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Kzin
The Kzinti (singular: Kzin) are an alien cat-like species developed by Larry Niven in his Known Space series.
The Kzinti were initially introduced in Niven's story "The Warriors" (originally in Worlds of If (1966), collected in Tales of Known Space (1975)) and "The Soft Weapon" (1967), collected in Neutron Star (1968). A Kzin character, Speaker-to-Animals (later known as Chmeee), subsequently played a significant role in Niven's Hugo and Nebula award-winning Ringworld (1970) and Ringworld Engineers (1980), giving considerably more background on the Kzinti and their interactions with human civilizations. Following Ringworld, Niven permitted 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 some volumes of The Man-Kzin Wars, which eventually reached fourteen volumes, the first published in June 1988. Kzinti also appears in Juggler of Worlds (2008) and Fate of Worlds (2012), novels within the Fleet of Worlds series (cowritten with Edward M. Lerner).
The Kzinti were also written by Niven into the Star Trek universe, appearing first in Star Trek: The Animated Series. Similar characters also appeared in Star Trek: Lower Decks and in Star Fleet Universe, as well as material for Star Trek: Enterprise that was never produced because of the series' cancellation.[citation needed]
Kzinti evolved from a plains-hunting felid, on a planet slightly colder and drier than Earth. The Kzin word for their home planet translates as Homeworld, often known as Kzinhome, among the Kzinti themselves. It is the third planet orbiting the star 61 Ursae Majoris.
The Kzin civilization was at an iron-age technological level, when an alien race called the Jotoki landed, and made stealthy first contact with a tribe of primitive hunter/gatherer Kzinti: they were interstellar merchants, looking for a species they could use as mercenaries.
Once the Jotok had taught the Kzinti how to use high-tech 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 -- though it 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 Patriarch, and is a hereditary title. The Kzinti call themselves "heroes" or the "Hero Race", and because they believe themselves to be "heroes", their society places a very high value on "acting Heroic",[dubious – discuss] and behaving in a heroic fashion.[clarification needed]
To Kzin society, "heroic" means being honorable, and having integrity.[vague] Kzin honor, called strakh, is similar in many ways to the samurai code of Bushido. Strakh serves as almost a sort of currency or favor system, since their culture has no analog for money. For example, if the Patriarch gets meat from a seller's market stand, the seller gains considerable strakh, which will bring honor to the seller, aiding him to attract better customers, gaining strakh, i.e. higher status within the community.
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Kzin
The Kzinti (singular: Kzin) are an alien cat-like species developed by Larry Niven in his Known Space series.
The Kzinti were initially introduced in Niven's story "The Warriors" (originally in Worlds of If (1966), collected in Tales of Known Space (1975)) and "The Soft Weapon" (1967), collected in Neutron Star (1968). A Kzin character, Speaker-to-Animals (later known as Chmeee), subsequently played a significant role in Niven's Hugo and Nebula award-winning Ringworld (1970) and Ringworld Engineers (1980), giving considerably more background on the Kzinti and their interactions with human civilizations. Following Ringworld, Niven permitted 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 some volumes of The Man-Kzin Wars, which eventually reached fourteen volumes, the first published in June 1988. Kzinti also appears in Juggler of Worlds (2008) and Fate of Worlds (2012), novels within the Fleet of Worlds series (cowritten with Edward M. Lerner).
The Kzinti were also written by Niven into the Star Trek universe, appearing first in Star Trek: The Animated Series. Similar characters also appeared in Star Trek: Lower Decks and in Star Fleet Universe, as well as material for Star Trek: Enterprise that was never produced because of the series' cancellation.[citation needed]
Kzinti evolved from a plains-hunting felid, on a planet slightly colder and drier than Earth. The Kzin word for their home planet translates as Homeworld, often known as Kzinhome, among the Kzinti themselves. It is the third planet orbiting the star 61 Ursae Majoris.
The Kzin civilization was at an iron-age technological level, when an alien race called the Jotoki landed, and made stealthy first contact with a tribe of primitive hunter/gatherer Kzinti: they were interstellar merchants, looking for a species they could use as mercenaries.
Once the Jotok had taught the Kzinti how to use high-tech 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 -- though it 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 Patriarch, and is a hereditary title. The Kzinti call themselves "heroes" or the "Hero Race", and because they believe themselves to be "heroes", their society places a very high value on "acting Heroic",[dubious – discuss] and behaving in a heroic fashion.[clarification needed]
To Kzin society, "heroic" means being honorable, and having integrity.[vague] Kzin honor, called strakh, is similar in many ways to the samurai code of Bushido. Strakh serves as almost a sort of currency or favor system, since their culture has no analog for money. For example, if the Patriarch gets meat from a seller's market stand, the seller gains considerable strakh, which will bring honor to the seller, aiding him to attract better customers, gaining strakh, i.e. higher status within the community.