Speaker-to-Animals

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Speaker-to-Animals (or later Chmeee) is a fictional character in the Ringworld series of books, written by Larry Niven.

[edit] Background

Speaker is a Kzin and a trained diplomat posted to the U.N. His name is a polite manner for Kzin to refer to non-Kzin races. He is recruited in 2850 by Nessus to be part of an exploratory party to the Ringworld.

Following their return to Known Space, he is given the name of Chmeee (the "ch" is pronounced like a hard 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. Chmee escapes and manages to conquer the Map of Kzin and become its new leader.

Chmeee appears briefly in The Ringworld Throne and Ringworld's Children. His son, Acolyte, is a supporting character in these novels.

As a member of the Kzin species, Speaker-to-Animals is extremely dangerous and always ready to fight depsite the fact that he is a diplomat. He was the one that caused the most damage to the Ringworld village of Zignamuclikclik and were he not a part of the Docile Kzinti project, he probably would have leveled the village to the ground. He is also responsible for the expedition's safety on Ringworld and therefore is in charge most of the time.

[edit] Physical description

Chmeee is a Kzin, an alien race of large catlike beings, ranging in size from 6 to 9 feet in height and 300 to 600 pounds in weight. They are covered with a thick coat of long fur that comes in various combinations of orange, yellow, and black. Their tails are naked and are similar in appearance to a rat's tail. Kzinti ears are hairless, pink, and shaped liked a segment of a Chinese parasol (or Cocktail umbrella); they can fold back flat against the head for protection during a fight.

Chmeee was badly burned during Ringworld; and as a result, his body was covered with scars. After involuntarily receiving an injection of the Kzinti analog of boosterspice, his scarring gradually disappeared.