New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Apollonian

See also Alan Dean Foster's The Damned trilogy from the '90s.

<wince> I hated that trend. Galaxy of pacifists. Silly.

[Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

<wince> I hated that trend. Galaxy of pacifists. Silly.

But if there were a galaxy of pacifists ... we would rule the galaxy. :evil grin:

Unfortunately, herbivores are not pacifists. Many of them are well-armed and very territorial. Deer, caribou, buffalo ... bloody warmongers all.

[DaltonS]

Originally Posted by Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2

But if there were a galaxy of pacifists ... we would rule the galaxy. :evil grin:

Unfortunately, herbivores are not pacifists. Many of them are well-armed and very territorial. Deer, caribou, buffalo ... bloody warmongers all.

Or what about the K'kree of Traveller.

The K'kree want to kill you . . .
The militant vegetarian K'kree are driven by their faith to rid the universe of all meat-eaters.

GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 2

It's not always "nature red of tooth and claw" you have to worry about.

Dalton “Nice horsey. Here, have an apple.” Spence

[Astromancer]

Space Orcs are a reasonable reaction to the All Aliens are Super beings trope. If you get a constant diet of Aliens are like gods, humans are mere trash you want to flip the script. Similarly, Asimov found that Campbell had a Humans are the superior species point of view. Myself, I prefer aliens are alien we had trouble understanding other human groups why would we comprehend actual aliens.

Still I pulled out the Humans are Space Orcs idea as a fun way to make Twenty Minuets into the Future human military personal fun to play in a galactic empires setting.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2

But if there were a galaxy of pacifists ... we would rule the galaxy. :evil grin:

Unfortunately, herbivores are not pacifists. Many of them are well-armed and very territorial. Deer, caribou, buffalo ... bloody warmongers all.

In Star Trek at least they hedge that by making lecturing pacifists also Sufficiently Advanced Aliens. Not reflecting that they are engaging in gunboat diplomacy just as much as Captain Kirk is, and Kirk would never resort to unrefined methods either if there was so wide a disparity.

[cptbutton]

Originally Posted by DangerousThing

You can download the Analog magazines (1971 Dec - 1972 Feb) that it was serialized in from http://www.luminist.org/archives/SF/AN.htm . I suspect that this is a slightly different version than appeared in the paperback.

Quite different, actually. The magazine version and first DAW book was A Spaceship For The King and was much shorter. It only had the plotline with Nathan MacKinnie and stopped halfway through, right after he

Spoiler:  

defeated the nomads and took over the Makassar library city.

King David's Spaceship came out some years later and takes the plot to the logical ending. It also adds two plotlines, one about the Imperial Lieutenant Jefferson, and another about Dougal, the spymaster who is masterminding all of this.

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2

Unfortunately, herbivores are not pacifists. Many of them are well-armed and very territorial. Deer, caribou, buffalo ... bloody warmongers all.

Traveller's K'kree come to mind.

Also, as an Antipodean, I like the idea of interstellar travelling uplifted kangaroos and wallabies. Just putting it out there.

[DaltonS]

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

Traveller's K'kree come to mind.

Like I said.

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

Also, as an Antipodean, I like the idea of interstellar travelling uplifted kangaroos and wallabies. Just putting it out there.

In David Weber's The Apocalypse Troll

Spoiler:  

a genocidal alien race called the "kangas" that was losing their war with humanity sent a mission back in time to destroy their enemy in the 20th century. This led a time stranded fighter pilot (sole survivor of the pursuing human fleet) to nearly draw down on an innocent marsupial she encountered in a zoo.

Not exactly what you asked for but the scene stuck in my head.

Dalton “What do you have against kangaroos anyway?” Spence

[cptbutton]

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

Traveller's K'kree come to mind.

Also, as an Antipodean, I like the idea of interstellar travelling uplifted kangaroos and wallabies. Just putting it out there.

Not what you asked for, but in Roger Zelazny's Doorways In The Sand, two interstellar cops on Earth disguise themselves as a kangaroo and a wombat.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

Also, as an Antipodean, I like the idea of interstellar travelling uplifted kangaroos and wallabies. Just putting it out there.

Kangaroos are rather ferocious ones, aren't they? At least the larger ones.