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| {{Short description|1974 novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle}} | |||
| {{infobox Book | <!-- See ] or ] --> | |||
| {{About|the novel|the ] album|Mote in God's Eye (demo album)}} | |||
| {{Infobox book | | |||
| | name = The Mote in God's Eye | | name = The Mote in God's Eye | ||
| | title_orig = |
| title_orig = | ||
| | translator = |
| translator = | ||
| | image = |
| image = Image:The Mote In God's Eye - original hardcover edition.jpg | ||
| | |
| caption = First edition (hardcover) | ||
| | author = ] |
| author = ]<br>] | ||
| | illustrator = |
| illustrator = | ||
| | cover_artist = |
| cover_artist = | ||
| | country = |
| country = United States | ||
| | language = |
| language = English | ||
| | series = | | series = ] | ||
| | genre = ] ] | | genre = ] | ||
| | publisher = ] | | publisher = ] | ||
| | release_date = 1974 | | release_date = 1974 | ||
| | english_release_date = | | english_release_date = | ||
| | media_type = Print ( |
| media_type = Print (hardback & paperback) | ||
| | pages = 537 |
| pages = 537 | ||
| | isbn = |
| isbn = 0-671-21833-6 | ||
| | dewey = 813/.5/4 | |||
| | congress = PZ4.N734 Mo PS3564.I9 | |||
| | oclc = 934734 | |||
| | preceded_by = | | preceded_by = | ||
| | followed_by = ] |
| followed_by = ] | ||
| }} |
}} | ||
| '''''The Mote in God's Eye''''' |
'''''The Mote in God's Eye''''' is a ] novel by American writers ] and ], first published in 1974. The story is set in the distant future of Pournelle's ] universe, and charts the ] between humanity and an alien species. The title of the novel is a reference to the Biblical "]" parable and is the nickname of a star. ''The Mote in God's Eye'' was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards in 1975.<ref name="WWE-1975">{{cite web | ||
| | url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1975 | |||
| | title = 1975 Award Winners & Nominees | |||
| | work = Worlds Without End | |||
| | access-date=2009-07-20 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| ==Setting== | |||
| The book describes a complex alien civilization, the ]. The ] are radically different (both physically and psychologically) from humanity, in ways that become clearer over the course of the book. The human characters range from the typical hero type in Captain Roderick Blaine to the much more ambiguous merchant prince and suspected traitor Horace Bury. According to a quote on the cover of the original edition, ] called the book "possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read". | |||
| ''The Mote in God's Eye'' (originally titled ''Motelight''){{r|nivenpournelle1983}} is set in Pournelle's ] universe, where a union of the United States and the Soviet Union produced a world government and a number of colonies in other star systems, followed by nuclear war on Earth and the rise of the First Empire based on the planet Sparta several centuries before the events of the novel. There is a reference to these events in Pournelle's novel '']''. | |||
| Many, but not all, humans are part of the Second Empire, held together by an interstellar navy modeled on 19th century British lines, with all-male crews, a highly competent officer corps grown from midshipmen recruited in their teens and trained on the job, and well-armed, well-organized Marines to carry out ground missions. Those who prove themselves worthy can be promoted into the aristocracy. The aristocrats themselves tend more towards duty than privilege. The Empire is predominantly Christian, but other religions are more or less tolerated. The people of the planet Dayan are Jewish, while Horace Bury is a Muslim business magnate from Levant. An upstart religion, the "Church of Him", which was founded when the Mote became intensely bright and was regarded as part of the Face of God, is shown in decline, its founder having committed suicide when the light from the Mote went out. | |||
| The ] is an example of ], in that attention is paid to scientific detail. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle are noted for writing in this genre<!--by whom?-->, and it is especially evident in this work with regard to the theoretical mechanics and physics of interplanetary travel. The book's ] and ] are literary inventions, but they are presented against a background of established science knowledge. | |||
| The Second Empire sees its mission as uniting humanity into one government to prevent war. But in service of this mission, the empire is capable of extreme brutality; it has sterilized a planet to prevent rebellion. | |||
| One interesting aspect of the novel — in comparison to other works of science fiction — is how the alien race's psychology is influenced by its physiology. Prior to this work, most aliens in science fiction would have a physiology radically different from human, but act and think in much the same way. | |||
| A sequel to ''The Mote in God's Eye'', entitled '']'', was written by the same authors over twenty years later. It was published in the UK and other countries as ''The Moat around Murcheson's Eye''. | |||
| ==Plot summary== | ==Plot summary== | ||
| In the year 3017, humanity is slowly recovering from an interstellar civil war that tore apart the first Empire of Man. The Second Empire is busy establishing control over the remnants left by its predecessor, by force if necessary. The ] enables ships to travel instantaneously between "]s" in specific star systems. | |||
| {{spoiler}} | |||
| The book is split up into four parts. | |||
| ===The Crazy Eddie Probe=== | |||
| In the year AD 3017, Mankind is recovering slowly from an interstellar civil war that tore apart the old Empire of Man. A new Empire has risen and is occupied in establishing control over the remnants of its predecessor, by force if needed. | |||
| '''Cmdr. Lord Roderick Blaine''', having participated in the suppression of a rebellion on the planet of New Chicago, is given command of an Imperial ], '']'' when the captain has to stay behind to restore order on the planet. Blaine is given secret orders to take ''']''', a powerful interstellar merchant who is suspected of fomenting the revolt for his own profit, to the Imperial capital, Sparta. Blaine is one of the few people wealthier than Bury, so he is the ideal man for the mission since he can't be bribed. ''MacArthur'' is to be repaired in the New Caledonia system, then proceed to the capital. Another passenger is '''Lady Sandra Bright Fowler ('Sally')''', the niece of an Imperial Senator and a rescued prisoner of the rebels. | |||
| ] | |||
| New Caledonia is the capital of the Trans-Coalsack sector, located on the opposite side of the ] from Earth. Also in the sector is a red supergiant star known as '''Murcheson's Eye'''. Associated with it is a yellow Sun-like star. From New Caledonia, the yellow star appears in front of the Eye. Since some see the Eye and the Coalsack as the face of a hooded man, perhaps even the face of God, the yellow star is known as the Mote in God's Eye. | |||
| While in the New Caledonia system, Blaine receives a message saying that an alien spacecraft has been detected, and that orders ''MacArthur'' to intercept it. Human ships use the ], which allows them to "jump" instantaneously between points in specific ]s. The alien craft, by contrast, is propelled by a ], taking 150 years to cross between stars at sublight speed. ''MacArthur'' duly intercepts the craft and is fired upon by its automated systems, but manages to capture it relatively intact. However, on arrival at the planet New Scotland, its single occupant, evidently the pilot, is found to be dead. | |||
| After a rebellion on the planet New Chicago is quashed, Captain Bruno Cziller of the Imperial battlecruiser INSS ''MacArthur'' remains behind as Chief of Staff to the new governor, while Commander Roderick Blaine is given temporary command of the ship, along with secret orders to take Horace Hussein Bury, a powerful interstellar merchant suspected of instigating the revolt, to the Imperial capital, Sparta. Another passenger is Lady Sandra "Sally" Bright Fowler, the niece of an Imperial senator and a traumatized former prisoner of the rebels. | |||
| The alien is bizarrely asymmetric, with two delicate arms on one side of its body and a single, much larger and stronger arm on the other. Although it is bipedal and has a head and face similar to humans, its anatomy is entirely different. It has no flexible spine and the face is capable of little expression. It is the first alien race that humans have come into ] with. The ship itself is composed of alloys with remarkable properties and designed around unique, custom-built parts, no two alike, that perform multiple unrelated tasks simultaneously. | |||
| New Caledonia is the capital of the Trans-Coalsack sector, on the opposite side of the ] from Earth. Also in the sector is a ] star known as Murcheson's Eye. Associated with it is a yellow Sun-like star, which from New Caledonia appears in front of the Eye. Since some see the Eye and the Coalsack as the face of God, the yellow star is known as the Mote in God's Eye. | |||
