Walkthrough
-----
Start
-----
You finally get control of the game at this point as you stand outside a tall
gate. If you check your inventory you should notice that you have a stunner,
a scanner/com unit and a ring given to you by Louis Wu.
Use the beam in front of the door to ring the doorbell and alert the Kzinti
inside of your arrival. When the Kzinti arrives he demands that you show him
proof of the fact that Louis Wu is your friend. So use the ring from your
inventory on the Kzinti, the Kzinti then reveals himself as the second son of
Chmeee, Iaach-captain. You enter the building and talk with Iaach-captain as
Shachra appears under orders to kill everyone in the building.
As you talk with Iaach-captain you learn that he is to be the test pilot of the
new hyperdrive ship when it is completed. He also questions you during the
conversation but it doesn't matter which option you choose.
Eventually a Kzinti warns you both of assassins before getting shot by one,
quickly use your stunner on the assassin before he shoots you. Now pick up the
small yellow item [infodisk] by his body before leaving the screen at the
bottom.
You find Iaach-captain in one of three flycycles when you enter the next area,
however his flycycle is the only one with a security disk, so the enemies could
potentially follow you in the third flycycle. Use either of the remaining two
flycycles and use the infodisk with the flycycle, click the message icon if you
wish to read the orders contained on the infodisk. Otherwise press the slave
button and use the disk drive to return the infodisk, then press the exit
button. Now use the remaining flycycle and use the infodisk with this one too,
then press the master button followed by the button on your right to escape.
----------
The Escape
----------
You then arrive at a gate faced with two options, choose "2. You'd better
handle this, Iaach-captain" to proceed. Once inside the hangar you need to use
your stunner on the two guards as Iaach-captain closes the gate.
Once on the bridge you get ready to leave when all of a sudden a woman shows up
and yells at you before disappearing. The woman is named Miranda and turns out
to be the chief engineer of the hyperdrive project, once she hears of your
plans to steal the ship she tries to sabotage those plans.
You then find her ripping apart wires from the ship without listening to
reason, so you have no choice but to use your stunner on her.
You end up at the autodoc, where Miranda is demanding that you show her proof
of everything you are saying. When Iaach-captain asks you a question choose
"2. We have got to get her on our side. We need to show her some proof." Then
use the infodisk with the disk slot on the side of the autodoc to get Miranda
on your side, Iaach-captain is also known as Seeker from now on.
A Puppeteer then shows up and asks for your help, in return for keeping your
location a secret from the Kzinti. Basically the Puppeteers want you to
retrieve a series of items for them and get rid of the DESTROYER ship. You
then head for Ringworld to search for the first item of interest.
-----------------
The Canyon People
-----------------
Seeker pretends to be a Sky God so that the canyon people will help you to find
the spacecraft. Seeker agrees to find and kill a screaming monster that has
been terrorizing the village in return for passage to the spacecraft. However
Miranda and Quinn cannot get access to the spacecraft without unlocking the
secret of the tech, a puzzle.
Quinn discovers that the chief has a taste for liquor and agrees to get him
some. For now just exit this room and walk to the left side of the screen
outside to return to the lander.
Use the elevator and go to floor 2, then use the little orange console on your
left and choose "5 ALE - Do not operate heavy machinery" from the list to get
the ale. Enter the door at the top right corner of the screen and pick up the
medkit at the back of the room, then return to the first floor of the lander.
Use the ladder at the bottom left to return to the village with Miranda.
You share the ale with the chief and he in turn introduces you to his daughter.
Take the rope beside the pile of bowls when you can and return to the previous
screen just in time to see the chief pass out from the ale. Take the ladder on
his left before going outside.
Use the ladder on the wall between the two doorways, then use the rope on the
rock behind the two holes. Use the left hole to climb down into the Holy of
Holies, then walk down to the room with the sleeping priest. Pick up the
necklace beside you and return to the outside area.
Seeker returns at this point with the dead monster in his arms, he then returns
to the lander with Miranda and you are left to solve the puzzle of the tech in
order to gain access to the space craft.
