Three simple questions I propose:

• What alien race most fascinates you?


• Why?


• Which would you be if you had a chance?

It wouldn't be fair for me to ask if I wouldn't answer.

I am fond of four:

The Zhirrzh from Timothy Zahn's Conqueror's trilogy. In the first book, they seemed the most hostile, inhuman race I had ever come across, yet in the second, they seemed so human. The juxtaposition is intriguing, but they're just too alien for me. In the end, I would like to stay mostly human, thank you.

The Fremen from Frank Herbert's Dune. Their culture is entirely based on water, so much so that they almost worship it. Almost every activity in their daily lives is tied to water somehow. Even though their human, their culture is odd enough for me to consider them alien. But it does seem a rather bland livestyle, so I would never wish to be one.

The Tok'ra from the series Stargate. I think what fascinates me about the Tok'ra is that they're a real mix of things that, as humans, disgust us and things that we're extrememly comfortable with. On the one hand, what makes a Tok'ra a Tok'ra is the symbiote that crawls into a host's skin and anchors itself to the host's brain, allowing it to, at times, take complete control of motor skills and probably a few other systems. We humans don't really like the possibility of something controlling us, especially physically. Nor are we particularly warm toward the idea of something living in us. And for that matter, most of us wouldn't be thrilled at the idea of no secrets whatsoever that the Tok'ra hold so fond. Yet in all that, the symbiotes respect their hosts as individuals, or they would think nothing of taking a host against his will. They hold no secrets among their ranks (supposedly), but yet they're spies. They seem rather philanthropic yet they're bent on the utter destruction of the Goa'uld. More juxtaposition. Fun.

Finally, the Pack from Wen Spencer's Ukiah quartet. Like the Tok'ra, the Pack is a blend of opposites. They're caring and compassionate, yet they're all FBI Most Wanted for a whole host of crimes, including the murder necessitated by the war only they know to fight. They stress individuality, but only because they're so close to having only one collective mind. One of my favorite scenes from the entire series is when Ukiah, the gentle protagonist who is part of the Pack by lineage, not action, is started in a Giant Eagle when Rennie, the Pack leader with a reputation as a mass murderer, picks up Ukiah's "son" and starts to treat him like his grandson. It's lovely.

So for the third question, I'm not sure; it's a tie between the Tok'ra and the Pack. Both heal quickly and easily, but both races began as a fight against a larger, fundamentally evil, mother species. The Tok'ra have a decent life span of about 200 years for hosts and 2000 years for symbiotes, but the Pack members can only die by murder. You know, the potentially infinite lifespan might be tempting if you didn't realize that the Pack members have about a thousand enemies bent on world domination and the utter destruction of the Pack. Me being who I am now, I couldn't be either. I couldn't put myself in a position where I would be obliged to kill even the evillest creatures in the galaxy. (That's what I think now, while these things only play across the small theater of my mind.) If I were either, though... *sigh* Blood mice... I would have to be a Tok'ra. In the end, my intolerance for pain wins out. Being a Pack member would leave too many chances to heal from the dead and be killed all over again. That's not my cup of tea, so I'd rather be a Tok'ra and be allowed to work on cool technology. Besides, Tok'ra have neat things like zats and holographic projectors, space craft, and blue crystal tunnels. All Pack members have is motorcycles, a few blankets, and a bunch of conventional weaponry, ie. machine guns, knives, etc. I'm definately more of a laser weapon person than a projectile person.

Laser Beams--pewpewpew!

What d'y'all think?