He had been trapped on Earth in a time-stasis field for two billion years. Kzanol was a thrint from a distant galaxy. Let three complete books in one take you on a dazzling journey into science fiction's most famous future history: Known Space! The novel meticulously examines every aspect of First Contact, from the Moties' biology, society, and art, to the effects of the meeting on humanity's economics, politics, and religions.Ěnd all the while suspense builds as we watch the humans struggle toward the truth. This is the first collaboration between Niven and Pournelle, two masters of hard science fiction, and it combines Pournelle's interest in the military and sociology with Niven's talent for creating interesting, believable aliens. It seems the Moties have a dark problem, one they've been unable to solve in over a million years. The Moties are welcoming and kind, yet rather evasive about certain aspects of their society. In the Mote the humans find an ancient civilization-at least one million years old-that has always been bottled up in their cloistered solar system for lack of a star drive. The probe is traced to the Mote, an isolated star in a thick dust cloud, and an expedition is dispatched. No other intelligent beings have ever been encountered, not until a light sail probe enters a human system carrying a dead alien. In the year 3016, the Second Empire of Man spans hundreds of star systems, thanks to the faster-than-light Alderson Drive.

Larry niven fate of worlds