Speaker-to-Animals

Speaker-to-Animals (or later Chmeee) is a fictional character in the Ringworld series of books, written by Larry Niven. In Ringworld, Speaker-to-Animals is a junior diplomat who is trained to deal with other species without reflexively killing them. He is recruited by Nessus, a Pierson's Puppeteer, as a member of an expedition to explore the Ringworld. Speaker is a Kzin (plural Kzinti), a member of an alien race of large catlike beings. He is a t... more

Speaker-to-Animals (or later Chmeee) is a fictional character in the Ringworld series of books, written by Larry Niven. In Ringworld, Speaker-to-Animals is a junior diplomat who is trained to deal with other species without reflexively killing them. He is recruited by Nessus, a Pierson's Puppeteer, as a member of an expedition to explore the Ringworld. Speaker is a Kzin (plural Kzinti), a member of an alien race of large catlike beings. He is a trained diplomat posted to the U.N. His name is a polite reference to how Kzinti refer to non-Kzin races. Following their return to Known Space, he is given the name of Chmeee (the "ch" is pronounced like a guttural German "ch", as in "ach") and given breeding rights by the Kzinti Patriarch. In the sequel The Ringworld Engineers Chmeee, along with Louis Wu, is kidnapped by the Hindmost (the exiled leader of the Puppeteers). The Hindmost wants Louis and Chmeee to uncover the secret behind the creation of the Ringworld. Chmeee escapes and manages... less