Why havent the Pak killed the Kzinti?

External Since: May 25, 2004 Posts: 2

From The Ring World Engineers:

"If a pak protector has no living children he generally dies. He stops
eating. Some protectors can generalize; they can find a way to do
something for their whole species, and it keeps them alive."

I'm thinking specifically of the way Teela Brown trys to save the entire
ring world population even though none of them are part of her species.
Which is why I asked originally, I only have seen the one pak protector
and I'm trying to justify her behavior.

-Benjamin Klahn

Ernest Fairchild wrote:
> "Benjamin Klahn" <code.mage.TakeThisOut@prodigy.net> wrote in message
> news:_lzsc.209$n65.129@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...
>
>>Do the Pak differentiate between different species? I was under the
>>impression that they try and protect all sentient life.
>
>
> LOL! No, the Pak protect only their *own* descendents. They don't
> protect anyone else's descendents.
>
> Have a great day!
>
> Ernest
> _____________________
> "In the begining there was nothing, then God said, "Let there be
> light"... and there was still nothing, but you could see it."
>
>

External Since: May 26, 2004 Posts: 3

> Ernest Fairchild wrote:
  > > "Benjamin Klahn" <code.mage DeleteThis @prodigy.net> wrote in message
  > > news:_lzsc.209$n65.129@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...
  > >
   > >>Do the Pak differentiate between different species? I was under the
   > >>impression that they try and protect all sentient life.
  > >
  > >
  > > LOL! No, the Pak protect only their *own* descendents. They don't
  > > protect anyone else's descendents.

Very Happy

Quite the reverse, in fact: if anyone else's descendants get in the
way of your own, well...let's just say that Ernest's greeting is *not*
the last thing they hear.

  > > Have a great day!
  > >
  > > Ernest

Benjamin Klahn <code.mage DeleteThis @prodigy.net> wrote in message news:<K7Lsc.323$n65.134@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com>...
> From The Ring World Engineers:
>
> "If a pak protector has no living children he generally dies. He stops
> eating. Some protectors can generalize; they can find a way to do
> something for their whole species, and it keeps them alive."
>
> I'm thinking specifically of the way Teela Brown trys to save the entire
> ring world population even though none of them are part of her species.
> Which is why I asked originally, I only have seen the one pak protector
> and I'm trying to justify her behavior.
>
> -Benjamin Klahn

You have to realise that Teela isn't a proper Pak protector, just like
Louis Wu isn't a true Pak breeder. Homo Sapiens Sapiens has evolved
("mutated", in the Pak mind) away from the genocidal, xenocidal race
we've come to know and love.

Very rarely, a *Pak* protector can generalize his protective instincts
to include his entire species. Even so, the one example detailed in
"Protector" (in the opinon of the first *human* protector) couldn't be
trusted to extend that to include his human 'cousins' when he figured
out they could pose a danger to his own (true Pak) version.

"Brennan. /Why?/"
The Brennan-monster shrugged cantaloupe shoulders.
"He was wrong. I killed him because he would have tried to wipe out
humanity when he learned the truth."
(...)
"Garner, I'm not getting through to you. He'd have killed me the
moment he figured it out! (.) I wouldn't have had a chance. Then he'd
have tried to wipe out the human race. We'd hace been much worse to
him than hostile aliens. We're a corruption of the Pak form itself."

Go Pak, eh? Wink

Try and get a hold of "Protector"; the contrast between Pak and human
ways of thinking is detailed there in loving detail.

Oh, and don't top-post. 't Is slightly annoying.

Gieljan