The
Kzinti are a fictional, very warlike and bloodthirsty race of cat-like aliens in
Larry NivenLaurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
's
Known SpaceKnown Space is the fictional setting of some dozen science fiction novels and several collections of short stories written by author Larry Niven. It has also in part been used as a shared universe in the Man-Kzin Wars spin-off anthologies sub-series....
series.
The Kzin were initially introduced in Niven's story "The Warriors" (originally in
Worlds of If, 1966) and "
The Soft Weapon"The Soft Weapon" is a science fiction short story written in 1967 by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe. It was the basis of the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode, "The Slaver Weapon"...
", (1967), both collected in
Neutron Star (1968). A Kzin character, Speaker-to-Animals, subsequently played a major role in Niven's
HugoThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
and
NebulaThe Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
award-winning
RingworldRingworld is a Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. It is followed by three sequels, and preceded by four prequels, and ties into numerous other books set in Known Space...
(1970), giving considerably more background of the Kzinti and their interactions with human civilizations. Following this, Niven gave permission to several friends to write stories taking place in the time following "The Warriors" but before "The Soft Weapon"; these stories (including a handful by Niven) were collected in a number of volumes of
The Man-Kzin Wars, which eventually reached twelve volumes, the first published June 1988.
Background and history
Kzinti evolved from a plains hunting felid on a slightly colder, drier planet than Earth. The Kzin word for their home planet translates as Homeworld. The world is often known as Kzinhome by the Kzinti themselves. The Kzin home world is the third planet orbiting the star
61 Ursae Majoris61 Ursae Majoris is an orange-yellow main sequence dwarf star in the constellation Ursa Major. This star is somewhat smaller and fainter than the Sun, and can just barely be seen by the unaided eye ....
.
The Kzin civilization was at an iron-age technological level when an alien race called the Jotok landed and made stealthy
First ContactFirst contact is a common science fiction theme about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life, or of any sentient race's first encounter with another one....
with a tribe of primitive hunter/gatherer Kzinti. The Jotok were interstellar merchants looking for a species they could use as mercenaries.
Once the Jotok had taught the Kzinti how to use high-technology weapons and other devices (including spacecraft), the Kzin rebelled and made their former masters into slaves, as well as the occasional meal. The crest of the Riit (Royal) family appears to be a bite mark, but is in fact a dentate leaf, with the words "From mercenary to master." written around it in Kzinti script.
Kzin society is extremely male dominated. The leader of the race is called the
PatriarchFrom Larry Niven's Known Space series of science fiction books, the Kzinti Patriarch is the leader of the Kzin race.-Background:Larry Niven wrote a number of science fiction books set in a mythical universe called Known Space...
, which is a hereditary title. The Kzinti call themselves "Heroes" or the "Heroes Race" and because they believe themselves to be "heroes", their society places a very high value on "acting Heroic" and behaving in a heroic fashion.
To Kzin society, "heroic" means being honorable and having integrity. Kzin honor is similar in many ways to the
samuraiis the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
code of
Bushido, meaning "Way of the Warrior-Knight", is a Japanese word which is used to describe a uniquely Japanese code of conduct and a way of the samurai life, loosely analogous to the concept of chivalry. It originates from the samurai moral code and stresses frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and...
. Strakh serves as almost a sort of currency or favour system, since they do not use money in their culture. For example, if the Patriarch gets meat from a sellers' market stand, the seller gains considerable strakh which will bring honour to the seller allowing him to get better customers - which leads to more strakh, which gives the seller a higher status within the community.
Once Kzinti gained access to genetic-manipulation technology, they started manipulating themselves in order to bring out the most "heroic" qualities and recede undesired ones. To this end, because females are not valued except as bearers of children, the male-dominated Kzin society bred (most of) their own females into sub-sapience.
Kzinti are often described as anthropomorphic
tigerThe tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
s, but there are significant and visible differences. Kzinti are larger than humans, standing around 8 feet (2.4 m) tall and weighing around 500 pounds (226.8 kg). These tiger-sized
bipedBipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs, or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning "two feet"...
s have large membranous ears, a barrel-chested torso with a flexible spine, and large fangs and claws. One human gave an apt description of Kzin as "eight feet of death."
Unlike some popularly depicted anthropomorphic animals, Kzinti stand on two legs like humans do; they do not have
digitigradeA digitigrade is an animal that stands or walks on its digits, or toes. Digitigrades include walking birds , cats, dogs, and many other mammals, but not plantigrades or unguligrades...
or "backward-bending" legs. Their hands end in three fingers and an opposable thumb, all with retractable claws.
They are covered with a thick coat of long fur that comes in various combinations of orange, yellow, and black. Full black coats are rare, however, and all who have them are taken by the black priests.
Their tails are naked and are similar in appearance to a rat's tail, and their noses are black. Kzinti ears have fur only on the outside of the ear and only about half-way up the ear itself, usually appear pink, and are shaped liked a segment of a Chinese parasol (or
cocktail umbrellaA cocktail umbrella is a small umbrella or parasol made from paper, paperboard, and a toothpick, used as a garnish or decoration in cocktails, desserts or other food and beverages....
; they are also sometimes described as "bat-winged"); they can fold back flat against the head for protection during a fight.
They speak in a hissing language called the
Hero's Tongue, which in its written form resembles
commasThe comma is a punctuation mark. It has the same shape as an apostrophe or single closing quotation mark in many typefaces, but it differs from them in being placed on the baseline of the text. Some typefaces render it as a small line, slightly curved or straight but inclined from the vertical, or...
and
periodsA full stop is the punctuation mark commonly placed at the end of sentences. In American English, the term used for this punctuation is period. In the 21st century, it is often also called a dot by young people...
.
Kzinti cubs are tested by the Black Priests. Females are tested for intelligence; the ones who fail their test, revealing too high an intelligence, are killed. Males are tested for telepathy; the ones who exhibit telepathic ability are forced into addiction of a drug derived from the lymph of an animal called a
sthondat. Sthondat lymph extract significantly increases
telepathicTelepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
ability, but it is addictive, and is toxic with long use, causing muscle atrophy and thinning fur. The black-fur gene and the telepath gene are exclusive; no completely black-furred kzin is telepathic, and all such cubs are taken by the Black Priests and raised within their cult.
Telepaths are tolerated by the warrior class due to the specialized use of their skill, otherwise they endure a low-
casteCaste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
position in society, just above the status of slaves, with the occasional slave being considered of a higher social status. Telepaths rarely, if ever, earn a name, and they aren't legally allowed to breed.
Most Kzin females (
s. Kzin
rret,
pl. Kzin
rretti) are sub-sapient, with a vocabulary of fewer than a hundred word/sounds and primarily instinct-driven behavior, and are treated as chattel by males (
s. Kzin
tosh,
pl. Kzin
toshi). This was not always the case: archaic Kzinretti were sapient until the Kzin used
JotokiThe Jotoki are a fictional alien race from Larry Niven's Known Space books. They were first described in the novelette The Survivor by Donald Kingsbury, in Man-Kzin Wars IVJotoki resemble large, spindly starfish...
biotechnologyBiotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
to drive them to their current state while boosting the males' martial prowess.
Kzin society explains this by stating that the Fanged God removed Kzinrretti's souls as punishment for an attempted rebellion against him shortly after he created the Kzinti. Even by the period of the novels, certain bloodlines still produce sentient females, as do some, if not most, primitive tribes. These tribes, long isolated from the Patriarchy, avoided the genetic modifications.
At least 2 sentient females exist on Wunderland and a population also exists on the Ringworld.
The Kzinti are the first on-going alien contact that humanity has met within the
Known SpaceKnown Space is the fictional setting of some dozen science fiction novels and several collections of short stories written by author Larry Niven. It has also in part been used as a shared universe in the Man-Kzin Wars spin-off anthologies sub-series....
universe. The
first contactFirst contact is a common science fiction theme about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life, or of any sentient race's first encounter with another one....
with humanity ends the human
golden eraThe term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology and legend and refers to the first in a sequence of four or five Ages of Man, in which the Golden Age is first, followed in sequence, by the Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages, and then the present, a period of decline...
of peace, where even history has been rewritten in a non-violent whitewash; organized violence was virtually eliminated, being reduced to roughly 1 in 1000 people, and there was no interpersonal violence, except occasional outbursts in the
asteroid beltThe asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
where medical and psychological care were spread thinly.
