Footfall

by Larry Niven

The alien Fithp resemble baby elephants with multiple prehensile trunks. They possess more advanced technology than humans but have developed none of it on their own. In the distant past on their planet, another species was dominant. The predecessor species badly damaged the environment, rendering itself and many other species extinct, but left behind their knowledge inscribed on large stone cubes from which the Fithp have gained their technology. Facing possible extinction because of the long-term effects of biological weapons, a group of high-ranking Fithp was selected to escape to the stars. The Chtaptisk Fithp ('Traveling Herd') are divided between 'Sleepers' and 'Spaceborn', as the ship is both a generation ship and a sleeper ship. The original leaders are subordinate to the Spaceborn, who are prepared to start a space based civilization but are still dedicated to the generations-old ideal of conquest.

The Fithp are herd creatures and fight wars differently from humans. When two herds meet, they fight until it is evident which is dominant. Fighting then ceased, and the losers are incorporated into the winning herd. The Fithp are confused by human attempts at peaceful contact. Upon arrival, they attack the Soviet space station, the country still being a major world superpower, where Soviets and Americans wait to greet them. They proceed to destroy military sites and important infrastructure on Earth. US Representative Wes Dawson and several Soviet cosmonauts are captured from the ruins of the space station.

The human characters fall into two major groups: those on Earth and those who are taken aboard the Fithp spaceship as captives. Civilians are used to show the effects of the war on day-to-day life in the US, and military and government personnel convey a more strategic overview of events. Science fiction writers are employed as technical advisers on alien technology and behavior; the characters are based on real writers, including Niven ("Nat Reynolds"), Pournelle ("Wade Curtis"), and Robert Anson Heinlein ("Bob Anson").

After their initial assault, the Fithp land ground forces in the center of North America, primarily in and around Kansas. They initially repel attacks with orbital lasers and kinetic energy weapons, but a combined Soviet and US nuclear attack wipes out their beachhead. The Fithp, who are familiar with nuclear weapons but prefer to use cleaner ones, are shocked by what they consider the barbarity of humans' willingness to "foul their own garden" with radioactivity. The Fithp respond to the defeat of their invasion by dropping a large asteroid into the Indian Ocean, whose impact results in environmental damage on a global scale, particularly the almost total destruction of India. The Fithp then invade most of Africa, successfully subjugating most of its people. On numerous occasions, the Fithp are assisted by warlords seeking to keep their power over the masses.

The US secretly builds a large, heavily armed spacecraft in Washington state that propelled by nuclear bombs, a real concept known as Project Orion. The ship is named after the Biblical archangel Michael, who cast Lucifer out of Heaven. The Michael launches and battles through small enemy "digit" ships in orbit. Though seriously damaged, she pursues the alien mothership. One of the space shuttles that is carried aboard Michael rams the Fithp ship, seriously damaging it.

On Earth, US President David Coffey receives an offer of conditional surrender from the Fithp. Coffey is willing to let the Fithp withdraw into space and is reluctant to destroy their technology and cargo of females and children. He is opposed by his advisors, who feel that by allowing the Fithp to escape and regroup, he risks the whole of humanity. When Coffey seemingly folds under the pressure, National Security Adviser Admiral Carrell stages a bloodless coup d'état, circumventing the President and communicating the rejection of the aliens' terms. An act of sabotage by the humans aboard the alien vessel disables the Fithp engines, allowing the Michael to inflict heavy damage, which forces the Fithp to accept humanity as the stronger species and surrender themselves to become part of the human "herd". In the final scene, the Fithp leader lies down on his back in a submissive gesture and allows the former captive Dawson to place his foot on his chest, which is the formal Fithp gesture of surrender.