461:"if the Sirians are race-conscious and are breeding themselves into uniformity, they will defeat themselves in the long run. It is variety in the human race that brings about progress. It is Earth and not Sirius that is in the forefront of scientific research. Earthmen settled Sirius in the first place, and it is we, not our Sirian cousins, who are advancing in new directions every year".
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the information from him. Cook then admits that Urteil had blackmailed him, and was killed to save Cook's career. Starr then reveals that the robot was brought from Sirius by
Peverale in hope to use it to implicate the Sirians in the sabotage of Project Light. Starr has Peverale and Cook placed under arrest, and assumes control of the Dome in the name of the Council of Science.
352:. The head of Project Light is the leading scientist in sub-etheric optics, Scott Mindes. A series of accidents has plagued Project Light, which David "Lucky" Starr and John Bigman Jones have come to investigate. Shortly after meeting Starr and Bigman, Mindes takes them onto the surface of Mercury and explains his worries; but works himself into a
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are thinly populated and they are extremely decentralized. They live in isolated individual family units, each with its own energy source and services. Each has its group of mechanical slaves — there's no other word possible — slaves in the form of positronic robots, which do the labor. The Sirian
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On the return journey to Earth, Starr admits to Bigman that the present quarrel between
Senator Swenson and the Council of Science was a draw, in that Jonathan Urteil was not able to manufacture any scandal against Project Light, but the two top men at the Mercury observatory were exposed as felons.
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When Starr returns to the dome and learns of Urteil's death, he asks to be present when
Peverale conducts an official inquiry, at which Bigman reveals that it was Cook who caused Urteil's death and reveals that only Cook knew where he and Starr would be in the mines, wherefore Urteil must have gotten
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Starr and Bigman meet Mindes' friend Dr. Karl
Gardoma, the observatory's physician; Jonathan Urteil, who works for a political opponent of the Council of Science named Senator Swenson; Dr. Lance Peverale, the head of the observatory; and Dr. Hanley Cook, Pevarale's chief assistant, who wants to
440:"They despise us. They consider us scarcely more than animals. The Sirians themselves are very race-conscious. Since Earthmen first colonized Sirius, they have been breeding themselves carefully until they are free of diseases and of various characteristics which they consider undesirable.
377:, and that he intends to investigate the sunside while Bigman remains in the mines and maintains the pretense of Starr's presence there. After Starr leaves, Bigman is attacked by Urteil, and both are attacked by a heat-seeking native organism. Bigman distracts the latter with Urteil's
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in Starr's honor, Peverale states his belief that the
Sirians are behind the troubles plaguing Project Light; whereupon Starr replies that the Sirians' most likely locations are the abandoned mines located beneath the observatory, and proposes to search them.
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Speaking to Cook after dinner, Starr learns Cook's opinion
Peverale has become obsessed thinking of the Sirian threat. While Bigman prepares for the trip into the mines, Starr obtains two micro-ergometers, whereby to detect
322:, while the nightside is the only planetary surface in the Solar System that never sees the Sun. Most of the novel's action takes place in and around an astronomical observatory located at the planet's north pole, where
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445:"They are of uniform appearance, while Earthmen are of all shapes, sizes, colors, varieties. The Sirians consider us inferior. That's why they won't let us emigrate to Sirius".
473:, Asimov no longer attempts to disguise that he was the true author, although for the sake of continuity, the novel still appeared under his pseudonym of Paul French.
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humans maintain themselves as a fighting aristocracy. Every one of them can handle a space-cruiser. They'll never rest until they can destroy the Earth . . . .
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in the Dome's power room to
Mercurian levels to accommodate them; but during the fight, the gravity suddenly returns to Earth-normal, and Urteil dies in a fall.
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of the series, they remained nothing more than a vague external menace until this particular book. Dr. Peverale describes them thus in chapter 5:
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on
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in March 1956. Since 1972, reprints have included a foreword by Asimov explaining that advancing knowledge of conditions on
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and fires a blaster at Starr, whereupon Bigman tackles him and he is brought unconscious into the observatory.
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Although
Swenson is ruthless and dangerous, he is the sort of critic the council needs to keep it honest.
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sources at a distance. In the mines, Starr tells Bigman that his suggestion of
Sirians in the mines was a
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to the Sun. A character notes that there are places on Mercury's sunside where it is hot enough to melt
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that originally appeared under the pseudonym Paul French. The novel was first published by
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has rendered some of the novel's descriptions of that world inaccurate.
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In the Dome, Bigman challenges Urteil to a fight in Mercurian
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was written in 1955, when it was believed that Mercury was
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416:Although the Sirians were first introduced in
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733:Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids
419:Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids
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53:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
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385:, driven by solar radiation to forego the
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117:Learn how and when to remove this message
66:"Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury"
338:It has been a year since the events in
326:results in a half-mile movement of the
931:Science fiction novels by Isaac Asimov
865:Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brain
747:Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury
495:Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury
484:Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury
308:Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury
273:Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury
131:Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury
489:Internet Speculative Fiction Database
360:succeed Peverale. The next day, at a
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754:Lucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter
465:Also noteworthy is the fact that in
262:Lucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter
51:adding citations to reliable sources
761:Lucky Starr and the Rings of Saturn
740:Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus
341:Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus
249:Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus
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951:Works published under a pseudonym
819:Norby and Yobo's Great Adventure
231:Print (hardback & paperback)
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946:American science fiction novels
941:Novels set on Mercury (planet)
804:Norby and the Queen's Necklace
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956:Doubleday (publisher) books
824:Norby and the Oldest Dragon
794:Norby and the Lost Princess
276:is the fourth novel in the
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829:Norby and the Court Jester
16:1956 novel by Isaac Asimov
783:Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot
726:David Starr, Space Ranger
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396:. Dr. Cook reduces the
293:Doubleday & Company
204:Doubleday & Company
799:Norby and the Invaders
699:Forward the Foundation
471:Three Laws of Robotics
387:Three Laws of Robotics
838:Other science fiction
809:Norby Finds a Villain
692:Prelude to Foundation
664:Foundation and Empire
627:The Currents of Space
487:title listing at the
936:1956 American novels
789:Norby's Other Secret
773:The Norby Chronicles
685:Foundation and Earth
620:The Stars, Like Dust
47:improve this article
858:The Gods Themselves
846:The End of Eternity
814:Norby Down to Earth
457:, Starr notes that
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590:The Robots of Dawn
576:The Caves of Steel
569:The Positronic Man
467:Big Sun of Mercury
455:Big Sun of Mercury
398:artificial gravity
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909:Murder at the ABA
902:The Death Dealers
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678:Foundation's Edge
671:Second Foundation
634:Pebble in the Sky
597:Robots and Empire
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163:Darrell K. Sweet
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45:Please help
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715:Lucky Starr
346:observatory
279:Lucky Starr
182:Lucky Starr
925:Categories
657:Foundation
646:Foundation
546:Foundation
535:Novels by
350:hyperspace
328:terminator
287:novels by
215:March 1956
77:newspapers
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324:libration
318:and boil
200:Publisher
34:does not
548:universe
424:villains
169:Language
872:Nemesis
422:as the
394:gravity
379:blaster
362:banquet
303:Setting
297:Mercury
172:English
91:scholar
55:removed
40:sources
717:series
648:series
611:series
560:series
432:Sirius
412:Themes
354:frenzy
320:sulfur
281:series
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184:series
177:Series
149:Author
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558:Robot
383:robot
236:Pages
190:Genre
98:JSTOR
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316:lead
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36:cite
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