Luden

Luden

:"For the brand of throat drops, see Luden's. For the genus of grass skipper butterflies, see "Ludens (butterfly).

Ludens, singular - "Luden" (людены, люден), are a humanoid race in the fictional Noon Universe created by the Boris and Arkady Strugatsky. They appear principally in the novel "The Time Wanderers". The name "Luden" is probably a reference to Homo Ludens, a 1938 book by Johann Huizinga, and the Russian term "lyudi" (люди), "people".

Background

Ludens are born human, but possess latent mental powers far beyond those of normal humans. These abilities (referred in the text only as the "Third Impulse System") can be activated and developed, the process that takes several years. It is not clear from the book who initiated the first "Luden".

"Ludens" view themselves as a distinct race, and claim to have "different interests" from humanity at large, in some instances claiming to be above traditional human morality. The Ludens routinely conduct experiments on humans and alter their minds in order to further their own means, but according to Daniel Logovenko in "The Time Wanderers", over ninety percent of Ludens have no interest in humanity.

The Ludens operated on Earth in secret for less than one hundred years, searching for possible recruits. Any human who possesses what the Luden call "the third impulse" has the potential to be trained. On average, this impulse occurs in less than one person out of 100,000. At the time of their discovery by Maxim Kammerer and Toyvo Glumov, the Ludens on Earth numbered 432. The discovery of the Ludens caused such a shift in human understanding that it was thereafter referred to as "The Great Revelation".

Progressors, Ludens, and Wanderers

A major theme in the Noon Universe novels is the advanced civilization that secretly influences the development of a lesser civilization. Many of the novels focus on the progressors, groups of Earth humans who live in secret among more primitive societies on other planets and influence their development. Throughout the novels, humanity is aware of its having been influenced by the supercivilization that they call the Wanderers. The morality of this type of influence is a central question posed by the series.

The Ludens, too, secretly influence humanity, but they are thought to be not "the Wanderers". Exposition in "The Time Wanderers" reveals that the Ludens themselves perceive two further stages of human development, and that some Ludens may have already progressed onward to some sort of super-Luden existence. Both humans and Ludens seem to believe that the Wanderers represent a civilization still greater than any that ever originated on Earth.

Later Boris Strugatsky in the off-line interview to rusf.ru endorsed the version that Ludens are in fact part of Wanderer multispieces civilization, that the Wanderers are composed of "Ludens of different species".


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  • Luden's — is a brand of throat lozenge.HistoryThe Luden s brand was originally created by William H. Luden in 1879, and included several products such as candy and throat drops. Luden s was acquired in 1928 by Food Industries of Philadelphia, a holding… …   Wikipedia

  • Luden — bezeichnet die Katastralgemeinde Luden (Gemeinde Raabs) an der Thaya, Niederösterreich den Familiennamen von Heinrich Luden (1778–1847), deutscher Historiker Jack Luden (1902–1951), US amerikanischer Schauspieler Lorenz Luden (1592–1654),… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Luden — Luden, Heinrich, geb. 10. April 1780 in Loxstadt im Herzogthum Bremen; studirte 1799–1803 in Göttingen Theologie, Geschichte u. Philosophie, privatisirte dann u. wurde 1806 Professor der Geschichte in Jena, wo er 23. Mai 1837 starb. Er war… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Luden — Luden, Heinrich, Geschichtschreiber, geb. 10. April 1780 zu Loxstedt im Regbez. Stade, gest. 23. Mai 1847 in Jena, studierte in Göttingen Theologie und Geschichte, war Hauslehrer bei dem Staatsrat Hufeland in Berlin, kehrte nach Göttingen zurück… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Luden — Luden, Heinr., Geschichtschreiber, geb. 10. April 1780 zu Loxstedt (Bremen), seit 1806 Prof. in Jena, gest. das. 23. Mai 1847; Hauptwerk: »Geschichte des deutschen Volks« (Bd. 1 12, 1825 37). – Vgl. Schäfer (1880) …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Luden — Luden, Heinrich, geb. 1780 zu Loxstedt im Herzogthum Bremen, gest. 1847 als Professor der Geschichte zu Jena, Verfasser einer Geschichte des Alterthums, des Mittelalters, des deutschen Volkes, eines allgemeinen Staatsverfassungsarchivs, mehrer… …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • ludēn — *ludēn, *ludæ̅n, *luþēn, *luþæ̅n germ.?, schwach. Verb: nhd. festhängen; ne. fix (Verb); Rekontruktionsbasis: an.; Etymologie: s. ing. *leudʰ (1), *h₁leudʰ , Verb, wachsen ( …   Germanisches Wörterbuch

  • Lüden — Walter Lüden (* 10. April 1914 in Hamburg; † 31. Dezember 1996 in Boldixum, Insel Föhr), war ein deutscher Fotograf. Leben Nach dem Besuch der Hindenburg Oberrealschule begann Walter Lüden zunächst eine kaufmännische Lehre. Den Beruf übte er aber …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Luden (Gemeinde Raabs) — Wappen Karte …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • luden — • hårbeväxt …   Svensk synonymlexikon

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