Worse than the Draka

[SunilTanna]

They are sentient genetically engineered hairy foot soldiers.

I can't remember exactly what they are supposed to be engineered from, but I'd imagine some sort of cross between dogs, baboons, apes and humans. At least that's how I imagined them.

 

[SunilTanna]

1984: "If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever."

But the Final Society, isn't like that! Everybody's happy, even the underclass.

 

[Redem]

1984: "If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever."

.

Isn't that the foots in the human face for ever but with a smile?

 

[LordKalvan]

Well, that's because S.M. Stirling does not actually condone nor support the violent enslavement and rape of people.

This is one of the most impressive non-sequitur I've had the chance to read. Check your logic chain
Have you ever thought that the Draka universe is not a political manifesto?
And that the same applies to the Gorean universe? Both are fiction, never forget it.
OTOH, there are people that find a pleasure in sexual domination, as well as people who find a pleasure in being submissive. So what? If it is consensual, and the participants are adult, no skin off my nose.

 

[mobius]

But the Final Society, isn't like that! Everybody's happy, even the underclass.

but in 1984 the underclass at least is still human, while in the Final Society the servus are noting more than pets with a human form.

Sometimes unhappiness is the price of freedom of choice

 

[CCA]

but in 1984 the underclass at least is still human, while in the Final Society the servus are noting more than pets with a human form.

Sometimes unhappiness is the price of freedom of choice

I would personally rather live in 1984 than in the Drakaverse

 

[SunilTanna]

The people who think the Drakaverse is worse than 1984, are making the mistake of imposing their feelings and emotions on the Servus.

But Servus are different. They are not like you. They are fundamentally different. They like being serfs. It's as natural to them to be serfs, as breathing is for you.

The reason, I think that they are making this mistake is because Servus looks like you, and is your genetic descendant.

Look nobody says "The ghouloons have a tough time in the Drakaverse". Quite the opposite. Even in this short thread, they've been described as monsters.

Yet the Ghouloons situation is the same, if not worse, than Servus - intelligent sentient beings who are born to be serfs, but who don't mind being serfs (ghouloons are worse off than servus, because they are likely to die in battle rather than of old age).

Why does nobody have empathy for ghouloons?

I think it's because they don't look like us - therefore there's much less tendency to think that they are like us.

 

[LordKalvan]

The Servus are different (at the end of the process), but they are genetically modified humans, who started from the same genetic pool as the draka: that's the problem.
At least in 1984 one would not be "compelled" to admire and love his/her masters

 

[MerryPrankster]

I think the first generation of "Homo servus" weren't even all that different from regular humans--just somewhat less aggressive, so they'd be less likely to revolt.

All the pheromone stuff came later.

 

[Wozza]

The Servus are different (at the end of the process), but they are genetically modified humans, who started from the same genetic pool as the draka: that's the problem.
At least in 1984 one would not be "compelled" to admire and love his/her masters

In 1984 people are manipulated into loving Big Brother, that is the whole point of 1984: when people die they love Big Brother. That is one of the things that makes the book so unpleasant.

Ultimately it is the same theme as the Draka books - force used to create love and obedience, and the relationship between the two.

 

[Wozza]

I think the first generation of "Homo servus" weren't even all that different from regular humans--just somewhat less aggressive, so they'd be less likely to revolt.

All the pheromone stuff came later.

I wondered about this. Were the homo servus bred from the serfs?? Or were they incubated entirely officially?

Was there a point of systematic extermination for the serfs then? Or at least mass sterilisation?

 

[SunilTanna]

In the books, there is the New Race Draka... which are born that way, and are implied become Homo Drakensis.

It also says that elsewhere the human Draka can get genetic retrofits, to upgrade them (from Sapiens to Drakensis).

So it makes sense that the same happens to serfs (Sapiens to Servus).

The retrofit doesn't need to be as complete for the servus. Because the old sapiens/servus eventually drop dead, and are replaced by new births (whereas Drakensis are immortal).

 

[Adept Havelock]

1984: "If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever."

If I'm not mistaken, that's referenced in "The Stone Dogs"...some Brit named Blair said it about the Draka, IIRC.

But the Final Society, isn't like that! Everybody's happy, even the underclass.

So are the members of a hive..until they realize they are drones. What happens when a drone begins to realize it's a drone?

Stephen Baxter's "Coalescent" for starters.

 

[hjallgrimmr]

There's also the infamous Gor, which I'm not really sure is worse than the Draka, but there's an immense stigma against the series because while the Draka are implied or referenced in committing atrocities (impalement, rape), the Gor are all about rape and sexual domination of women, and the author of the series as well as its fans are all a bunch of sadomasochist deviants.

Relative to that, the Draka are bit cool in a Galactic Empire sort of way.

Man, I read the Gor books when I was a teenager. I have to agree that they are all about sexual domination of women, but I never considered myself a deviant. Maybe I should have, that way I could have gotten laid more when I was younger.

 

[Strategos' Risk]

I'm not necessarily saying that the readers are, but c'mon, the series isn't about a mystical fantasy world of Conanesque sword and sorcery- it's about the total and utter denigration of women! It's like being a fan of the Turner Diaries because it has an adventure element.

 

[Lightbringer]

There's a one...They're so bad even Draka thinks they're scum

Dark Eldar