This Town is a Mystery

Larry Niven turned 77 on April 30. He's one of the renowned authors in hard science fiction. Fans of the genre love "Ringworld", his magnum opus.

Many authors chose to create their own world - and get away with it. They believed that mankind will get to that stage sooner or later. The likes of Niven, on the other hand, based their premise from their knowledge in science and related fields. The native of Los Angeles, in his case, has a BA in Mathematics (from Washburn University). The readers who liked "Ringworld" would point out that the limitation didn't affect his creativity and imagination.

When boredom is the only nemesis

“He saw how thoroughly Beirut resembled Munich and Resht... and San Francisco and Topeka and London and Amsterdam.”

Louis Wu was celebrating his 200th birthday, but he was nowhere to be seen in the party scene. Living that long taught him to embrace solitude. The Puppeteers took notice of it. This advanced alien race don't have the courage that humans could muster when the situation would arise. Nessus, a member of that species, invited Louis to a trip to the Ringworld. It was more than a circular band, which made Saturn different from the other planets in the Solar System. The old man didn't hesitate. Maybe outer space had something different to offer.

Readers would be impressed with Niven's facts about the ringworld, especially the startling images that Louis and Nessus witnessed during their trip. It was the history of civilizations, unfolding before their eyes, and how they reverted to barbarism. This circular band was millions of miles away from Earth, yet some would wonder if the author was sending a warning on what was about to happen to the human race. This was supposed to be no different from the works of H.G. Wells, but read again.

It would be natural to take the information seriously, and there shouldn't be any doubt that this wouldn't come true. Maybe technology was rather slow, so let's not debate on the possibility. But this what made “Ringworld” a feast for the senses. Everything would be a joyride, but it might not be how Louis felt. How could two hundred years of existence turned him into such a person? Readers would cite the same reasons that turned science fiction into an entertaining genre. There would be no definite answer. It won't be hard to spot the likes of Louis, who would prefer the anonymity of social media. This would lead us back to the ringworld. Maybe the old man had seen it all, so what else to look forward to.