The Smoke Ring

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The Smoke Ring is a 1987 science fiction novel by Larry Niven. Like much of Niven's work, the story is heavily influenced by the setting: a gas torus, a ring of air around a neutron star. It is a sequel to The Integral Trees.

[edit] Plot introduction

The story is set at the fictional neutron star Levoy's Star (abbreviated "Voy"). The gas giant Goldblatt's World (abbreviated "Gold") orbits this star within its Roche limit. Thus, Gold's gravity is insufficient to hold its atmosphere, which is pulled loose into an independent orbit around Voy. This orbiting air forms a ring known as the Gas Torus. The Gas Torus is huge—one million kilometers thick—but most of it is too thin to be inhabitable. The central part of the Gas Torus, where the air is thicker, is known as the Smoke Ring. The Smoke Ring supports a wide variety of life.

There is no "ground" in the Smoke Ring; it is a world consisting entirely of sky. Thus, most animals can fly, even the fish. Furthermore, since the Smoke Ring is in orbit, it is in free fall. There is no "up" or "down". Most animals have trilateral symmetry, allowing them to see in all directions.

Most plants in the Smoke Ring are quite fragile, as they don't have to support their own weight. A notable exception to this rule are the eponymous Integral Trees. These are trees that are up to 100 kilometers long. Tidal locking causes them to be oriented radially, with one end pointing in toward Voy and one end pointing out. The ends of the tree feel a tidal force of up to 1/5 g. Each end consists of a leafy "tuft", which is where photosynthesis occurs.

Each tuft of a tree is 50 kilometers from the tree's center of mass. Thus, a tuft is either orbiting too slowly (the in tuft) or too quickly (the out tuft). The ends of the tree are subject to a constant hurricane-force wind. This wind bends the ends into the shape of an the integral symbol: ∫.

The Smoke Ring was colonized 500 years prior to the beginning of the story by a crew of 20 astronauts. Their descendants have adapted to the free-fall environment by growing taller and developing prehensile toes.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

This book takes place about fifteen years after the end of the original story, when survivors of the Dalton-Quinn tree, a few Carther States jungle dwellers, and Two London Tree Citizens have settled on a new tree. This 'Citizen's Tree' has become a stable community which some believe may be too small to survive in the long run. Kendy, the recorded personality of a citizen of "the state" who exists in the computer of the original space-ship that colonized the Smoke Ring, has become impatient. He decides to re-establish contact with Citizen's Tree. Kendy manipulates the group into exploring a neighboring civilization at the L4 Lagrange Point, "the Clump." The group explores this more advanced civilization with a mixture of wonder and trepidation.

This story gives much more notice to the story of Kendy and the original mission. The chain of events that led to the colonization through "mutiny" is explored. The story is also about the greater civilization that developed in the ring's exotic environment.