LEVIATHAN Larry Niven 1970“I Wonder How the Foreign ...

Posted on the 14 February 2012 by Polycarp55 @polycarp55

LEVIATHAN Larry Niven 1970


“I wonder how the foreign policies of the United States would look if we wiped out the national boundaries of the world, at least in our minds, and thought of all children everywhere as our own.” Howard Zinn

The Plain Facts


  1. Length:ten pages
  2. Genre:Science Fiction
  3. Category:
      • Time Travel
      • Hard Science Fiction
            • the "hardness" or rigor of the science itself
  4. Characters:

    5. CollectorsCollected

    SvetzGodzilla(not named as?)

    Ra ChenLeviathan

    Secretary GeneralLibrary at Alexandria

    Sperm Whale


  5. Setting
      • United Nations Labrotary (Not Sure? So if a correction is needed please help me.)


    Time From

    Time To

    Post-Nuclear AgePre-Nuclear Age


So, what's It About Man?
According to the Editors of The Best Time Travel of the 20th Century "'Leviathian!' postulates a fascinating question regarding time travel: what if where a traveler ended up is not only back in time, but back in some other time stream." So the collectors go into the time streams and find the things that the United Nations must catalog. What happens when the things fight back?

First Words

TWO MEN STOOD on one side of a thick glass wall.

Last Words

"That's right. Ever hear of a bird call a rock?"

Favorite Quote

  1. "Leviathan hit the water with a sound of thunder."pg 184.
  2. "It(Time Travel)violates everything the scientists of time thought were natural laws. Logic. Conversation of matter and energy. Momentum, reaction, any law of motion that makes time a part of the statement. Relativity."pg.187

What I learned About Writing

Its fun to take a piece of fictional world and make it believable because of the believable science behind finding it. Larry Niven's reliance on scientific fact can make the unbelievable - believable.

Turnip Tips

  1. Larry Niven Interview with John J. Miller
  2. Inconstant Moon Outer Limits by Lary Niven watch here.
  3. Larry Niven Interview with the Hour 25 Podcast.

Favorite Words Used

  1. Time Stream
  2. Leviathan
  3. Roc from western mythology.

Where to Find This Story

The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century