Fun activities are a great way to keep students interested and engaged while still providing a deeper understanding of The Mote in God's Eye and its themes. Students should have a full understanding of the unit material in order to answer these questions. They often include multiple parts of the work and ask for a thorough analysis of the overall text.
They nearly always require a substantial response. Essay responses are typically expected to be one or more page s and consist of multiple paragraphs, although it is possible to write answers more briefly. These essays are designed to challenge a student's understanding of the broad points in a work, interactions among the characters, and main points and themes of the text.
But, they also cover many of the other issues specific to the work and to the world today. The 60 Short Essay Questions listed in this section require a one to two sentence answer. They ask students to demonstrate a deeper understanding of The Mote in God's Eye by describing what they've read, rather than just recalling it.
The short essay questions evaluate not only whether students have read the material, but also how well they understand and can apply it. They require more thought than multiple choice questions, but are shorter than the essay questions. Use these questions for quizzes, homework assignments or tests. The questions are broken out into sections, so they focus on specific chapters within The Mote in God's Eye.
This allows you to test and review the book as you proceed through the unit. Typically, there are questions per chapter, act or section. Use the Oral Reading Evaluation Form when students are reading aloud in class. Pass the forms out before you assign reading, so students will know what to expect. You can use the forms to provide general feedback on audibility, pronunciation, articulation, expression and rate of speech. You can use this form to grade students, or simply comment on their progress.
Use the Writing Evaluation Form when you're grading student essays. This will help you establish uniform criteria for grading essays even though students may be writing about different aspects of the material. By following this form you will be able to evaluate the thesis, organization, supporting arguments, paragraph transitions, grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. They pull questions from the multiple choice and short essay sections, the character and object descriptions, and the chapter abstracts to create worksheets that can be used for pop quizzes, in-class assignments and homework.
Periodic homework assignments and quizzes are a great way to encourage students to stay on top of their assigned reading. They can also help you determine which concepts and ideas your class grasps and which they need more guidance on. By pulling from the different sections of the lesson plan, quizzes and homework assignments offer a comprehensive review of The Mote in God's Eye in manageable increments that are less substantial than a full blown test.
Use the Test Summary page to determine which pre-made test is most relevant to your students' learning styles. This lesson plan provides both full unit tests and mid-unit tests. You can choose from several tests that include differing combinations of multiple choice questions, short answer questions, short essay questions, full essay questions, character and object matching, etc. Some of the tests are designed to be more difficult than others. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers",[6] he wrote sometimes-controversial works that continue to have an influence on the science-fiction genre, and on modern culture more generally.
Heinlein became one of the first American science-fiction writers to break into mainstream magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post in the late s. He was one of the best-selling science-fiction novelists for many decades, and he, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke are often considered the "Big Three" of English-language science fiction authors.
Jerry Eugene Pournelle ; August 7, — September 8, was an American science fiction writer, essayist, and journalist. In the s and early s he worked in the aerospace industry, but eventually focused on his writing career. Pournelle is particularly known for writing hard science fiction, and received multiple awards for his writing. In addition to his solo writing, he wrote several novels with collaborators, most notably Larry Niven.
Summary of The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven
He was one of the founders of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy, which developed some of the Reagan Administration's space initiatives, including the earliest versions of what would become the Strategic Defense Initiative. Pournelle's journalism focused primarily on the computer industry, astronomy, and space exploration. From the s until the ear Jesus' teaching about the Sabbath enrages the religious authorities and deepens their conflict. The selection of twelve apostles is recounted and this is followed by the "Sermon on the Plain", where key aspects of Jesus' teaching are presented.
Text The original text is written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 49 verses. This is compete list of works by American science fiction author S. Bibliography The Lords of Creation What if Mars and Venus really were habitable and inhabited, as in many SF stories from the early sixties and before? In this alternate history series Mars and Venus were terraformed a long time ago and "seeded" with Earth life, including several different human species. On Earth everything is the same until the start of space exploration, but then the Cold War dampens down into a real, collaborative space race which overtakes the military budgets of both superpowers.