| ===The Crazy Eddie Point=== | |||
| ''MacArthur'' and the battleship '']'' are sent to the Mote: the star from which the alien ship came. ''MacArthur'' carries civilian research teams intended to meet with and investigate the ], while ''Lenin'' is there to "ride shotgun" on the mission, avoiding all contact with the aliens. Aboard ''Lenin'' is the commander in charge of the mission, '''Admiral Lavrenti Kutuzov''', a ruthless, supremely loyal officer who had already sterilized one rebellious colony planet to safeguard Imperial Reunification. Bury goes along (since they need a merchant to assess the trade possibilities and also because there is nobody trustworthy enough to take him to the capital), as does Sally, a trained anthropologist. Despite (or, rather due to) the civilians' distrust, Blaine remains in command of ''MacArthur'' | |||
| Approaching New Caledonia, ''MacArthur'' is ordered to investigate when an alien spacecraft, propelled by a ], is detected. After the spacecraft fires upon ''MacArthur'', Blaine has its main capsule detached from the sail and taken aboard at great risk to his ship and crew. Its sole occupant, a brown and white furred creature, is found dead. | |||
| The Mote has only one Alderson point leading to it, and to reach it, the ships must actually enter the outer layers of the ] itself before activating the drive. This is only possible because they also have the ] for protection. Supergiant stars are up to 500 million km in diameter, but the outer layers are basically a hot vacuum. | |||
| After much debate, ''MacArthur'' and the battleship ''Lenin'' are sent to the star from which the alien ship came, the Mote. ''MacArthur'' carries civilian researchers to make first contact with the aliens, quickly nicknamed "Moties". Admiral Kutuzov, aboard ''Lenin'', has strict orders to avoid all contact with the aliens and ensure that human technology does not fall into their hands. The Moties seem friendly and have advanced technology that they are willing to trade, much to Bury's delight. Although they also possess the Alderson Drive, none of their ships have ever returned. This is because, unknown to the Moties, the Mote's only Alderson exit point lies within the outer layers of the star Murcheson's Eye. Human warships can survive there for a limited time because of their protective ]s, which the Moties do not have. | |||
| ''MacArthur'' successfully makes contact with the Moties. They have advanced technology (in some areas superior to that of the First Empire, much less the current Second), but seem friendly and willing to share it. Indeed, they would have been a formidable threat to Humanity, had they not been bottled up in their home system. They had independently invented the Alderson Drive, calling it the "Crazy Eddie" Drive, but the ships that used it had all disappeared and never come back. In fact, they were destroyed because the other end of the tramline ended inside the supergiant. The Moties deduce that humans use the drive because ''MacArthur'' and ''Lenin'' appear at the "Crazy Eddie Point". | |||
| The Moties are an old species, native to a planet that the humans label Mote Prime, that has evolved into many specialized subspecies. The first taken aboard ''MacArthur'' is an "Engineer", possessing amazing technical abilities, but limited speech and free will. It brings along a pair of tiny "Watchmakers" as helpers. Some days later, a delegation of "Mediators" (like the dead pilot of the probe ship) arrive. Their specialty is communication and negotiation. The Mediators invite the humans to send a party to Mote Prime. After some debate, the invitation is accepted. Each person in this group acquires a "Fyunch(click)", a Mediator who studies their human subject and tries to learn how to think like them. | |||
| ===Meet Crazy Eddie=== | |||
| The Moties are an old species that has evolved into many specialized subspecies. The first encountered is an Engineer, a brown form with amazing technical abilities but limited speech. The next are Mediators, brown and white forms like the dead pilot, who have astounding communication and negotiation skills. Each one adopts a particular human in the contact party, becoming his (her in Sally's case) ''Fyunch (click)'', studying its subject and learning how to think like him or her, even to the point of exactly reproducing voices and mannerisms. Other forms include the white Masters and non-sentient versions kept for menial work. | |||
| Back on ''MacArthur'', the Watchmakers escape, and although it is assumed they have died, they have actually been breeding furiously out of sight. Undetected by the crew, they modify parts of ''MacArthur'' to suit their needs. When they are discovered, a battle for control of the ship erupts. The crew is eventually forced to abandon ship after suffering casualties. The party on Mote Prime is quickly recalled without explanation and told to rendezvous with ''Lenin''. Once ''MacArthur'' is evacuated, ''Lenin'' fires on and destroys her to prevent the potential capture of human technology. | |||
| These and others are encountered when the contact party visits the planet ] at the invitation of the Moties. They reside in a special building created for them, protected from the polluted and poisonous atmosphere. From there, they are taken to places of interest in the surrounding city, such as an "art gallery", which seems to be more of a monument to events in history. The Moties attempt to interest their visitors, especially Bury, in the commercial possibilities of continued contact between the civilizations. | |||
| During the evacuation, ''MacArthur'' midshipmen Staley, Whitbread and Potter are cut off and forced to escape in Watchmaker-modified lifeboats. The lifeboats automatically land in a sparsely populated area of Mote Prime. There the midshipmen find a fortified museum. It provides evidence of a very long and violent history, though the Moties had carefully portrayed themselves as completely peaceful. Following this discovery, the midshipmen are tracked down by Whitbread's Mediator Fyunch(click), who reveals that Moties (other than the short-lived, sterile Mediators) must become pregnant periodically or die. This inevitably results in overpopulation ... and civilization-ending wars. The Masters, whom the Mediators obey, have also concealed the existence of one Motie subspecies from the humans: Warriors more deadly than any human, even ]. | |||
| Back on ''MacArthur'', disaster strikes. A pair of tiny Motie Watchmakers brought aboard by the Engineer the humans first met had escaped, and although it was assumed they had died, they had actually been breeding furiously. Watchmakers are not sentient, but have an extremely highly developed instinct for technology — and, unknown to the human crew, had been quietly redesigning and rebuilding ''MacArthur'' - whilst continuing to breed. When they are discovered, there are already large numbers aboard, and a furious battle for control of the ship breaks out. The crew is eventually forced to abandon ship; ''Lenin'' has no choice but to destroy ''MacArthur''. The contact party is recalled without explanation and told to rendezvous directly with ''Lenin''. | |||
| The museums exist to help restore civilization after a collapse. The "Cycles" of civilization, war, and collapse have gone on for hundreds of thousands of years, leaving the Moties ] resigned to their destiny. Only a mythical character called "Crazy Eddie" believes there is a way to change this, and any Motie who comes to believe a solution is possible is labeled a "Crazy Eddie" and deemed insane. | |||
| Three ''MacArthur'' midshipmen who managed to escape from the ship in lifeboats (ironically enough, lifeboats constructed by the descendants of the escaped Watchmakers) land on Mote Prime. Exploring unsupervised for the first time, they make a startling discovery — the Moties are not nearly as peaceful as they had carefully portrayed themselves. They are sequential ], changing sex over and over again over the course of their lives — with one quirk: if a Motie remains female for too long without becoming ], the hormone imbalance will kill her. This forces the species to be extremely prolific, with a birth rate that ensures a never-ending ]. Attempts at population control through chemicals or infanticide have always failed for the Moties, because those who (secretly or openly) breed uncontrolled eventually swamp those Moties who complied. Once the population pressure rises high enough, massive wars inevitably result, which kill off almost everybody — only to have the survivors rebuild and repeat the cycle. So devastating are these wars that, in the past, Mote Prime has been completely sterilized several times, to be repopulated by those living in outer space, mostly in hollowed-out asteroids. | |||
