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From an essay on objects found in Science Fiction edit
Our last object is perhaps the most fitting, when compared to the love and fear dichotomy. Larry Niven, in his book Ringworld, invents a device that could be viewed as enticing and terrifying all at once. The “tasp” wielded by the puppeteer, Nessus, to keep the people around him under his potential control becomes a pivotal tool in the story. Though never completely explained the general concept is that the device taps into the brain, manipulating the pleasure centers to overwhelm the victim with pleasure. After an attempt to highjack their ship, Speaker-To-Animals is jolted with the tasp by Nessus. Nessus affirms his control when he asserts his intentions with the tasp: “You understand that I will use the tasp every time you force me to. I will use it if you make me uneasy. If you attempt violence too often, you will soon become dependent upon the tasp.” (Niven 55)
While the relationship of the tasp in regards to Speaker and Nessus can be broken down into simple power politics, its interaction and meaning with Louis Wu is heavier. Louis, the story’s main character, is a man who has lived so long he must put himself at risk in order to continue to find purpose in life. His often melancholy character engages in many love affairs in constant pursuit of a goal he never identifies. Late in the book, he engages in a dangerous series of sexual encounters with a woman, Prill, who has also known many years of intimate contact (even as an occupation). Being somewhat mentally twisted from years of isolation, Prill starts to control Louis through sex and sexual contact. In the last attempt she is stealthily tasped by Nessus, who sees the event as a rescue of Louis. When Louis confronts Nessus about his ‘abuse’ of the tasp on Prill, the threatened puppeteer turns the tasp on him.
Niven writes, “In the heart of the purest joy he had ever known, Louis knew that Nessus was using the tasp on him.” (Niven 306) Louis fights through the pleasure to kick Nessus in his head (well, one of them) and release himself. The after-effect of losing the tasp’s pure joy becomes apparent then as “The weight of all sorrow that men are heir to, [sic] came down on the shoulders of Louis Wu. […] He wanted to weep.” (Niven)
Truly, every character that came in contact with the tasp developed a firm love/fear relationship with what the object could do. Though Nessus claims that there are no physical withdrawal symptoms, like those of illicit substances, no one moves to deny that the tasp is an addiction. Louis expresses in thought that “some minor part of him still cried for the tasp, and would never stop.” (Niven 307) Speaker, especially, avoids the effect of the tasp like the plague for the remainder of the novel.
— Forrest Saucier. Student. Washburn University 2006
—Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.249.132.103 (talk • contribs) 06:55, 10 May 2006