Naming convention
Kzintoshi are born without names, which they must earn through valorous deeds. They are originally known by their relation to their father when they are kittens. After maturity, they are known by their rank or occupation. A Kzin who has performed a great deed will be granted a partial name by a superior; a further, greater deed earns a full name, the second of which is the family name.
In rare instances, a sufficiently illustrious accomplishment will earn a nameless one a full name in one fell swoop. An example of this is the granting of a full name to Trainer-of-Slaves, who single-handedly delivered a fully working hyperdrive to the Patriarchy in the novella "The Heroic Myth of Lieutenant Nora Argamentine" by
Donald KingsburyDonald MacDonald Kingsbury is an American–Canadian science fiction author. Kingsbury taught mathematics at McGill University, Montreal, from 1956 until his retirement in 1986.- Books :...
(appearing in
Man-Kzin Wars VIThe Man-Kzin Wars is a series of military science fiction short story collections , as well as the eponymous conflicts between mankind and the Kzinti that they detail...
, 1994), thus earning the full name Graaf-Nig.
An exception to this rule seems to accrue to the members of the Riit family, who have held the office of Kzinti Patriarch for uncounted generations. These appear to earn names upon reaching adulthood. However, in the 2006 novel
Destiny's Forge by author
Paul ChafePaul Chafe was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1965 and grew up in Hamilton, Ontario. He is a Canadian science fiction author who frequently publishes with Baen Books. In addition to his own original work, he has published several stories in Larry Niven's Man-Kzin Wars series, including Destiny's...
, the heir apparent to the Riit throne, "Pouncer", does not receive a name until it is earned by deed. (n.b.: Under normal circumstances Pouncer would have received his Name automatically; however, in his position after the death of his father, earning his Name traditionally was essential to establishing his
strakh as the heir to the Patriarchy.)
Only those Heroes that have earned a full name are allowed to breed. There seem to be exceptions to this, such as the reference made to Kzaargh-Commodore's harem in the novella "Catspaws" by
Hal ColebatchSir Harry Pateshall Colebatch CMG , better known as Sir Hal Colebatch, was a long-serving and occasionally controversial figure in Western Australian politics...
(appearing in
Man-Kzin Wars XI, 2005The Man-Kzin Wars is a series of military science fiction short story collections , as well as the eponymous conflicts between mankind and the Kzinti that they detail...
) despite his not having yet earned a full name.
An example of a Kzin's naming transition would be:
- Birth description: Third-Son of Khral-Hrag
- Occupation description: Weapons-Technician
- Partial name: Frep-Technician
- Full name: Frep-Hrag
The Man-Kzin Wars
In several different stories by other authors playing in the universe we see references to a total of five Man-Kzin wars taking place. The net effect of these wars is summed up by a retrospective comment from Beowulf Schaeffer in the short story "Grendel": "The Kzinti aren't really a threat. They'll
always attack before they're ready." With decreasingly impressive logistical and technological advantages, each
Man-Kzin WarThe Man-Kzin Wars is a series of military science fiction short story collections , as well as the eponymous conflicts between mankind and the Kzinti that they detail...
results in the confiscation or liberation of one or more Kzinti colony planets by the humans. In this way humanity contacts the
PierinThe Pierin are a space-faring species in the Known Space universe created by writer Larry Niven and others. In the books, and games inspired by the books, they are a rare multi-limbed species that developed on a planet with lower gravity than Earth, thus they spend much time in the air. They have...
and
KdatlynoKdatlyno are an extraterrestrial species in Larry Niven's fictional Known Space universe. They first appeared in the short story Grendel.Kdatlyno are chiefly known for their touch sculpture, their sonar "vision" and for being a race subjugated by the ferocious, warlike Kzinti.In appearance they are...
, former slave species, and takes over worlds such as Canyon (formerly Warhead) and Fafnir (formerly Shasht). Several of the stories of the Man-Kzin Wars depict the nearest Human colony at Alpha Centauri, called Wunderland, which was occupied by the Kzinti for over 50 years.
Eventually (in
Ringworld) we learn that the Kzin reverses were deliberately engineered by the
Pierson's PuppeteerPierson's Puppeteers, often known just as Puppeteers, are a fictional alien race from American author Larry Niven's Known Space books.- Biology and sociology :...
s, who lured the
OutsidersThe Outsiders are a fictional alien race in Larry Niven's Known Space series. They are many-limbed beings that are invariably described as a cat o'nine tails with a fattened handle...
to
We Made ItWe Made It may refer to* "We Made It", a song by Busta Rhymes featuring Linkin Park* "We Made It", a song by Toto from their album Toto IV* "We Made It", a song by Tito Jackson from his 2011 album* "Looks Like We Made It", a song by Barry Manilow...
in the first place. This allowed the mayor of We Made It to purchase a Faster-Than-Light drive on credit from the Outsiders. Once the humans had FTL warships, the Kzinti couldn't defeat the humans in space combat. The Puppeteers had hoped that the culling of a quarter to a third of the more aggressive members of the Kzinti with every war would result in a more peaceful race, or at least one that was capable of coexisting with other species without instantly trying to kill and eat them. This shift in Kzin attitudes succeeded spectacularly, although the Kzinti themselves do not think very highly of the changes, nor of the price they paid to achieve them. In fact, a fringe faction of the Kzinti known as the
KdaptistsThe Kdaptists are a fictional religious order in Larry Niven's Known Space Universe, first mentioned in Ringworld, and elaborated upon in the Man-Kzin Wars series....
, frustrated with the reversals their race had suffered against humanity, went so far as to adopt the human concept that God had created humanity (not Kzinti) in His image, and that He favors and protects humans over other races.
As the Puppeteers expected, a form of "natural" selection occurred, with the more mindlessly aggressive Kzinti dying in the wars with humans, and the more moderate, intelligent, and
cautious Kzinti surviving, presumably to think long and hard about the consequences of starting yet another pointless war. By the time the Kzinti attained the level of sophistication and foresight needed to win against humans, they no longer had the numbers or the drive to do so.
At one point,
Louis WuLouis Gridley Wu, a fictional character, is the main protagonist in the Ringworld series of books, written by Larry Niven.Louis Wu was born in 2650 to Carlos Wu and Sharrol Janss. When he appears in Ringworld, Louis is 6'2" tall...
, while visiting the Kzin homeworld and given access to the Kzinti Patriarch's game preserve, was confronted by a young Kzin and his father. When the youngster asked "Are they good to eat?", Louis Wu responded with a grin (baring of the teeth being a Kzin challenge to battle) and the older Kzin responded "NO". Wu muses that the Kzin have learned that it would be safer for the young Kzin to eat arsenic than a human being.
One of the reasons humanity is such a dangerous enemy is the psychological blind spot the Kzinti have toward human females. Since the Kzinti have bred intelligence out of their own females, an inexperienced Kzin is sometimes careless enough to leave human females to their own devices, usually with fatal results to that particular Kzin. It has been further described in the novels that a combat-trained human female is a Hero's worst nightmare. The Kzinti term for any particularly competent human female soldier is "Manrret" (singular) or "Manrretti" (plural), so named out of a sense of
gallows humorGallows humor , derives from gallows which is a platform with a noose used to execute people by hanging. Gallows humor is the type of humor that still manages to be funny in the face of, and in response to, a perfectly hopeless situation...
regarding lethal encounters with same. From the Kzinti point of view a Manrret's stamina, speed, reflexes, pain tolerance, and reasoning capability (enhanced
intuitionIntuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason. "The word 'intuition' comes from the Latin word 'intueri', which is often roughly translated as meaning 'to look inside'’ or 'to contemplate'." Intuition provides us with beliefs that we cannot necessarily justify...
by virtue of increased interconnectedness between the left and right halves of the human female
brainThe brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
) are far superior to a Man's. This gives some Kzin reason for considering each of the genders of humanity to be a separate alien species.
