicide amplifier itself is discovered in the short story "Peter Robinson" by Hal Colebach, at which point it is destroyed.
Several other Tnuctip inventions are inadvertently discovered in the various known space novels, including a prototype hyperspace shunt, discovered during the first Man-Kzin War
Man-Kzin Wars
The Man-Kzin Wars is a series of military science fiction short story collections , as well as the eponymous conflicts between mankind and the Kzinti that they detail...
(in the novelette Inconstant Star
Inconstant Star
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.-Plot introduction:...
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 Kzin
Kzin
The Kzinti are a fictional, very warlike and bloodthirsty race of cat-like aliens in Larry Niven's Known Space series....
ti lose the war before they can bring news of it home, and the device itself is lost.
A recent Man-Kzin Wars short story - "Teacher's Pet" by Matthew Joseph Harrington, in Man-Kzin Wars XI - claimed that the Tnuctipun are responsible for creating the Pak Protectors. As with most Man-Kzin Wars material, its canonicity has not been confirmed by Niven.