Product Description

An interstellar trading ship arrived in the moon's orbit two years ago, and the few aliens who have descended to Earth have stayed in their landing craft or at the United Nations building in New York City. When one of the aliens unexpectedly shows up in a Los Angeles tavern, bartender Ed Frazer awakes the next morning with the strangest hangover of his life. Ed barely remembers taking the pills offered by the alien; each pill flooding his brain with the knowledge of an alien profession ... spaceship captain ... teleporter .... translator ... but Ed can't remember how many pills he took, or if the confusing overload of information in his head shadows the terrible secret of their mission. Hugo Award Nominee

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28712 in eBooks
• Published on: 2003-09-25
• Released on: 2003-09-25
• Format: Kindle Book

Customer Reviews

Not Free SF Reader
Alien alcohol test case quad pill investigation.


3.5 out of 5

One of Niven's very best tales
This is a particularly fine Larry Niven short story, which was a 1972 Hugo novella nominee. It's around 55 paper pages.

The background is that Earth has been visited by a starfaring trading race, known as the Monks, who travel by light sails between the stars. One of their principal trade goods turns out to be RNA pills that can immediately deliver complete sets of pre-programmed knowledge and skills.

The story is narrated by a bartender who has hosted a Monk in his bar and awakes to discover that he has learned some interesting new professions, which also shed some unexpected light on the Monks themselves...

I'm fond of many of Niven's stories, but I definitely rate this as one of his very best, for both writing and clever invention.