| The current civilization is governed by a type of industrial ], with coalitions of Masters in control of the planet. One faction, led by "King Peter", wanted to reveal the truth to the humans, but was overruled. Colonization of other planets would inexorably bring about conflict with humans, as the inevitable Motie population explosion would force them to seek to take over human worlds. Nonetheless, the more powerful coalition sees this temporary solution as preferable to the impending collapse. Both factions send Warriors after the midshipmen, one to capture them, the other to rescue them. The stronger group's Warriors trap the midshipmen, but the trio refuse to surrender and die as a result. | |||
| The Cycles of civilization, war, and collapse have apparently been going on for millions of years. In the process, the Moties mutated from earlier symmetrical forms. They have become fatalistically resigned to the neverending Cycles, and have evolved an instinctive aversion to birth control of any kind. Only a mythical character called "Crazy Eddie" believes there is a way out, and any motie who comes to believe a way out is possible is labeled as insane and a "Crazy Eddie." | |||
| Unaware of the midshipmen's fate, ''Lenin'' leaves the Mote system, taking with it three ambassadors, a sterile Master and two Mediators, whose mission is to open the galaxy to their species while concealing their terrible secrets. | |||
| The midshipmen also find that there is a Warrior caste, far superior in combat to any human soldier (even the hated, enhanced ]). The three humans are killed by Warriors from one faction, despite assistance from a friendly Motie Master. One of the Mediators helping them, known as Charlie, is returned to its Master and sent as one of the ambassadors to ''Lenin''. | |||
| An Imperial Commission is on the verge of granting colonies to the Moties, but ''MacArthur'' Sailing Master/Lieutenant Kevin Renner figures out the truth just in time. It is the passengers on the original probe, deliberately ejected into space, that give the game away. Not only is there a Warrior among the group, but several are visibly pregnant, demolishing any argument about them being statues or religious icons. | |||
| ===Crazy Eddie's Answer=== | |||
| ''Lenin'' returns home, taking with it — in violation of explicit orders to avoid contact at all costs— three Motie ambassadors. Kutuzov takes this step only after much debate. | |||
| The decision is made to gather a battle fleet to either disarm or try to annihilate the Moties. The ambassadors are faced with the extinction of their species, knowing that the Masters would never submit. However, a Mediator comes up with a third option: a blockade of the system's only Alderson exit point. This plan is adopted, over the strenuous opposition of Bury, who views the Moties as the greatest threat humanity has ever faced. | |||
| The Motie party consists of two Mediators, Charlie and Jock, and a sterile white Master, known as Ivan. Their mission is to open the galaxy to their ships while concealing from the humans the frightening facts about the Moties: the Cycles, the wars and the Warriors. They have to deal with problems ranging from the conditions in their quarters, where the atmosphere is breathable but too pure, to their inability to fully understand human motives. | |||
| ==Characters== | |||
| When the Alderson Drive is used to Jump out of the Mote system, it becomes obvious that as bad as the Jump is for humans, Moties suffer much more from the nervous system effects and remain incapacitated after a Jump for a longer period of time. | |||
| ; Commander Roderick "Rod" Blaine: A navy officer and member of an influential aristocratic family, Blaine is promoted to captain of the Imperial battlecruiser INSS '']''. On return to New Scotland from the Mote, he is retired from active service and appointed to the Commission charged with negotiating with the Moties. | |||
| ; Lady Sandra "Sally" Bright Fowler: After leaving the Imperial University at Sparta with a master's degree in anthropology, she and a classmate named Dorothy embarked on a trip to study primitive cultures (such as human colonies isolated by the civil war) first hand. They became caught up in the revolution on New Chicago. Dorothy disappeared and Sally was imprisoned in a ], where she took on a leadership role. Months later, she and her two retainers were rescued by Imperial forces. The niece of an Imperial senator, she is sent home aboard ''MacArthur'', but talks herself onto the expedition to the Mote based on her skills. | |||
| ; His Excellency Horace Hussein Chamoun al Shamlan Bury: An Imperial magnate, Chairman of the Board of Imperial Autonetics, and a leading member of the Imperial Traders Association, Bury instigates the rebellion on New Chicago. The Navy suspects his involvement, so he is made a virtual, though unofficial, prisoner aboard ''MacArthur'', with the intent of sending him to New Sparta to face the judgement of the Imperial Court. Although rich, he is not in a position to bribe Blaine, whose family is even richer. His experiences during the evacuation of ''MacArthur'' turn him into an advocate for isolating or even destroying the Moties. | |||
| ; Nabil: Bury's servant, skilled with dagger and poison. Travels with Bury to New Scotland, the Mote, and eventually to Sparta. At Bury's command, he captures two "Watchmaker" Moties and places them in a spacesuit's air tank in suspended animation. Later Bury throws the tank away, having become intensely fearful of Moties. | |||
| ; Commander Jack Cargill: First lieutenant of ''MacArthur'', promoted to executive officer after the battle of New Chicago. | |||
| ; Commander Jock (Sandy) Sinclair: ''MacArthur''{{'}}s chief engineer. Born in New Scotland. | |||
| ; Jonathon Whitbread: A ''MacArthur'' ], he becomes the first man to make contact with a living Motie. He has an easygoing personality in contrast to his shipmate Horst Staley. Whitbread is described as being "17 standard years old", slightly younger than the more senior Staley. | |||
| ; Horst Staley: A ''MacArthur'' midshipman. Born on the former rebel planet ''Sauron'', he adheres rigidly to naval regulations and the chain of command, and displays no sense of humor. Like the other midshipman, Staley is still in his teens. Despite this, he is put in command of a boarding party of marines ordered to rescue trapped passengers and retrieve Motie technology during the evacuation of ''MacArthur''. | |||
| ; Gavin Potter: A ''MacArthur'' midshipman. Born on New Scotland, he joins the crew when ''MacArthur'' refuels at a moon of one of the outer planets in the New Caledonia system. Potter serves as the guide to New Scot culture for other characters, particularly the cult known as the Church of Him. He describes the intense light seen coming from the Mote a century earlier, convincing the crew that the incoming probe from there was launched using lasers. | |||
| ; Kevin Renner: The ] of ''MacArthur'' and former merchant navy officer does not regard himself as a permanent Navy officer. He displays a somewhat irreverent attitude towards the Navy and its traditions while supporting the Imperial Aristocracy style of government. | |||
| ; Admiral Lavrenti Kutuzov<ref>"Lavrenti Kutuzov" combines the names of two well-known characters in Russian and Soviet history: The first name of ], the Chief of ]'s secret police, and the surname of ], a general who distinguished himself during ] in 1812.</ref>: Kutuzov is chosen to command the mission to the Mote because of his ruthless devotion to duty by whatever means are necessary: He once reduced a populated planet to ashes in order to stop a dangerous rebellion against the Empire of Man. | |||
| ; Senator Benjamin Bright Fowler: Sally's uncle, dispatched to New Scotland to meet ''Lenin'' on return from the Mote, and head of the Commission to negotiate with Moties. | |||
| ; Father David Hardy: The ship's chaplain aboard MacArthur and an expert linguist, he becomes part of the team that meets the first Motie delegation. Incorrectly regarded as "unworldly", he does not believe everything the Moties say, observing that "priests hear a lot of lies". He is also the first to interpret some Motie communication. | |||
| ; Dr. Anthony Horvath: Minister of Science for Trans-Coalsack sector. Leader of the New Scotland science delegation to the Mote. He advocates for open contact with the Moties, ignorant of any threat they represent. | |||
| ; Dr. Jacob Buckman: An ] whom Bury cultivates as a source of information about the activities of the rest of MacArthur's crew. | |||
| ; Admiral Plekhanov<ref>"Plekhanov" is the surname of ], a well-known 19th Century Russian revolutionary.</ref>: Fleet Commander in the Battle of New Chicago, then Acting Governor-General of the recaptured colony. | |||
| ; Bruno Cziller: Captain commanding ''MacArthur'', then Rear-Admiral on Plekhanov's staff on New Chicago, ceding command of his ship to Blaine. | |||
| ===Moties=== | |||