The vast investment in interplanetary exploration has changed this alternate history deeply, in ways mentioned in passing, including the close alliance of the United States, Great Britain and the Dominions; but there are other changes: The Soviet Union does not collapse, and there are two competing space efforts: The Hugo Award for Best Novel is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The novel award is available for works of fiction of 40, words or more; awards are also given out in the short story, novelette, and novella categories.
The Hugo Awards have been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction" and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing". In addition to the regular Hugo awards, beginning in Retrospective Hugo Awards, or "Retro Hugos", have been available to be awarded for 50, 75, or years prior. Retro Hugos may only be awarded for years in which a World Science Fiction Convention, or Worldcon, was hosted, but no awards were originally given.
A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a novel if it is 40, words or longer; awards are also given out for pieces of shorter lengths in the categories of short story, novelette, and novella. To be eligible for Nebula Award consideration a novel must be published in English in the United States.
Works published in English elsewhere in the world are also eligible provided they are released on either a website or in an electronic edition. Novels which were expanded forms of previously published short stories are eligible, as are novellas published by themselves if the author requests them to be considered as a novel. It was originally published in Chronologically, it is second to last in the series, contemporaneous with events in The Mote in God's Eye. In content it resembles Pournelle's military fiction series Falkenberg's Legion, also from the CoDominium series: In this case the leader is from a planet that has recovered technologically to the steam, steel and coal stage, who visits a planet of city states surrounded by barbarians, fighting with medieval weapons.
The story shows the conflicting motives of the different factions without demonizing any of them, save possibly the merchants' faction whose motives are to use the forces of the Imperial Sp The novel was assembled from disparate stories first published in Mademoiselle, Sewanee Review and Partisan Review. The first chapter is an expanded version of her Master's thesis, "The Train", and other chapters are reworked versions of "The Peeler," "The Heart of the Park" and "Enoch and the Gorilla".
The novel concerns a returning World War II veteran who, haunted by a lifelong crisis of faith, resolves to form an anti-religious ministry in an eccentric, fictionalized Southern city after finding his family homestead abandoned without a trace. The novel received little critical attention when it first appeared but has since come to be appreciated as a classic work of "low comedy and high seriousness" with disturbing religious themes.
Amazing Stories December , an early illustration of space marines. The space marine, an archetype of military science fiction, is a kind of soldier that operates in outer space or on alien worlds. By analogy, hypothetical space marines would defend spaceships, land on planets and moons, and satisfy rapid-deployment needs throughout space. History The earliest known use of the term "space marine" was by Bob Olsen in his short story "Captain Brink of the Space Marines" Amazing Stories, Volume 7, Number 8, November , a light-hearted work whose title is a play on the song "Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines", and in which the protagonists were marines of the "Earth Republic Space Navy" on mission to rescue celebrity twins from aliens on Titan.
Olsen published a novella sequel four years later, "The Space Marines and the Slavers" Exiles to Glory is a science fiction novella by American writer Jerry Pournelle, published in It is a sequel to the stories in the collection High Justice. As with those stories, it weaves the story of pioneering individuals in space with considerations of the technical and financial challenges facing them. It was republished in an omnibus edition with High Justice in as Exile -- and Glory.
Despite being written and published after the landmark novel The Mote in God's Eye, which Pournelle co-authored with Larry Niven, the tone, style and themes of this novel are akin to a juvenile novel of the sort written by Robert A. Heinlein in the s. Pournelle returns to his favorite themes of breakdown of the rule of law, the politics of entitlement and disdain for anti-technology activists.
This novel and the collection High Justice are thought by some to be part of the CoDominium series. However, there is no direct evidence for this in any of the stories, although there is nothing contradictory either. Space warfare is combat that takes place in outer space. The scope of space warfare therefore includes ground-to-space warfare, such as attacking satellites from the Earth, as well as space-to-space warfare, such as satellites attacking satellites.