Pick up the four pieces of the tech and put them in the holes in this order:
Moon Earth
Comet sun
Now take the peg from your inventory and place it in the middle hole to solve
the puzzle. Once you arrive at the spacecraft you should use your scanner on
it. The results indicate that there doesn't seem to be any way to get inside
the ship at the moment, so you return to the lander to think things over.
Everyone comes to the conclusion that you should investigate the other signals
that you picked up on the radar earlier, as one of them might lead to
technology that could help you.
The Puppeteer [known as Hindmost] reappears at this point and harasses you
for details of the status of your mission, of which you have very few. You
then proceed to the next signal which is coming from deep within a cavern.
---------------
The Flesheaters
---------------
The lander touches down near the mouth of the cave, then you and Seeker
investigate. Look at the pile of bones near the mouth of the cave, Seeker
advises that you to return to the lander as the bones are from humans.
He then proceeds into the cave and gets ambushed by whatever creatures live
there. You need to go to floor one of the lander and use the ladder to reach
the mouth of the cave again.
Enter the cave and walk left until you either fall down a hole or get ambushed
by the creatures, either way you get taken to meet their leader. The
Flesheaters talk in a language that you can't understand before dumping you in
the same pit as Seeker.
Use your medkit on Seeker and pick up the piece of bone by the back wall. Use
the left hole in the ceiling to jump to it and return to the main cave. Walk
left and try not to fall in the hole [hidden by a small mound of dirt/rock]
again, then use the bone to cut the rope and set the bat creature free.
Drop down the hole and try to leave again, the bat creature shows up and gives
you an antidote for the Flesheater's pheromones. Use it on Seeker to finally
wake him up, then exit the pit again.
The bat appears again and flies left to show you a hidden passage, so follow
it for now and use your stunner on the Flesheaters when they try to capture you
again. If you talk to the bat it will tell you to push on the side of the big
pillar, so push the right side of the pillar on your left to reach the throne
room.
Pick up the stasis box in the back left corner of the room, then push the rock
below the bat to free Seeker and return to the lander.
Hindmost appears again for a status report and after leaving everyone decides
to find out what's inside the stasis boxes before handing them over to the
Puppeteers. When Miranda asks a question choose "1 I don't know. You go on
ahead, I'll check the computer files and then join you in the lander bay.".
Follow Miranda and Seeker to the first floor of the lander and talk to Seeker,
once the box is open the device inside fires at you accidentally with no harm
done.
Later Seeker asks you if you want to try flying the probe past the sunflower
beams. If you choose the second option you can play a little minigame,
otherwise you can choose the first option and Seeker will land the probe
himself. I would recommend letting Seeker do it himself, but if you're up for
a challenge you can try flying it.
The probe gets damaged beyond repair after the flight and gets stored in the
lander, then Hindmost contacts you yet again. It turns out that the device
from the first stasis box is a Control Module used to disrupt signals.
----------
Underwater
----------
Once you land as close as you can get to the next stasis box Quinn goes to the
shore to make contact with the life form [Skeenar] there. Skeenar welcomes you
as a friend of Louis Wu and agrees to take you to meet his leader, however you
can't swim underwater currently.
Return to the lander and go to the second floor, then enter the top right door.
Use the red suit followed by the red panel beside the airlock on your right.
Walk towards Skeenar to enter the water and swim with him to Lord Poria.
Poria agrees to help you if you can return to him a translator that allows his
people to communicate with the dolphins. Once back in the lander use the hook
to take off your pressure suit, then return to the first floor of the lander.
Use the computer at the bottom right corner to take apart the damaged probe,
then take the arms from the leftover parts. Use the white panel on the left
side of the elevator and use the flycycle to reach the explorer.
Use your stunner on the explorer and take the glass jar from the desk, then
check the pipe on the wall for a key. Pull the cork out of the barrel and use
the glass jar on the green liquid, then use the rightmost book on the shelf to
find a slip of paper. Look at the paper to find the code "2, 4, 3" written on
it, then use the stool that the explorer was sitting on. Spin it 2 times to
the right, 4 times to the left and 3 times to the right to open a small
passage. Check the passage to find a locked box, then use the key with the box
to get the translator.