| Back at New Caledonia, the Empire holds talks aimed at establishing trade and peaceful relations with the Moties, not realizing the danger. Fortunately, McArthur's sailing master, the unconventional Kevin Renner, manages to put together various clues they had picked up during the expedition-particularly a series of images gained from the probe that led the Empire to the Mote(showing, in detail, the well-kept secret of the Motie Warrior caste)-and proves to the others the magnitude of the threat in time. The threat they face is that the inescapable destructive cycles, which had been restricted to Mote Prime because the Moties could not leave their system, would be inflicted upon the entire galaxy. The Moties can not stop breeding, and while expansion to other planets seems a solution, this only works until all planets are full with Moties - at which time a devastating war for space and resources will begin. | |||
| Moties are described as bipeds, about {{convert|1.3|meters}} tall, covered with fur whose color depends on the subspecies. Their most obvious feature is the asymmetric arrangement of arms, with two dexterous right arms and one heavily muscled left arm whose musculature attaches to the head, so that Moties have no left ear to match the large, membrane-like right ear. The backbone is jointed rather than flexible and the entire upper body swivels to turn the head. The face is simple and incapable of expression. Gestures replace facial expression. | |||
| Masters have all-white fur, described as silky. Engineers have brown fur, while Mediators, bred of Masters and Engineers, have patchy fur in brown and white and are sterile. Siblings tend to have identical patterns of patches. Masters are obeyed by all other Motie subspecies, though Mediators have some independence to negotiate between Masters. Other Motie subspecies include Warriors, Doctors with extra dexterity, and semi-sentient Farmers who raise crops. Watchmakers are small and have four arms in a symmetrical arrangement. | |||
| It seems that they will have no choice but to send the Fleet in to destroy the Motie civilisation totally, but at the last minute, Charlie convinces the humans to blockade the Alderson point instead and keep their people confined to their own system for the foreseeable future. The Moties are so helpless after a Jump that they will be unable to fend off any attack by human ships stationed in the Eye itself. This turns out to be the case— even when Motie ships come equipped with improved versions of the Langston Field, they cannot survive both the Eye's hot ] and the blockading ships both inside and outside the star. | |||
| Moties alternate between sexes as part of their reproductive cycle, except for Mediators who cannot reproduce and have shorter lives. Masters may become sterile males with hormone treatment, at which point they can become Keepers, who preserve resources considered too essential to be fought over. | |||
| The book ends with one of the Motie Mediators predicting that the humans will take over the Motie civilization after the next collapse, and wondering if perhaps the humans might be able to force an end to the Cycles after all. | |||
| ; The Asteroid Miner: After ''MacArthur'' appears in the system, the first ship to rendezvous comes from a group of ] related to the only ] planet. The pilot is an Engineer. Whitbread boards the Miner's ship and finds it occupied by the Miner and dozens of Watchmakers. The Miner accompanies Whitbread back to ''MacArthur'', bringing two Watchmakers and killing the rest by evacuating her ship's air. The humans are unable to communicate with the Miner, not realizing her status, but discover her ability to improve gadgets. Before the next delegation of Moties arrives, the Miner dies from failing to become pregnant in time. The Watchmakers reproduce in vast numbers and re-make ''MacArthur'' under the humans' noses, eventually leading to the ship's evacuation and destruction. | |||
| ==Notes== | |||
| ; Whitbread's Motie: When the midshipmen land on Mote Prime, Whitbread's Fyunch(click) arrives in an aircraft with Charlie, another Mediator, and an Engineer. Whitbread's Motie serves a Master who was given jurisdiction over interaction with humans, but will kill the midshipmen rather than expose the truth about Moties. At this point all the other Fyunch(click) Mediators are either "Crazy Eddie" or helping their Master. She is instrumental in helping the midshipmen get away from the Museum, explaining their peril to them, and instructing the Brown to work on weapons and transport for them. She kills Whitbread to save him from capture, Whitbread doing the same for Potter while Staley dies fighting. She is later executed in shame for killing her Fyunch(click). | |||
| ] paperback edition]] | |||
| ; "Charlie": Charlie is a Mediator whose Master, "King Peter", is willing to protect the midshipmen and send them home. Charlie regards Whitbread's Motie as Crazy Eddie but is willing to work with her to prevent a war. Later Charlie is one of the three Moties sent to negotiate with the humans. It is Charlie who suggests the blockade of the Motie system to prevent the annihilation of her species. | |||
| ===Setting=== | |||
| ; "Ivan": Ivan is a Keeper, a sterile Master in the male phase who cannot have children and theoretically has no interest in dynastic conflict. Keepers have jurisdiction over vital resources, such as the Museums, used to help rebuild civilization after the inevitable collapse. Ivan is the official ambassador to the Empire. | |||
| The original intent of the authors was to write the ultimate First Contact novel. Casting around for a model society, they decided to use the ] future history already written by Pournelle. Various features of this, particularly the form of government, the Alderson Drive and Langston Field technology, and the existence of Murcheson's Eye on the other side of the Coalsack, were ideal for their purposes. | |||
| ; "Jock": Jock is a Mediator, the third member of the Motie negotiation team. She is in the first delegation of Moties that meets ''MacArthur'' but does not become a Fyunch(click). She serves the same Master as Whitbread's Motie. Her job is to study Kutuzov, the commander of the expedition, but has to do so only indirectly, as Kutuzov is under strict orders to not communicate with the Moties. | |||
| ===Technology=== | |||
| Although they invented the ] and the ] technology, the authors go to great lengths to keep the rest of the novel within the bounds of known science. The spaceships, in particular, have significant limitations despite having highly efficient nuclear propulsion systems based on ], aided by the ability of the Langston Field to confine and direct hot plasma. They cannot zip from planet to planet in mere hours. In pursuit of the Motie probe, ''MacArthur'' accelerates at up to 4 ] for five days to match velocities at about 6% of the speed of light, then has to decelerate to reach New Scotland safely, arriving more or less out of fuel. Warships like ''MacArthur'' tend to get to their destinations as fast as possible using constant acceleration and deceleration, while commercial ships coast on long ]s to conserve fuel. When ] is needed, the ships are spun to produce ]. | |||
| ==Crazy Eddie== | |||
| The ''Alderson Drive'' and ''Langston field'' also have their drawbacks. Alderson Jumps are bad for delicate electronics and biological systems, especially nerves. Electronic equipment has to be shut down for the duration of a Jump and carefully restarted afterwards. For this reason, the crews of Navy ships are quite young, as the young recover faster than their elders. Blaine is only 25 standard years old. His junior officers range down to midshipmen in their mid-teens. It turns out that the Moties suffer much worse than humans in this respect. | |||
| The Moties frequently refer to the mythical character they call "Crazy Eddie" when talking to humans. There are many Crazy Eddie stories, but all revolve around the inevitability of repeated cycles of collapse of Motie civilization and the pointlessness of trying to prevent them. The drive that humans call the Alderson Drive, which allows human ships to travel between star systems, is called by Moties the Crazy Eddie Drive, because although it is founded in sound science and has been reinvented many times by Motie civilizations, ships that attempt to use it disappear and are never seen again. The Moties do not know that the ships they send appear inside the hot photosphere of Murcheson's Eye. Human ships are protected by the energy-absorbing Langston Field. The point in space where the Alderson Drive operates is known to the Moties as the Crazy Eddie Point. This is the title of the second part of the novel. The other parts are titled "The Crazy Eddie Probe", "Meet Crazy Eddie", and "Crazy Eddie's Answer". From the Moties point of view, humans are Crazy Eddie. Several Moties, including Rod Blaine's Fyunch(click), become Crazy Eddie after exposure to human attitudes. | |||
| ==Reception== | |||