In the early s the U. The Russian Space Force, established on August 10, , which became an independent section of the Russian military on June 1, , was replaced by the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces starting December 1, , but was reestablished as a component of the Russian Aerospace Forces on August 1, Only a few incidents of space warfare have occurred in world history, and all involved training missions, as opposed to actions against real opposing Prisoners of Gravity was a Canadian public broadcasting television news magazine program that explored speculative fiction — science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic books — and its relation to various thematic and social issues.
The series aired episodes over 5 seasons from to This is a list of fictional planets organized by the medium in which they primarily appear. Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is a 4X video game, considered a spiritual sequel to the Civilization series. Set in a science fiction depiction of the 22nd century, the game begins as seven competing ideological factions land on the planet Chiron "Planet" in the Alpha Centauri star system. As the game progresses, Planet's growing sentience becomes a formidable obstacle to the human colonists.
Alpha Centauri features improvements on Civilization II's game engine, including simultaneous multiplay, social engineering, climate, customizable units, alien native life, additional diplomatic and spy options, additional way This is a list of science fiction novels, novel series, and collections of linked short stories. It includes modern novels, as well as novels written before the term "science fiction" was in common use. This list includes novels not marketed as SF but still considered to be substantially science fiction in content by some critics, such as Nineteen Eighty Four.
As such, it is an inclusive list, not an exclusive list based on other factors such as level of notability or literary quality. Books are listed in alphabetical order by title, ignoring the leading articles "A", "An", and "The". Novel series are alphabetical by author-designated name or, if there is none, the title of the first novel in the series or some other reasonable designation. The Bonds of Reasoning Japanese: The series focuses on Ayumu Narumi and his efforts to solve the mystery of the Blade Children, cursed geniuses with cat-like eyes lacking a seventh rib bone.
A prequel series by Shirodaira and Mizuno, called Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning was originally licensed for an English language release in North America by Tokyopop, however the company dropped the series. Yen Press acquired the license for Northern American release, and published the first volume in October The series was adapted as a twenty-five episode anime television series broadcast on TV Asteroids and asteroid belts are a staple of science fiction stories. Asteroids play several potential roles in science fiction: Thus, in many stories and books the Asteroid Belt, if not a positive hazard, is still a rarely visited backwater in a colonized Solar System.
However, the asteroids came to be imagined as a vast accumulation of minera This disability rights timeline lists events relating to the civil rights of people with disabilities in the United States of America, including court decisions, the passage of legislation, activists' actions, significant abuses of people with disabilities that illustrate their lack of civil rights at the time, and the founding of various organizations.
Although the disability rights movement itself began in the s, advocacy for the rights of people with disabilities started much earlier and continues to the present. This was the first school for children with disabilities anywhere in the western hemisphere. This is a list of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction works as portrayed in literature, film, television, and, comics. Post-apocalyptic fiction is set in a world or civilization after such a disaster. The time frame may be immediately after the catastrophe, focusing on the travails or psychology of survivors, or considerably later, often including the theme that the existence of pre-catastrophe civilization has been forgotten or mythologized.
Apocalypse is a Greek word referring to the end of the world. Apocalypticism is the religious belief that there will be an apocalypse, a term which originally referred to a revel The Prince is a science fiction compilation by Jerry Pournelle and S. It is part of the CoDominium future history series. The Prince is a compilation of four previously published novels: Of the original novels, the first two were written by Pournelle alone; the last two were cowrittten with Stirling. Pages of the printed edition are new to the compilation. Background The CoDominium is a formal alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union which holds power over Earth, with a cynically hegemonistic foreign policy toward all the other nations of Earth and Earth's off-world colonies.
The action occurs over a period from the s to the s in the CoDominium universe. Humanity has developed interstellar fl Kevin Lauderdale born in Los Angeles, California is an American science fiction author primarily known for his Star Trek short stories, which began with publication in the Strange New Worlds anthology series.
