Pham Nuwen

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Vernor Vinge's character
Pham Nuwen
Species: Slow zone Human
Other Names: See other names below
Culture(s): Qeng Ho
Birth 7th millenia, Canberra
Death 28th millenia, Low Beyond
Book(s): A Fire Upon the Deep,1992
A Deepness in the Sky,1999

Pham Nuwen is a character in Vernor Vinge's novels, A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky. He is a legendary Qeng Ho commander and Programmer-at-Arms from Canberra.


Contents


[edit] Childhood

The great Pham Nuwen was born on Camberra, some time after the Camberran civilisation had destroyed itself with atomic bombs[1]. Son of the King of Northland, Tran Nuwen, Pham grows surrounded by swords, daggers and poison in a seashore castle (At the time of his birth, Camberra is still at a level similar to Old Earth's Middle-Age).

At the age of 13, his whole life changed forever as a fleet of Qeng Ho interstellar traders arrives on his planet (their arrival at this time was actually a miscalculation as the Camberran civilization was not as technologically advanced as they had expected, therefore unable to repair and refuel all of their ships). Used by his father as a hostage for the "people from the stars", young Pham Nuwen embarks aboard the interstellar ramjet Resumption (the only Qeng Ho ship leaving the planet), not to come back to Camberra for centuries.

[edit] Other Names

[edit] Bidwell Ducanh

This is the name taken by Pham Nuwen when he arrives on Triland after Brisgo Gap, where he was betrayed by his fellow Qeng Ho. He arrives on the planet hoping to finance an interstellar expedition to the mysterious "OnOff Star". However, due to his distrust of the Qeng Ho (he refused to negotiate with a passing Qeng Ho ship), he lost his credibility and his fortune. He ends up stranded on Triland for about a century[2], until the arrival of admiral Sammy J. Park's fleet, which was making a stop on its way to the OnOff Star, where an extra-terrestrial had begun emitting radio signals. One of the fleet's secondary mission was to find Pham Nuwen, which they did. Pham then joins the crew of the fleet's flagship Pham Nuwen as a programmer-at-arms.

It is interesting to note that the surname "Ducanh" happens to be that of his childhood girlfriend, Cindi Ducanh, the only person who tried to prevent his father's treachery.

[edit] Pham Trinli

[edit] Zamle Eng

[edit] References

  1. ^ "The original colony [Camberra] had fallen back into savagery after a nuclear war" (Tomas Nau, podmaster), Ch. 16, A Deepness in the Sky
  2. ^ "-Bidwell Ducanh. Yes, now that I'm looking for the name, I remember hearing of this guy. He got quite a reputation something around sixty or a hundred years ago" (Trixia Bonsol's father), Prologue, A Deepness in the Sky
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