Kdaptists

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The Kdaptists are a fictional religion in Larry Niven's Known Space Universe, first mentioned in Ringworld, and elaborated upon in the Man-Kzin Wars series.

The Kdaptists are a small sect of the Kzin, an alien race who have fought several wars against humanity. Prior to contacting humans, the predatory Kzin had conquered every species they had encountered, but humans-- who, at the time of first contact, were believed by the Kzin to be unarmed pacifists --have consistently defeated the Kzinti. This was baffling and humiliating to the Kzinti, whose own religion told them that they were the pinnacle of Creation.

During the first Man-Kzin War, a fighter pilot named Kdapt-Captain was captured by the Catskinner, an artificial intelligence sent by the Terrans to the Alpha Centauri system. Kdapt-Captain was kept in near-total sensory deprivation, except for the smell of his dead and rotting shipmates, suffering from dehydration and starvation for several days, and when he was finally rescued (by humans), claimed to have seen God.

Changing his name to Kdapt-Preacher, he settled on Wunderland and lived as a hermit, telling whomever he met that God made Man, not Kzin, in his own image. He began wearing a mask of human skin during his prayers, so that God might think he was one of His human children.

By the time of the events in Ringworld, Kdaptism has become a minor, if not tolerated, religion. Speaker-to-Animals tells Louis Wu that he was was raised by a Kdaptist, but claims not to share their beliefs.

[edit] Other Uses

Some Kzinti who remain on the human colony-world of Wunderland after its liberation from Kzin occupation form a different group, the Wunderkzin, sometimes called "high Kdaptists" by humans. However it is pointed out in Hal Colebatch's story "Peter Robinson" (In Man-Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War) that these are actually quite different - unlike the Kdaptists who try to trick the Fanged God into granting them success against humans, the Wunderkzin genuinely come to accept co-operation with humans as promising the most positive outcome for both species.