His stories appeared in three successive volumes of the series, making him eligible for a "Wardy," named for fellow Strange New Worlds veteran Dayton Ward. He was formerly the writer of "The Kevindex", a book review website, from to That site is now down, and only one piece of content is still available online in archived form: Iambic pentameter is a type of metric line used in traditional English poetry and verse drama. The term describes the rhythm, or meter, established by the words in that line; rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables called "feet".
Iambic pentameter is the most common meter in English poetry; it is used in the major English poetic forms, including blank verse, the heroic couplet, and some of the traditionally rhymed stanza forms. It is used both in early forms of English poetry and in later forms. William Shakespeare famously used iambic pentameter in his plays and sonnets, as did the 20th century poet Wallace Stevens. As lines in iambic pentameter usually contain ten syllables, it is considered a form of decasyllabic verse. Meter Example Normal heart sounds A healthy human heartbeat follows the The idea for this book first came to Carey when she was reading the Biblical Book of Genesis, and specifically a passage about "sons of God" coming into the "daughters of Men".
Later, when she was writing a coffee table book, she encountered Jewish folklore, which paralleled the story in greater detail. The fictional nation of Terre D'Ange in the story was founded by a rebel angel. The main characters are from Terre d'Ange, which occupies the area of France.
Terre d'Ange was founded by Elua and His Companions and is thereby a nation of progeny of fallen angels. Each of Elua's companions founded a province of Terre d'Ange, except Cassiel, who chose to remai He is best known for his work as a science popularizer and communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on extraterrestrial life, including experimental demonstration of the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by radiation.
Sagan assembled the first physical messages sent into space: Sagan argued the now accepted hypothesis that the high surface temperatures of Venus can be attributed to and calculated using the greenhouse effect. Niven, Larry ; Pournelle, Jerry There Will Be War. Member feedback about The Mote in God's Eye: Literary collaborations Revolvy Brain revolvybrain.
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Member feedback about CoDominium: Fictional governments Revolvy Brain revolvybrain. Mote topic Look up mote in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Member feedback about Mote: All redirects for discussion Revolvy Brain revolvybrain. Member feedback about Bury: Towns in Greater Manchester Revolvy Brain revolvybrain. Member feedback about The Spell Ivan Doroschuk album: Men Without Hats albums Revolvy Brain revolvybrain. MacArthur topic MacArthur or Macarthur may refer to: Crazy Eddie disambiguation topic Crazy Eddie may refer to: N-Space short story collection topic N-Space is a collection of short stories by American science fiction author Larry Niven released in Member feedback about N-Space short story collection: Tor Books books Revolvy Brain revolvybrain.
You'll get a chance to hear our music, but frankly, you won't like it. It might be anywhere. The decision makers live where they like, and they generally consider themselves bound by the agreements of their Mediators.
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You'll see some of our monuments. As for our way of life, you've been studying that for some time. Then his mouth opened in a bone-cracking yawn. It may be that we can get permission-" The alien broke into a high gabble. Sally's Motie said, "It should be possible. In the meantime, let's call it a day. For the time change had caught the humans. Doctors Horvath and Hardy yawned, blinked, looked surprised, made their excuses, and departed.
Bury was still going strong. Renner wondered what rotation his planet had. He himself had had enough space going training to adapt to any schedule. But the party was breaking up. Sally said her good nights and went upstairs, swaying noticeably. Renner suggested folk singing, got no response, and quit. A spiral stair ran up the tower.
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Renner turned off into a corridor, following his curiosity. When he reached an air lock he realized that it must lead to the balcony, the flat ring that circled the tower. He did not care to try the Mote Prime air. He wondered if the balcony was meant to be used at all Renner thought at first he was in the wrong room. The color scheme was striking: But the pressure suit on the wall was his, his design and rank markings on the chest. He looked about him, trying to decide whether he liked the change.