Return to Skeenar [you don't need the pressure suit this time] and give him the
translator. The dolphins find the box but can't get close enough because of
stinging creatures nearby, give Skeenar the jar of liquid at this point. This
solves the problem, but now the dolphins can't pick up the box. Give Skeenar
the arms from the probe to solve the latest problem, then talk to him when he
returns to get the stasis box.
Back on the lander Hindmost contacts you and threatens you if you do not tell
him what is inside one of the boxes by the time of his next transmission.
Miranda reveals to you that one of the boxes contained a stasis control module,
while the other box was empty. Quinn takes both the empty box and stasis
control module before heading for the Map of Earth with Seeker.
-------------
The Patriarch
-------------
It turns out that humans are slaves to the Kzinti here and a telepathic Kzinti
is the Patriarch of the land. Talk to the slave once Seeker leaves to get some
slave clothes, then walk left and continue to the palace.
After talking with the Overseer pick up some straw from the pile in front of
you, then return to the previous room and go up to the next room. Take the
lower right exit in this room to reach the Patriarch, then pick up the soiled
tunic after the patriarch kills the slave.
Return to the previous room and take the upper right exit, then show the soiled
tunic to the guard. Once in the patriarch's chamber enter the door at the back
and use the handle on the right side of the green statue's head. Take both
swords in the passage that opens, then return to the previous room.
Place the sword in the slot on the right side of the door and take the stasis
box inside, then put some straw on the bed and take the right candle. Finally
use the candle on the bed to start a fire, then return to the previous room.
While the guard panics go to the balcony and use your scanner to call Seeker.
Back on the lander Hindmost contacts you again so you tell him simply that you
have found a stasis control module and intend to use it on the spacecraft that
you found in the canyon people's village earlier. He seems pleased and allows
you to proceed with that task.
---------------------------
Return to the Canyon People
---------------------------
Use the stasis field negator on the ship when you reach it, use the small panel
on the hull to start a puzzle that you must solve to gain entry to the ship.
If the pieces are labeled as follows:
1 2 3
4 5 6
Then you need to pick the pieces in this order: 3,4,1,5,2,6.
Inside the ship you find a creature who warns you to disengage the antimatter
concentrator immediately. Move the alien outside the ship, then use the helmet
on the alien. He will come to his senses and give you a key, use the key on
the faint green panel in the ship. Now use the stasis box with the antimatter
concentrator and pick up the box. Take the two disks from the slots in the
ship, then exit the ship. The Tnuctipun has the others under his control
thanks to the helmet so use the neural wave nullifier on him to free the others
from his control. Put the alien back in the ship and put the ship back in
stasis in case you want to come back later for more information.
Everyone returns to the lander and takes it back to the Lance of Truth. The
plan is to destroy Shachra and the DESTROYER with the antimatter concentrator.
Quinn plans to go in close with the lander and blow the antimatter concentrator
out the airlock, then use the Tnuctipun disks [on a hunch] to return to safety
before disabling the stasis field.
Use the green disk on the lander before it gets in range of the DESTROYERS
lasers then sit back and watch the ending.
As Quinn expected the disks were teleportation devices, so he teleports back to
the Lance of Truth unharmed before activating the antimatter explosion.
Hindmost appears demanding that you return the items to him, but he also lets
lose the fact that his home world was never in danger and you have been doing
his work for him on an empty threat. At this point his transmission is cut off
and everyone decides to hide out on Ringworld while things settle down. Of
course Louis Wu and Chmeee are also missing, but for now that puzzle remains
unsolved.
That's the end of the story for now, but the game does have a sequel called
Return to Ringworld. So be sure to try that if you enjoyed this game, I plan
to write for that game as well.
###############################################################################
(E) ENCYCLOPEDIA
###############################################################################
There is an encyclopedia within the game (accessible from a computer terminal
on the lander) that lists many terms and topics within the game and gives you
background information on them. This encyclopedia has been reproduced here in
case you're interested.
