The Soft Weapon

Last updated
First publication
Cover art by Paul E. Wenzel TheSoftWeaponNiven(If).jpg
First publication
Cover art by Paul E. Wenzel

"The Soft Weapon" is a science fiction short story by the American writer Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe. It was first published in the February 1967 issue of If . [1]

Contents

The story introduces the character of Nessus, a Puppeteer who later became one of the main characters of the novel Ringworld . The story is retold, from the point of view of Nessus, in Juggler of Worlds .

"The Soft Weapon" was first published in If in 1967 and has since been included in the short story collections Neutron Star (1968) and Playgrounds of the Mind (1991).

Plot

Nessus is returning from a diplomatic mission to the Outsiders, having purchased what is apparently a Thrint stasis box, on a passenger ship run by a human couple, Jason and Anne Marie Papandreou.

They stop at Beta Lyrae to sight-see where they unexpectedly discover, by deep-radar, another stasis box. However, the box had been placed there as a trap by Kzinti pirates. The rogue Kzinti are using a dummy stasis box to lure ships that they detect to be in possession of stasis boxes. The Kzinti capture the crew and open the looted stasis box, which is revealed to be a Tnuctipun stasis box, not Thrintun. Stasis boxes (which are rare) often contain advanced technological products of immense military value. The Kzinti hope to use the contents of the box to develop weapons technology that will allow them to wage wars of conquest.

The box contains a Tnuctipun weapon which is capable of morphing into several devices, none of which is deemed useful by the Kzinti as a war weapon. However, one setting, an energy absorber, causes a Kzinti restraint field to fail, allowing Jason and Nessus to escape with the weapon. While free, Jason manages to discover a hidden setting for a matter-to-energy conversion beam, which is far more powerful than anything possessed by either human or Kzinti. Although Nessus remains free, Jason and the weapon are recaptured by the Kzinti.

The Kzinti, desperate to know how to access the hidden setting, threaten Jason's wife in an attempt to get him to divulge it, but he refuses. Her life is spared when the device, which is intelligent (and loyal to its long-extinct Tnuctipun masters), begins to speak. The Kzinti converse with the weapon, believing that they are getting knowledge of how to access the setting. However, the weapon, believing itself to have fallen into the possession of an enemy, tricks the Kzinti into activating a self-destruct mechanism. The Kzinti are killed, but the humans survive, in part thanks to technology used by the Kzinti to restrain them as prisoners, inadvertently protecting them from the blast and impact. Nessus then frees the humans and the three of them leave the planet.

Timeline note

This story itself contains clues which set it prior to the short story "Flatlander", specifically the apparent naming of the planet on which events take place as "Cue Ball" by Anne Marie ("I dub thee 'Cue Ball'"). In Flatlander, Gregory "Elephant" Pelton attempts to name their new-found planet "Cue Ball", but Bey tells him that that name is already taken by a Beta Lyrae planet. In the official timeline, as well as Juggler of Worlds , however, this story is set after the events of Flatlander.

Adaptations

Niven adapted the story and retitled it "The Slaver Weapon" for a 1973 episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series . It was his second pitch for the show, after his original idea was rejected; the rejected idea later became Niven's novelette "The Borderland of Sol".

"The Slaver Weapon" script was in turn adapted by Alan Dean Foster as a chapter of the book Star Trek Log Ten.

Related Research Articles

Larry Niven American science fiction writer

Laurence van Cott Niven is an American science fiction writer. His best-known works are Ringworld (1970), which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards, and, with Jerry Pournelle, The Mote in God's Eye (1974) and Lucifer's Hammer (1977). The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America named him the 2015 recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics. It also often includes elements of detective fiction and adventure stories. His fantasy includes the series The Magic Goes Away, rational fantasy dealing with magic as a non-renewable resource.

Known Space is the fictional setting of about a dozen science fiction novels and several collections of short stories written by Larry Niven. It has also become a shared universe in the spin-off Man-Kzin Wars anthologies. ISFDB catalogs all works set in the fictional universe that includes Known Space under the series name Tales of Known Space, which was the title of a 1975 collection of Niven's short stories. The first-published work in the series, which was Niven's first published piece was "The Coldest Place", in the December 1964 issue of If magazine, edited by Frederik Pohl. This was the first-published work in the 1975 collection.

