Loosely based on Larry Niven's 1973 novella "Flash Crowd," Red Tide
continues to examine the social consequences of the impact of having
instantaneous teleportation, where humans can instantly travel long
distances in milliseconds.
This is a theme that has fascinated the author throughout his career and
even appears in his seminal work Ringworld, where the central character
celebrates his birthday by instantly teleporting himself to different
time zones, extending his "birthday."
The author also discusses the impact of such instantaneous
transportation in his essay, "Exercise in Speculation: The Theory and
Practice of Teleportation."
Larry Niven is joined by two younger writers, Brad R. Torgersen and
Matthew J. Harrington, as they take on this challenging idea and further
develop the theories and concepts that Niven originally presented in
"Flash Crowd."