It was the only change-no, the room was warmer. It had been too cold last night. On a hunch, he crossed the room and checked the Moties' sleeping alcove. Yes, it was chilly in there. Renner's Motie leaned against the doorjamb, watching him with the usual slight smile. Then he continued his inspection. The bathroom-the toilet was different. Just as he had sketched it. Wrong; there wasn't any water in it. When he looked, the bowl was sparkling clean. He poured a glass of water into it and watched it run away without leaving a drop. The bowl was a frictionless surface. Have to mention this to Bury, he thought.
There were bases on airless moons, and worlds where water, or energy for recycling it, was scarce. He was too sleepy now. The rotation period of Levant was 28 hours, Bury had adjusted well enough to MacArthur's standard day, but it is always easier to adjust to a longer day than to a shorter.
He waited while his Fyunch click sent their Brown for coffee. It made him miss Nabil He had already seriously underestimated the power of the Brown-and-whites. Apparently his Motie could commandeer any vehicle on Mote Prime, whether or not it had been built yet; even so, he was an agent for someone Bury had never seen.
The situation was complex. The Brown returned with coffee and another pot, something that poured pale brown and did not steam. Very likely," his Fyunch click said. It's water, from outside. An overeager businessman, he felt, was easily gulled. He was not aware of the thousands of years of tradition behind his opinion. Accordingly he and his Mode liaison talked of many things The Motie was particularly interested in the various forms of human government.
Yes, I agree, in principle," said Bury's Motie. That must be true even with your Crazy Eddie Drive.
But in practice there are restrictions between us. We could not tolerate alcohol, and we do not like the taste of coffee. The same would probably apply to your other luxury foods, though they may be worth a try. In power over others, in safety, in durability of customs and dynasties We deal in these, for their benefit, but we also deal in diplomacy.
We trade durable goods and necessities, skills- What do you think of our works of art? But I think our trade will be more in ideas, and designs. Various superconductors, which you fabricate more efficiently than we. We found a sample in an asteroid. Can you duplicate it? You certainly have much to offer. We will want to buy land for our embassies.
Probably that would be offered gratis, Bury thought. But to this race land would be literally priceless; without the humans they could never have more than they had at the moment. And they would want land for settlements. This world was crowded. Bury had seen the city lights from orbit, a field of light around dark oceans. There are grains that grow beneath suns like yours. We know that you can eat some of them. Might they grow here more efficiently than yours? Bulk food would never be shipped at a profit, but seeds may be. The Motie waved a hand. But we have not made everything there is to make.
We have our own Crazy Eddie Drive, for example, but the force field generator that protects-". Besides, I'm not a physicist," Bury said blandly. Bury, we have -not exhausted the subject of art. Our artists have a free hand and ready access to materials, and very little supervision. In principle the exchange of art between Mote and Empire would facilitate communication. We have never yet tried to aim our art at an alien mind. My associates have noticed-how shall I put it? Place of origin, dates, labels, ability to travel in free fall, what wines go with what foods.
I find it annoying and expensive that some of my ships must move under constant acceleration merely to protect a wine bottle from its own sediments. Why can they not simply be centrifuged on arrival? They all drink coffee. Coffee varies according to its genetics, soil, climate, method of roasting. I know this is so. I have seen your stores. Yes and there is variety among coffee drinkers. On an American-descended world like Tabletop they would not touch the oily brew preferred in New Paris, and they find the brew of Levant much too sweet and strong.
It grows on Earth itself, on a large island; the island was never bombed, and the mutations were weeded out in the centuries following the collapse of the CoDominium. It cannot be bought. Navy ships carry it to the Imperial Palace on Sparta. You know me that well. I would not pay such a price again, but I do not regret it. Its bland expression was a Trader's: If they knew how much there was to learn about coffee-". Or do you dislike that idea? No, Bury, I am not reading your mind. You dislike the Navy; you tend to exaggerate the differences between them and you. Perhaps they think the same way?