--------------------------------------
ARM (Amalgamation of Regional Militia)
--------------------------------------
Originally a federation of civil-defense organizations from all world nations,
the ARM currently exists to enforce UN regulations, particularly in the area of
technology control. Under UN regulations, any newly discovered technology must
be reported to the ARM, and its uses and effects carefully monitored.
------------
Bandersnatch
------------
A member of a race of sentient beings (bandersnatchi) genetically engineered by
the Tnuctipun as a food animal for their Thrint masters. The Thrintun referred
to them as Whitefoods.
Bandersnatch intelligence was deliberately engineered by the Tnuctipun to make
them useful for espionage against the Thrintun in preparation for the planned
rebellion. Bandersnatchi were also designed not to mutate, and have survived
unchanged from the fall of the Thrint Empire more than a billion and a half
years ago to the present day.
Bandersnatchi were not known to be intelligent when they were first discovered
in 2097 by colonists on Jinx. In time, it was discovered that they were
inscribing messages on the planet surface in the ancient Tnuctipun science
language in an attempt to communicate.
The Institute of Knowledge was eventually established on Jinx to exchange
information with the Bandersnatchi. Much has been learned from them about the
long-vanished Thrint Empire.
------------
Boosterspice
------------
A compound that interrupts the aging process in humans, developed by genetic
engineers on the planet Jinx. One course of treatment lasts approximately
twenty-five Earth years. An individual receiving regular Boosterspice
treatment will usually retain an apparent age corresponding to his or her
chronological age when treatment was initiated.
A very small percentage of people is allergic to Boosterspice and cannot take
the treatments. These individuals will grow old and die, usually within 100 or
so Earth years.
-------------
Brennan, Jack
-------------
A Belt miner who became the first Human Protector after encountering the Pak
Phssthpok, who was journeying to Earth to discover a legendary lost colony of
Pak Breeders.
When he realized the danger Phssthpok posed to the people of Earth, Brennan
killed the Pak Protector and left the Sol system to intercept the Pak fleet he
was certain was on its way to Earth. He was never heard from again.
------------------
Cetacean Right Act
------------------
This act, passed in 2017 after centuries of slaughter and exploitations by
humans, banned all forms of whaling and granted full human equivalence to all
sentient cetaceans.
-------
Dolphin
-------
(Cetacea, Odontoceti, Delphinidae)
A large-brained carnivorous mammal, a member of one of twenty-five or so
species contained in the Delphinid superfamily. Several Delphinids, including
Tursiops truncatus (the Bottle-Nosed Dolphins), the species comprising the
genus Globicephala (Pilot Whales), and Orcinus orca (Killer Whales), were
accorded full human equivalency with the passage of the Cetacean Rights Act of
2017.
Following the passage of the Cetacean Rights Act, dolphins have helped Humans
make tremendous strides in the study of oceanography and marine biology, and
gone on to colonize oceans on earth-like worlds with the aid of specially
designed prosthetic Hands.
These Hands, which are attached externally and utilize existing muscles in the
flipper (which contains hand and arm bones dating back to the dolphins'
terrestrial origins) enable them to perform complicated mechanical
manipulations that would otherwise be impossible for them.
-----------------------
Galactic Core Explosion
-----------------------
The core of the Milky Way Galaxy is thought to be exploding outward, with the
front of the explosion currently about 20,000 LY from Known Space.
The Pierson's Puppeteers are reported to have sent a human pilot, Beowulf
Shaeffer, to the core to report on the explosion. Shortly after the Shaeffer
expedition, the entire Puppeteer race emigrated from Known Space to an unknown
location.
----------------
General Products
----------------
A galaxy-wide trading company owned and operated by the Pierson's Puppeteers,
GP is best known for manufacturing the General Products hull.
The General Products (GP) Hull is a basic spacecraft body that is impervious to
all matter and any form of electromagnetic energy with the exception of visible
light.
A GP hull can be annihilated by antimatter, like any other substance, and the
effects of gravity and other forces could be harmful or fatal to the
inhabitants. No new General Products Hulls have been available since the
Puppeteers emigrated from Known Space, but the existing hulls are still the
safest transport bodies known.
