The Dark Side of the Sun
Encyclopedia
The Dark Side of the Sun is a science fiction
novel by Terry Pratchett
, first published in 1976. It is similar to the work of Isaac Asimov
. According to Don D'Ammassa, both this and Pratchett's 1981 sci-fi novel Strata
are spoof
ing parts of Larry Niven
's Ringworld
. The holiday of Hogswatch, which appears in the Discworld
books, is celebrated by the characters in The Dark Side of the Sun.
s across centred on Wolf 359. The rest of the galaxy is sterile as far as anybody can tell.
Scattered irregularly across this "life-bubble" are ancient artefacts of a mysterious race called the Jokers, who became extinct long before any of the current races arose. These artefacts are usually astounding feats of engineering (such as a pair of stars shaped into rings and joined together like links in a chain), but leave no hints about the Jokers' physical form or day-to-day life. The only piece of translatable Joker text is a poem, which cryptically states that they have gone to their new home, which "lies at the dark side of the sun".
However, not having been told of his father's prediction, and against incalculably distant odds, Dom survives the assassination attempt. When the recording of his father's prediction is played back, a time delay added specifically for this unlikely eventuality plays a little more of the recording, in which his father makes a further prediction - that Dom will discover the Jokers' homeworld.
Dom sets out, with Hrsh-Hgn (his tutor, a swamp-dwelling phnobe), Isaac (his robot
, equipped with Man-Friday subcircuitry) and Ig (his pet swamp ig) in tow, on a picaresque adventure to find the Jokers' world. He visits many corners of the "life-bubble", encountering Joker artefacts, his god-father, who is a sentient planet, and the sexless, octopoid Creapii, among many other weird and diverse aliens and planets. At the same time he finds himself surviving - at increasingly improbable odds - numerous assassination attempts by a mysterious conspiracy which has long worked to prevent anybody from locating the Jokers, assassinating anybody deemed by p-math having a chance of doing so.
Widdershins is a planet orbiting the star CY Aquirii
(a parody of CY Aquarii
) settled by a joint party of phnobes and earth-humans. The planet is mostly water and marsh. Their wealth derives from both the chance discovery of pilac, a safe death-immunity drug and googoo, a fungal copier and regenerator of human tissue. The vegetation is blue.
Chief among them are:
The rest:
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel by Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
, first published in 1976. It is similar to the work of Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
. According to Don D'Ammassa, both this and Pratchett's 1981 sci-fi novel Strata
Strata (novel)
Strata is a comic science fiction novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1981, it is one of Pratchett's first novels and one of only two purely science fiction novels he has written, the other being The Dark Side of the Sun....
are spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
ing parts of Larry Niven
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
's Ringworld
Ringworld
Ringworld is a Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. It is followed by three sequels, and preceded by four prequels, and ties into numerous other books set in Known Space...
. The holiday of Hogswatch, which appears in the Discworld
Discworld
Discworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
books, is celebrated by the characters in The Dark Side of the Sun.
Overview
The story is set in a portion of the galaxy populated by fifty-two different sentient species. All of these species, humanity among them, have evolved in the last five million years, and all of them have evolved in a spherical volume of space only a few dozen light-yearLight-year
A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s across centred on Wolf 359. The rest of the galaxy is sterile as far as anybody can tell.
Scattered irregularly across this "life-bubble" are ancient artefacts of a mysterious race called the Jokers, who became extinct long before any of the current races arose. These artefacts are usually astounding feats of engineering (such as a pair of stars shaped into rings and joined together like links in a chain), but leave no hints about the Jokers' physical form or day-to-day life. The only piece of translatable Joker text is a poem, which cryptically states that they have gone to their new home, which "lies at the dark side of the sun".
Plot
Dominickdaniel "Dom" Sabalos IV is the son of the inventor of probability math, a science able to predict anything apart from anything to do with the Jokers, and the first person to have had his life fully quantified using p-math. Before being mysteriously assassinated, his father predicted that Dom too would be killed, on the day of his investiture as Chairman of his wealthy home planet of Widdershins.However, not having been told of his father's prediction, and against incalculably distant odds, Dom survives the assassination attempt. When the recording of his father's prediction is played back, a time delay added specifically for this unlikely eventuality plays a little more of the recording, in which his father makes a further prediction - that Dom will discover the Jokers' homeworld.
