Death by Ectasy is a short story in the Known Space universe by Larry Niven. It is the first of five Gil Hamilton detective stories, and provides most of the backstory for the character. This article is in need of attention. ... Known Space is the fictional setting of several science fiction novels and short stories written by author Larry Niven. ... Laurence van Cott Niven (born April 30, 1938) is a US science fiction author. ... Gilbert Gilgamesh Hamilton is a fictional character in the Known Space universe created by Larry Niven. ... In narratology, a back-story (also back story or backstory) is the history behind the situation extant at the start of the main story. ...

A belter, Owen Jennison, is found dead on Earth in a locked Los Angeles apartment. His death is an apparent suicide. Hamilton, a friend and former crewmate of Jennison, is called to the scene to investigate. He finds Owen with a droud (a wirehead's transformer) plugged into the back of his head. The latter apparently starved himself to death while continuously stimulating the pleasure center of his own brain. In Larry Nivens Known Space universe, a Belter refers to a resident of the Asteroid Belt around Sol, sometimes known as the Sol Belt to differentiate it from Alpha Centauris Serpent Swarm. ... A locked room mystery is a sub-genre of detective fiction wherein a murder or other crime is apparently committed under impossible circumstances: no one could have entered or left the scene of the crime, and the death involved could not have been a suicide. ... Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the willful act of killing oneself. ... Brain implants, often referred to as neural implants, are technological devices that connect directly to a biological subjects brain - usually placed on the surface of the brain, or attached to the brains cortex. ... In Larry Nivens Known Space novels, a wirehead is someone who has been fitted with an electronic brain implant to the pleasure centers of their brain. ... The limbic system is a group of brain structures that are involved in various emotions such as aggression, fear, pleasure and also in the formation of memory. ...

Hamilton, refusing to believe that his friend would commit suicide or turn wirehead, suspects foul play.