| Jumps can also only be performed from specific ''jump points'' or ''Alderson Points''. These are said to be points of equipotential thermonuclear flux between two stars and can be difficult to find. Thus, escaping a battle by "jumping to lightspeed" is nearly impossible in this universe. | |||
| ], while giving the authors extensive advice on a draft manuscript, described it as "a very important novel, possibly the best contact-with-aliens story ever written".<ref>, ''The Virginia Edition''</ref> ], writing in ''],'' described ''The Mote in God's Eye'' as "one of the most engrossing tales I have encountered in years", stating that "the overall pace of the book the sheer solid ''story'' of it" excuse whatever flaws might remain, with the one complaint being that he found it unlikely the Moties would not have used genetic engineering at some point to curb their population growth.<ref>"Galaxy Bookshelf", '']'', September 1974, pp.121-22</ref> ], one of the creators of the related "War World Series" and creator of the Saurons in those books, has stated, "This, of course, is the 'beam' in the Moties' own 'eye'; their inability to see a solution to their problem because of a lack of objective understanding of their situation, a result of cultural and environmental pressures which have shaped their own personal prejudices."{{quote without source|date = Jult 2024}} | |||
| '']'' reviewer Terry McLaughlin found the novel "a superior tale, told without the pseudo-psychology background that seems to mar many a new science fiction novel."<ref>, ''Portsmouth Times'', November 14, 1974, p.20</ref> | |||
| The ''Langston field'' can absorb energy, but must store it somewhere or redirect it away to the outside, otherwise the field will overload and collapse, with all the energy being directed into the ship, vaporizing it. | |||
| ] and ] reported that while the imagined aliens were "fascinating creations", the "style and characterization the weaknesses of both Niven and Pournelle."<ref>Aldiss & Wingrove, '']'', ], 1986, p.655n43</ref> | |||
| In spite of these limitations, the ships are immensely powerful, not only with their armaments of high-power lasers and nuclear missiles, but with the fusion drives that can themselves be used as plasma weapons, especially against unprotected ground targets. These plasma beams can also be used to burn roadways across the landscape to help in ] a world. This is mentioned during the ''MacArthur'''s stopover at ''New Scotland'' in the ''New Caledonia'' system. While the ships seem to have vast reserves of power, from time to time, all engine power has to be allocated to send a message across interplanetary distances using a ]. The Langston Field or some variant thereof is used within the fusion drive, presumably to contain a fusion reaction sufficiently intense to provide enough energy to power the ship. | |||
| ==Awards and nominations== | |||
| Some other technologies of the Second Empire of Man are mentioned. Marines are armed with lasers and laser resistant armor. People use ]-like pocket computers, which at the time of the novel’s writing, was considered futuristic and fantastic. Despite this, the Second Empire is not quite as advanced as the First Empire. Some knowledge, such as the fabrication of ultrastrong materials, has been lost. Due to interstellar war, some worlds have even reverted to primitive levels of civilization. | |||
| * Nominated for the ] for ] in 1975.<ref name="WWE-1975"/> | |||
| * Nominated for the ] for ] in 1975.<ref name="WWE-1975"/> | |||
| * Nominated for the ] for ] in 1975.<ref name="WWE-1975"/> | |||
| == |
==Sequels== | ||
| Pournelle and Niven followed up with the sequel '']'' and in 2010 Pournelle's daughter, Jennifer, published an authorized sequel entitled ''Outies''. | |||
| Masters command the loyalty and obedience of groups of other kinds of Moties, such as Engineers, Warriors, Doctors, etc. However they are not good negotiators, Mediators were created as sterile hybrids of the white Masters and brown Engineers to minimize the number of wars between rival Masters. Mediators will always obey Masters, so they cannot themselves change the direction of Motie civilization, but they have considerable latitude to do their job. There is no money economy as such, but Masters barter prestige, material goods, etc. A few sterile Masters (unlikely to attempt a takeover for their children) are designated as Keepers and given control of the Museums where knowledge is carefully stored to aid recovery after collapse. When a civilization is doing well, alliances of Masters can cooperate to achieve great things, but the urge to reproduce always causes the alliances to break down, usually resulting in catastrophic wars. | |||
| ===Motie technology=== | |||
| After thousands of Cycles, the Motie system is depleted of important materials like metals. Where human technology relies on specialized devices, often with multi-redundant backups, Moties rely on the technological ''idiot savant'' Engineers, assisted by the semi-intelligent miniature Watchmakers, to constantly build and rebuild devices to order, recycling existing parts that are not needed at the moment. For instance, rather than have a programmable autopilot in a ship, an Engineer would build one to send a ship to a new location, using its ever-present kit of tools and advanced materials. Moties do not use computers as such, relying on the instincts of their specialized castes for jobs such as space navigation. On the ground, Engineers drive at breakneck speed on crowded roads without fear of collision, and upon reaching destination, will dismantle their cars so they won’t take too much parking space. | |||
| ==Other related works== | |||
| Another feature of Motie technology is that, to save material and weight, devices perform multiple functions simultaneously, such as being both structural components and sensors. However, having adapted to space, the off-planet Moties are at home in zero gravity and do not have to spin their ships. This has important consequences for the structure of their ships, which is always in flux in any case. | |||
| {{unreferenced section|date = July 2024}} | |||
| 60,000 words were cut from the novel before publication.{{citation needed|date = July 2024}} | |||
| The short story "Reflex" was instead published in 1983 in the first ''There Will Be War'' collection, edited by Pournelle and ].<ref name="nivenpournelle1983">{{Cite book |title=There Will Be War |last=Niven |first=Larry |last2=Pournelle |first2=Jerry |publisher=Castalia House |year=2015 |editor-last=Pournelle |editor-first=Jerry |editor-link=Jerry Pournelle |volume=I |location=Kouvola, Finland |at=134 |chapter=Reflex |author-link=Larry Niven |author-link2=Jerry Pournelle |editor-last2=Carr |editor-first2=John F. |editor-link2=John F. Carr}}</ref>{{primary source inline|date = July 2024}} It details an early phase of the battle for New Chicago, told from the rebels' point of view. ''MacArthur'', with Captain Cziller in command and Blaine as executive officer, engages and defeats a rebel ship, but because of the technology, particularly the Langston Field, the ship is still deadly and surrender is a complex matter. Midshipman Horst Staley is sent to board and disable the ship while carrying a suicide bomb to prevent interference. He makes a mistake, allowing the "political officer" aboard the ship to snatch away the bomb, but the crew who are sick of the revolt overpower the officer. This preys on his mind during the events of the main novel. The rebel ship is taken as a prize, renamed ''Defiant'', and commanded by Blaine during the final battle. | |||
| One of the complaints of the ambassadors is they have no Engineer with them to customize their cabin and beds, and to build them devices to help them live more comfortably. An Engineer would have given away the secrets of Motie biology, especially the reproductive compulsion. | |||
| "Motelight" was also originally written as part of the novel, but was never published except as part of the non-fiction piece "Building 'The Mote in God's Eye'" that appeared in Pournelle's collection "A Step Farther Out". It describes how two astronomers on the planet New Scotland try to continue their work during the war with neighboring New Ireland, and are thus the first to see the sudden brightening of the Mote due to the laser launch system being activated. The rest of the population are hiding under the Langston Fields protecting their cities from bombardment, until one day the field fails and they see the Coal Sack with a glowing green Eye. The story also mentions "Howard Grote Littlemead", who believes that the bright Mote is really the Eye of God, and founds the Church of Him. It is in one of the churches that Potter shows Renner and Staley a holographic picture of the Coal Sack showing the intense green glow of the Mote. | |||
| ===Crazy Eddie=== | |||
