Chanur's Venture (28 page)

The Kif

Kif are tallest of the species of the Compact, very lean and having virtually no

body fat. They are mostly hairless, except for a close-growing strip down the

midline of their elongate, long-snouted skulls -- which is seldom visible, as

kif go robed and hooded and seldom bare their heads. The skin is gray and soft,

if very tough and much wrinkled, and hot to the touch of hani or mahendo'sat.

They are agile and strong; their claws are retractable and very sharp. Their

eyes are usually red-rimmed: they prefer very dim light. What their genders are

is a matter of guesswork. They may have two, but outsiders often use it of a kif

in complete uncertainty, and he by convention which the mahendo'sat began: kif

use he and occasionally she of themselves, but whether this precisely reflects a

mahen/hani style gender distinction or something more like the stsho is still

uncertain. Kif give few clues to aid the guesswork.

Kif got into space independently, through an arms race, and acquired starflight

through contact with tc'a, whose wisdom in this other species question.

Kif are totally carnivorous, incapable of swallowing anything very large. Two

independent sets of jaws exist within the snout, one to bite, another to reduce

the intake to pulp and fluids. They prefer live food, and actually have rather

delicate appetites: they are repulsed by carrion and could not easily handle

cooked meat.

Color does not play a part in their decor, which is generally utilitarian and

often black and gray. The light in their dwellings is quite dim. They have keen

night vision, and indeed much of their homeworld dwelling is underground, though

some mahen scientists have disputed on the basis of the kifish eye (smaller than

the eyes of other nocturnals on other worlds) whether the species did not in

fact originate as a diurnal hunter and change its lifestyle in the remote past.

As kif do not share data with mahendo'sat, and stsho and hani have no interest

in the question, it goes unanswered. Curiously kif do practice art, which seems

confined to objects of ordinary use, weapons, cups, boxes and containers, which

are embellished in tactile patterns. They place little value on mass-produced

goods and great value on objects they believe to be unique, or on consumables

such as rare and endangered species or uncommon liquors. They do appreciate

intoxicants of various kinds but are the most moderate of known species in their

consumption: individual kif who have become intoxicated have been killed

outright by their companions.

Kif are facile linguists, great mimics, and in particular speak fluent hani, as

well as their own several languages. Their homestar is Akkt, their homeworld

Akkht, which outsiders often confuse, and reputedly both mean home or homebase,

since home as understood by kif has the connotation of a place to which one

repairs to gather one's forces for the next season. When they discovered

outsiders, the shock and subsequent period of organization enabled a few leaders

to seize power on Akkht, and eventually let the space-faring kif seize power

over Akkht entirely.

Kif have historically had little organization, usually engaged with each other

in disputes and continual snatching of property from weaker kif. They have the

concept of sfik, or face, in which the stronger will hold to a thing and defy

all comers. The more attractive and unique the prize, the greater the sfik.

Their interest in art perhaps revolves around this; of particular sfik-value are

consumables or perishables which may be destroyed or used at any moment and for

calculated purpose to frustrate the enemy. Taking such a thing is difficult and

of great value, and there are also legendary destructions of great and valued

objects.

Along with sfik there is also pukkukkta, which has no true translation except as

a devastating blow to a rival.

Usually the kif operate as individuals or as crews, in which one kif is supreme,

and weaker kif, if not protected from this one, are at least protected from

other kif.

Sometimes a kif rises to a position of supremacy in which others fear to

challenge him and in which he gathers great fear and support from those about

him. Such a kif is a hakkikt, which kif say means prince. A hakkikt's existence

usually means a period in which outsiders will have trouble with kif. There is a

growing expectation among kif that a hakkikt will arise to unite all kifish

worlds into a power the rest of the Compact cannot withstand.

Tc'a

Tc'a are serpentine beings, leathery gold, methane breathers, native to

Oh'a'o'o'o. They have a multipartite brain that thinks in matrices and

communicates in harmonics. The mouthparts are toolusing. They can bulk a dozen

times the weight of a mahendo'sat and bear several young at once, without

apparent attention to the process, which has happened in the middle of

conversations. They do trade, and mine, and what they think remains tc'a

business. They usually run the methane side of stations in the Compact, since so

far as anyone knows they are the only methane breathers interested in doing so.

They are associated with chi and knnn (qqv), and while a great deal is known

about tc'a comings and goings and while they take no aggressive action against

any species, virtually nothing is known about the tc'a mind or the history of

the species, except that they were in contact with the chi before they met the

stsho, and were extremely early spacefarers.

Chi

Chi are neon yellow sticklike beings who (which?) move with great rapidity and

often seem to be in total panic. "Crazy as a chi" is a hani proverb widely

understood.

It is uncertain whether chi are associates of the tc'a or pets. Chi can run

ships but are erratic navigators and it is virtually certain they did not invent

their own technology. Tc'a are not found without chi, though occasionally chi

may nest in communities into which tc'a do not appear to go.

Natives of Chchchoh, chi regularly accompany tc'a into the most hazardous mining

areas. No oxygen-breather has ever reported visiting Chchchoh. Tc'a will not

permit it, for what reason is unclear. It is known that chi reproduce by growing

a second brain at some point midway along their bodies. Additional leg segments

follow; then fission, and the newborn chi races off independently. Gender with a

chi is therefore of questionable application. Activities have been observed

which may be mating, but this is uncertain.

Knnn

No one knows the name of the knnn homeworld. No one knows if their ships have

names-except perhaps the tc'a or the chi, who do not say. No oxy-breather is

even sure which star they come from, except that it is on the underbelly of the

Compact, and suspicion centers around one star known to be a hub of knnn

activity.

Knnn look like black nests of hair-snarl with spider legs. Packrats of the

galaxy, they breathe methane and sing long involved songs over ships' radio.

They are (perhaps) miners and (one supposes) traders, but their idea of trade

(as best the tc'a could communicate with them) is to dash onto station or ship,

and exchange what they've brought for what they want or what they take a fancy

to. In the bad old days, knnn simply gutted ships. They go in swarms or

solitary, and their ships are the only ships known to change vector in

jumpspace. They have a jump boost and turn maneuver that is impossible for

oxy-breathers. They are not popular. One can only talk to them through the tc'a,

who can get a kind of general translation-if you can understand the tc'a's

seven-part matrix-sentences.

Knnn ships observe no lane regulations or instructions, and no one is about to

challenge them on the point. It is suspected in some quarters that the knnn may

have been the origin of much of the technology of the Compact. No one except the

stsho knows whether the stsho actually devised their own technology, and perhaps

stsho in general do not know: certainly they do not comment on it.

Knnn were unknown at Anuurn until Pyanfar Chanur brought them there. Her people

are not grateful.

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End - Chanur's Venture

(c)1984 by C.J. Cherryh