He knew why the alien kept repeating that phrase. It was to keep him off balance. In a trading situation. Well, I will try your suggestion when we are back in orbit and I dine aboard MacArthur. Allah knows they have much to learn about coffee. Perhaps I can even teach them how to use their percolators correctly. Rod and Sally sat alone in the Captain's patrol cabin. The intercom screens were off, and the status board above Rod's desk showed a neat pattern of green lights. Rod stretched his long legs out and sipped at his drink.
How much longer can we stay in the Mote system, Rod? Viceroy Merrill wanted us back as soon as possible, but Dr. Horvath wants to learn more. Sally, we still don't have anything significant to report! We don't know whether the Moties are a threat to the Empire or not. There is not one shred of evidence that the Modes are hostile.
We haven't seen any signs of weapons, or wars, or anything like that-". Sally, have you ever heard of a human civilization that didn't have soldiers? Speaking of which, he wants more frequent reports. You know that every scrap of data gets transmitted raw to Lenin inside an hour? We've even sent over samples of Mode artifacts, and some of the modified stuff the Brownies worked on Rod looked pained for a moment, then joined her. I know it must have been painful to -have to tell the Tsar that you had Brownies on your ship-but it was funny!
Anyway, we send everything we can to Lenin-and you think I'm paranoid? Kutuzov has everything inspected in space, then sealed into containers filled with ciphogene and parked outside his ship! I think he's afraid of contamination. Renner and the scientists. Rod sighed and gave Sally a helpless look. I imagine they'll all want a drink. Eventually everyone was seated, and his cabin was crowded. Rod greeted the Mote expedition personnel, then took a sheaf of papers from his desk. Do you need Navy ratings with you? I understand they've nothing to do. I'll let you decide which of your people to replace them with, Dr.
Do you need Marines? She looked quickly to Horvath, who nodded. Why can't you come down and see it? For that matter, I can't let any officer who knows -how to construct a Langston Field go down. If you do need help, two Marines won't be any use-and giving the Moties a chance to work that Fyunch click thing on a pair of warriors doesn't seem like a good idea. That brings up the next point.
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Renner satisfactory to you? Perhaps I should ask him to leave the room while you reply. Renner has been very helpful. Captain, does your restriction apply to my people? Am I forbidden to take, say, a physicist to Mote Prime? Buckman is counting on going. The midshipman squirmed uncomfortably before answering. Potter was a bit shy, and he'd have to outgrow that. There are gaps in their observations, Captain. The Modes hae never mentioned the fact, but Dr. Buckman says it is obvious. I would hae said they sometimes lose interest in astronomy, but Dr. Buckman can nae understand that.
They hae been watching yon supergiant for aye their history as it passed across the Coal Sack. Everyone turned to stare at him. Whitbread could hardly control his features. The Eye will explode in A. Buckman was going to strangle himself. Then he started doing his own checking. It took him thirty hours-". Horvath's Motie translating for him when his own came apart.
The midshipman cleared his throat and mimicked Buckman's dry voice. I've got the mathematics and observations to prove it. Whitbread," First Lieutenant Cargill said. Captain, it seems to me that Dr. Buckman can get everything he needs here. There's no reason for him to go to the Mode planet. Horvath, the answer is no. Besides-do you really want to spend a week cooped up with Buckman?
You needn't answer that," he added quickly. I've tried digging for rock samples, and I didn't learn a thing about the make-up of Mote Prime. There's nothing but ruins made up of older ruins.
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They've all been used, for walls, or tiles, or roofs. I did find cores in a museum, but I can't make much sense out of them. Even out in the farm lands? But where I did dig, there was always something else underneath. I never knew when to stop! Captain, there was a city like A. I think they had a civilization that collapsed, perhaps two thousand years ago. Why would they let a civilization collapse? Suppose the Modes had a civilization based on fossil fuels and ran out? Mightn't they have dropped back into an Iron Age before they developed fusion power and plasma physics again? They seem to be awfully short on radioactive ores.
I take it that's settled, Dr. The Science Minister nodded sourly. You tell him, Dr.
