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23-398: Although it is fiction, the book is presented as an in-universe collection of factual documents , describing the 23rd century Starfleet and United Federation of Planets, and it is described as having been accidentally sent from the future to the 20th century—specifically, when as described in " Tomorrow Is Yesterday ", the starship USS Enterprise was accidentally propelled back in time in

46-582: A Bachelor of Arts in mathematics (with a minor in psychology ) from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas in 1962. He also completed a year of graduate work in mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles . On September 6, 1969, he married Marilyn Wisowaty, a science fiction and Regency literature fan. Niven is the author of numerous science fiction short stories and novels, beginning with his 1964 story "The Coldest Place". In this story,

69-489: A narrative or a work of art . This concept is most commonly associated with works of fantasy and science fiction , and can be found in various forms such as novels , comics , films , television shows , video games , and other creative works. In science fiction, a fictional universe may be a remote alien planet or galaxy with little apparent relationship to the real world (as in Star Wars ); in fantasy, it may be

92-414: A roc and a unicorn . Much of his writing since the 1970s has been in collaboration, particularly with Jerry Pournelle and Steven Barnes , but also Brenda Cooper and Edward M. Lerner . One of Niven's best known humorous works is " Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex ", in which he uses real-world physics to underline the difficulties of Superman and a human woman ( Lois Lane or Lana Lang ) mating. In

115-415: A San Diego Trek appreciation society called STAR, the members of which spent time making their own Trek props and costumes. Using his aerospace design talents, he began making technical drawings of phasers and tricorders. He quickly amassed a large collection and sent copies to a very impressed Gene Roddenberry , whose wife Majel Barrett 's company, Lincoln Enterprises , was producing Trek memorabilia at

138-531: A freak mishap, causing the manual's contents to be accidentally downloaded into the main computers of the now-closed Omaha Air Force Station . The book provides some detail on the workings of technology used in the original series, including its ships, phasers, tricorders, universal translators, and medical equipment, and even diagrams for a working communicator built using 20th century electronics. It also contains plans for 3-dimensional chess, and lays out some basic game rules. In 1973, Franz and his daughter joined

161-802: A greatly fictionalized or invented version of Earth's distant past or future (as in The Lord of the Rings ). In a 1970 article in CAPA-alpha , comics historian Don Markstein defined the fictional universe as meant to clarify the concept of fictional continuities. According to the criteria he imagined: Fictional universes are sometimes shared by multiple prose authors, with each author's works in that universe being granted approximately equal canonical status. For example, Larry Niven 's fictional universe Known Space has an approximately 135-year period in which Niven allows other authors to write stories about

184-580: A rule-based "technological" magic. The Draco Tavern series of short stories take place in a more light-hearted science fiction universe, and are told from the point of view of the proprietor of an omni-species bar. The whimsical Svetz series consists of a collection of short stories, The Flight of the Horse , and a novel, Rainbow Mars , which involve a nominal time machine sent back to retrieve long-extinct animals, but which travels, in fact, into alternative realities and brings back mythical creatures such as

207-735: A staunch conservative , voiced opposition to the Vietnam War . However, in 1968 Niven signed an advertisement in Galaxy Science Fiction in support for continued US involvement in the Vietnam War. Niven was an adviser to Ronald Reagan on the creation of the Strategic Defense Initiative antimissile policy, as part of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy —as covered in

230-406: A typical real world technical manual. The binder featured a clear front pocket, within which the "dust jacket" of the book was placed. It could be removed, with the plastic binder reading only "STAR FLEET TECHNICAL MANUAL", just as a real manual might appear. It took the number-one spot on The New York Times trade paperback list, breaking the existing record for profitability. Its success hinted at

253-506: Is part of the Tales of Known Space, and Niven has shared the setting with other writers since a 1988 anthology, The Man- Kzin Wars (Baen Books, jointly edited with Jerry Pournelle and Dean Ing ). There have been several volumes of short stories and novellas. Niven has also written a logical fantasy series The Magic Goes Away , which utilizes an exhaustible resource called mana to power

