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Aucf-cs.542 net.sf-lovers utzoo!decvax!harpo!duke!ucf-cs!carter Tue Apr 27 15:19:30 1982 Ringworld inconsistency

That's a good point utcsrgv!donald made about the Ringworld meteor defense. That is, hostile forces would be able to sense the solar disturbances and avoid the laser, or hide behind the ringworld and bore in from underneath somehow. Really, the whole idea of influencing the ringworld's sun in order to burn up the rare meteor or repel invaders seems like overkill. A nifty idea, of course, but I'd call it a literary device to make the ending come out right rather than a practical solution to an imaginary problem. I was puzzled by Niven's brief explanation of how the Pak died out. Some disease, he said? I thought they were supposed to be smarter than that. He never did say much about how the whole thing was built. The ringworld was a grand conception, but I felt that there was not really much story beneath all the gadgets and gizmos.

Bill Carter, U. of Central Fla.

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