Known Space is the fictional setting of many of Larry Niven's science fiction stories. In general terms it is the name given by humans to the collection of stars and planets near the Earth, out to some 60 light years, which have been explored and settled in the books set in it. The Known Space stories span approximately a thousand years of history, from the first human explorations of our solar system to the colonization of dozens of nearby systems (and with references to events some billion years ago).

Contents

1 Overview 1.1 Races 1.2 Locations 1.3 Technology 2 Stories in Known Space 2.1 Stories by Niven himself 2.2 Official stories by other authors 3 External links

Overview

Races

In the process of exploring space, humankind encounters several intelligent alien species, including the following.

• The Kzinti, belligerent giant cat-like aliens with whom the humans fight several brutal wars – mostly offstage until the release of the Man-Kzin Wars short-story collections, largely by other authors.
• Pierson's Puppeteers, a technologically advanced race of three-legged, two-headed creatures descended from herd animals, and noted for their cowardice.
• The Outsiders, fragile low-temperature aliens that cruise deep space and trade information, introducing FTL travel to humans. They have a mysterious connection with the starseeds.
• The Pak, interstellar relatives of humanity whose life-cycle evidences the purpose of human old age.
• The Kdatlyno, a species enslaved by the Kzinti until humans freed them. Kdatlyno "see" by way of sonar and create sculptures intended to be "seen" by Kdatlyno, felt by humans and licked by Puppeteers.
• The Thrintun, a long-extinct species which ruled the galaxy through telepathic mind control.
• The Grogs, sessile furry cones, which can control animals telepathically. The Grogs turn out to be the mutated survivors of the Thrintun species.
• The Tnuctipun, used by the Thrintun as genetic engineers.
• The Bandersnatchi, colossal sluglike creatures, originally created by the Tnuctipun to be grown as a food source by the Thrintun;
• The Trinoc s, named for their three eyes; they also have three fingers, a triangular mouth etc.
• The Martians, recently extinct, except on the Map of Mars.
• The Jotoki , sentient octopus-shaped beings formed by the joining of the lobes of five non-sentient eel-like life forms into a single brain. Former rulers of an interstellar empire, they used Kzinti as body guards, but the Kzinti rebelled and used the Jotoki technology to create their own empire.
• They Who Pass , entities from an other-dimensional universe who view the universe through cosmic strings but are unable to enter; non-canon.

Also figuring in some stories are intelligent cetaceans and various offshoots of Homo sapiens lineage.

Locations

An amusing and interesting aspect of the Known Space universe is that most of the planets colonized by humans are suboptimal for Homo sapiens. The planets were measured and declared habitable by "dumb" robot probes who were then followed by sleeper ships who had to make the best of a bad situation.

• Down is the home world of the Grogs (see above), notable for the bussard ramjet that remains in orbit to destroy the Grog population should they take threatening action against humanity.
• The Fleet of Worlds are the five small planetoids that are home to the Puppeteers (see above), present being moved through deep space to avoid discovery by other races.
• Home was one of Earth's most distant colonies, decimated by war with the Pak, but re-colonized in later centuries.
• Plateau in the Tau Ceti system is Venus-like, with a California-sized plateau rising high enough into the dense atmosphere to be habitable.
• Jinx, orbiting Sirius, is a massive moon of a gas giant, stretched by tidal forces into an egg shape, with gravity near the limits of human habitability. The poles lie in vacuum, the equatorial regions are Venus-like (and inhabited by the Bandersnatchi); the zones between have atmosphere breathable by humans. Jinx's poles become a major in vacuo manufacturing area.
• Ringworld, an artificial planet-like structure, formed in the shape of a giant torus orbiting its sun.
• We Made It orbiting Procyon, got its name because the first colony ship crash-landed. The planet's axis is pointed along the plane of the ecliptic, creating ferocious winds during half of the planet's year, forcing the people to live underground.
• Warhead was an uninhabitable Mars-like world being used as a military outpost by the Kzinti, until it was hit with an experimental weapon which tore a long, kilometers-deep, but narrow hole into the crust. Most of the planet's atmosphere fell into this artificial canyon, resulting in a breathable environment. The planet was then renamed Canyon, for the crater, and settled by humans in a huge city running up the crater wall.
• Wunderland is an inhabitable planet circling Alpha Centauri, and was one of the earliest colonies in Known Space's human history.

Asteroid belts are usually extensively colonized in Known Space, as well. Sol's is known as the Belt, while Alpha Centauri's is known as the Serpent Swarm.

Technology

The series also features a number of "gee whiz" inventions which figure as plot devices. Stories earlier in the timeline feature technology such as Bussard ramjets, and explore how organ transplantation technology enables the new crime of Organlegging, while later stories feature hyperdrive, invulnerable starship hulls, stasis fields, transporter booths (used only on planetary surfaces), the lifespan-extending drug boosterspice, and the tasp which is capable of stimulating the pleasure centers of the brain from a distance.

