Artwork copyright © 2004 by R. Dennis Antinore. Used by permission, all rights reserved. Visit www.DennisAntinori.com for Ringworld animation and more.
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variable-knife

"Variable Knife" by James Clouse
copyright © 1994
by Bill Fawcett & Associates

A version of the variable-sword with a shorter blade.

Reference: "A Relic of the Empire"
variable-sword

"Variable Sword" by Michael Blum
copyright © 1984 by Chaosium Inc.

An extremely thin wire or filament wrapped in a stasis field and attached to a handle typically resembling an oversized jump-rope handle. It can easily cut through most materials, and even hull metal with effort. It typically has a red bulb at the end to show where the tip is located. When not in use the wire is retracted into the handle. The original was discovered in a Slaver stasis box; Human manufactured copies were in use by 2645. In 2658 they had recently revolutionized Human society, bringing a return of dueling and swordplay on many worlds "The Soft Weapon", Neutron Star p. 83. [Spoiler alert: Ringworld] Speaker-To-Animals used a variable-sword in an attempt to hijack the Long Shot in 2850, at the start of the First Ringworld Expedition.

Reference: "A Relic of the Empire", "The Soft Weapon", Ringworld chs. 4-5
Verguuz
An alcoholic drink from Wunderland which in 2648 was said to taste like "a hand grenade with a minted sugar casing".

Reference: "Grendel"
Verinol
A supposed truth drug which in 2645 "Captain Kidd" threatened to use on Dr. Richard Schultz-Mann, who suspected it was a fiction.

Reference: "A Relic of the Empire"
vodka
Louis Wu drank this liquor mixed with droobleberry juice in his estate on Earth in 2850.

Reference: Ringworld ch. 2
Footnotes

Copyright notice: All characters, settings and situations relating to Known Space and the Man-Kzin Wars are copyright by Larry Niven, and are used here with his kind permission. The Known Space books and stories are copyright © 1964 through 2010 by Larry Niven (and where appropriate, also his collaborators). Fleet of Worlds, Juggler of Worlds, Destroyer of Worlds and Betrayer of Worlds copyright © 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 by Larry Niven & Edward M. Lerner.

Quotes and information from the Ringworld Roleplaying Game and the Ringworld Companion are copyright © 1984 by John Hewitt. "Telepath’s Dance" copyright © 1998 by Hal Colebatch. "The Niven Project" copyright © 2004, 2008 by Aerospace Imagineering & Aldo Spadoni.

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