On Wunderland the leader of Kzin has developed a bond with a human female of which only they understand.
Homeworld
The Kzin homeworld is called "Kzin" by all other races save the Kzinti, who call it "Homeworld" or "Kzinhome". It orbits the star
61 Ursae Majoris61 Ursae Majoris is an orange-yellow main sequence dwarf star in the constellation Ursa Major. This star is somewhat smaller and fainter than the Sun, and can just barely be seen by the unaided eye ....
, has stronger
surface gravityThe surface gravity, g, of an astronomical or other object is the gravitational acceleration experienced at its surface. The surface gravity may be thought of as the acceleration due to gravity experienced by a hypothetical test particle which is very close to the object's surface and which, in...
and both a longer day and year than Earth. The Patriarch rules from a large palace on the world. At the end of the last Man-Kzin War, around 2618, Kzin was occupied and disarmed by human armies.
Star Trek
The Kzinti also appeared, along with allusions to
slaversThe Thrintun , in Larry Niven's fictional Known Space universe, were a long-extinct species which ruled the galaxy through telepathic mind control. Humans knew them as "Slavers", since "Thrint" is unpronouncable to the human larynx...
and
stasis boxesStasis , or hypersleep, is a science fiction concept akin to suspended animation. Whereas suspended animation usually refers to a greatly reduced state of life processes, stasis implies a complete cessation of these processes, which can be easily restarted or restart spontaneously when stasis is...
, in
The Slaver Weapon, an episode of
Star Trek: The Animated SeriesStar Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
written by Niven, as a proud and carnivorous species.
Manny CotoManny Coto is an American writer, director and producer of films and television programs.Coto was the executive producer and showrunner of Star Trek: Enterprise in its final season, and executive producer of four seasons of 24...
, who produced the final season of
Star Trek: EnterpriseStar Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
, had made plans to include the Kzinti in an episode called "Kilkenny Cats", but the series was cancelled before this could occur.
The Kzinti were incorporated into the
Star Fleet UniverseThe Star Fleet Universe is the variant of the Star Trek fictional universe detailed in the series of Star Fleet Battles games from Amarillo Design Bureau Inc. and used as reference for the Starfleet Command series of computer games...
where they became a powerful empire known as the Kzinti Hegemony, mortal enemies of that universe's Lyran Star Empire - although it is alluded that the Kzinti and Lyrans share common ancestry, a claim both sides violently reject.
The Kzin are also represented in the lore of the Star Fleet Battles universe tabletop gaming system, with a number of scenarios and starship sheets devoted to them.
In the Star Trek Logs written by
Alan Dean FosterAlan Dean Foster is an American author of fantasy and science fiction. He currently resides in Prescott, Arizona, with his wife, and is also known for his novelizations of film scripts...
, it has been hinted that the Caitians are an offshoot race of archaic Kzinti (where both genders are intelligent) who have renounced conquest. According to a memory of Lieutenant
M'RessLieutenant M'Ress, voiced by Majel Barrett, was a recurring character on The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, which aired on NBC from 1973 to 1974...
, secondary communications officer in the
Star Trek Logs, the Catian and Kzinti languages are similar enough that M'Ress can pass as a Kzin just long enough for her to send off a distress call from a Kzin raiding ship.
The Kzinti reappear in the comic
The Wristwatch Plantation, also by Niven (and which included the Bebebebeque from his
Draco Tavern stories). Kzin appeared on a star map seen in several episodes of
Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, and a triple-breasted feline stripper from
Star Trek V: The Final FrontierStar Trek V: The Final Frontier is a 1989 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fifth feature in the franchise and the penultimate to star the cast of the original Star Trek science fiction television series...
was referred to backstage as a "Kzinrrett". The name of the Tzenkethi, mentioned in
Star Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
, was rumored to be an almost-
anagramAn anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who...
of "Kzinti". Had
Star Trek: EnterpriseStar Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
not been canceled, the Kzinti would have appeared in the fifth season.
The instruction manual for the PC game Star Fleet Command clearly refers to the Kzinti by name in the background story for the rival race, the Lyrans. This race is introduced in Star Fleet Command II: Empires at War by simply changing the Kzinti Hegemony to the Mirak Star League.
Star Fleet Universe
Kzinti Hegemony
{{Merge from|Kdaptists|date=February 2009}}
{{in-universe|date=April 2008}}
The Kzinti (singular Kzin) are a fictional, very warlike and bloodthirsty race of cat-like aliens in Larry NivenLaurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
's Known SpaceKnown Space is the fictional setting of some dozen science fiction novels and several collections of short stories written by author Larry Niven. It has also in part been used as a shared universe in the Man-Kzin Wars spin-off anthologies sub-series....
series.
The Kzin were initially introduced in Niven's story "The Warriors" (originally in Worlds of If, 1966) and "The Soft Weapon"The Soft Weapon" is a science fiction short story written in 1967 by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe. It was the basis of the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode, "The Slaver Weapon"...
", (1967), both collected in Neutron Star (1968). A Kzin character, Speaker-to-Animals, subsequently played a major role in Niven's HugoThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
and NebulaThe Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
award-winning RingworldRingworld is a Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. It is followed by three sequels, and preceded by four prequels, and ties into numerous other books set in Known Space...
(1970), giving considerably more background of the Kzinti and their interactions with human civilizations. Following this, Niven gave permission to several friends to write stories taking place in the time following "The Warriors" but before "The Soft Weapon"; these stories (including a handful by Niven) were collected in a number of volumes of The Man-Kzin Wars, which eventually reached twelve volumes, the first published June 1988.
Background and history
Kzinti evolved from a plains hunting felid on a slightly colder, drier planet than Earth. The Kzin word for their home planet translates as Homeworld. The world is often known as Kzinhome by the Kzinti themselves. The Kzin home world is the third planet orbiting the star 61 Ursae Majoris61 Ursae Majoris is an orange-yellow main sequence dwarf star in the constellation Ursa Major. This star is somewhat smaller and fainter than the Sun, and can just barely be seen by the unaided eye ....
.
The Kzin civilization was at an iron-age technological level when an alien race called the Jotok landed and made stealthy First ContactFirst contact is a common science fiction theme about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life, or of any sentient race's first encounter with another one....
with a tribe of primitive hunter/gatherer Kzinti. The Jotok were interstellar merchants looking for a species they could use as mercenaries.
Once the Jotok had taught the Kzinti how to use high-technology weapons and other devices (including spacecraft), the Kzin rebelled and made their former masters into slaves, as well as the occasional meal. The crest of the Riit (Royal) family appears to be a bite mark, but is in fact a dentate leaf, with the words "From mercenary to master." written around it in Kzinti script.
Kzin society is extremely male dominated. The leader of the race is called the PatriarchFrom Larry Niven's Known Space series of science fiction books, the Kzinti Patriarch is the leader of the Kzin race.-Background:Larry Niven wrote a number of science fiction books set in a mythical universe called Known Space...
, which is a hereditary title. The Kzinti call themselves "Heroes" or the "Heroes Race" and because they believe themselves to be "heroes", their society places a very high value on "acting Heroic" and behaving in a heroic fashion.
To Kzin society, "heroic" means being honorable and having integrity. Kzin honor is similar in many ways to the samuraiis the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
code of Bushido, meaning "Way of the Warrior-Knight", is a Japanese word which is used to describe a uniquely Japanese code of conduct and a way of the samurai life, loosely analogous to the concept of chivalry. It originates from the samurai moral code and stresses frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and...
. Strakh serves as almost a sort of currency or favour system, since they do not use money in their culture.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} For example, if the Patriarch gets meat from a sellers' market stand, the seller gains considerable strakh which will bring honour to the seller allowing him to get better customers - which leads to more strakh, which gives the seller a higher status within the community.
