Pan Spechi
Encyclopedia
Pan Spechi are a fictional species in Frank Herbert
's science fiction
novels, The Dosadi Experiment
and Whipping Star
. They first appear in his 1964 short story The Tactful Saboteur
.
Pan Spechi are unique in that a single individual has five different bodies , each uniquely different from the others. The lifespan of a Pan Spechi individual involves transferring the ego serially and irreversibly through each body; while the ego possesses one body, the others remain safely hidden and mindless in the individual's crèche
. "Crèche matters" are extremely private Pan Spechi affairs which are wholly their existential prerogative, such that a mention in casual conversation which even touches on crèche matters can be a cause for extreme offense.
The highest crime of the Pan Spechi is 'fixing the ego', or surgically altering the ego's current body to prevent ego transfer to the next. This is a capital offense; any Pan Spechi caught in such a state is immediately killed, regardless of the circumstances.
The individual sentient body of any given Pan Spechi outside of the crèche resembles the form of one of the other species of the Consentiency with whom he has contact and works; examples of Pan Spechi with human-appearing and Gowachin
-appearing bodies are frequent characters in Herbert's novels. Indeed, the novels indicate that the Pan Spechi are able to grow bodies to match any known intelligent race. The eyes of the Pan Spechi are distinct from the species they are modeled on, however, in that they exhibit gem-like facets .
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
's science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novels, The Dosadi Experiment
The Dosadi Experiment
The Dosadi Experiment is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert. It is the second full-length novel set in the ConSentiency universe established by Herbert in his novelette The Tactful Saboteur and continued in Whipping Star....
and Whipping Star
Whipping Star
Whipping Star is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert. It is the first full-length novel set in the ConSentiency universe established by Herbert in his novelette The Tactful Saboteur.- Plot summary :...
. They first appear in his 1964 short story The Tactful Saboteur
The Tactful Saboteur
"The Tactful Saboteur" is a novelette by the science fiction author Frank Herbert which first appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine in 1964...
.
Pan Spechi are unique in that a single individual has five different bodies , each uniquely different from the others. The lifespan of a Pan Spechi individual involves transferring the ego serially and irreversibly through each body; while the ego possesses one body, the others remain safely hidden and mindless in the individual's crèche
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
. "Crèche matters" are extremely private Pan Spechi affairs which are wholly their existential prerogative, such that a mention in casual conversation which even touches on crèche matters can be a cause for extreme offense.
The highest crime of the Pan Spechi is 'fixing the ego', or surgically altering the ego's current body to prevent ego transfer to the next. This is a capital offense; any Pan Spechi caught in such a state is immediately killed, regardless of the circumstances.
The individual sentient body of any given Pan Spechi outside of the crèche resembles the form of one of the other species of the Consentiency with whom he has contact and works; examples of Pan Spechi with human-appearing and Gowachin
Gowachin
Gowachin are a fictional race of frog-like humanoids featured in the Frank Herbert books Whipping Star and The Dosadi Experiment. Herbert developed the race from a brief mention by Jorj X...
-appearing bodies are frequent characters in Herbert's novels. Indeed, the novels indicate that the Pan Spechi are able to grow bodies to match any known intelligent race. The eyes of the Pan Spechi are distinct from the species they are modeled on, however, in that they exhibit gem-like facets .