The "pilot" thread, focusing on the Nasat, did well enough, if slightly hampered by the relative obscurity of the subject race. So for the second thread, I thought I’d choose a more prominent species. In light of their recent importance to the Typhon Pact, I picked the Tzenkethi.
The Tzenkethi were actually introduced onscreen, in Deep Space Nine, but received no attention on the show other than getting a name, a vague history of conflict with the Federation, and a leader with the title of Autarch. Trek lit, though, has recently taken an interest in them: they appear as major antagonists in two of the Typhon Pact novels, Rough Beasts of Empire and Brinkmanship, as well as furthering plots in three other entries in that series (The Struggle Within, Plagues of Night and Raise the Dawn). They’re one of the Federation’s most devoted foes, and lately one of its most prominent rivals. They're also apparently a cross between a human and a scheming, radioactive cheestring, which makes them fun to visualize. Since there's no official art or anything, you'll have to.
The Tzenkethi (comparatively lengthy real world description):
For a long time Trek lit ignored the Tzenkethi outside of a few name-drops here and there, perhaps because next to nothing was known about them. They were introduced in the DS9 episode “The Adversary” as a race unfriendly to the Federation. Remaining unseen in the episode, they were mentioned exactly twice more in the series, and then forgotten. Not usually a problem, except that this particular race apparently engaged in a war or two with the Federation, and were a big enough distraction for the Founders to attempt steering the UFP back into conflict with them.
Speculation about who the Tzenkethi were seemed to focus mostly on their name, and a theory that they were related to/were a homage to/simply were the Kzinti, who appeared in The Animated Series having wandered in from Larry Niven's Known Space.
Their first real outing in Trek lit was probably in Articles of the Federation, where we finally learnt a few facts about their biology, psychology and those parts of the government that aren't the Autarch - but we weren't allowed to see one. A few years later, Tzenkethi ships played a major role in Terok Nor: Day of the Vipers, which established further facts about Tzenkethi psychology, technology and political history but still played coy with their appearance. As a side note, the story Iron and Sacrifice in Tales From The Captain’s Table established the full Tzenkethi naming convention but, you guessed it, didn't show us one.
All was finally revealed in the Typhon Pact series, when the Tzenkethi became one of six former adversaries to form the newest interstellar superpower. They’ve since become one of the most frequently-used nations – some might call them the surprise stars – of the Typhon Pact era.
The Tzenkethi (surprisingly brief in-universe description):
The Tzenkethi are a flexible race of humanoids, or near-humanoids, with no bones other than a spine. They’re instead supported by fluid-filled sacs, which can be contracted and expanded as needed. They’re beautiful and ethereal, glowing with natural light and giving off a noticeable electrical charge. Psychologically, they like enclosed spaces and make use of ceilings and walls as often as they do floors, thanks in part to artificial gravity envelopes. Their ships are sleek, organic-looking vessels armed with plasma weapons.
Most notable is their social structure, which is orderly, hierarchal, and controlled to an obsessive degree. All Tzenkethi are placed into roles determined by genetics and testing in youth, and every member of their society knows his or her place, ranked according to exact occupational duties and proficiency level. The absolute leader is the Autarch, who is advised by the Tzelnira ministers but, as the title suggests, can do as he or she wants by virtue, it seems, of being genetically perfect. Otherwise, chaos and uncertainty are anathema to Tzenkethi, as is democracy, and they fear and hate the sprawling mass of the Federation next door. Their media apparently spins any and all galactic news to portray the Federation as imperialist madmen, apparently because the Tzenkethi leadership fears the UFP will infect their society with its chaos and confusion. Within the Typhon Pact, they seem to favour stability over agitation, in contrast to their blatantly provocative stance against Federation interests. They manipulate their allies, enemies and neutral parties alike, and prior to the Pact's formation had apparently been standoffish with everyone.
Other notes:
If we're discussing the role played by the
Tzenkethi in Trek lit, we should probably talk about the activity they're most
frequently found engaged in: manipulation of other nations. Whether it's quietly
rearranging the political status quo on Romulus, meddling on Talar, or using the
Venetans as puppets, the Tzenkethi of the Typhon Pact era seem to have taken to
pushing their own agenda pretty much anywhere within reach. Boosted by the
security offered by the Pact, the Coalition apparently feels ready to extend its
hand invisibly across known space, into the hearts of other powers - allied,
rival or neutral. Given what we learn of the Autarch's agenda in Rough Beasts
of Empire and Plagues of Night, it all apparently feeds into an
effort to strengthen Tzenkethi power relative to the Federation, so that
eventually they can "turn the tables" (keeping in mind that the Tzenkethi
leadership view the UFP is a fearful spectre that will destroy them if it gets
the chance).
Every time we've seen the Tzenkethi in the Typhon Pact books, they're up to something, maneuvering others for their own ends.
Every time we've seen the Tzenkethi in the Typhon Pact books, they're up to something, maneuvering others for their own ends.
- They bring the unstable elements of Romulan space to heel while encoraging the reabsorption of the Imperial State, in order to give the Pact greater strength and stability. All this is achieved in an underhanded manner, shamelessly undermining an allied nation and assassinating its officials.
