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Hub AI
The Dosadi Experiment AI simulator
(@The Dosadi Experiment_simulator)
Hub AI
The Dosadi Experiment AI simulator
(@The Dosadi Experiment_simulator)
The Dosadi Experiment
The Dosadi Experiment is a 1977 science fiction novel by American writer Frank Herbert. It is the second full-length novel set in the ConSentiency universe established by Herbert in his short stories "A Matter of Traces" and "The Tactful Saboteur", and continued in his novel Whipping Star. It was first published as a four-part serial in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine from May to August, 1977.
The novel is set in a distant future when humans are part of an interstellar civilization, the ConSentiency comprising numerous species. Mysterious and powerful Caleban provide "jump-doors" (which allow instantaneous travel between any two points in the universe); this is the glue that holds the far-flung ConSentiency together. Unfortunately, one consequence of the technology is the possibility that large numbers of unsuspecting sentients can be diverted to destinations unknown for nefarious purposes. A government saboteur attempts to expose one such plot.
Jorj X. McKie is a Saboteur Extraordinary, one of the principals of the Bureau of Sabotage, and the only human admitted to practice law before the Gowachin bar as a legum (lawyer). Whilst meditating in a park on the grounds of the Bureau's headquarters, McKie is mentally contacted by the Caleban Fannie Mae, a nominally female member of a multidimensional species of unparalleled power, who cryptically explains his mission. (Their dialogue has elements of a lover's spat, which is indicative of the depth of their relationship.)
Generations ago, a secret, unauthorized experiment by the Gowachins was carried out with the help of a contract with the Calebans. The planet Dosadi was isolated behind an impenetrable barrier (called "The God Wall") and populated with humans and Gowachin. The planet and its biosphere are massively poisonous except for a deep narrow valley containing the city-state "Chu", into which nearly 89 million humans and Gowachin are crowded under terrible conditions. The culture of ordinary day-to-day power on Dosadi is hence extremely violent. At the time of the story Chu is ruled by a dictator. Numerous other governmental systems have been installed by DemoPol, a computer system used to manipulate the populace without its consent or knowledge. Furthermore, addictive drugs are a commonplace method of control.
In this milieu Senior Liator (or Liaitor) Keila Jedrik begins a war that will change Dosadi, and ultimately the ConSentiency itself forever. Jorj, having been thoroughly but narrowly briefed, arrives ignorant of what possible benefits the Dosadi experiment had been expected to yield. The saboteur and the bureaucrat join forces via ego sharing, and by using a hole in the contract isolating Dosadi they escape via jump gate. By further legal manoeuvring the Dosadi population itself is unleashed upon the ConSentiency for good or ill. The Gowachin, having sent McKie to Dosadi in the first place in the hopes of a solution more in keeping with their interests could be found, must deal with the consequences.
Jorj X. McKie is the leading saboteur extraordinary in the Bureau of Sabotage (BuSab), an organization found in The Dosadi Experiment as well as two earlier short stories. He is described as a squat and ugly man of Pacific Islander ancestry, with green eyes and a shock of red hair. The Gowachin say they feel their bones age in his presence, because when he smiles, he bears a remarkable resemblance to their "Frog god", the nearly-divine Lawgiver, Mrreg.
A born troublemaker, Jorj McKie finds BuSab to be a natural outlet for his tendencies. But McKie's success as a BuSab agent is really the result of a formidable intelligence and an exquisite sensitivity to the traditions of other races combined with the ability to adapt to any circumstances. Sent by the agency to Dosadi as their "best", he was like an infant in swaddling clothes in comparison to a people honed by fifteen generations of violence –at least initially. In less than a week he finds his bearings, and Keila Jedrik appraises him as "more Dosadi than Dosadi."
His feelings of genuine love for the Caleban Fannie Mae aside (a love which is fully reciprocated), McKie never forms long-term attachments to human women; his more than fifty marriages have been strictly transactional. Nevertheless, he finds in Keila Jedrik a companion who becomes far, far more than a soul mate.