<i>Ringworld</i> 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven

Ringworld is a 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. Ringworld tells the story of Louis Wu and his companions on a mission to the Ringworld, a rotating wheel space station, an alien construct in space 186 million miles in diameter. Niven later added three sequel novels and then cowrote, with Edward M. Lerner, four prequels and a final sequel; the five latter novels constitute the Fleet of Worlds series. All the Ringworld novels tie into numerous other books set in Known Space. Ringworld won the Nebula Award in 1970, as well as both the Hugo Award and Locus Award in 1971.

<i>Ringworld</i> (role-playing game) Tabletop role-playing game

The Ringworld science fiction role-playing game was published by Chaosium in 1984, using the Basic Role-Playing system for its rules and Larry Niven's Ringworld novels as a setting.

Kzin Fictional alien ethnic group

The Kzinti are a fictional, very warlike and bloodthirsty race of cat-like aliens in Larry Niven's Known Space series.

Piersons Puppeteers fictional species

Pierson's Puppeteers, often known just as Puppeteers, are a fictional alien race from American author Larry Niven's Known Space books. The race first appeared in Niven’s novella, Neutron Star.

<i>Crashlander</i>

Crashlander is a fix-up novel by American writer Larry Niven, published in 1994 (ISBN 978-0345381682) and set in his Known Space universe. It is also a term used in the Known Space universe, denoting a human born on the planet We Made It.

A stasis or stasis field, in science fiction, is a confined area of space in which time has been stopped or the contents have been rendered motionless.

<i>Man-Kzin Wars</i> Series of military SF short story collections

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. They are set in Larry Niven's Known Space universe; however, Niven himself has only written a small number of the stories.

The Slaver Weapon 14th episode of the first season of Star Trek: The Animated Series

"The Slaver Weapon" is the fourteenth episode of the first season of the American animated science fiction television series Star Trek: The Animated Series. It first aired on NBC on December 15, 1973, and was written by Larry Niven. It was based on his original short story "The Soft Weapon". This episode was expanded to become the first half of a full-length novel by science-fiction author Alan Dean Foster as Star Trek Log Ten.

<i>World of Ptavvs</i> Science fiction novel by Larry Niven

World of Ptavvs is a science fiction novel by American writer 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 magazine story of the same name.

<i>Flatlander</i> (short story collection)

Flatlander (ISBN 0-345-39480-1) is a 1995 collection of stories by American writer Larry Niven, all set in Known Space. It is the definitive collection of all stories by Niven about ARM agent Gil Hamilton. Many of the stories revolve around the theme of involuntary organ transplantation.

<i>The Conquest of Space</i> Book by Willy Ley

The Conquest of Space is a 1949 speculative science book written by Willy Ley and illustrated by Chesley Bonestell. The book contains a portfolio of paintings by Bonestell depicting the possible future exploration of the Solar System, with explanatory text by Ley.

"Flatlander" is an English language science fiction short story written in 1967 by Larry Niven. It is the third in the series of Known Space stories featuring crashlander Beowulf Shaeffer. The short story was originally published in Worlds of If, March 1967, and reprinted in Neutron Star, and Crashlander.

The Borderland of Sol

"The Borderland of Sol" is a science fiction novelette by American writer Larry Niven. It is the fifth in the Known Space series of stories about crashlander Beowulf Shaeffer.

The planetary systems of stars other than the Sun and the Solar System are a staple element in many works of the science fiction genre.

<i>Playgrounds of the Mind</i>

Playgrounds of the Mind is a collection of short stories by American writer Larry Niven, published in 1991. It is the sequel to N-Space.

<i>Juggler of Worlds</i> 2008 science fiction novel by Niven & Lerner

Juggler of Worlds (2008) is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner, a sequel to their Fleet of Worlds.

References

  1. The Soft Weapon title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
    - "Larry Niven's "The Soft Weapon"". www.danhausertrek.com. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
    - "The Soft Weapon". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
    - "Soft Weapon by Larry Niven from The Soft Weapon". www.technovelgy.com. Retrieved 8 July 2019.