| This is a translation of the term the Moties use for any exercise in futility, or any attempt to do, or even think about doing, anything to try to stop the inevitable collapse of their current civilization which is war driven by overpopulation. Their version of the Alderson Drive was called the Crazy Eddie Drive. The spaceship sent to New Caledonia was called the Crazy Eddie Probe, particularly since the effort needed to send it on its way with huge ]s caused a collapse all by itself. The Mediator assigned to Rod Blaine goes ''Crazy Eddie'', infected by Blaine's idealism. Going ''Crazy Eddie'' is an occupational hazard for these Mediators, who cannot deal with humans ability to switch between different roles in their society, or who succumb to the ] in human nature. | |||
| Larry Niven also wrote a poem, "In Memoriam: Howard Grote Littlemead", that was published much later. | |||
| Interestingly the term '''Crazy Eddie''' was probably conceived independently of the ] of the same name. At the time the novel was written, the Crazy Eddie stores were confined to a small part of New York City, while the authors lived in California. | |||
| ==References== | |||
| == Awards and nominations == | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| * Nominated for the ] for ] in 1975. | |||
| * Nominated for the ] for ] in 1975. | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| * {{ISFDB title|id=1495}} | |||
| * | |||
| * {{OL work|id=15331302W|cname=''The Mote in God's Eye''}} | |||
| * | |||
| * at Worlds Without End | |||
| * Portions of the book are available for free (or the entirety, for pay) through ]'s WebScription service including the never-before published . | |||
| * Portions of the book are available for free (or the entirety, for pay) through ]'s WebScription service including the prologue which was cut from the original publication. | |||
| {{Larry Niven}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 11:24, 11 December 2024
1974 novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle This article is about the novel. For the Ivan Doroschuk album, see Mote in God's Eye (demo album). First edition (hardcover) | |
| Author | Larry Niven Jerry Pournelle |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | CoDominium |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication date | 1974 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 537 |
| ISBN | 0-671-21833-6 |
| OCLC | 934734 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.5/4 |
| LC Class | PZ4.N734 Mo PS3564.I9 |
| Followed by | The Gripping Hand |
The Mote in God's Eye is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, first published in 1974. The story is set in the distant future of Pournelle's CoDominium universe, and charts the first contact between humanity and an alien species. The title of the novel is a reference to the Biblical "The Mote and the Beam" parable and is the nickname of a star. The Mote in God's Eye was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards in 1975.
Setting
The Mote in God's Eye (originally titled Motelight) is set in Pournelle's CoDominium universe, where a union of the United States and the Soviet Union produced a world government and a number of colonies in other star systems, followed by nuclear war on Earth and the rise of the First Empire based on the planet Sparta several centuries before the events of the novel. There is a reference to these events in Pournelle's novel King David's Spaceship.
Many, but not all, humans are part of the Second Empire, held together by an interstellar navy modeled on 19th century British lines, with all-male crews, a highly competent officer corps grown from midshipmen recruited in their teens and trained on the job, and well-armed, well-organized Marines to carry out ground missions. Those who prove themselves worthy can be promoted into the aristocracy. The aristocrats themselves tend more towards duty than privilege. The Empire is predominantly Christian, but other religions are more or less tolerated. The people of the planet Dayan are Jewish, while Horace Bury is a Muslim business magnate from Levant. An upstart religion, the "Church of Him", which was founded when the Mote became intensely bright and was regarded as part of the Face of God, is shown in decline, its founder having committed suicide when the light from the Mote went out.
The Second Empire sees its mission as uniting humanity into one government to prevent war. But in service of this mission, the empire is capable of extreme brutality; it has sterilized a planet to prevent rebellion.
Plot summary
In the year 3017, humanity is slowly recovering from an interstellar civil war that tore apart the first Empire of Man. The Second Empire is busy establishing control over the remnants left by its predecessor, by force if necessary. The Alderson Drive enables ships to travel instantaneously between "Alderson points" in specific star systems.
After a rebellion on the planet New Chicago is quashed, Captain Bruno Cziller of the Imperial battlecruiser INSS MacArthur remains behind as Chief of Staff to the new governor, while Commander Roderick Blaine is given temporary command of the ship, along with secret orders to take Horace Hussein Bury, a powerful interstellar merchant suspected of instigating the revolt, to the Imperial capital, Sparta. Another passenger is Lady Sandra "Sally" Bright Fowler, the niece of an Imperial senator and a traumatized former prisoner of the rebels.
New Caledonia is the capital of the Trans-Coalsack sector, on the opposite side of the Coalsack Nebula from Earth. Also in the sector is a red supergiant star known as Murcheson's Eye. Associated with it is a yellow Sun-like star, which from New Caledonia appears in front of the Eye. Since some see the Eye and the Coalsack as the face of God, the yellow star is known as the Mote in God's Eye.
Approaching New Caledonia, MacArthur is ordered to investigate when an alien spacecraft, propelled by a solar sail, is detected. After the spacecraft fires upon MacArthur, Blaine has its main capsule detached from the sail and taken aboard at great risk to his ship and crew. Its sole occupant, a brown and white furred creature, is found dead.
After much debate, MacArthur and the battleship Lenin are sent to the star from which the alien ship came, the Mote. MacArthur carries civilian researchers to make first contact with the aliens, quickly nicknamed "Moties". Admiral Kutuzov, aboard Lenin, has strict orders to avoid all contact with the aliens and ensure that human technology does not fall into their hands. The Moties seem friendly and have advanced technology that they are willing to trade, much to Bury's delight. Although they also possess the Alderson Drive, none of their ships have ever returned. This is because, unknown to the Moties, the Mote's only Alderson exit point lies within the outer layers of the star Murcheson's Eye. Human warships can survive there for a limited time because of their protective Langston Fields, which the Moties do not have.
The Moties are an old species, native to a planet that the humans label Mote Prime, that has evolved into many specialized subspecies. The first taken aboard MacArthur is an "Engineer", possessing amazing technical abilities, but limited speech and free will. It brings along a pair of tiny "Watchmakers" as helpers. Some days later, a delegation of "Mediators" (like the dead pilot of the probe ship) arrive. Their specialty is communication and negotiation. The Mediators invite the humans to send a party to Mote Prime. After some debate, the invitation is accepted. Each person in this group acquires a "Fyunch(click)", a Mediator who studies their human subject and tries to learn how to think like them.
Back on MacArthur, the Watchmakers escape, and although it is assumed they have died, they have actually been breeding furiously out of sight. Undetected by the crew, they modify parts of MacArthur to suit their needs. When they are discovered, a battle for control of the ship erupts. The crew is eventually forced to abandon ship after suffering casualties. The party on Mote Prime is quickly recalled without explanation and told to rendezvous with Lenin. Once MacArthur is evacuated, Lenin fires on and destroys her to prevent the potential capture of human technology.
During the evacuation, MacArthur midshipmen Staley, Whitbread and Potter are cut off and forced to escape in Watchmaker-modified lifeboats. The lifeboats automatically land in a sparsely populated area of Mote Prime. There the midshipmen find a fortified museum. It provides evidence of a very long and violent history, though the Moties had carefully portrayed themselves as completely peaceful. Following this discovery, the midshipmen are tracked down by Whitbread's Mediator Fyunch(click), who reveals that Moties (other than the short-lived, sterile Mediators) must become pregnant periodically or die. This inevitably results in overpopulation ... and civilization-ending wars. The Masters, whom the Mediators obey, have also concealed the existence of one Motie subspecies from the humans: Warriors more deadly than any human, even Sauron supersoldiers.