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276-584: The Magic: The Gathering trading card game, the card Nevinyrral's Disk uses his name, spelled backwards. This tribute was paid because the game's system where mana from lands is used to power spells was inspired by his book The Magic Goes Away . The card Nevinyrral, Urborg Tyrant was added in Commander Legends, adding Niven's namesake character fully to the game. According to author Michael Moorcock , in 1967, Niven, despite being

299-609: The BBC documentary Pandora's Box by Adam Curtis . In 2007, Niven, in conjunction with a think tank of science fiction writers known as SIGMA, founded and led by Arlan Andrews , began advising the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as to future trends affecting terror policy and other topics. Among those topics was reducing costs for hospitals to which Niven offered the solution to spread rumors in Latino communities that organs were being harvested illegally in hospitals. Larry Niven

322-571: The Hugo , Locus , Ditmar , and Nebula awards. With Jerry Pournelle he wrote The Mote in God's Eye (1974) and Lucifer's Hammer (1977). The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America gave him the 2015 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award . His work is primarily hard science fiction , using big science concepts and theoretical physics. It also often includes elements of detective fiction and adventure stories . His fantasy includes

345-531: The Man-Kzin Wars . Other fictional universes, like the Ring of Fire series , actively court canonical stimulus from fans, but gate and control the changes through a formalized process and the final say of the editor and universe creator . Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven ( / ˈ n ɪ v ən / ; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer . His 1970 novel Ringworld won

368-561: The redshift effect. Several of his stories predicted the black market in transplant organs (" organlegging "). Many of Niven's stories—sometimes called the Tales of Known Space —take place in his Known Space universe, in which humanity shares the several habitable star systems nearest to the Sun with over a dozen alien species, including the aggressive feline Kzinti and the very intelligent but cowardly Pierson's Puppeteers , which are frequently central characters. The Ringworld series

391-741: The Nebula Award in 1970 and the Hugo and Locus awards in 1971 for Ringworld , Niven won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story for " Neutron Star " in 1967. He won the same award in 1972, for " Inconstant Moon ", and in 1975 for " The Hole Man ". In 1976, he won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette for " The Borderland of Sol ". Niven frequently collaborated with Jerry Pournelle ; they wrote nine novels together, including The Mote in God's Eye , Lucifer's Hammer and Footfall . Niven has written scripts for two science fiction television series:

414-455: The brand's great potential, and within a year of its publication, Paramount and Roddenberry contracted to begin work on a Star Trek movie. The book was culled for background imagery in the first three Trek films. Elements from the manual that appear on screen include: In addition, the manual, along with semi-official blueprints available at the time of the Klingon and Romulan ships,

437-473: The coldest place concerned is the dark side of Mercury , which at the time the story was written was thought to be tidally locked with the Sun (it was found to rotate in a 2:3 resonance after Niven received payment for the story, but before it was published). Algis Budrys said in 1968 that Niven becoming a top writer despite the New Wave was evidence that "trends are for second-raters". In addition to

460-528: The original Land of the Lost series and Star Trek: The Animated Series , for which he adapted his early story " The Soft Weapon ." For The Outer Limits , his story " Inconstant Moon " was adapted into an episode of the same name by Brad Wright . Niven has also written for the DC Comics character Green Lantern , including in his stories hard science fiction concepts such as universal entropy and

483-712: The series The Magic Goes Away , works of rational fantasy dealing with magic as a non-renewable resource . Niven was born in Los Angeles. He is a great-grandson of Edward L. Doheny , an oil tycoon who drilled the first successful well in the Los Angeles City Oil Field in 1892, and also was subsequently implicated in the Teapot Dome scandal . Niven briefly attended the California Institute of Technology and graduated with

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506-403: The time. Though he considered the franchise dead, Roddenberry encouraged Joseph to seek Barrett's help in creating a manual, a project blessed with privileged access to original props and carpenter's blueprints. The book was published by Ballantine Books, a division of Random House , November 1975. The format was a paperback book, contained within a removable rigid black plastic binder, much like

529-569: Was a major source for the initial designs used for Federation ships for the board game Star Fleet Battles . A Kelvin Timeline of Star Trek version of the Saladin Class Destroyer from the manual appears in the mobile and PC game Star Trek Fleet Command . In-universe A fictional universe , also known as an imagined universe or a constructed universe , is the internally consistent fictional setting used in

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