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The Chaplain linguist looked surprised. He had sat at the back of the room, saying nothing but listening attentively. And-Captain, I find myself in a unique position. As a scientist I cannot approve of all these restrictions placed on our contact with the Moties. As a representative of the Church I have an impossible task.
And as a Navy officer. Everyone turned toward the portly Chaplain in surprise. Hardy folded his hands carefully and spoke across the tops of his fingertips. And that, Anthony, is what concerns me. We know the Moties do have wars: I do not think they always succeed.
So why are the Moties hiding their armaments from us? For the same reason we conceal ours, is the obvious answer, but consider: She winced at the look on Rod's face. He sniffed his brandy speculatively. I have the impression the Moties are hiding something important-and hiding it right under our noses, so to speak.
There was a long silence. Finally the Science Minister said, "And how could they do that, Dr. Their government consists of informal negotiations by representatives of the givers of orders class. Every city seems to be nearly autonomous. Mote Prime hardly has a planetary government, and you think they're able to conspire against us? It is not very reasonable. Horvath, you are certainly correct. And yet I cannot rid myself of the impression that they are hiding something. Like the Imperial aristocracy?
Two dry martinis had mellowed him considerably. Some things in common, though. That sort of thing. One lived in a skyscraper near the Castle. Seemed to control the entire building: The other one, though, the agriculturist, was very like a country baron. The work force lived in long rows of houses, and in between the row houses were fields. Rod thought of his own family home. So was the Court, for that matter. Big atrium in the middle. For that matter, all the residential skyscrapers have no windows on the lower floors, and big roof gardens.
We don't hive to report that impression to the Admiral, do we? He'd be sure we'd discovered militaristic tendencies. Brownies to fix all the machinery-too bad we can't tame some of them to help Sinclair. So do all the other residential palaces I've heard about. Horvath had been struggling to control himself, while Sally Fowler attempted without success to hide - her amusement. If their buildings still have a fortress look, it must be traditional -there's no possible purpose! You're the military expert, just how would building your house that way help you against modern weapons?
But that is silly. They'd still have to bring in water. Two six-fingered left hands, one massive right arm, and the swelling of the skull is on the right. He must have been briefed. The stewards brought in lunch and everyone fell to. When they finished it was time to leave for the Mote. Renner," Rod said as the Sailing Master was about to go. He waited until everyone but Cargill was gone. But although you've no weapons but your side arms, and no Marines, that's a military expedition, and if it comes to it, you're in charge.
If I had decided I was incapable of shooting anyone, I'd have had to make damned sure the Captain knew it. Can you recognize the need for military action in time to do something? Even if what you do is hopeless? What you want is the one officer aboard this ship who is least inclined to the military way of thinking. I don't know a lot of things about those bug-eyed monsters. There's only one thing I am sure of, and that is they're learning more about us than we are about them. They take our people anywhere they ask to go.
Sally says they're bending over backwards-well, for them, that isn't so hard to do-but anyway, she says they're very cooperative. Not hiding a thing. You've always been scared of the Moties, haven't you? I'm supposed to help Mr. Bury with that coffee business. Bury's moved to the cutter. What do they talk about? Economy, industry, general size of the Fleet, how many outies we've got to deal with, you name it and he'd probably know it.
What's he going to give the Motie for free? Besides, I've sort of made sure he won't say anything you wouldn't approve of. Rod returned the grin. OK, you'd better move along to the Kaffee Klatsch-you sure you don't mind helping with this? If Bury can show the cooks how to make better coffee during combat alerts, I might even change my opinion of him.
Just why is he being kept a prisoner on this ship, anyway? The grapevine has it he's implicated in the New Chicago revolt and you're hanging onto him for the Admiralty. That's about right, isn't it? You've got your orders, Skipper. But I notice you aren't trying to deny it. Your old man is richer than Bury-I wonder how many Navy people might be for sale? It scares me, having a guy who could buy a whole planet as our prisoner.