The museums exist to help restore civilization after a collapse. The "Cycles" of civilization, war, and collapse have gone on for hundreds of thousands of years, leaving the Moties fatalistically resigned to their destiny. Only a mythical character called "Crazy Eddie" believes there is a way to change this, and any Motie who comes to believe a solution is possible is labeled a "Crazy Eddie" and deemed insane.
The current civilization is governed by a type of industrial feudalism, with coalitions of Masters in control of the planet. One faction, led by "King Peter", wanted to reveal the truth to the humans, but was overruled. Colonization of other planets would inexorably bring about conflict with humans, as the inevitable Motie population explosion would force them to seek to take over human worlds. Nonetheless, the more powerful coalition sees this temporary solution as preferable to the impending collapse. Both factions send Warriors after the midshipmen, one to capture them, the other to rescue them. The stronger group's Warriors trap the midshipmen, but the trio refuse to surrender and die as a result.
Unaware of the midshipmen's fate, Lenin leaves the Mote system, taking with it three ambassadors, a sterile Master and two Mediators, whose mission is to open the galaxy to their species while concealing their terrible secrets.
An Imperial Commission is on the verge of granting colonies to the Moties, but MacArthur Sailing Master/Lieutenant Kevin Renner figures out the truth just in time. It is the passengers on the original probe, deliberately ejected into space, that give the game away. Not only is there a Warrior among the group, but several are visibly pregnant, demolishing any argument about them being statues or religious icons.
The decision is made to gather a battle fleet to either disarm or try to annihilate the Moties. The ambassadors are faced with the extinction of their species, knowing that the Masters would never submit. However, a Mediator comes up with a third option: a blockade of the system's only Alderson exit point. This plan is adopted, over the strenuous opposition of Bury, who views the Moties as the greatest threat humanity has ever faced.
Characters
- Commander Roderick "Rod" Blaine
- A navy officer and member of an influential aristocratic family, Blaine is promoted to captain of the Imperial battlecruiser INSS MacArthur. On return to New Scotland from the Mote, he is retired from active service and appointed to the Commission charged with negotiating with the Moties.
- Lady Sandra "Sally" Bright Fowler
- After leaving the Imperial University at Sparta with a master's degree in anthropology, she and a classmate named Dorothy embarked on a trip to study primitive cultures (such as human colonies isolated by the civil war) first hand. They became caught up in the revolution on New Chicago. Dorothy disappeared and Sally was imprisoned in a concentration camp, where she took on a leadership role. Months later, she and her two retainers were rescued by Imperial forces. The niece of an Imperial senator, she is sent home aboard MacArthur, but talks herself onto the expedition to the Mote based on her skills.
- His Excellency Horace Hussein Chamoun al Shamlan Bury
- An Imperial magnate, Chairman of the Board of Imperial Autonetics, and a leading member of the Imperial Traders Association, Bury instigates the rebellion on New Chicago. The Navy suspects his involvement, so he is made a virtual, though unofficial, prisoner aboard MacArthur, with the intent of sending him to New Sparta to face the judgement of the Imperial Court. Although rich, he is not in a position to bribe Blaine, whose family is even richer. His experiences during the evacuation of MacArthur turn him into an advocate for isolating or even destroying the Moties.
- Nabil
- Bury's servant, skilled with dagger and poison. Travels with Bury to New Scotland, the Mote, and eventually to Sparta. At Bury's command, he captures two "Watchmaker" Moties and places them in a spacesuit's air tank in suspended animation. Later Bury throws the tank away, having become intensely fearful of Moties.
- Commander Jack Cargill
- First lieutenant of MacArthur, promoted to executive officer after the battle of New Chicago.
- Commander Jock (Sandy) Sinclair
- MacArthur's chief engineer. Born in New Scotland.
- Jonathon Whitbread
- A MacArthur midshipman, he becomes the first man to make contact with a living Motie. He has an easygoing personality in contrast to his shipmate Horst Staley. Whitbread is described as being "17 standard years old", slightly younger than the more senior Staley.
- Horst Staley
- A MacArthur midshipman. Born on the former rebel planet Sauron, he adheres rigidly to naval regulations and the chain of command, and displays no sense of humor. Like the other midshipman, Staley is still in his teens. Despite this, he is put in command of a boarding party of marines ordered to rescue trapped passengers and retrieve Motie technology during the evacuation of MacArthur.
- Gavin Potter
- A MacArthur midshipman. Born on New Scotland, he joins the crew when MacArthur refuels at a moon of one of the outer planets in the New Caledonia system. Potter serves as the guide to New Scot culture for other characters, particularly the cult known as the Church of Him. He describes the intense light seen coming from the Mote a century earlier, convincing the crew that the incoming probe from there was launched using lasers.
- Kevin Renner
- The sailing master of MacArthur and former merchant navy officer does not regard himself as a permanent Navy officer. He displays a somewhat irreverent attitude towards the Navy and its traditions while supporting the Imperial Aristocracy style of government.
- Admiral Lavrenti Kutuzov
- Kutuzov is chosen to command the mission to the Mote because of his ruthless devotion to duty by whatever means are necessary: He once reduced a populated planet to ashes in order to stop a dangerous rebellion against the Empire of Man.
- Senator Benjamin Bright Fowler
- Sally's uncle, dispatched to New Scotland to meet Lenin on return from the Mote, and head of the Commission to negotiate with Moties.
- Father David Hardy
- The ship's chaplain aboard MacArthur and an expert linguist, he becomes part of the team that meets the first Motie delegation. Incorrectly regarded as "unworldly", he does not believe everything the Moties say, observing that "priests hear a lot of lies". He is also the first to interpret some Motie communication.
- Dr. Anthony Horvath
- Minister of Science for Trans-Coalsack sector. Leader of the New Scotland science delegation to the Mote. He advocates for open contact with the Moties, ignorant of any threat they represent.
- Dr. Jacob Buckman
- An astrophysicist whom Bury cultivates as a source of information about the activities of the rest of MacArthur's crew.
- Admiral Plekhanov
- Fleet Commander in the Battle of New Chicago, then Acting Governor-General of the recaptured colony.
- Bruno Cziller
- Captain commanding MacArthur, then Rear-Admiral on Plekhanov's staff on New Chicago, ceding command of his ship to Blaine.
Moties
Moties are described as bipeds, about 1.3 meters (4 ft 3 in) tall, covered with fur whose color depends on the subspecies. Their most obvious feature is the asymmetric arrangement of arms, with two dexterous right arms and one heavily muscled left arm whose musculature attaches to the head, so that Moties have no left ear to match the large, membrane-like right ear. The backbone is jointed rather than flexible and the entire upper body swivels to turn the head. The face is simple and incapable of expression. Gestures replace facial expression.
Masters have all-white fur, described as silky. Engineers have brown fur, while Mediators, bred of Masters and Engineers, have patchy fur in brown and white and are sterile. Siblings tend to have identical patterns of patches. Masters are obeyed by all other Motie subspecies, though Mediators have some independence to negotiate between Masters. Other Motie subspecies include Warriors, Doctors with extra dexterity, and semi-sentient Farmers who raise crops. Watchmakers are small and have four arms in a symmetrical arrangement.
Moties alternate between sexes as part of their reproductive cycle, except for Mediators who cannot reproduce and have shorter lives. Masters may become sterile males with hormone treatment, at which point they can become Keepers, who preserve resources considered too essential to be fought over.
