Ringworld - Larry Niven Page 0,20
would have paid a fortune in blackmail to keep that secret,” said Louis. “That was what made it valuable. Fortune hunters searched every G and K star in sight looking for the puppeteer world. Even now, Teela and I could sell the information to any news network for good money.”
“But if that world is outside known space?”
“Ah-h-h,” said Louis. “My history teacher used to wonder about that. The information would still be worth money.”
“Before we depart for our ultimate destination,” the puppeteer said carefully, “you will know the coordinates of the puppeteer world. I think you will find the information more surprising than useful.” Again, for a heartbeat, the puppeteer peered into his own eyes.
He broke the pose. “I direct your attention to four conical projections—”
“Yah.” Louis had already noticed the open-mouthed cones, pointing outward and downward around the double cabin. “Are those the fusion motors?”
“Yes. You will find that the ship behaves very like a ship driven by reactionless thrusters, except that there is no internal gravity. Our designers had little room to spare. Concerning the operation of the quantum II hyperdrive, there is a thing I must warn you about—”
“I have a variable-sword,” said Speaker-To-Animals. “I urge calm.”
It took a moment for the words to register. Then Louis turned, slowly, making no sudden gestures.
The kzin stood against a curved wall. In one clawed fist he held something like an oversized jumprope handle. Ten feet from the handle, held expertly at the level of the kzin’s eyes, was a small, glowing red ball. The wire which joined ball to handle was too thin to be visible, but Louis didn’t doubt it was there. Protected and made rigid by a Slaver stasis field, the wire would cut through most metals, including—if Louis should choose to hide behind it—the back of Louis’s crash couch. And the kzin had chosen a position such that he could strike anywhere in the cabin.
At the kzin’s feet Louis saw the unidentified haunch of alien meat. It had been ripped open, and, of course, it had been hollow.
“I would have preferred a more merciful weapon,” said Speaker-To-Animals. “A stunner would have been ideal. I could not procure one in time. Louis, take your hands off the controls and put them on the back of your couch.”
Louis did. He had thought of playing with the cabin gravity; but the kzin would have cut him in two if he’d tried it.
“Now, if you will all remain calm, I will tell you what will happen next.”
“Tell us why,” Louis suggested. He was estimating chances. The red bulb was an indicator to tell Speaker where his invisibly thin wire blade ended. But if Louis could grab that end of the blade, and keep from losing his fingers in the process—
No. The bulb was too small.
“My motive should be obvious,” said Speaker. The black markings around his eyes had taken on the look of a bandit’s mask in a cartoon. The kzin was neither tense nor relaxed. And he stood where he was almost impossible to attack.
“I intend to give my world control of the Long Shot. With the Long Shot as a model we will build more such ships. Such ships would give us a killing superiority in the next Man-Kzin war, provided that men do not also have designs for Long Shot. Satisfactory?”
Louis made his voice sarcastic. “You couldn’t be afraid of where we’re going.”
“No.” The insult slid right past him. How would a kzin recognize sarcasm? “You will all disrobe now, so that I may know that you are unarmed. When you have done so I will request the puppeteer to don his pressure suit. We two will board the Long Shot. Louis and Teela will stay behind, but I will take your clothing and your luggage and your pressure suits. I will disable this ship. Doubtless the Outsiders, curious as to why you have not returned to Earth, will come to help you long before your lifesystem fails. Do you all understand?”
Louis Wu, relaxed and ready to take advantage of any slip the kzin might make…Louis Wu glanced at Teela Brown from the corner of his eye and saw a horrible thing. Teela was bracing herself to jump the kzin.
Speaker would cut her in two.
Loins would have to move first.
“Don’t be foolish, Louis. Stand up slowly and move against the wall. You shall be the first toooo…”
Speaker let the word trail off in a kind of croon.
Louis halted his leap, caught by a thing he didn’t understand.
Speaker-To-Animals