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. "[5], Pournelle and Niven followed up with the sequel The Gripping Hand and in 2010 Pournelle's daughter, Jennifer, published an authorized sequel entitled "Outies. I may get some flack from some of the more technically inclined Sci-Fi fans out there, but I really think that, no matter how scientifically rigorous or technical a story is, it will still only work if there are characters that you can root for and conflict that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I often had a hard time telling who was speaking or what their specific role was on the ship. The plot is designed like a wheel with spokes. The only two other characters that made much of an impression were Sally Fowler, the niece of an imperial senator and Horace Bury, a trader and merchant who is tasked with establishing trade relations with the Moties. The Moties have become fatalistically resigned to the never-ending cycles. Unknown to the human crew, they continue quietly redesigning MacArthur and rebuilding it for greater living space. Both species are wary, protective, and secretive. This is because the Mote has only one Alderson point, and it actually lies within the outer layers of Murcheson's Eye, the red supergiant star. The book tells the story of mankind’s first encounter with an alien species named The Moties (due them residing in the Mote system). Imperial battlecruiser INSS MacArthur and the battleship Lenin are sent to the star from which the alien ship came, the Mote. In addition, political wrangling, panic, and planning begin. 11 – Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? The current civilization is organized as a type of industrial feudalism, where coalitions of related Masters govern the planet. Each war typically ends in the complete destruction of the current civilization on Mote Prime. Both groups send envoys with instructions to negotiate for the majority position. Theodore Sturgeon, describing Mote as "one of the most engrossing tales I have encountered in years," reported that "the overall pace of the book [and] the sheer solid story of it" excuse whatever flaws might remain, particularly an unexplained key feature in the imagined alien society. Human ships use the Alderson Drive, which allows them to move instantaneously between points in specific star systems ("Alderson points"). Your email address will not be published. MacArthur carries civilian research teams intended to meet with and investigate the inhabitants of the system, or "Moties" as they are quickly nicknamed, while Lenin is there to ensure the security of humanity's technology and secrets, avoiding all contact with the aliens. Roderick Blaine is given command of an Imperial battlecruiser, INSS MacArthur, along with secret orders to take Horace Hussein Bury, a powerful interstellar merchant, to the Imperial capital, Sparta. Combined with the knowledge of their rapid population growth, this information forces the commission to decide against permitting the Moties to leave their home system. These events reveal the existence of a Watchmaker-improved Langston Field which expands as it absorbs energy, increasing its surface area and dissipating heat faster. Although I did eventually finish The Mote in God’s Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, I have to admit that I came close to giving up due to extreme boredom. Difficult choices result and the alien ambassadors choose to help with the process, hoping any time they can purchase for their species through their betrayal creates the possibility for someone to discover a way to change the population-fall cycle. They will never return home. The supposed hero of the story is Roderick Blaine, the petulant, headstrong and thoroughly unlikeable captain of the battle cruiser MacArthur, whose ship is the first to rendezvous with the alien spacecraft. The museums exist to accelerate the rise to civilization after a collapse. [1] Robert A. Heinlein, who gave the authors extensive advice on the novel,[2] described the story as "possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read.". The ship has been traveling for at least 135 years. This is going to be a tough one. Required fields are marked *. An alien, sub-light speed spacecraft is detected, propelled by a solar sail.