Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site topaz.RUTGERS.EDU Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!harpo!decvax!genrad!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!columbia!topaz!godwin From: godwin@uci-icse Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers Subject: Protectors Message-ID: <3352@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU> Date: Mon, 19-Aug-85 21:40:47 EDT Article-I.D.: topaz.3352 Posted: Mon Aug 19 21:40:47 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 24-Aug-85 15:21:53 EDT Sender: daemon@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J. Lines: 59 From: Dave GodwinOK, boys and girls, here's the current synopsis ( after I ran off and re-read Protector and the pertenant sections of Ringworld Engineers. ). 1. Brennan invented a breed of Tree-Of-Life variant that would live in a free atmosphere. This is how Roy Treusdale got turned into a Protector. 2. The virus got all over the Home colony. The entire elligible population changed into Protectors. The rest died. Home was then used as a staging area to fight the incoming Pak. First, the Home boys ( sorry ) built fake cities and stuff all over the planet to sucker in the Pak scout ships. The scouts were destroyed, and the Home team ( real sorry ) left this part of space to fight of the main Pak fleet. No more word is ever heard from Truesdale or his followers. 3. Treusdale's pregnant wife, who knows all about Brennan and the incoming Pak colony fleet supposedly makes it back to the Belt, and the Human governments at least should know what she knows. 4. Lots and lots of centuries later, we have Louis Wu. In 'Engineers', he reminices that he's lived on lot's of worlds. Lots of years spent on Earth, and enough years on various colony world to make him feel like a native. On of these he mentions is Home. So apparently Home is resettled. So, questions that I don't see clear answers to: 1. How were the Home Protectors able to clean up the atmosphere of Home ? And did they also remove all trace of their presence ( fake cities, etc ) from same ? I guess they had to have, but this is a bit heavy on my suspension of disbelief. 2. The Home Protectors beat off the Pak Protectors. If they hadn't, humans would know. So what happened to the winners ? Did everybody die ? They aren't in known space or on the Ringworld. Somebody ( Outsiders, Grog telepaths, Teela Brown ) would notice something after all those years. Where are they hiding ( and what are they doing ? ) ? Maybe they did all die. None of them but Truesdale had decendants left anywhere at all, so after the Pak were destroyed, there would have been no reason to live on. Poor guys. It's too bad they never stuck around for the Man-Kzin wars. There would only have been one war. And no more Kzinti. 3. Small detail question. The stl Ramships found on the starport docks on the Ringworld were built from modified Ringworld attitude jets, right ? Built by Ringworld natives ( City Builders ? ), millenia after all the Ringworld Pak died off. So whose Pak style vacsuit did Loius and Chmeee find on that one intact starship ? Vacsuits are form fitting. Teela Brown's ? Also, wasn't 'Down In Flames' a satire by Niven on Niven ? I can't see Bea Sheaffer as a Protector. Protectors shouldn't oughta be 7 + feet tall. ( Imagine a basketball team of We Made It descended Protectors. ) So lets clutter up the net with more Niven talk. What other holes in continuity do you folks see ? Dave