Flatlander (short story)
| "Flatlander" | |
|---|---|
| Author | Larry Niven |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Known Space |
| Genre(s) | science fiction |
| Published in | Worlds of If |
| Publication type | monthly |
| Publisher | Quinn Publications |
| Published in English | March 1967 |
| Preceded by | "At the Core" |
| Followed by | "Grendel" |
"Flatlander" is an English language science fiction short story written in 1967 by Larry Niven. It is the third in the series of Known Space stories featuring crashlander Beowulf Shaeffer. The short story was originally published in Worlds of If, March 1967, and reprinted in Neutron Star, Larry Niven, New York: Ballantine, 1968, pp. 129–171 (), and Crashlander, Larry Niven, New York: Ballantine, 1994, pp. 57–101 ().
Traveling to Earth after his trip to the core of the Milky Way Galaxy, Beowulf "Bey" Shaeffer befriends Gregory Pelton, a fabulously wealthy and gregarious flatlander (Earth-born human) who calls himself Elephant. Irritated at always being labeled a flatlander despite having logged many hours in space, Elephant decides to visit the most unusual system in or near Known Space, and has his agents put in a call to meet with the nearest Outsider vessel. Elephant, as well as two women named Diana and Sharrol, show Shaeffer around Earth for a few days; Shaeffer and Sharrol quickly develop a romantic relationship.
Four days after landing on Earth, Elephant and Shaeffer travel to the edge of Known Space in Elephant's ship, the Slower Than Infinity (written ST∞), to meet the Outsiders for information on the location of the most unusual system in Known Space. The Outsiders charge one million "stars" (the interstellar currency) for the whereabouts of the system and Elephant accepts; the Outsiders also offer to explain, for an additional two hundred thousand stars, what exactly makes the star system unusual. Elephant declines when they reveal that he will be able to find this out for himself.
The Outsiders ferry the Slower Than Infinity to the system. The two make a list of particularities apparent about the planet orbiting what Shaeffer dubs the Fast Protosun:
Endangered by the final peculiarity, they only have just enough time to get their helmets on. The remainder of the ship, along with the stowed extension bubble, is still intact. Elephant insists on attempting to land on the planet anyway but Shaeffer convinces him that, unless he can explain why the General Products hull disappeared, they should run for it. Elephant agrees, resentfully, but says that if he were alone he would go down.
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