Once Kzinti gained access to genetic-manipulation technology, they started manipulating themselves in order to bring out the most "heroic" qualities and recede undesired ones. To this end, because females are not valued except as bearers of children, the male-dominated Kzin society bred (most of) their own females into sub-sapience.
Kzinti are often described as anthropomorphic tigerThe tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
s, but there are significant and visible differences. Kzinti are larger than humans, standing around 8 feet (2.4 m) tall and weighing around 500 pounds (226.8 kg). These tiger-sized bipedBipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs, or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning "two feet"...
s have large membranous ears, a barrel-chested torso with a flexible spine, and large fangs and claws. One human gave an apt description of Kzin as "eight feet of death."
Unlike some popularly depicted anthropomorphic animals, Kzinti stand on two legs like humans do; they do not have digitigradeA digitigrade is an animal that stands or walks on its digits, or toes. Digitigrades include walking birds , cats, dogs, and many other mammals, but not plantigrades or unguligrades...
or "backward-bending" legs. Their hands end in three fingers and an opposable thumb, all with retractable claws.
They are covered with a thick coat of long fur that comes in various combinations of orange, yellow, and black. Full black coats are rare, however, and all who have them are taken by the black priests.{{Vague|What happens to them after they've been taken?|date=September 2009}}
Their tails are naked and are similar in appearance to a rat's tail, and their noses are black. Kzinti ears have fur only on the outside of the ear and only about half-way up the ear itself, usually appear pink, and are shaped liked a segment of a Chinese parasol (or cocktail umbrellaA cocktail umbrella is a small umbrella or parasol made from paper, paperboard, and a toothpick, used as a garnish or decoration in cocktails, desserts or other food and beverages....
; they are also sometimes described as "bat-winged"); they can fold back flat against the head for protection during a fight.
They speak in a hissing language called the Hero's Tongue, which in its written form resembles commasThe comma is a punctuation mark. It has the same shape as an apostrophe or single closing quotation mark in many typefaces, but it differs from them in being placed on the baseline of the text. Some typefaces render it as a small line, slightly curved or straight but inclined from the vertical, or...
and periodsA full stop is the punctuation mark commonly placed at the end of sentences. In American English, the term used for this punctuation is period. In the 21st century, it is often also called a dot by young people...
.
Kzinti cubs are tested by the Black Priests. Females are tested for intelligence; the ones who fail their test, revealing too high an intelligence, are killed. Males are tested for telepathy; the ones who exhibit telepathic ability are forced into addiction of a drug derived from the lymph of an animal called a sthondat. Sthondat lymph extract significantly increases telepathicTelepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
ability, but it is addictive, and is toxic with long use, causing muscle atrophy and thinning fur. The black-fur gene and the telepath gene are exclusive; no completely black-furred kzin is telepathic, and all such cubs are taken by the Black Priests and raised within their cult.
Telepaths are tolerated by the warrior class due to the specialized use of their skill, otherwise they endure a low-casteCaste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
position in society, just above the status of slaves, with the occasional slave being considered of a higher social status. Telepaths rarely, if ever, earn a name, and they aren't legally allowed to breed.
Most Kzin females (s. Kzinrret, pl. Kzinrretti) are sub-sapient, with a vocabulary of fewer than a hundred word/sounds and primarily instinct-driven behavior, and are treated as chattel by males (s. Kzintosh, pl. Kzintoshi). This was not always the case: archaic Kzinretti were sapient until the Kzin used JotokiThe Jotoki are a fictional alien race from Larry Niven's Known Space books. They were first described in the novelette The Survivor by Donald Kingsbury, in Man-Kzin Wars IVJotoki resemble large, spindly starfish...
biotechnologyBiotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
to drive them to their current state while boosting the males' martial prowess.
Kzin society explains this by stating that the Fanged God removed Kzinrretti's souls as punishment for an attempted rebellion against him shortly after he created the Kzinti. Even by the period of the novels, certain bloodlines still produce sentient females, as do some, if not most, primitive tribes. These tribes, long isolated from the Patriarchy, avoided the genetic modifications.
At least 2 sentient females exist on Wunderland and a population also exists on the Ringworld.
The Kzinti are the first on-going alien contact that humanity has met within the Known SpaceKnown Space is the fictional setting of some dozen science fiction novels and several collections of short stories written by author Larry Niven. It has also in part been used as a shared universe in the Man-Kzin Wars spin-off anthologies sub-series....
universe. The first contactFirst contact is a common science fiction theme about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life, or of any sentient race's first encounter with another one....
with humanity ends the human golden eraThe term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology and legend and refers to the first in a sequence of four or five Ages of Man, in which the Golden Age is first, followed in sequence, by the Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages, and then the present, a period of decline...
of peace, where even history has been rewritten in a non-violent whitewash; organized violence was virtually eliminated, being reduced to roughly 1 in 1000 people, and there was no interpersonal violence, except occasional outbursts in the asteroid beltThe asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
where medical and psychological care were spread thinly.
Naming convention
Kzintoshi are born without names, which they must earn through valorous deeds. They are originally known by their relation to their father when they are kittens. After maturity, they are known by their rank or occupation. A Kzin who has performed a great deed will be granted a partial name by a superior; a further, greater deed earns a full name, the second of which is the family name.
In rare instances, a sufficiently illustrious accomplishment will earn a nameless one a full name in one fell swoop. An example of this is the granting of a full name to Trainer-of-Slaves, who single-handedly delivered a fully working hyperdrive to the Patriarchy in the novella "The Heroic Myth of Lieutenant Nora Argamentine" by Donald KingsburyDonald MacDonald Kingsbury is an American–Canadian science fiction author. Kingsbury taught mathematics at McGill University, Montreal, from 1956 until his retirement in 1986.- Books :...
(appearing in Man-Kzin Wars VIThe Man-Kzin Wars is a series of military science fiction short story collections , as well as the eponymous conflicts between mankind and the Kzinti that they detail...
, 1994), thus earning the full name Graaf-Nig.
An exception to this rule seems to accrue to the members of the Riit family, who have held the office of Kzinti Patriarch for uncounted generations. These appear to earn names upon reaching adulthood. However, in the 2006 novel Destiny's Forge by author Paul ChafePaul Chafe was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1965 and grew up in Hamilton, Ontario. He is a Canadian science fiction author who frequently publishes with Baen Books. In addition to his own original work, he has published several stories in Larry Niven's Man-Kzin Wars series, including Destiny's...
, the heir apparent to the Riit throne, "Pouncer", does not receive a name until it is earned by deed. (n.b.: Under normal circumstances Pouncer would have received his Name automatically; however, in his position after the death of his father, earning his Name traditionally was essential to establishing his strakh as the heir to the Patriarchy.)
Only those Heroes that have earned a full name are allowed to breed. There seem to be exceptions to this, such as the reference made to Kzaargh-Commodore's harem in the novella "Catspaws" by Hal ColebatchSir Harry Pateshall Colebatch CMG , better known as Sir Hal Colebatch, was a long-serving and occasionally controversial figure in Western Australian politics...
(appearing in Man-Kzin Wars XI, 2005The Man-Kzin Wars is a series of military science fiction short story collections , as well as the eponymous conflicts between mankind and the Kzinti that they detail...
) despite his not having yet earned a full name.