General Products went out of business in known space when the Pierson's
Puppeteers emigrated to parts unknown in the 27th century.
----
Grog
----
A member of a sentient, telepathic species (Grogs) native to the planet Down.
Grogs experience two distinct life stages, the first, or immature stage, is
similar for both males and females.
Upon reaching adulthood, females enter the second or sessile life phase, at
which time they attach themselves to rocks and enlarge, attain sentience and
powerful telepathic abilities, and become incapable of movement.
In this state they may live several centuries, using their telepathic powers to
attract food. Males do not attain sentience and are not telepathic.
Although the Kzinti controlled Down until the end of the first Man-Kzin War,
they did not suspect either the intelligence or the telepathic abilities of the
Grogs in the sessile phase. In the mid-27th century, two hundred years after
Down had been liberated from the Kzinti, Grogs opened communication with
Humans.
Since that time they have emigrated to many Human worlds, aided by specialized
equipment that provides protection from ultraviolet radiation and provides for
other unique Grog needs.
Grogs have been friendly and cooperative with Humans, and although they possess
the most powerful telepathic powers in Known Space, they have not (as far as is
known) used these powers to manipulate other sentient beings. Some humans
still believe that Grogs are as dangerous as Thrintun and are, in fact,
exerting telepathic control of Known Space even now.
Most experts disagree, showing evidence that the telepathic control of a single
sessile Grog does not extend very far from the individual Grog, and that their
power does not gain from being combined with that of others of their species.
----------
Hyperdrive
----------
A faster-than-light propulsion system used to cross interstellar distances by
allowing a ship to enter a universe where the laws of physics allow it to
travel at FTL speeds. Hyperdrive compulsion can only be used outside the
singularity surrounding a gravity well.
Hyperdrive propulsion was perfected by the Outsiders and sold to the Pierson's
Puppeteers and later to Humans. The advent of faster-than-light travel made
possible by Hyperdrive technology brought about the rapid expansion of Human
space following the First Man-Kzin War.
A ship equipped with Quantum I Hyperdrive covers a distance of 1 LY in
approximately 3 days.
---------
Hyperwave
---------
A communications system that sends messages over interstellar distances almost
instantaneously. Hyperwave can only be used outside the singularity of a
gravity well.
--------
Kdatlyno
--------
A race of sentient bipedal humanoids native to the planet Kdat. Kdatlyno do
not sense the visible light portion of the EM spectrum. Their major sense
organ is a large membrane (typmanum) that makes up most of the head. By
emitting a continuous ultrasonic signal and reading the 'bounce', Kdatlyno can
sense size, motion, range and temperature of remote objects, and see into
materials which are opaque to visible light.
After losing a long and bloody war against invading Kzin, Kdatlyno were a
Kzinti slave race until Kdat was liberated during the Second Man-Kzin War.
They are suspicious of outsiders and somewhat aloof to alien species.
The Kdatlyno sense of personal honor and vengeance rivals that of the Kzinti.
Away from their home world, they excel in professions in which their unique
sensorium comes into play, such as medicine. Kdatlyno touch-sculpture is a
valuable and sought-after commodity in Known Space.
------
Kzanol
------
The Thrint found in stasis under the Atlantic Ocean off Bermuda by Dolphins in
2106. He was brought into telepathic contact with a human telepath, Larry
Greenberg, whose human persona was temporarily overcome by the telepathic power
of the Thrint.
Because Greenberg absorbed all the experience and memories of the alien, much
information about the Thrint Empire was made available to the scientists of
Earth.
Kzanol, sometimes known as the Sea Statue, is on permanent display (in stasis)
in the UN's Comparative Cultures Exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute.
----
Kzin
----
A member of a race of sentient bipedal carnivores (Kzinti), also the name of
the home world of that race. Their native language is known as the Hero's
Tongue, an exceptionally difficult language for Humans to master. Kzinti are
themselves reasonably adept at learning the languages of other races.
Kzinti males average 2.4 meters in height and usually mass more than 200 kg.
They are felinoid in appearance, with orange fur covering the entire body with
the exception of the ears, the tail, palms of the hands and bottoms of the
feet.
