Tales of Known Space Quotes

“They put the mummy gently on a pile of blankets and began searching for the camera. After five frustrating minutes Chris deliberately banged his head against a wall. “I took it out to catch the sunset last night. It’s in the cargo hold.” “Go get it.”
― Larry Niven, Tales of Known Space

“Go down.” Lit made a rude noise. “Luke, why do you want to go down there? What could you possibly want from Mars? Revenge? A million tons of dust?” “Abstract knowledge.” “For what?” “Lit, you amaze me. Why did Earth go to space in the first place, if not for abstract knowledge?” Words crowded over each other to reach Lit’s mouth. They jammed in his throat, and he was speechless. He spread his hands, made frantic gestures, gulped twice, and said, “It’s obvious!” “Tell me slow. I’m a little dense.” “There’s everything in space. Monopoles. Metal. Vacuum for the vacuum industries. A place to build cheap without all kinds of bracing girders. Free fall for people with weak hearts. Room to test things that might blow up. A place to learn physics where you can watch it happen. Controlled environments—” “Was it all that obvious before we got here?” “Of course it was!” Lit glared at his visitor. The glare took in Garner’s withered legs, his drooping, mottled, hairless skin, the decades that showed in his eyes—and Lit remembered his visitor’s age. “… Wasn’t it?”
― Larry Niven, Tales of Known Space

“Stomach to brain: Lurch!<\i> what a hell of an hour to be looking at people with their faces burnt off!
Get eyes to look somewhere else, and don't try to swallow that coffee!
Why don't you change jobs?”
― Larry Niven, A Tale of Known Space

“Have you thought of anyone you’d like to use that magic wire on?” “I’ve been making a list. You’re at the top.” “Well, watch it. Sigmund knows you’ve got it, even if nobody else does.” “He’s second.”
― Larry Niven, Tales of Known Space

“When was it? I can’t remember; around 2025, I think. They were just introducing automated restaurants. They were just introducing a lot of things.”
― Larry Niven, Tales of Known Space

“The whole damn universe is waiting for us to discover antigravity.”
― Larry Niven, Tales of Known Space