Ringworld by Larry Niven

Author:Larry Niven [Niven, Larry]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3, pdf
Tags: Fiction - Science Fiction, High Tech, Science Fiction, Ringworld (Imaginary place), General, Adventure, Life on other planets, Fiction, Science Fiction - General
ISBN: 9780345333926
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 1985-09-12T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13 -

Starseed Lure

“They should have been kneeling,” Louis complained. “That’s what fooled me. And the translation kept saying ‘builder’ when it should have been saying ‘god’.”

“God?”

“They’ve made gods of the Ringworld engineers. I should have noticed the silence. Tanjit, nobody but the priest was making a sound! They all acted like they were listening to some old litany. Except that I kept giving the wrong responses.”

“A religion. How weird! But you shouldn’t have laughed,” Teela’s intercom image said seriously. “Nobody laughs in church, not even tourists.”

They flew beneath a fading sliver of noon sun. The Ringworld showed above itself in glowing blue stripes, brighter every minute.

“It seemed funny at the time,” said Louis. “It’s still funny. They’ve forgotten they’re living on a ring. They think it’s an arch.”

A rushing sound penetrated the sonic fold. For a moment it was a hurricane, then it cut off sharply. They had crossed the speed of sound.

Zignamuclickclick dwindled behind them. The city would never have its vengeance on the demons. Probably it would never see them again.

“It looks like an arch,” said Teela.

“Right. I shouldn’t have laughed. We’re lucky, though. We can leave our mistakes behind us,” said Louis. “All we have to do, any time, is get airborne. Nothing can catch us.”

“Some mistakes we must carry with us,” said Speaker-To-Animals.

“Funny you should say so.” Louis scratched absently at his nose, which was as numb as a block of wood. It would be healed before the anesthetic wore off.

He made up his mind. “Nessus?”

“Yes, Louis.”

“I realized something, back there. You’ve been claiming that you’re insane because you demonstrate courage. Right?”

“How tactful you are, Louis. Your delicacy of tongue—“

“Be serious. You and all the other puppeteers have been making the same wrong assumption. A puppeteer instinctively turns to run from danger. Right?”

“Yes, Louis.”

“Wrong. A puppeteer instinctively turns away from danger. It’s to free his hind leg for action. That hoof makes a deadly weapon, Nessus.”

All in one motion, the puppeteer had spun on his forelegs and lashed out with his single hind leg. His heads were turned backward and spread wide, Louis remembered, to triangulate on his target. Nessus had accurately kicked a man’s heart out through his splintered spine.

“I could not run,” he said. “I would have been leaving my vehicle. That would have been dangerous.”

“But you didn’t stop to think about it,” sad Louis. “It was instinctive. You automatically turn your back on an enemy. Turn, and kick. A sane puppeteer turns to fight, not to run. You’re not crazy.”

“You are wrong, Louis. Most puppeteers run from danger.”

“But—“

“The majority is always sane, Louis.”

Herd animal! Louis gave it up. He lifted his eyes to watch the last sliver of sun disappear.

Some mistakes we must carry with us…

But Speaker must have been thinking of something else when he said that. Thinking of what?

At the zenith swarmed a ring of black rectangles.

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