The night before, the dinner party conversation had somehow turned to coffee, and Bury had lost his usual bored detachment when he spoke at length on the subject. He had told them of the historic Mocha-Java blend still grown in places like Makassar, and the happy combination of pure Java and the gnua distilled on Prince Samuai's World. He knew the history of Jamaica Blue Mountain although; he'd said, not its taste.
As dessert was ending he suggested a "coffee tasting" in the manner of a wine-tasting party. It had been an excellent ending to an excellent dinner, with Bury and Nabil moving like conjurors among filter cones and boiling water and hand-lettered labels. All the guests were amused, and it made Bury a different man somehow; it had been hard to think of him as a connoisseur of any kind. It had ended with Bury's offer to inspect MacArthur's coffee-making facilities the next day.
Cargill, who thought coffee - as vital to a fighting- ship as torpedoes, accepted happily. Now he watched as the bearded Trader examined the large percolator and gingerly drew a cup. Absolutely clean, and the brew is not reheated too often. For standard coffee, this is excellent, Commander.
Puzzled, lack Cargill drew a cup and tasted it. There were sidelong glances among the cooks. He noticed something else, too. He ran a finger along the side of the percolator and brought it away with a brown oilstain. Bury repeated the gesture, sniffed at his finger, and touched the tip of his tongue to it. Cargill tasted the oil in his hand. It was like all the bad coffee he had ever swallowed for fear of falling asleep on duty.
He looked again at the percolator and stared at the spigot handle. They emptied the machine and disassembled it-as far as it would go. Parts made to unscrew were now a fused unit. But the secret of the magic percolator seemed to be selective permeability in the metal shell. It would pass the older oils.
OK, Ziffren, how long has this been going on? But I intend to find out, Skipper, I'm positive we looked everywhere when we cleaned out the ship. Where could they have hidden? OK, take the Chief Engineer and go over this ship again, lack.
The Mote in God's Eye Lesson Plans for Teachers | theranchhands.com
And make damned sure this time. Blaine turned to the intercom screens and punched inputs. Everything known about miniatures flashed across the screen. There was not very much. The expedition to Mote Prime had seen thousands of the miniatures throughout Castle City. Renner's Motie called them "Watchmakers," and they functioned as assistants to the brown "Engineers. They required training, but the adult Watchmakers took care of most of that. Like other subservient castes they were a form of wealth, and the ability to support a large household of Watchmakers, Engineers, and other lower forms was one measure of the importance of a Master.
This last was a conclusion of Chaplain Hardy, and not definitely confirmed. An hour passed before Cargill called. Sandy says it can't possibly work, and he's digging into it now-but it's enough for me. Sinclair had the cover off and was muttering to himself as he examined the exposed machinery.
The guts had changed. The casing had been reshaped. The second filter Sinclair had installed was gone, and the remaining filter had been altered beyond recognition. Goop seeped from one side into a plastic bag that bulged with gas; the goop was highly volatile. Screw fastenings fused together.
Missing parts and the rest. There are live Brownies aboard this ship. I've got to report to Lenin. Kutuzov's burly features swam on the screen. Rod reported in a rush of words. There was a long silence while the Admiral stared at a point over Blaine's left shoulder.
If they have, we no longer have any secrets aboard MacArthur. If they have not- Captain, you will order the expedition to return to MacArthur immediately, and you will prepare to depart for New Caledonia the instant they are aboard. Rod pondered for a moment. He hadn't thought beyond the screams he'd get from Horvath and the others when they were told. And, surprisingly, he did agree. I can't think of a better course of action. But suppose I can exterminate the vermin, sir?
Once away from this system we can disassemble MacArthur piece by piece, with no fear that they will communicate with others. So long as we are here, that is constant threat, and it is risk I am not prepared to take. And that we are forced to return to Empire. You may tell them your commander has ordered it and you have no other explanation. If later explanations are necessary, Foreign Office will have time to prepare them.