Chee
Encyclopedia
The Chee are a fictional race of androids created by the extinct Pemalites, a race of pacifists from the sci-fi book series Animorphs
, written by K. A. Applegate. The word Chee means "Friend" in the Pemalite language.
, the first Chee the Animorphs met in The Android, was over 50 millennia old, remarking that he has been alive since Moses
wandered the Egypt
ian desert. Nonetheless, they are masters of espionage, often spying on the Yeerk
s to alert the Animorphs to their next plans.
When the Pemalites were attacked by the Howlers
, and the quantum virus which destroyed their creators was released, the Chee fled to Earth, which had been previously visited by the doglike pacifists. With only a few Pemalites barely clinging to life when they landed, the Chee managed to bind those Pemalites' "essences" with those of several wolves; from this combination, the modern dog was born. The Chee went into hiding on Earth, passing as human beings, watching humans evolve alongside them. The Chee can be considered benevolent Doppelgänger
s, as they can alter their appearance to match that of anything they wish, living or not. They accomplish this by means of a hologram generator. Erek and the other Chee often aid the Animorphs by standing in for them whenever they must undertake long missions, where they will be gone from home for longer than a few hours.
There has been only one time when a Chee has ever killed a living being; in book #10, The Android
, the Animorphs manage to capture a device that allows a Chee to alter its programming — the Pemalite Crystal, which is in fact a computer
of such advanced design that it would theoretically be able to control every computer on Earth, presumably utilizing the existing worldwide web, yet is only about the size of a marble or a pearl. When the Animorphs retrieved the device from the Yeerk-run Matcom facility, Erek was able to use it on himself and managed to save his friends from certain death at the hands of more than 25 human-controllers armed with machine guns and 25 elite Hork-Bajir
warriors; he effectively slaughtered them in less than 10 seconds. The eternally vivid memory of this action - his android memory meaning that the horror and brutality of what he did to the Hork-Bajir would remain as fresh in his mind as it had been when he first committed it - so disturbed and disgusted Erek, that he restored the failsafes against violence in his programming after having saved the Animorphs' lives, vowing to never harm anything ever again. Marco
, who was the one holding the crystal, eventually passed the crystal to Jake
's dog, Homer, who cast the Pemalite crystal into the ocean, and no news of it has been heard since.
s.
Animorphs
Animorphs is an English language science fiction series of young adult books written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic. Five humans, Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias, and one alien, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill , obtain the ability to morph into any animal they touch. They name...
, written by K. A. Applegate. The word Chee means "Friend" in the Pemalite language.
Fictional history
The Pemalites created the Chee in their own image, using their highly advanced technology to create friends that they could play with. In their natural state, the Chee androids have a humanoid structure bearing the dog-like qualities of their creators. The Chee are completely incapable of violence or assisting with any activity that would lead to someone's harm, even in their own self-defense. Due to having been designed for operation on a planet with higher gravity than Earth, the Chee possesses immense strength, speed and durability, capable of withstanding low-energy Dracon beam attacks and operating in the deep ocean. They have extremely long life spans; Erek KingErek King
Erek King is a fictional character from the Animorphs series by K.A. Applegate. He is a member of the Chee, a pacifistic android race created by the Pemalites. Erek King was the name of a real Animorphs fan who won a competition on the Animorphs Official Site to have his name included in one of...
, the first Chee the Animorphs met in The Android, was over 50 millennia old, remarking that he has been alive since Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
wandered the Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian desert. Nonetheless, they are masters of espionage, often spying on the Yeerk
Yeerk
Yeerks are a fictional extraterrestrial species from the book and television series "Animorphs" written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic.-Biology:...
s to alert the Animorphs to their next plans.
When the Pemalites were attacked by the Howlers
Howler (Animorphs)
Howlers, or Crayak's Children, are the alien shock troops of the nearly omnipotent Crayak, in the sci-fi book series Animorphs.-Biology:...
, and the quantum virus which destroyed their creators was released, the Chee fled to Earth, which had been previously visited by the doglike pacifists. With only a few Pemalites barely clinging to life when they landed, the Chee managed to bind those Pemalites' "essences" with those of several wolves; from this combination, the modern dog was born. The Chee went into hiding on Earth, passing as human beings, watching humans evolve alongside them. The Chee can be considered benevolent Doppelgänger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
s, as they can alter their appearance to match that of anything they wish, living or not. They accomplish this by means of a hologram generator. Erek and the other Chee often aid the Animorphs by standing in for them whenever they must undertake long missions, where they will be gone from home for longer than a few hours.
There has been only one time when a Chee has ever killed a living being; in book #10, The Android
The Android (Animorphs)
The Android is the tenth book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Marco.-Plot summary:While sneaking into a concert in dog morph, Jake and Marco discover that they are unable to detect a smell from their friend Erek King, something impossible, as all living things...
, the Animorphs manage to capture a device that allows a Chee to alter its programming — the Pemalite Crystal, which is in fact a computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
of such advanced design that it would theoretically be able to control every computer on Earth, presumably utilizing the existing worldwide web, yet is only about the size of a marble or a pearl. When the Animorphs retrieved the device from the Yeerk-run Matcom facility, Erek was able to use it on himself and managed to save his friends from certain death at the hands of more than 25 human-controllers armed with machine guns and 25 elite Hork-Bajir
Hork-Bajir
The Hork-Bajir are a race of aliens in the Animorphs novels.The Hork-Bajir are fictional aliens that are usually about seven feet tall. They are a dark shade of green and have three-toed theropod feet. Their necks are long and they have a mouth that resembles a falcon's beak with teeth. Their legs...
warriors; he effectively slaughtered them in less than 10 seconds. The eternally vivid memory of this action - his android memory meaning that the horror and brutality of what he did to the Hork-Bajir would remain as fresh in his mind as it had been when he first committed it - so disturbed and disgusted Erek, that he restored the failsafes against violence in his programming after having saved the Animorphs' lives, vowing to never harm anything ever again. Marco
Marco (Animorphs)
Marco is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series, Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. His last name is never mentioned.-Biography:...
, who was the one holding the crystal, eventually passed the crystal to Jake
Jake Berenson
Jake Berenson is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Until the penultimate book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake...
's dog, Homer, who cast the Pemalite crystal into the ocean, and no news of it has been heard since.
Appearance
The Chee are described in Book 10 by Marco as "made of steel and something white," with "mouths almost like muzzles, clumsy-looking legs, and stubby fingers." When Erek hits the side of a passing bus, Marco sees "something that seem[s] to be made of patches of steel and milk-white plastic." As a spider, Marco is able to see through Erek's hologram, and he describes the foot as "interlocking plates of steel and ivory," and the foot looks like a dog's paw. On the whole, Chee look like upright digitigrade robotic dogs, possibly resembling GreyhoundGreyhound
The Greyhound is a breed of sighthound that has been primarily bred for coursing game and racing, and the breed has also recently seen a resurgence in its popularity as a pedigree show dog and family pet. It is a gentle and intelligent breed...
s.