An example of a Kzin's naming transition would be:
- Birth description: Third-Son of Khral-Hrag
- Occupation description: Weapons-Technician
- Partial name: Frep-Technician
- Full name: Frep-Hrag
The Man-Kzin Wars
{{Main|Man-Kzin Wars}}
In several different stories by other authors playing in the universe we see references to a total of five Man-Kzin wars taking place. The net effect of these wars is summed up by a retrospective comment from Beowulf Schaeffer in the short story "Grendel": "The Kzinti aren't really a threat. They'll always attack before they're ready." With decreasingly impressive logistical and technological advantages, each Man-Kzin WarThe Man-Kzin Wars is a series of military science fiction short story collections , as well as the eponymous conflicts between mankind and the Kzinti that they detail...
results in the confiscation or liberation of one or more Kzinti colony planets by the humans. In this way humanity contacts the PierinThe Pierin are a space-faring species in the Known Space universe created by writer Larry Niven and others. In the books, and games inspired by the books, they are a rare multi-limbed species that developed on a planet with lower gravity than Earth, thus they spend much time in the air. They have...
and KdatlynoKdatlyno are an extraterrestrial species in Larry Niven's fictional Known Space universe. They first appeared in the short story Grendel.Kdatlyno are chiefly known for their touch sculpture, their sonar "vision" and for being a race subjugated by the ferocious, warlike Kzinti.In appearance they are...
, former slave species, and takes over worlds such as Canyon (formerly Warhead) and Fafnir (formerly Shasht). Several of the stories of the Man-Kzin Wars depict the nearest Human colony at Alpha Centauri, called Wunderland, which was occupied by the Kzinti for over 50 years.
Eventually (in Ringworld) we learn that the Kzin reverses were deliberately engineered by the Pierson's PuppeteerPierson's Puppeteers, often known just as Puppeteers, are a fictional alien race from American author Larry Niven's Known Space books.- Biology and sociology :...
s, who lured the OutsidersThe Outsiders are a fictional alien race in Larry Niven's Known Space series. They are many-limbed beings that are invariably described as a cat o'nine tails with a fattened handle...
to We Made ItWe Made It may refer to* "We Made It", a song by Busta Rhymes featuring Linkin Park* "We Made It", a song by Toto from their album Toto IV* "We Made It", a song by Tito Jackson from his 2011 album* "Looks Like We Made It", a song by Barry Manilow...
in the first place. This allowed the mayor of We Made It to purchase a Faster-Than-Light drive on credit from the Outsiders. Once the humans had FTL warships, the Kzinti couldn't defeat the humans in space combat. The Puppeteers had hoped that the culling of a quarter to a third of the more aggressive members of the Kzinti with every war would result in a more peaceful race, or at least one that was capable of coexisting with other species without instantly trying to kill and eat them. This shift in Kzin attitudes succeeded spectacularly, although the Kzinti themselves do not think very highly of the changes, nor of the price they paid to achieve them. In fact, a fringe faction of the Kzinti known as the KdaptistsThe Kdaptists are a fictional religious order in Larry Niven's Known Space Universe, first mentioned in Ringworld, and elaborated upon in the Man-Kzin Wars series....
, frustrated with the reversals their race had suffered against humanity, went so far as to adopt the human concept that God had created humanity (not Kzinti) in His image, and that He favors and protects humans over other races.
As the Puppeteers expected, a form of "natural" selection occurred, with the more mindlessly aggressive Kzinti dying in the wars with humans, and the more moderate, intelligent, and cautious Kzinti surviving, presumably to think long and hard about the consequences of starting yet another pointless war. By the time the Kzinti attained the level of sophistication and foresight needed to win against humans, they no longer had the numbers or the drive to do so.
At one point, Louis WuLouis Gridley Wu, a fictional character, is the main protagonist in the Ringworld series of books, written by Larry Niven.Louis Wu was born in 2650 to Carlos Wu and Sharrol Janss. When he appears in Ringworld, Louis is 6'2" tall...
, while visiting the Kzin homeworld and given access to the Kzinti Patriarch's game preserve, was confronted by a young Kzin and his father. When the youngster asked "Are they good to eat?", Louis Wu responded with a grin (baring of the teeth being a Kzin challenge to battle) and the older Kzin responded "NO". Wu muses that the Kzin have learned that it would be safer for the young Kzin to eat arsenic than a human being.
One of the reasons humanity is such a dangerous enemy is the psychological blind spot the Kzinti have toward human females. Since the Kzinti have bred intelligence out of their own females, an inexperienced Kzin is sometimes careless enough to leave human females to their own devices, usually with fatal results to that particular Kzin. It has been further described in the novels that a combat-trained human female is a Hero's worst nightmare. The Kzinti term for any particularly competent human female soldier is "Manrret" (singular) or "Manrretti" (plural), so named out of a sense of gallows humorGallows humor , derives from gallows which is a platform with a noose used to execute people by hanging. Gallows humor is the type of humor that still manages to be funny in the face of, and in response to, a perfectly hopeless situation...
regarding lethal encounters with same. From the Kzinti point of view a Manrret's stamina, speed, reflexes, pain tolerance, and reasoning capability (enhanced intuitionIntuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason. "The word 'intuition' comes from the Latin word 'intueri', which is often roughly translated as meaning 'to look inside'’ or 'to contemplate'." Intuition provides us with beliefs that we cannot necessarily justify...
by virtue of increased interconnectedness between the left and right halves of the human female brainThe brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
) are far superior to a Man's. This gives some Kzin reason for considering each of the genders of humanity to be a separate alien species.
On Wunderland the leader of Kzin has developed a bond with a human female of which only they understand.
Homeworld
The Kzin homeworld is called "Kzin" by all other races save the Kzinti, who call it "Homeworld" or "Kzinhome". It orbits the star 61 Ursae Majoris61 Ursae Majoris is an orange-yellow main sequence dwarf star in the constellation Ursa Major. This star is somewhat smaller and fainter than the Sun, and can just barely be seen by the unaided eye ....
, has stronger surface gravityThe surface gravity, g, of an astronomical or other object is the gravitational acceleration experienced at its surface. The surface gravity may be thought of as the acceleration due to gravity experienced by a hypothetical test particle which is very close to the object's surface and which, in...
and both a longer day and year than Earth. The Patriarch rules from a large palace on the world. At the end of the last Man-Kzin War, around 2618, Kzin was occupied and disarmed by human armies.
Star Trek
The Kzinti also appeared, along with allusions to slaversThe Thrintun , in Larry Niven's fictional Known Space universe, were a long-extinct species which ruled the galaxy through telepathic mind control. Humans knew them as "Slavers", since "Thrint" is unpronouncable to the human larynx...
and stasis boxesStasis , or hypersleep, is a science fiction concept akin to suspended animation. Whereas suspended animation usually refers to a greatly reduced state of life processes, stasis implies a complete cessation of these processes, which can be easily restarted or restart spontaneously when stasis is...
, in The Slaver Weapon, an episode of Star Trek: The Animated SeriesStar Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
written by Niven, as a proud and carnivorous species. Manny CotoManny Coto is an American writer, director and producer of films and television programs.Coto was the executive producer and showrunner of Star Trek: Enterprise in its final season, and executive producer of four seasons of 24...
, who produced the final season of Star Trek: EnterpriseStar Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
, had made plans to include the Kzinti in an episode called "Kilkenny Cats", but the series was cancelled before this could occur.
The Kzinti were incorporated into the Star Fleet UniverseThe Star Fleet Universe is the variant of the Star Trek fictional universe detailed in the series of Star Fleet Battles games from Amarillo Design Bureau Inc. and used as reference for the Starfleet Command series of computer games...
where they became a powerful empire known as the Kzinti Hegemony, mortal enemies of that universe's Lyran Star Empire - although it is alluded that the Kzinti and Lyrans share common ancestry, a claim both sides violently reject.
The Kzin are also represented in the lore of the Star Fleet Battles universe tabletop gaming system, with a number of scenarios and starship sheets devoted to them.
In the Star Trek Logs written by Alan Dean FosterAlan Dean Foster is an American author of fantasy and science fiction. He currently resides in Prescott, Arizona, with his wife, and is also known for his novelizations of film scripts...
, it has been hinted that the Caitians are an offshoot race of archaic Kzinti (where both genders are intelligent) who have renounced conquest. According to a memory of Lieutenant M'RessLieutenant M'Ress, voiced by Majel Barrett, was a recurring character on The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, which aired on NBC from 1973 to 1974...
, secondary communications officer in the Star Trek Logs, the Catian and Kzinti languages are similar enough that M'Ress can pass as a Kzin just long enough for her to send off a distress call from a Kzin raiding ship.