- The Asteroid Miner
- After MacArthur appears in the system, the first ship to rendezvous comes from a group of Trojan asteroids related to the only gas giant planet. The pilot is an Engineer. Whitbread boards the Miner's ship and finds it occupied by the Miner and dozens of Watchmakers. The Miner accompanies Whitbread back to MacArthur, bringing two Watchmakers and killing the rest by evacuating her ship's air. The humans are unable to communicate with the Miner, not realizing her status, but discover her ability to improve gadgets. Before the next delegation of Moties arrives, the Miner dies from failing to become pregnant in time. The Watchmakers reproduce in vast numbers and re-make MacArthur under the humans' noses, eventually leading to the ship's evacuation and destruction.
- Whitbread's Motie
- When the midshipmen land on Mote Prime, Whitbread's Fyunch(click) arrives in an aircraft with Charlie, another Mediator, and an Engineer. Whitbread's Motie serves a Master who was given jurisdiction over interaction with humans, but will kill the midshipmen rather than expose the truth about Moties. At this point all the other Fyunch(click) Mediators are either "Crazy Eddie" or helping their Master. She is instrumental in helping the midshipmen get away from the Museum, explaining their peril to them, and instructing the Brown to work on weapons and transport for them. She kills Whitbread to save him from capture, Whitbread doing the same for Potter while Staley dies fighting. She is later executed in shame for killing her Fyunch(click).
- "Charlie"
- Charlie is a Mediator whose Master, "King Peter", is willing to protect the midshipmen and send them home. Charlie regards Whitbread's Motie as Crazy Eddie but is willing to work with her to prevent a war. Later Charlie is one of the three Moties sent to negotiate with the humans. It is Charlie who suggests the blockade of the Motie system to prevent the annihilation of her species.
- "Ivan"
- Ivan is a Keeper, a sterile Master in the male phase who cannot have children and theoretically has no interest in dynastic conflict. Keepers have jurisdiction over vital resources, such as the Museums, used to help rebuild civilization after the inevitable collapse. Ivan is the official ambassador to the Empire.
- "Jock"
- Jock is a Mediator, the third member of the Motie negotiation team. She is in the first delegation of Moties that meets MacArthur but does not become a Fyunch(click). She serves the same Master as Whitbread's Motie. Her job is to study Kutuzov, the commander of the expedition, but has to do so only indirectly, as Kutuzov is under strict orders to not communicate with the Moties.
Crazy Eddie
The Moties frequently refer to the mythical character they call "Crazy Eddie" when talking to humans. There are many Crazy Eddie stories, but all revolve around the inevitability of repeated cycles of collapse of Motie civilization and the pointlessness of trying to prevent them. The drive that humans call the Alderson Drive, which allows human ships to travel between star systems, is called by Moties the Crazy Eddie Drive, because although it is founded in sound science and has been reinvented many times by Motie civilizations, ships that attempt to use it disappear and are never seen again. The Moties do not know that the ships they send appear inside the hot photosphere of Murcheson's Eye. Human ships are protected by the energy-absorbing Langston Field. The point in space where the Alderson Drive operates is known to the Moties as the Crazy Eddie Point. This is the title of the second part of the novel. The other parts are titled "The Crazy Eddie Probe", "Meet Crazy Eddie", and "Crazy Eddie's Answer". From the Moties point of view, humans are Crazy Eddie. Several Moties, including Rod Blaine's Fyunch(click), become Crazy Eddie after exposure to human attitudes.
Reception
Robert A. Heinlein, while giving the authors extensive advice on a draft manuscript, described it as "a very important novel, possibly the best contact-with-aliens story ever written". Theodore Sturgeon, writing in Galaxy, described The Mote in God's Eye as "one of the most engrossing tales I have encountered in years", stating that "the overall pace of the book the sheer solid story of it" excuse whatever flaws might remain, with the one complaint being that he found it unlikely the Moties would not have used genetic engineering at some point to curb their population growth. Don Hawthorne, one of the creators of the related "War World Series" and creator of the Saurons in those books, has stated, "This, of course, is the 'beam' in the Moties' own 'eye'; their inability to see a solution to their problem because of a lack of objective understanding of their situation, a result of cultural and environmental pressures which have shaped their own personal prejudices."
Portsmouth Times reviewer Terry McLaughlin found the novel "a superior tale, told without the pseudo-psychology background that seems to mar many a new science fiction novel."
Brian W. Aldiss and David Wingrove reported that while the imagined aliens were "fascinating creations", the "style and characterization the weaknesses of both Niven and Pournelle."
Awards and nominations
- Nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1975.
- Nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1975.
- Nominated for the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 1975.
Sequels
Pournelle and Niven followed up with the sequel The Gripping Hand and in 2010 Pournelle's daughter, Jennifer, published an authorized sequel entitled Outies.
Other related works
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60,000 words were cut from the novel before publication.
The short story "Reflex" was instead published in 1983 in the first There Will Be War collection, edited by Pournelle and John F. Carr. It details an early phase of the battle for New Chicago, told from the rebels' point of view. MacArthur, with Captain Cziller in command and Blaine as executive officer, engages and defeats a rebel ship, but because of the technology, particularly the Langston Field, the ship is still deadly and surrender is a complex matter. Midshipman Horst Staley is sent to board and disable the ship while carrying a suicide bomb to prevent interference. He makes a mistake, allowing the "political officer" aboard the ship to snatch away the bomb, but the crew who are sick of the revolt overpower the officer. This preys on his mind during the events of the main novel. The rebel ship is taken as a prize, renamed Defiant, and commanded by Blaine during the final battle.
"Motelight" was also originally written as part of the novel, but was never published except as part of the non-fiction piece "Building 'The Mote in God's Eye'" that appeared in Pournelle's collection "A Step Farther Out". It describes how two astronomers on the planet New Scotland try to continue their work during the war with neighboring New Ireland, and are thus the first to see the sudden brightening of the Mote due to the laser launch system being activated. The rest of the population are hiding under the Langston Fields protecting their cities from bombardment, until one day the field fails and they see the Coal Sack with a glowing green Eye. The story also mentions "Howard Grote Littlemead", who believes that the bright Mote is really the Eye of God, and founds the Church of Him. It is in one of the churches that Potter shows Renner and Staley a holographic picture of the Coal Sack showing the intense green glow of the Mote.
Larry Niven also wrote a poem, "In Memoriam: Howard Grote Littlemead", that was published much later.
References
- ^ "1975 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ Niven, Larry; Pournelle, Jerry (2015). "Reflex". In Pournelle, Jerry; Carr, John F. (eds.). There Will Be War. Vol. I. Kouvola, Finland: Castalia House. 134.
- "Lavrenti Kutuzov" combines the names of two well-known characters in Russian and Soviet history: The first name of Lavrenti Beria, the Chief of Stalin's secret police, and the surname of Michail Kutuzov, a general who distinguished himself during Napoleon's Invasion of Russia in 1812.
- "Plekhanov" is the surname of Georgi Plekhanov, a well-known 19th Century Russian revolutionary.
- "Letter to Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle about 'The Mote in God's Eye'", The Virginia Edition
- "Galaxy Bookshelf", Galaxy Science Fiction, September 1974, pp.121-22
- "At the Library", Portsmouth Times, November 14, 1974, p.20
- Aldiss & Wingrove, Trillion Year Spree, Victor Gollancz, 1986, p.655n43
External links
- The Mote in God's Eye title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- The Mote in God's Eye at Open Library
- The Mote in God's Eye at Worlds Without End
- Portions of the book are available online for free (or the entirety, for pay) through Baen's WebScription service including the prologue which was cut from the original publication.