From: dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig)
Subject: Chanur
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 22:57:26 GMT

CJ Cherryh is one of the few authors who really attempts to portray
aliens who are more than thinly-disguised humans.  It isn't easy, and
she does a creditable job of it.

The problem is to create aliens that will be of interest to the human
reader, that won't be so alien that no true interaction is possible,
and that won't be humans with a quirk.  Her Compact stories present
a range of races with just enough in common to coexist.

The Hani are what sf authors usually use for their aliens:  A species
so similar to ours -- in the way it thinks -- that the reader can
easily forget that the viewpoint character *isn't* human.  There are
the obligatory biological quirks, to remind us that there are
differences.  I'm not complaining:  The viewpoint characters *need*
to be essentially human for the book to work.  (I've read a few sf
stories told from the viewpoint of very different aliens, and they
tend to be pretty bad.)

The Kif are insanely (by our standards) predatory and competitive
carnivores.  The way they're hard-wired, words such as 'friend' and
'loyalty' are literally meaningless to them.  But they're highly
intelligent, and if you are not dealing with them from a position of
weakness, it's not that hard to get along with them and not even
*realize* how badly you're misunderstanding each other.  It can seem
that you're speaking the same language.

The Mahendo'sat are the most humanoid of the Compact's races.  Their
main quirks appear to be a mystical bent, and a quasi-religious
respect for charisma.  Yet it's very hard to tell the difference
between their system of government (using the term loosely) and that
of the Kif.  

The Stsho are enigmatic.  Feeble, unaggressive, and very wealthy, they
should have fallen prey to the Kif long ago.  It's not clear whether
their continued survival and prosperity is based upon hidden strength,
a good bluff, or just adroit politics.  We see more of this race in
Chanur's Legacy than of any other (except Hani), but we still come away
knowing almost nothing.

Naturally it's always the viewpoint character who has to make the adjustments
and employ the protocol of the various aliens.  But Cherryh lets us see
the corollary:  The aliens in question are probably thinking that *they're*
the ones who are bending over backwards.

However strange these species are, they're all oxygen-breathers competing
for similar resources, employing technologies which have to contend with
the same laws of physics.  Cherryh also throws some methane-breathers into
the mix.  These are so alien that after centuries of contact, and even
trade, oxygen-breathers still haven't managed to make them understand
statements on the order of "you're going the wrong way on a one-way street."
Interestingly enough, this has a *stabilizing* effect on the Compact:
You tend to behave more cautiously when you haven't a clue how your
neighbors will react to anything you attempt.

I've just read -- and enjoyed -- Chanur's Legacy.  One of the better
things about it is that it's *not* a story that, with a bit of revision,
could take place in medieval Europe, or in some generic space empire.
The viewpoint character could as well be human (for the most part),
but she isn't moving through a universe of allies and enemies with
fully intelligible motives.  The Compact is a civilization in which
each race tries to do the best it can for itself in a universe it
shares with half a dozen (to its eyes) insane species that can only
some of the time be trusted to even behave with enlightened self-interest.

-----
Dani Zweig
dani@netcom.com

  The surface of the strange, forbidden planet was roughly textured and green,
  much like cottage cheese gets way after the date on the lid says it is all 
  right to buy it.--Scott Jones