Kzinti are extremely aggressive by Human standards, and their sense of personal
honor is legendary. They neither lie nor bluff, and promises are irrevocably
binding. Honor is much more important to a Kzin than profit, and the concept
of personal danger never forms a part of their motives.
Humans and Kzin have a similar biochemistry, arguing for a common ancestor in
the remote past. They were the first alien species encountered by Humans,
when, in 2367, a Kzin warship attacked the Earth colony Wunderland, beginning
two centuries of bloody wars between the two races.
-------------
Man-Kzin Wars
-------------
A series of wars between Humans and Kzinti that lasted from A.D. 2367 to 2584.
The First Man-Kzin War began with a surprise attack by a single Kzinti warship
on the Earth colony Wunderland, in the Alpha Centauri system.
The Human race was altogether unprepared for war, having lived in a condition
of planet-wide peace for the past 250 years. No system of planetary defense
existed; in the first war one of the primary weapons of the Human forces was
the exhausts of their reaction drive ships.
The tide of the war was turned when Outsider ships visited the Procyon system
and sold Hyperdrive technology to the Earth colony We Made It. The First
Man-Kzin War ended in 2420.
---------
Outsiders
---------
An advanced race of Helium II-based spacefaring traders and information
brokers. Outsiders are responsible for revealing the technology of Hyperdrive
to Humans. Applications of this technology led to Human victory in the
Man-Kzin Wars.
Outsiders have maintained a trading base in the Sol system on Neptune's
smaller moon, Nereid, since the 25th century. They are scrupulously ethical,
always give more than fair value for the price, and their prices are not open
to negotiation.
Outsiders have maintained a trading relationship with the Pierson's Puppeteers
for thousands of centuries, and are the source of most or all of the
Puppeteer's advanced technology.
One of the persistent mysteries concerning the Outsiders is their relationship
with Starseeds. The Outsiders are willing to sell this information, but no one
has ever been able to meet their price.
---
Pak
---
A race of xenophobic humanoids originating near the galactic core, Pak
experience three distinct life stages; child, breeder and protector.
At approximately 42 Earth years, surviving breeders undergo a physical and
intellectual metamorphosis triggered by an enzyme in a plant known as
Tree-Of-Life. All sexual characteristics disappear, and the individual becomes
physically strong and develops a powerful intellect. Protectors continue to
eat Tree-Of-Life as their major source of nutrition.
The purpose of the Protector is to ensure the survival of its bloodline, which
it detects through its extraordinary sense of smell. The natural urge to
protect its own bloodline is so strong that members of other bloodlines are
automatically killed when encountered.
Pak newborns who have undergone mutation (common because of the high levels of
radioactivity near the galactic core) are destroyed at birth, owing to the
difference in their smell.
The various Pak bloodlines have been engaged in constant conflicts for the
entire history of the species, which has impeded their social and scientific
progress.
In 2125, a Pak Protector name Phssthpok entered the Sol system, searching for a
reputed colony of Pak breeders lost there 35,000 years previously. Its ship
was intercepted by a Belt miner, Jack Brennan, who subsequently warned the
people of Earth of the danger posed by the Pak.
According to Brennan, the Human race was actually descended from the lost
colony of Pak breeders, and the Pak would certainly destroy everyone on Earth
as mutants if Phssthpok were ever to reach the planet. Brennan killed
Phssthpok, but not before being fed Tree-Of-Life and transforming into the
first Human Protector.
------
Pierin
------
A race of aerial bipedal omnivores who warred with the Kzinti Empire as long
ago as Earth's 20th century. Their home world, twin planetary bodies orbiting a
double star, was enslaved by the Kzinti until the time of the Man-Kzin Wars.
Pierin are intelligent and generally friendly toward aliens. They follow an
animistic religion which informs every part of their day-to-day lives, and are
accomplished poets and musicians. Pierin pilots are unmatched in skill and
acrobatic ability.
Pierin believe in cooperation rather than competition and live communally,
owning property, goods and services collectively. Many Pierin favor
restructuring the economy of other Known Space worlds to match their own,
believing that economies based on competition and exploitation are violent and
evil.