The Kzinti reappear in the comic The Wristwatch Plantation, also by Niven (and which included the Bebebebeque from his Draco Tavern stories). Kzin appeared on a star map seen in several episodes of Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, and a triple-breasted feline stripper from Star Trek V: The Final FrontierStar Trek V: The Final Frontier is a 1989 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fifth feature in the franchise and the penultimate to star the cast of the original Star Trek science fiction television series...
was referred to backstage as a "Kzinrrett". The name of the Tzenkethi, mentioned in Star Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
, was rumored to be an almost-anagramAn anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who...
of "Kzinti". Had Star Trek: EnterpriseStar Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
not been canceled, the Kzinti would have appeared in the fifth season.
The instruction manual for the PC game Star Fleet Command clearly refers to the Kzinti by name in the background story for the rival race, the Lyrans. This race is introduced in Star Fleet Command II: Empires at War by simply changing the Kzinti Hegemony to the Mirak Star League.
Star Fleet Universe
{{Main|Kzinti Hegemony}}
Kzinti Hegemony
{{Merge from|Kdaptists|date=February 2009}}
{{in-universe|date=April 2008}}
The Kzinti (singular Kzin) are a fictional, very warlike and bloodthirsty race of cat-like aliens in Larry NivenLaurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
's Known SpaceKnown Space is the fictional setting of some dozen science fiction novels and several collections of short stories written by author Larry Niven. It has also in part been used as a shared universe in the Man-Kzin Wars spin-off anthologies sub-series....
series.
The Kzin were initially introduced in Niven's story "The Warriors" (originally in Worlds of If, 1966) and "The Soft Weapon"The Soft Weapon" is a science fiction short story written in 1967 by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe. It was the basis of the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode, "The Slaver Weapon"...
", (1967), both collected in Neutron Star (1968). A Kzin character, Speaker-to-Animals, subsequently played a major role in Niven's HugoThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
and NebulaThe Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
award-winning RingworldRingworld is a Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. It is followed by three sequels, and preceded by four prequels, and ties into numerous other books set in Known Space...
(1970), giving considerably more background of the Kzinti and their interactions with human civilizations. Following this, Niven gave permission to several friends to write stories taking place in the time following "The Warriors" but before "The Soft Weapon"; these stories (including a handful by Niven) were collected in a number of volumes of The Man-Kzin Wars, which eventually reached twelve volumes, the first published June 1988.
Background and history
Kzinti evolved from a plains hunting felid on a slightly colder, drier planet than Earth. The Kzin word for their home planet translates as Homeworld. The world is often known as Kzinhome by the Kzinti themselves. The Kzin home world is the third planet orbiting the star 61 Ursae Majoris61 Ursae Majoris is an orange-yellow main sequence dwarf star in the constellation Ursa Major. This star is somewhat smaller and fainter than the Sun, and can just barely be seen by the unaided eye ....
.
The Kzin civilization was at an iron-age technological level when an alien race called the Jotok landed and made stealthy First ContactFirst contact is a common science fiction theme about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life, or of any sentient race's first encounter with another one....
with a tribe of primitive hunter/gatherer Kzinti. The Jotok were interstellar merchants looking for a species they could use as mercenaries.
Once the Jotok had taught the Kzinti how to use high-technology weapons and other devices (including spacecraft), the Kzin rebelled and made their former masters into slaves, as well as the occasional meal. The crest of the Riit (Royal) family appears to be a bite mark, but is in fact a dentate leaf, with the words "From mercenary to master." written around it in Kzinti script.
Kzin society is extremely male dominated. The leader of the race is called the PatriarchFrom Larry Niven's Known Space series of science fiction books, the Kzinti Patriarch is the leader of the Kzin race.-Background:Larry Niven wrote a number of science fiction books set in a mythical universe called Known Space...
, which is a hereditary title. The Kzinti call themselves "Heroes" or the "Heroes Race" and because they believe themselves to be "heroes", their society places a very high value on "acting Heroic" and behaving in a heroic fashion.
To Kzin society, "heroic" means being honorable and having integrity. Kzin honor is similar in many ways to the samuraiis the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
code of Bushido, meaning "Way of the Warrior-Knight", is a Japanese word which is used to describe a uniquely Japanese code of conduct and a way of the samurai life, loosely analogous to the concept of chivalry. It originates from the samurai moral code and stresses frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and...
. Strakh serves as almost a sort of currency or favour system, since they do not use money in their culture.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} For example, if the Patriarch gets meat from a sellers' market stand, the seller gains considerable strakh which will bring honour to the seller allowing him to get better customers - which leads to more strakh, which gives the seller a higher status within the community.
Once Kzinti gained access to genetic-manipulation technology, they started manipulating themselves in order to bring out the most "heroic" qualities and recede undesired ones. To this end, because females are not valued except as bearers of children, the male-dominated Kzin society bred (most of) their own females into sub-sapience.
Kzinti are often described as anthropomorphic tigerThe tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
s, but there are significant and visible differences. Kzinti are larger than humans, standing around 8 feet (2.4 m) tall and weighing around 500 pounds (226.8 kg). These tiger-sized bipedBipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs, or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning "two feet"...
s have large membranous ears, a barrel-chested torso with a flexible spine, and large fangs and claws. One human gave an apt description of Kzin as "eight feet of death."
Unlike some popularly depicted anthropomorphic animals, Kzinti stand on two legs like humans do; they do not have digitigradeA digitigrade is an animal that stands or walks on its digits, or toes. Digitigrades include walking birds , cats, dogs, and many other mammals, but not plantigrades or unguligrades...
or "backward-bending" legs. Their hands end in three fingers and an opposable thumb, all with retractable claws.
They are covered with a thick coat of long fur that comes in various combinations of orange, yellow, and black. Full black coats are rare, however, and all who have them are taken by the black priests.{{Vague|What happens to them after they've been taken?|date=September 2009}}
Their tails are naked and are similar in appearance to a rat's tail, and their noses are black. Kzinti ears have fur only on the outside of the ear and only about half-way up the ear itself, usually appear pink, and are shaped liked a segment of a Chinese parasol (or cocktail umbrellaA cocktail umbrella is a small umbrella or parasol made from paper, paperboard, and a toothpick, used as a garnish or decoration in cocktails, desserts or other food and beverages....
; they are also sometimes described as "bat-winged"); they can fold back flat against the head for protection during a fight.
They speak in a hissing language called the Hero's Tongue, which in its written form resembles commasThe comma is a punctuation mark. It has the same shape as an apostrophe or single closing quotation mark in many typefaces, but it differs from them in being placed on the baseline of the text. Some typefaces render it as a small line, slightly curved or straight but inclined from the vertical, or...
and periodsA full stop is the punctuation mark commonly placed at the end of sentences. In American English, the term used for this punctuation is period. In the 21st century, it is often also called a dot by young people...
.
Kzinti cubs are tested by the Black Priests. Females are tested for intelligence; the ones who fail their test, revealing too high an intelligence, are killed. Males are tested for telepathy; the ones who exhibit telepathic ability are forced into addiction of a drug derived from the lymph of an animal called a sthondat. Sthondat lymph extract significantly increases telepathicTelepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
ability, but it is addictive, and is toxic with long use, causing muscle atrophy and thinning fur. The black-fur gene and the telepath gene are exclusive; no completely black-furred kzin is telepathic, and all such cubs are taken by the Black Priests and raised within their cult.
Telepaths are tolerated by the warrior class due to the specialized use of their skill, otherwise they endure a low-casteCaste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
position in society, just above the status of slaves, with the occasional slave being considered of a higher social status. Telepaths rarely, if ever, earn a name, and they aren't legally allowed to breed.
