...Well, to throw my Cr0.02 into the fray: I think that, clearly, the
Taverchedl' are *not* a police force in organization or perceived function.
According to the Zhodani alien book, your typical Zhodani-on-the-street
considers the Taverchedl' to be analogous to Firemen, not policemen...
Personally, I think that the medical analogy is somewhat more apt...At
any rate, they exist not to enforce laws or hunt down criminals, but to
keep people interacting with one another in an harmonious fashion. What
exactly defines 'harmonious' is, of course, where the potential for
Draconian Thought Police enters into the picture :). However, on the
whole, the picture presented to us by the Alien module is one of
*alienness*, not *evilness*.
The Zhodani have a system which protects the mental well being of its
citizens in a manner unlike any possible in a society of nontelepaths.
They also conduct mental engineering on a large scale, examining,
telepathically, most, if not all, of their populace and placing them
carefully into society where they fit the best. The Taverchedl' "keep
the pulse" and make sure that none of the "parts" are getting worn, and
if they are they conduct maintanence and, if necessary, put the part
somewhere that it fits better.
I think GDW's attitude about the Zhodani is pretty easily explained:
the above system, although ripe for misuse, is not inherently bad. It's
possible that it could exist and the exact right mix of people could be
involved so that it *wasn't* an oppressive system. It's alien and shaky
to us, but it's not necessarily going to be evil and tyrranical.
<Shrug> The "unabsorbed" worlds may also be interpreted as those which
haven't *voluntarily* accepted the Zhodani way. After all, it wouldn't
be nice to force it on people if they didn't want it. The Zhodani are
many things, but I've never seen them as being especially preachy
<shrug>.
On the topic of the Interstellar Wars: I've always thought they were a
sort of big Psychohistorical Experiment used to keep the Imperium from
overrunning them. By carefully selecting where and when they struck
they were able to build up a particular sort of detent <sp?> which
didn't really destabilize either the Imperium or the Zhos...<Speaking of
Psychohistory, I think the Rebellion was the result of Hiver
manipulation...After all, they're obviously trying to re-engineer things
more to their liking with the RCES, eh?>
Dane
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TNS Stringer ------------ Terra/Solomani Rim (1827 G867975-8)
"I'm not a real scientist, but I play one in an RPG."