-------------------
Pierson's Puppeteer
-------------------
A member of a race of sentient, highly intelligent, tripodal herbivores first
encountered by Olaf Pierson. Puppeteers have two heads, each with one eye and
one mouth, at the end of long, slender necks. The mouths, equipped with
sensitive 'fingers' on the lips, double as hands.
The brain is contained in a heavily armored skull under the central hump
between the necks. The thick hair growing on the hump is frequently curled,
dyed or otherwise decorated. Puppeteers have a characteristic, not unpleasant
odor that generally reminds humans of some mixture of spices.
Puppeteers have been a spacefaring race since before Humans appeared on earth.
They have had longstanding trade agreements with the Outsiders, the Trinocs and
many other races. The Puppeteer-owned trading company, General Products, was
an important supplier of starship hulls to many races in Known Space. Two
centuries ago, the Puppeteers left Known Space en masse to escape the galactic
core explosion.
One of the most famous characteristics of the Puppeteer race is their extreme
timidness. Considered cowards by more aggressive races, they are heedful of
the slightest risk and adept at avoiding danger; all advances in Puppeteer
civilization have been arrived at because they benefited the survival of the
species, and then only after painstaking observation and experimentation.
Puppeteers are extraordinarily suspicious of aliens and distrustful of space
travel, preferring to stay on their own planet in close quarters with others of
their species. Those individuals who dealt with other races before the
emigration were considered insane by their peers; few aliens have ever met a
sane Puppeteer.
When threatened, a Puppeteer is likely to curl up into a tight ball and become
temporarily catatonic, unless an action can be taken that will be more likely
to minimize the danger than this automatic defense mechanism.
The only thing a Puppeteer fears worse than death is physical pain. This
extraordinary natural timorousness is reinforced by strict cultural tradition.
As a race and as individuals, however, they can be totally ruthless in their
disregard of the welfare of others balanced against their own survival.
---------
Protector
---------
The last life-stage of a Pak (See: Pak).
----------
Sea Statue
----------
See Kzanol.
------
Slaver
------
Familiar name for Thrintun or Thrint.
--------------------
Slaver Disintegrator
--------------------
A digging tool dating back to the Thrint Empire, operating on the principle of
mutual repulsion of like magnetic charges. The Disintegrator suppresses the
negative electrical charge on the electrons of any matter within the range of
the beam, causing the atoms to fly apart violently.
----------------
Slaver Sunflower
----------------
A plant engineered by the Tnuctipun during the reign of the Thrint as a
defensive weapon. The petals of a Slaver Sunflower absorb sunlight as the
blossoms turn to track with the sun. The center of the flower is a highly
reflective mirror surface that can project stored light outward in bursts at a
target with potentially fatal results.
Slaver Sunflowers are still found on some worlds once dominated by the Thrint
Empire.
----------
Stage Tree
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A genetically engineered Mpul tree, a plant developed by the Tnuctipun for the
Thrint during the period of Thrint domination of the Milky Way Galaxy. The
trunk of a Stage Tree consists of solid rocket fuel. Stage trees are still
found on some worlds formerly controlled by the Thrint Empire.
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Starseed
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A member of a non-sentient species that travels in the vacuum of space using
photon sails thousands of km in diameter. Starseeds lay their eggs on the
outermost edges of the galaxy, and the newly-hatched chicks travel at
sub-lightspeeds back to the galactic core, 50,000 LY away.
Starseeds are sought out by Outsiders, though the reason for this is still
unknown.
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Stasis Field
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A field within which persons or objects are not affected by the passage of
time. Stasis fields were developed by the Tnuctipun during the Thrint Empire
and are sometimes referred to as Slaver Stasis Fields. Valuable items
representing significant technological advances have been found in containers
(stasis boxes) enclosed in stasis fields and unchanged for more than a billion
years.
Two types of stasis fields have been identified. The most common stasis field
is used as a protective field in an emergency and is established automatically
in times of danger. These fields have no external controls. The second field
is used as a protective seal for valuable or delicate items and will
occasionally have controls. The physical properties of stasis field particles
prevent one field from existing inside another. The larger field automatically
takes precedence.