The milieu can be viewed as representing the climax of the pre-cyberpunk era of science fiction, as the cyberpunk themes of information technology and competition of various sub-governmental groups do not figure in the stories.

Stories in Known Space

Unlike many fictional universes, the component tales of known space were largely released as short stories or serials in various science fiction anthology magazines. These stories were generally subsequently released in one or more collection volumes. To add some further confusion, some of the shorter novels were also later re-released as part of collections. Due to the large number of stories, it is particularly difficult for a completionist fan of the series to have read the entire span of the work.

After the mid-1970s, Larry Niven began to write significantly less Known Space stories. In his note that accompanies "Man-Kzin Wars", he indicates that it had become more and more difficult to be inspired to write in the universe as it had grown too difficult. At that point, he opened up the series to works by other authors.

In the Known Space stories Niven had created a number of technological devices (GP hull, stasis field, Ringworld material) which, combined with the 'Teela Brown' gene, made it very difficult to construct engaging stories beyond a certain date - the combination of factors made it tricky to produce any kind of creditable threat/problem without complex contrivances. Niven demonstrated this, to his own satisfaction, with Safe at Any Speed.

Stories by Niven himself

Title	Published	First Appeared In	Collection
The Coldest Place	1964	Worlds of If	Tales of Known Space
World of Ptavvs	1965†	Worlds of Tomorrow
One Face	1965	Galaxy Magazine	The Shape of Space
Becalmed in Hell	1965	The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction	Tales of Known Space
Eye of an Octopus	1966	Galazy Magazine	Tales of Known Space
The Warriors	1966	Worlds of If	Tales of Known Space
Bordered in Black	1966	The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction	The Shape of Space
Neutron Star	1966	Worlds of If	Neutron Star
How the Heroes Die	1966	Galaxy Magazine	Tales of Known Space
At the Core	1966	Worlds of If	Neutron Star
A Relic of the Empire	1966	Worlds of If	Neutron Star
At the Bottom of a Hole	1966	Galaxy Magazine	Tales of Known Space
The Soft Weapon	1967	Worlds of If	Neutron Star
Flatlander	1967	Worlds of If	Neutron Star
The Ethics of Madness	1967	Worlds of If	Neutron Star
Safe at any Speed	1967	The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction	Tales of Known Space
The Adults	1967†	Galaxy Magazine
The Handicapped	1967	Galaxy Magazine	Neutron Star
The Jigsaw Man	1967	Dangerous Visions	Tales of Known Space
Slowboat Cargo	1968†	Worlds of If
The Deceivers	1968†	Galaxy Magazine	Tales of Known Space
Grendel	1968	(collection only)	Neutron Star
There is a Tide	1968	Galaxy Magazine	Tales of Known Space
The World of Ptavvs	1968	(novel)
A Gift From Earth	1968	(novel)
Wait It Out	1968	Futures Unbounded	Tales of Known Space
The Organleggers	1968†	Galaxy Magazine	The Shape of Space
Ringworld	1970	(novel)
Cloak of Anarchy	1972	Analog Science Fiction	Tales of Known Space
Protector	1973	(novel)
The Defenseless Dead	1973	(collection only)	The Long ARM of Gil Hamilton
The Borderland of Sol	1974	Analog Science Fiction	Tales of Known Space
ARM	1975	Epic	The Long ARM of Gil Hamilton
The Ringworld Engineers	1980	(novel)
The Patchwork Girl	1980	(novel)
Madness Has Its Place	1990	(collection only)	Man-Kzin Wars III
Procrustes	1994	(collection only)	Crashlander
The Woman in Del Rey Crater	1995	(collection only)	Flatlander
Ringworld Throne	1996	(novel)
Choosing Names	1998	(collection only)	Man-Kzin Wars VIII
Fly-By-Night	2002	(collection only)	Man-Kzin Wars IX
Ringworld's Children	2004	(novel)

† Additional Notes:

• "World of Ptavvs" was expanded and republished as a novel in 1968.
• "The Adults" was expanded and republished as "Protector" in 1973.
• "Slowboat Cargo" was expanded and republished as "A Gift From Earth" in 1968.
• "The Deceivers" was subsequently renamed "Intent to Deceive"
• "The Organleggers" was subsequently renamed "Death by Ecstasy"

(Note that most stories appeared in more than one collection, though only one each is listed here.)

Official stories by other authors

Some fans consider these stories to be non-canonical.

Title	Published	Collection	Written By
Iron	1988	Man-Kzin Wars	Poul Anderson
Cathouse	1988	Man-Kzin Wars	Dean Ing
Briar Patch	1989	Man-Kzin Wars II	Dean Ing
The Children's Hour	1989	Man-Kzin Wars II	Jerry Pournelle & S.M. Stirling

External links

• Encyclopedia of Known Space http://www.oinc.net/knownspace/enc/
• Timeline of the Known Space universe http://www.chronology.org/noframes/niven/timeline.html : Warning: spoilers.