Coldest Place, The

Author:

Niven, Larry

Publication date:

1964-12

Publication type:

Short Story

Opus No.:

Setting:

Known Space

I.U.C.:

K.S. 01 (1985)

Characters:

Eric the Cyborg & Howie

Summary:

First appeared in Worlds of If, December 1964. Larry's first-ever published story. On the dark side of a non-rotating Mercury, explorers Eric and Howie collect unexpected samples of life. This story was rendered obsolete before it was even published due to advanced probes of the planet. Larry wrote a sequel, "Becalmed in Hell," with the same two characters.

Notes:

Niven's first published story saw print right around the same time that scientists determined with radar pulses that Mercury doesn't keep one face to the sun after all

Reprints:

Hitting the Skids in Pixeltown, ed. Orson Scott Card, Keith Olexa & Christian O'Toole, Phobos Books 2003; Tales of Known Space; Three Books of Known Space