- They build artificial short-range wormholes, so that the Breen and Romulan intelligence agencies can steal from the Dominion, while not actually sharing the full extent of their plans (note that while the Breen and many of the Romulans seemed to genuinely believe the justification of "we need parity", the Autarch clearly desires much more than a balance of power, stepping up harrassment of Federation shipping and telling Alizome that the UFP will soon come to fear the Tzenkethi...
- They manipulate the leadership of popular movements on Talar, all in hopes of forcing the Federation's hand and painting them as brutal enforcers squashing protest.
- They turn the Venette Convention, a potential ally of the Federation, against the UFP through careful exploitation of Venetan naivety, and steer this nation into a close alliance with Ab-Tzenketh, allowing them to potentially place weapons on the Federation border and that of two of its allies.
So: the Tzenkethi are manipulating and using everyone in pursuit of
their (or the Autarch's) agenda.
In the Brinkmanship review thread on the Tek BBS, however, it was suggested by one of my fellow posters that, having gotten a bit of a scare at Venette by finding themselves no longer in control of the situation, the Tzenkethi might start reigning in their scheming a little. That got me thinking about how the master manipulators seem to come undone by failing to understand that things, having fallen neatly into place, won't just stay neatly in place.
First there was Praetor Kamemor. She served their purposes very well when considered as a passive, unknowing piece in the game, but of course she's not a passive piece, and that proved to be a problem. When she acted on her own moral and political judgement, she brought the Tzenkethi plan into jeopardy. At first the Tzenkethi had gotten what they wanted - a reunited Romulan state led by a moderate who would strengthen the Pact by stabilizing the situation in Romulan space - but their plan to eventually turn that strength against the Federation came undone when Kamemor pursued her own agenda and pushed for peace.
Then, the Tzenkethi were forced to back down when the Federation and Cardassians pulled a scheme of their own, despite Alizome being clearly in control of the situation on Venette (and being kept distracted from the counter-scheme by having the Federation delegates put in a situation where they couldn't effectively challenge that control).
It would seem the Tzenkethi are frequently underestimating the degree to which other races will avert the intended outcome of their plotting. It seems to me that the Tzenkethi don't easily grasp the idea that unexpected consequences might arise when their pawns and pieces do their own thing rather than staying where they've been steered to. When I considered the Tzenkethi social structure, wherein everyone knows their place and function, this made a great deal of sense.
The Tzenkethi leadership, for all their skill at manipulation, are used to tidy manipulation - manipulation of pieces that happily allow themselves to be manipulated, and which are comfortable in the position they're placed in. Basically, it's far too easy a game. When dealing with aliens, the combination of this expectation - that people will slot in where you've steered them - and general xenophobia seems to blind the Tzenkethi to the idea that everyone won't just fall into place as and when the Tzenkethi plot.
The Tzenkethi, it seems to me, are almost a little Venetan themselves; not quite grasping how everyone else works and assuming their ways are applicable everywhere. I think that this might prove the Coalition's undoing if it doesn't back down, because it's going to overextend its reach.
In the Brinkmanship review thread on the Tek BBS, however, it was suggested by one of my fellow posters that, having gotten a bit of a scare at Venette by finding themselves no longer in control of the situation, the Tzenkethi might start reigning in their scheming a little. That got me thinking about how the master manipulators seem to come undone by failing to understand that things, having fallen neatly into place, won't just stay neatly in place.
First there was Praetor Kamemor. She served their purposes very well when considered as a passive, unknowing piece in the game, but of course she's not a passive piece, and that proved to be a problem. When she acted on her own moral and political judgement, she brought the Tzenkethi plan into jeopardy. At first the Tzenkethi had gotten what they wanted - a reunited Romulan state led by a moderate who would strengthen the Pact by stabilizing the situation in Romulan space - but their plan to eventually turn that strength against the Federation came undone when Kamemor pursued her own agenda and pushed for peace.
Then, the Tzenkethi were forced to back down when the Federation and Cardassians pulled a scheme of their own, despite Alizome being clearly in control of the situation on Venette (and being kept distracted from the counter-scheme by having the Federation delegates put in a situation where they couldn't effectively challenge that control).
It would seem the Tzenkethi are frequently underestimating the degree to which other races will avert the intended outcome of their plotting. It seems to me that the Tzenkethi don't easily grasp the idea that unexpected consequences might arise when their pawns and pieces do their own thing rather than staying where they've been steered to. When I considered the Tzenkethi social structure, wherein everyone knows their place and function, this made a great deal of sense.
The Tzenkethi leadership, for all their skill at manipulation, are used to tidy manipulation - manipulation of pieces that happily allow themselves to be manipulated, and which are comfortable in the position they're placed in. Basically, it's far too easy a game. When dealing with aliens, the combination of this expectation - that people will slot in where you've steered them - and general xenophobia seems to blind the Tzenkethi to the idea that everyone won't just fall into place as and when the Tzenkethi plot.
The Tzenkethi, it seems to me, are almost a little Venetan themselves; not quite grasping how everyone else works and assuming their ways are applicable everywhere. I think that this might prove the Coalition's undoing if it doesn't back down, because it's going to overextend its reach.
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