Most Kzin females (s. Kzinrret, pl. Kzinrretti) are sub-sapient, with a vocabulary of fewer than a hundred word/sounds and primarily instinct-driven behavior, and are treated as chattel by males (s. Kzintosh, pl. Kzintoshi). This was not always the case: archaic Kzinretti were sapient until the Kzin used JotokiThe Jotoki are a fictional alien race from Larry Niven's Known Space books. They were first described in the novelette The Survivor by Donald Kingsbury, in Man-Kzin Wars IVJotoki resemble large, spindly starfish...
biotechnologyBiotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
to drive them to their current state while boosting the males' martial prowess.
Kzin society explains this by stating that the Fanged God removed Kzinrretti's souls as punishment for an attempted rebellion against him shortly after he created the Kzinti. Even by the period of the novels, certain bloodlines still produce sentient females, as do some, if not most, primitive tribes. These tribes, long isolated from the Patriarchy, avoided the genetic modifications.
At least 2 sentient females exist on Wunderland and a population also exists on the Ringworld.
The Kzinti are the first on-going alien contact that humanity has met within the Known SpaceKnown Space is the fictional setting of some dozen science fiction novels and several collections of short stories written by author Larry Niven. It has also in part been used as a shared universe in the Man-Kzin Wars spin-off anthologies sub-series....
universe. The first contactFirst contact is a common science fiction theme about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life, or of any sentient race's first encounter with another one....
with humanity ends the human golden eraThe term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology and legend and refers to the first in a sequence of four or five Ages of Man, in which the Golden Age is first, followed in sequence, by the Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages, and then the present, a period of decline...
of peace, where even history has been rewritten in a non-violent whitewash; organized violence was virtually eliminated, being reduced to roughly 1 in 1000 people, and there was no interpersonal violence, except occasional outbursts in the asteroid beltThe asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
where medical and psychological care were spread thinly.
Naming convention
Kzintoshi are born without names, which they must earn through valorous deeds. They are originally known by their relation to their father when they are kittens. After maturity, they are known by their rank or occupation. A Kzin who has performed a great deed will be granted a partial name by a superior; a further, greater deed earns a full name, the second of which is the family name.
In rare instances, a sufficiently illustrious accomplishment will earn a nameless one a full name in one fell swoop. An example of this is the granting of a full name to Trainer-of-Slaves, who single-handedly delivered a fully working hyperdrive to the Patriarchy in the novella "The Heroic Myth of Lieutenant Nora Argamentine" by Donald KingsburyDonald MacDonald Kingsbury is an American–Canadian science fiction author. Kingsbury taught mathematics at McGill University, Montreal, from 1956 until his retirement in 1986.- Books :...
(appearing in Man-Kzin Wars VIThe Man-Kzin Wars is a series of military science fiction short story collections , as well as the eponymous conflicts between mankind and the Kzinti that they detail...
, 1994), thus earning the full name Graaf-Nig.
An exception to this rule seems to accrue to the members of the Riit family, who have held the office of Kzinti Patriarch for uncounted generations. These appear to earn names upon reaching adulthood. However, in the 2006 novel Destiny's Forge by author Paul ChafePaul Chafe was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1965 and grew up in Hamilton, Ontario. He is a Canadian science fiction author who frequently publishes with Baen Books. In addition to his own original work, he has published several stories in Larry Niven's Man-Kzin Wars series, including Destiny's...
, the heir apparent to the Riit throne, "Pouncer", does not receive a name until it is earned by deed. (n.b.: Under normal circumstances Pouncer would have received his Name automatically; however, in his position after the death of his father, earning his Name traditionally was essential to establishing his strakh as the heir to the Patriarchy.)
Only those Heroes that have earned a full name are allowed to breed. There seem to be exceptions to this, such as the reference made to Kzaargh-Commodore's harem in the novella "Catspaws" by Hal ColebatchSir Harry Pateshall Colebatch CMG , better known as Sir Hal Colebatch, was a long-serving and occasionally controversial figure in Western Australian politics...
(appearing in Man-Kzin Wars XI, 2005The Man-Kzin Wars is a series of military science fiction short story collections , as well as the eponymous conflicts between mankind and the Kzinti that they detail...
) despite his not having yet earned a full name.
An example of a Kzin's naming transition would be:
- Birth description: Third-Son of Khral-Hrag
- Occupation description: Weapons-Technician
- Partial name: Frep-Technician
- Full name: Frep-Hrag
The Man-Kzin Wars
{{Main|Man-Kzin Wars}}
In several different stories by other authors playing in the universe we see references to a total of five Man-Kzin wars taking place. The net effect of these wars is summed up by a retrospective comment from Beowulf Schaeffer in the short story "Grendel": "The Kzinti aren't really a threat. They'll always attack before they're ready." With decreasingly impressive logistical and technological advantages, each Man-Kzin WarThe Man-Kzin Wars is a series of military science fiction short story collections , as well as the eponymous conflicts between mankind and the Kzinti that they detail...
results in the confiscation or liberation of one or more Kzinti colony planets by the humans. In this way humanity contacts the PierinThe Pierin are a space-faring species in the Known Space universe created by writer Larry Niven and others. In the books, and games inspired by the books, they are a rare multi-limbed species that developed on a planet with lower gravity than Earth, thus they spend much time in the air. They have...
and KdatlynoKdatlyno are an extraterrestrial species in Larry Niven's fictional Known Space universe. They first appeared in the short story Grendel.Kdatlyno are chiefly known for their touch sculpture, their sonar "vision" and for being a race subjugated by the ferocious, warlike Kzinti.In appearance they are...
, former slave species, and takes over worlds such as Canyon (formerly Warhead) and Fafnir (formerly Shasht). Several of the stories of the Man-Kzin Wars depict the nearest Human colony at Alpha Centauri, called Wunderland, which was occupied by the Kzinti for over 50 years.
Eventually (in Ringworld) we learn that the Kzin reverses were deliberately engineered by the Pierson's PuppeteerPierson's Puppeteers, often known just as Puppeteers, are a fictional alien race from American author Larry Niven's Known Space books.- Biology and sociology :...
s, who lured the OutsidersThe Outsiders are a fictional alien race in Larry Niven's Known Space series. They are many-limbed beings that are invariably described as a cat o'nine tails with a fattened handle...
to We Made ItWe Made It may refer to* "We Made It", a song by Busta Rhymes featuring Linkin Park* "We Made It", a song by Toto from their album Toto IV* "We Made It", a song by Tito Jackson from his 2011 album* "Looks Like We Made It", a song by Barry Manilow...
in the first place. This allowed the mayor of We Made It to purchase a Faster-Than-Light drive on credit from the Outsiders. Once the humans had FTL warships, the Kzinti couldn't defeat the humans in space combat. The Puppeteers had hoped that the culling of a quarter to a third of the more aggressive members of the Kzinti with every war would result in a more peaceful race, or at least one that was capable of coexisting with other species without instantly trying to kill and eat them. This shift in Kzin attitudes succeeded spectacularly, although the Kzinti themselves do not think very highly of the changes, nor of the price they paid to achieve them. In fact, a fringe faction of the Kzinti known as the KdaptistsThe Kdaptists are a fictional religious order in Larry Niven's Known Space Universe, first mentioned in Ringworld, and elaborated upon in the Man-Kzin Wars series....
, frustrated with the reversals their race had suffered against humanity, went so far as to adopt the human concept that God had created humanity (not Kzinti) in His image, and that He favors and protects humans over other races.
As the Puppeteers expected, a form of "natural" selection occurred, with the more mindlessly aggressive Kzinti dying in the wars with humans, and the more moderate, intelligent, and cautious Kzinti surviving, presumably to think long and hard about the consequences of starting yet another pointless war. By the time the Kzinti attained the level of sophistication and foresight needed to win against humans, they no longer had the numbers or the drive to do so.
At one point, Louis WuLouis Gridley Wu, a fictional character, is the main protagonist in the Ringworld series of books, written by Larry Niven.Louis Wu was born in 2650 to Carlos Wu and Sharrol Janss. When he appears in Ringworld, Louis is 6'2" tall...