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Thrint
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A member of a race of aggressive telepaths (Thrintun) who enslaved most or all
of the sentient species in the Milky Way Galaxy between two and three billion
years ago. Extinct for more than 1.5 billion years.
Thrint telepathy was augmented by thought-amplifiers contained in helmets worn
by the Thrint. With this amplified telepathy, a single individual could impose
its will on an entire planet.
The Thrintun held the religious belief that they were preordained to have
dominion over all other sentient species. Their Empire covered at least the
entire galaxy, with entire planets often being owned by a single family or
individual. In time they came to depend excessively on the resources and
technologies of some of the races they enslaved.
The rule of the Thrintun was overthrown by one of their slave-races, the
Tnuctipun, whom they had come to depend on heavily for all their scientific and
technological innovation, and whom they apparently failed to recognize as a
threat at least partly because of their small size.
The Tnuctipun masterminded a galaxy-wide revolt that took the Thrintun
completely by surprise. When it became evident that the revolution would
ultimately succeed and destroy the Thrintun Empire, the Thrint built a
'doomsday machine' in the form of a powerful thought amplifier.
Using the amplifier, they ordered the suicide of every intelligent being in the
galaxy. The Thrint Empire collapsed very shortly thereafter.
In 2106, a Thrint named Kzanol was discovered in stasis at the bottom of the
Atlantic Ocean. It is now on permanent display at the Smithsonian.
Examples of technology from the Thrint Empire, protected from the effects of
time by stasis fields, have survived up until the present day. These include
the Variable Knife and Slaver Disintegrator. Many other technologies known to
have existed, such as total conversion of matter to energy, have never been
found.
Yeasts left behind on Thrintun 'food worlds' are believed to be responsible for
most or all present life in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Bandersnatchi of the
planet Jinx were developed from food yeasts by the Tnuctipun as part of their
plan to revolt from the Thrintun Empire.
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Tnuctipun
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The most advanced slave race of the Thrint Empire, the Tnuctipun are believed
to have been small, bipedal, carnivorous mammals and known to have been
accomplished mechanical and biological engineers.
The Thrintun eventually became so dependent on Tnuctipun technology and so
lacking in suspicion of Tnuctipun motives that the slave race was able to
devise lifeforms that were useful to the Thrintun in the short run, and could
be turned against them when the time came to revolt.
Among these were Bandersnatchi, a sentient food source designed to serve as
spies against the Thrint, and Slaver Sunflowers, used by the Thrint as defense,
but which were turned against them when the revolt began.
Examples of Tnuctipun engineering (commonly referred to as Slaver technology)
have been discovered in Known Space. These include stasis fields,
Bandersnatchi, Slaver Disintegrators, Food Yeast and Slaver Sunflowers. Other
legendary technology, such as Total Energy Conversion, is believed to have
existed, but hard evidence has never been found.
It is believed that the entire Tnuctipun race was destroyed by the Thrint
thought amplifier that ended the Tnuctipun slave rebellion and annihilated all
sentient life in the Milky Way Galaxy more than one and one-half billion years
ago.
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Tree of Life
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A perennial plant native to the Pak home world. The odor of this plant is
repulsive to an immature Pak or Pak Breeder, but at about 42 Earth years of
age, a breeder who smells tree of life will perceive its smell as appetizing,
and will be seized with an irresistible urge to eat the root of the plant.
An enzyme contained in the Tree-of-Life root works profound changes in the Pak
at the cellular level, altering his or her appearance, emotional makeup and
intellect, transforming Breeder into Protector.
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Trinoc
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A race of sentient, three-eyed bipeds whose home world atmosphere, rich in
methane and ammonia, is deadly to all other known-world species. Though
menaced by the Kzin during the Kzinti expansionary period, the Trinocs were
never conquered. They have traded with the Puppeteers for hundreds of years.
Trinocs are extraordinarily secretive and suspicious of alien races. Their
expansion into space predates that of Humanity, and they control methane
atmosphere planets in a larger area than that of Human Space.
