Playing God

The characters all "play god" in one way or another, by controlling others in the world around them. The puppeteers are "playing god" by controlling the evolution of other races by manipulating the world. They work behind the scenes to create a birthright lottery to breed lucky humans, and they empower the humans to fight the kzinti so that the most aggressive kzinti will die, leaving a more peaceful species. The creators of the Ringworld "play god" by creating their own planet, a completely constructed environment. Speaker, Prill, and Louis literally play at being gods to the natives in exchange for offerings of food. They give advice and direct people's lives.

All of the ways characters "play god" come back to one element: control. They try to control their environment and the people around them. They impinge on others' abilities to make choices—on free will...