Dom sets out, with Hrsh-Hgn (his tutor, a swamp-dwelling phnobe), Isaac (his robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
, equipped with Man-Friday subcircuitry) and Ig (his pet swamp ig) in tow, on a picaresque adventure to find the Jokers' world. He visits many corners of the "life-bubble", encountering Joker artefacts, his god-father, who is a sentient planet, and the sexless, octopoid Creapii, among many other weird and diverse aliens and planets. At the same time he finds himself surviving - at increasingly improbable odds - numerous assassination attempts by a mysterious conspiracy which has long worked to prevent anybody from locating the Jokers, assassinating anybody deemed by p-math having a chance of doing so.
Setting
The book is set in the far future. No current date is given, although the dating system is "A.S." (After Sadhim).Widdershins is a planet orbiting the star CY Aquirii
88 Aquarii
88 Aquarii or c2 Aquarii is a star in the constellation Aquarius.88 Aquarii is an orange K-type giant with an apparent magnitude of +3.68. It is approximately 234 light years from Earth.-Location:...
(a parody of CY Aquarii
Grendel (Niven)
"Grendel" is an English language science fiction short story written in 1968 by Larry Niven. It is the fourth in the series of Known Space stories featuring crashlander Beowulf Shaeffer...
) settled by a joint party of phnobes and earth-humans. The planet is mostly water and marsh. Their wealth derives from both the chance discovery of pilac, a safe death-immunity drug and googoo, a fungal copier and regenerator of human tissue. The vegetation is blue.
Races
52 different sentient species (including earth-humanity) exist in the novel.Chief among them are:
- Earth-humans - Natives of Old Earth who have settled such diverse worlds as Third Eye and Eggplant.
- Subraces:
- Widdershine - left-handed, night-black skin, hairless, UV-tolerant eyes, skin-cancer resistant
- Terra Novae - stocky, two hearts
- Pineals - Phobish
- Whole Erse - warriors
- Eggplant - vegetarian carnivores
- Third Eye - telepathic
- Class Five Robots - the most sentient and intelligent kind
- Subraces:
- Phnobes - Natives of Phnobis. Three sexes.
- Creapii - Natives from Creap, first planet of 70 Ophiuchis A. Oldest race (after Jokers). Octopodial. Non-gendered. ExtremophileExtremophileAn extremophile is an organism that thrives in physically or geochemically extreme conditions that are detrimental to most life on Earth. In contrast, organisms that live in more moderate environments may be termed mesophiles or neutrophiles...
s. Names are chemical and degrees (e.g. CRChromiumChromium is a chemical element which has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish and has a high melting point. It is also odorless, tasteless, and malleable...ee gEGermaniumGermanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is a lustrous, hard, grayish-white metalloid in the carbon group, chemically similar to its group neighbors tin and silicon. The isolated element is a semiconductor, with an appearance most similar to elemental silicon....
+ 698°).- Sub-species:
- Low-degree (silicon-oxygenSiliconeSilicones are inert, synthetic compounds with a variety of forms and uses. Typically heat-resistant and rubber-like, they are used in sealants, adhesives, lubricants, medical applications , cookware, and insulation....
) - Middle-degree (silicon-carbon, 500°C)
- High-degree (aluminum-silicon polymer)
- Others (silicon-boron, etc.)
- Low-degree (silicon-oxygen
- Sub-species:
- Drosks - Natives of Quaducquakucckuaquekekecqac. Cuboid, omni-carnivores.
- Sundogs - Natives from Eggplant, since relocated to Band. Space dwellers, lay eggs (in orbit of Band) every ten years.
The rest:
- Spooners - small, icy worlds.
- Tarquins - protostar dwellers.
- The Pod - Space roaming hydrogen eaters.
- Sidewinders
- The Two Evolutions of Seard
- Jokers - Natives of Jokers World. Elder raceElder raceAn elder race in science fiction, fantasy, or horror fiction is a fictional alien race that preceded humanity. Occasionally they are a more advanced version of humanity instead of aliens . Elder races generally have abilities and technologies that generally far surpass that of humanity...
.
- The First Sirian Bank - intelligent world, legally Human.
- Chatogaster - living water