The Dosadi Experiment
The Dosadi Experiment is a 1977 science fiction novel by American writer Frank Herbert. It is the second full-length novel set in the ConSentiency universe established by Herbert in his short stories "A Matter of Traces" and "The Tactful Saboteur", and continued in his novel Whipping Star. It was first published as a four-part serial in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine from May to August, 1977.
The novel is set in a distant future when humans are part of an interstellar civilization, the ConSentiency comprising numerous species. Mysterious and powerful Caleban provide "jump-doors" (which allow instantaneous travel between any two points in the universe); this is the glue that holds the far-flung ConSentiency together. Unfortunately, one consequence of the technology is the possibility that large numbers of unsuspecting sentients can be diverted to destinations unknown for nefarious purposes. A government saboteur attempts to expose one such plot.
Jorj X. McKie is a Saboteur Extraordinary, one of the principals of the Bureau of Sabotage, and the only human admitted to practice law before the Gowachin bar as a legum (lawyer). Whilst meditating in a park on the grounds of the Bureau's headquarters, McKie is mentally contacted by the Caleban Fannie Mae, a nominally female member of a multidimensional species of unparalleled power, who cryptically explains his mission. (Their dialogue has elements of a lover's spat, which is indicative of the depth of their relationship.)
Generations ago, a secret, unauthorized experiment by the Gowachins was carried out with the help of a contract with the Calebans. The planet Dosadi was isolated behind an impenetrable barrier (called "The God Wall") and populated with humans and Gowachin. The planet and its biosphere are massively poisonous except for a deep narrow valley containing the city-state "Chu", into which nearly 89 million humans and Gowachin are crowded under terrible conditions. The culture of ordinary day-to-day power on Dosadi is hence extremely violent. At the time of the story Chu is ruled by a dictator. Numerous other governmental systems have been installed by DemoPol, a computer system used to manipulate the populace without its consent or knowledge. Furthermore, addictive drugs are a commonplace method of control.
In this milieu Senior Liator (or Liaitor) Keila Jedrik begins a war that will change Dosadi, and ultimately the ConSentiency itself forever. Jorj, having been thoroughly but narrowly briefed, arrives ignorant of what possible benefits the Dosadi experiment had been expected to yield. The saboteur and the bureaucrat join forces via ego sharing, and by using a hole in the contract isolating Dosadi they escape via jump gate. By further legal manoeuvring the Dosadi population itself is unleashed upon the ConSentiency for good or ill. The Gowachin, having sent McKie to Dosadi in the first place in the hopes of a solution more in keeping with their interests could be found, must deal with the consequences.
Jorj X. McKie is the leading saboteur extraordinary in the Bureau of Sabotage (BuSab), an organization found in The Dosadi Experiment as well as two earlier short stories. He is described as a squat and ugly man of Pacific Islander ancestry, with green eyes and a shock of red hair. The Gowachin say they feel their bones age in his presence, because when he smiles, he bears a remarkable resemblance to their "Frog god", the nearly-divine Lawgiver, Mrreg.
A born troublemaker, Jorj McKie finds BuSab to be a natural outlet for his tendencies. But McKie's success as a BuSab agent is really the result of a formidable intelligence and an exquisite sensitivity to the traditions of other races combined with the ability to adapt to any circumstances. Sent by the agency to Dosadi as their "best", he was like an infant in swaddling clothes in comparison to a people honed by fifteen generations of violence –at least initially. In less than a week he finds his bearings, and Keila Jedrik appraises him as "more Dosadi than Dosadi."
His feelings of genuine love for the Caleban Fannie Mae aside (a love which is fully reciprocated), McKie never forms long-term attachments to human women; his more than fifty marriages have been strictly transactional. Nevertheless, he finds in Keila Jedrik a companion who becomes far, far more than a soul mate.