Questions tagged [a-deepness-in-the-sky]
For questions about "A Deepness in the Sky" (1999), Vernor Vinge's Hugo Award-winning prequel to "A Fire upon the Deep" (1992). Belongs to Vinge's "Zones of Thought" universe; questions with this tag should also be tagged [zones-of-thought].
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In Vernor Vinge's "A Deepness in the Sky," what are the diamonds?
In Vernor Vinge's A Deepness in the Sky, the OnOff system is featureless save for the spider planet, and some asteroid-sized diamonds. Is the origin of the diamonds ever explained or hinted at?
I ...
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What was the gambit pileup in "A Deepness in the Sky?"
I've heard it mentioned repeatedly that in the climax of A Deepness in the Sky, Sherkaner Underhill's and Pham Nuwen's gambits somehow come close to mutually cancelling and giving Nau victory.
As I ...
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Which zone is the OnOff system in?
In A Deepness in the Sky, the OnOff star and the spider's planet both exhibit unusual properties. The star itself spends most of its time essentially dark; while the planet contains minerals which ...
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What do "temp" and "bactry pit" mean?
On page 33 of A Deepness in the Sky, by Vernor Vinge we read:
This was the innnermost bladder of the temp.
Besides the spar and power pile, it was the only part that was absolutely necessary: the ...
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What does "Tas" mean?
Page 20 of A Deepness in the Sky:
"Tas been done often enough afore, dontcha know? Get ‘em when they
don’t know technology—or haven’t yet rebuilt it,” said Brughel.
What does "Tas" ...
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What does "native volatiles and ores" refer to and what are they used for?
I'm really struggling to understand a sentence from page 23 of A Deepness in the Sky
But you can't eat diamonds, not raw anyway. Without the usual mix
of native volatiles and ores, fleet life would ...
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Who wrote the Spider chapters in A Deepness in the Sky?
It's hinted that the spider chapters were written by human translators and this is the reason why everything sounds so "human". Was is Sherkaner writing through Trixia? How does that coincide with the ...
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Do they ever mention what happens to Earth in a Deepness in the Sky?
So, I know Vernor Vinge mentions Earth in his books, but I don't think they specifically mention what happens to Earth. Does anyone know?
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In "A Deepness in the Sky", what were the "authoritarian turns of speech" in Tomas Nau's dinner speech?
Of the speech by Tomas Nau, Trixia Bonsol (postdoc linguist) says:
"[...] I heard a dozen authoritarian turns of speech--and they didn't seem to be fossil usages. The Emergents are accustomed to ...
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