, while visiting the Kzin homeworld and given access to the Kzinti Patriarch's game preserve, was confronted by a young Kzin and his father. When the youngster asked "Are they good to eat?", Louis Wu responded with a grin (baring of the teeth being a Kzin challenge to battle) and the older Kzin responded "NO". Wu muses that the Kzin have learned that it would be safer for the young Kzin to eat arsenic than a human being.
One of the reasons humanity is such a dangerous enemy is the psychological blind spot the Kzinti have toward human females. Since the Kzinti have bred intelligence out of their own females, an inexperienced Kzin is sometimes careless enough to leave human females to their own devices, usually with fatal results to that particular Kzin. It has been further described in the novels that a combat-trained human female is a Hero's worst nightmare. The Kzinti term for any particularly competent human female soldier is "Manrret" (singular) or "Manrretti" (plural), so named out of a sense of gallows humorGallows humor , derives from gallows which is a platform with a noose used to execute people by hanging. Gallows humor is the type of humor that still manages to be funny in the face of, and in response to, a perfectly hopeless situation...
regarding lethal encounters with same. From the Kzinti point of view a Manrret's stamina, speed, reflexes, pain tolerance, and reasoning capability (enhanced intuitionIntuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason. "The word 'intuition' comes from the Latin word 'intueri', which is often roughly translated as meaning 'to look inside'’ or 'to contemplate'." Intuition provides us with beliefs that we cannot necessarily justify...
by virtue of increased interconnectedness between the left and right halves of the human female brainThe brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
) are far superior to a Man's. This gives some Kzin reason for considering each of the genders of humanity to be a separate alien species.
On Wunderland the leader of Kzin has developed a bond with a human female of which only they understand.
Homeworld
The Kzin homeworld is called "Kzin" by all other races save the Kzinti, who call it "Homeworld" or "Kzinhome". It orbits the star 61 Ursae Majoris61 Ursae Majoris is an orange-yellow main sequence dwarf star in the constellation Ursa Major. This star is somewhat smaller and fainter than the Sun, and can just barely be seen by the unaided eye ....
, has stronger surface gravityThe surface gravity, g, of an astronomical or other object is the gravitational acceleration experienced at its surface. The surface gravity may be thought of as the acceleration due to gravity experienced by a hypothetical test particle which is very close to the object's surface and which, in...
and both a longer day and year than Earth. The Patriarch rules from a large palace on the world. At the end of the last Man-Kzin War, around 2618, Kzin was occupied and disarmed by human armies.
Star Trek
The Kzinti also appeared, along with allusions to slaversThe Thrintun , in Larry Niven's fictional Known Space universe, were a long-extinct species which ruled the galaxy through telepathic mind control. Humans knew them as "Slavers", since "Thrint" is unpronouncable to the human larynx...
and stasis boxesStasis , or hypersleep, is a science fiction concept akin to suspended animation. Whereas suspended animation usually refers to a greatly reduced state of life processes, stasis implies a complete cessation of these processes, which can be easily restarted or restart spontaneously when stasis is...
, in The Slaver Weapon, an episode of Star Trek: The Animated SeriesStar Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
written by Niven, as a proud and carnivorous species. Manny CotoManny Coto is an American writer, director and producer of films and television programs.Coto was the executive producer and showrunner of Star Trek: Enterprise in its final season, and executive producer of four seasons of 24...
, who produced the final season of Star Trek: EnterpriseStar Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
, had made plans to include the Kzinti in an episode called "Kilkenny Cats", but the series was cancelled before this could occur.
The Kzinti were incorporated into the Star Fleet UniverseThe Star Fleet Universe is the variant of the Star Trek fictional universe detailed in the series of Star Fleet Battles games from Amarillo Design Bureau Inc. and used as reference for the Starfleet Command series of computer games...
where they became a powerful empire known as the Kzinti Hegemony, mortal enemies of that universe's Lyran Star Empire - although it is alluded that the Kzinti and Lyrans share common ancestry, a claim both sides violently reject.
The Kzin are also represented in the lore of the Star Fleet Battles universe tabletop gaming system, with a number of scenarios and starship sheets devoted to them.
In the Star Trek Logs written by Alan Dean FosterAlan Dean Foster is an American author of fantasy and science fiction. He currently resides in Prescott, Arizona, with his wife, and is also known for his novelizations of film scripts...
, it has been hinted that the Caitians are an offshoot race of archaic Kzinti (where both genders are intelligent) who have renounced conquest. According to a memory of Lieutenant M'RessLieutenant M'Ress, voiced by Majel Barrett, was a recurring character on The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, which aired on NBC from 1973 to 1974...
, secondary communications officer in the Star Trek Logs, the Catian and Kzinti languages are similar enough that M'Ress can pass as a Kzin just long enough for her to send off a distress call from a Kzin raiding ship.
The Kzinti reappear in the comic The Wristwatch Plantation, also by Niven (and which included the Bebebebeque from his Draco Tavern stories). Kzin appeared on a star map seen in several episodes of Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, and a triple-breasted feline stripper from Star Trek V: The Final FrontierStar Trek V: The Final Frontier is a 1989 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fifth feature in the franchise and the penultimate to star the cast of the original Star Trek science fiction television series...
was referred to backstage as a "Kzinrrett". The name of the Tzenkethi, mentioned in Star Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
, was rumored to be an almost-anagramAn anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who...
of "Kzinti". Had Star Trek: EnterpriseStar Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
not been canceled, the Kzinti would have appeared in the fifth season.
The instruction manual for the PC game Star Fleet Command clearly refers to the Kzinti by name in the background story for the rival race, the Lyrans. This race is introduced in Star Fleet Command II: Empires at War by simply changing the Kzinti Hegemony to the Mirak Star League.
Star Fleet Universe
{{Main|Kzinti Hegemony}}
Kzinti Hegemony{{#if:|} |
}
|- valign="top"
{{SFU/Text|Government|Feudal Monarchy led by The Patriarch }}
{{SFU/Text|Capital|Kzintai }}
{{SFU/Text|Known Species|Kzintis, (formerly) Cygnans }}
{{SFU/Text|Neighboring Powers|(Carnivons), Lyrans, WYN, Klingons, Federation }}
{{SFU/Text|Affiliation|Alliance }}
{{SFU/Text|Major Enemies|Lyrans (Y48+); Klingons (Y50+); Carnivons (Y55-Y106); Federation (Y88-c.Y160); Romulans (Y173-Y185); Seltorians (Y182-Y185); Andromedans (Y190-Y203) }}
{{SFU/Text|Known Allies|Hydrans (Unk+); Federation (Y160+); Gorn (Y174+); Tholians (Y177-Y185) }}
|}
The Kzintis in the SFU - who have traits setting them apart (no bat ears, sentient females, Kzinti/Kzintis as singular/plural etc.) from the Kzinti of Niven's works - have fought wars with all of their neighbours, the FederationThe United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
, the Klingon Empire and their perennial nemesis, the Lyran Star Empire, and are long-standing allies - or more accurately, co-belligerents - of the Hydran Kingdom. The Hegemony eventually formed a tentative accord with the Federation and allied with them in the General War, but they have been involved in major wars with the Klingons and Lyrans, such as the Four Powers War and the General War itself, in which a substantial region of their territory was occupied by their CoalitionA coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
enemies and two full-scale assaults were made on the Kzinti homeworld of Kzintai. Eventually with Federation assistance they forced the Coalition forces from their territory, but after the War ended they were involved in a Civil War as a disgruntled faction - which had been opposed to the Hegemony's ruling Patriarch and sought refuge and developed a power base in the WYN Cluster - launched an attempted coupA coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
of the Hegemony itself in the WYN War of Return.
In the fictional variant of the Star Fleet UniverseThe Star Fleet Universe is the variant of the Star Trek fictional universe detailed in the series of Star Fleet Battles games from Amarillo Design Bureau Inc. and used as reference for the Starfleet Command series of computer games...
as represented in the games Star Fleet Command II: Empires at War and Star Fleet Command: Orion Pirates from Taldren, the Kzintis were renamed as the Mirak.
External links
{{memoryalpha|Kzinti}}
{{Larry Niven}}
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