Humanx Commonwealth: Difference between revisions

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The Humanx Commonwealth is also the name of the [[The Federation|major alliance of spacefaring species]] in the stories, the two principal members of which are humans and the insectoid Thranx. They are joined by a [[Loads and Loads of Races|fantastically diverse]] cast of [[Starfish Aliens|other species]] of varying levels of intelligence and technological progress. The spiritual counterpart of the Commonwealth is the United Church, an ecumenical council that embraces all religions under a single roof of universal tolerance. The major enemy of the Commonwealth is the AAnn, a xenophobic reptilian species that has its own [[The Empire|empire]] and whose members constantly scheme against the humans and their allies (and each other).

 

 

The ''Humanx Commonwealth'' series is best known as the home of Phillip Lynx, aka [[Portmanteau|Flinx]], and [[A Boy and His X|his pet minidrag]], Pip. Adopted at a young age, he manifested a talent for [[The Empath|Empathy]] and promptly became embroiled in a number of unlikely schemes. Both the story and his powers expand over time to the point where he becomes the [[Chosen One]] who is fated to save the universe from the same [[Ultimate Evil|Great Evil]] that the Xunca failed to deal with billions of years ago. And he [[I Just Want to Be Normal|hates it]].

 

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* '''Flinx and Pip''': Chronologically, this series begins with ''For Love of Mother-Not'', although that book was published much later and [[Retcon|retconned]] Flinx's origin story to bring it into the main plot. From ''The Tar-Aiym Krang'' through ''The End of the Matter'', the story is fairly lighthearted and episodic in nature, with ''Orphan Star'' starting Flinx's [[Gene Hunting|search for his parentage]]. ''Flinx in Flux'' brought [[Cerebus Syndrome]] by introducing both the [[Ultimate Evil|Great Evil]] plot and Flinx's ongoing [[Love Interest]]. The next several books fill in the story of his quest for a [[Lost Superweapon]] to counter the [[Ultimate Evil|Great Evil]], as well as the resolution of the search for his parents. The [[Grand Finale]] is ''Flinx Transcendent''.

* '''Icerigger''': A trilogy set on the ice world of Tran-Ky-Ky. Part of the Commonwealth series but otherwise unconnected to the ongoing plotline. Involves a [[Cool Ship]] ([[Incredibly Lame Pun|pun intended]]) made to traverse the ice world on, essentially, giant skates carved from the hull of a crashed shuttle.

* There exists a ''[[GURPS]]'' RPG adaptation, sadly out of print.

 

{{tropelist}}

* [[Absolute Xenophobe]]: the Pitar, who seemed friendly enough but turned out to be ''batshit crazy''.

* [[Action Bomb]]: As Flinx gains more control over his powers, he sometimes tries to use his [[Superpower Meltdown]] offensively, with [[Power Incontinence|varying degrees of success]], and occasionally [[Forgot About His Powers|forgetting about it completely]] when it's inconvenient to the plot.

* [[Alien Non-Interference Clause]]: The Commonwealth has one of these a-la [[Star Trek]], providing rules of conduct when dealing with races that haven't developed spaceflight on their own. Like all such rules, it exists mainly to be bent or broken by the protagonists. Sometimes coupled with placing a planet or species [[Unperson|Under Edict]] so nobody stumbles upon them accidentally. In one particular case (the Ulru-Ujurrians), this was used not to protect the [[Innocent Aliens]] from Commonwealth society, but vice versa.

* [[Bee People]]: Inverted in the thranx, which used to have an ant-like social structure, but re-evolved the capacity for all females to breed in the course of becoming sentient.

* [[Beethoven Was an Alien Spy]]: On an epic scale -- the [[wikipedia:Great Attractor|Great Attractor]] was apparently constructed by the Xunca as a superweapon.

* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: Start counting the number of times one or more characters get rescued in this manner. You'll be at it a while.

* [[Big Guy]]: Skua September and Malcolm Hammurabi are both regarded as giants, and are happy to play the role. Bran Tse-Mallory is no shorty, either, but he pales by comparison with the other two.

* [[Deus Ex Machina]]: Pick a novel. It ends with one of these. One could call it [[Alan Dean Foster]]'s trademark.

* [[Dying Like Animals]]: The Order of Null, in [[Les Collaborateurs]] fashion, except that when you consider what they are rooting ''for'', they become a sort of Junior [[Omnicidal Maniac]] Society.

* [[Eldritch Abomination]]: The [[Ultimate Evil|Great Evil]], of course. The Vom (from ''Bloodhype'') also partakes of some aspects of this trope. Certainly it has the nigh infinite power curve, [[Mind Rape]], inscrutability, and tendency to destroy all life wherever it's encountered parts down.

* [[Emotion Bomb]]: Flinx's offensive use of his empathic abilities.

* [[Gene Hunting]]: Flinx does a ''ton'' of this, starting with ''Orphan Star'' and (mercifully) concluding in ''Patrimony''.

* [[Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke]]: The Meliorare Society sought to manipulate the genes of unborn children to create supermen. What they got was... ugly, to say the least, leading to them and their victims being outlawed and hunted down. Flinx and {{spoiler|Mahnahmi}} are the only two altered subjects known to have escaped.

* [[Green Rocks]]: The powerful sacred stones from ''The Howling Stones'' appear to be this at first. When someone not familiar with how to use them tries the results can be very bad. They turn out to be [[Lost Technology]].

* [[Here There Be Dragons]]: The Blight.

* [[Interspecies Romance]]: Averted, as the series takes biological compatibility quite seriously. However, the concept is given quite a working over by Kitten Kai-Sung, who has apparently studied the art of interspecies sexual stimulation and deliberately uses this knowledge to [[Squick]] out her companions.

* [[Interstellar Weapon]]: The Tar-Aiym weapons platform and the Xunca superweapon, in ''Flinx Transcendent'', which can fire (if such a term is even applicable) across inter''galactic'' distances.

* [[Just Like Robin Hood]]: First line of ''The Tar-Aiym Krang'' -- "The Flinx was an ethical thief, in that he only stole from the rich."

* [[Kick the Dog]]: Too many villainous moments to list (Conda Challis, anyone?), but Flinx gets his own [[Designated Hero]] moment in ''Reunion'' when he uses his projective empathy to infiltrate the Terran Shell.

* [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]]: The process of mindwipe surgically removes memories from the victim's brain, leaving them "cured" but a [[Empty Shell|shell]] of their former selves. Said to be used in only the most [[Egregious]] of cases.

* [[Last of His Kind]]: Peot, the Tar-Aiym Guardian. At one point it is suggested that Abalamahalamatandra is the last Hur'rikku, but this theory is quelled. He is the last ''something'', though, even if it's just a [[Living MacGuffin]].

* [[Precursors]]: The Xunca. Also the Tar-Aiym and Hur'rikku to a lesser extent. In fact, the planets of the Commonwealth universe are absolutely littered with the ruins of ancient civilizations.

* [[Psychic Powers]]: Flinx's empathic powers are the focus of his storyline, but there are lots of naturally telepathic and empathic beings throughout the galaxy, such as the Tar-Aiym, the Ulru-Ujurrians, the natives of Longtunnel, the entire planet of Midworld, and more.

* [[Reality Warper]]: A side-effect of the Vom and Guardian's mental battle is a bunch of weird things happening in physical reality. Some rocks turn to precious gems, a nearby gas giant's orbit is altered, a crustacean has a massive intelligence boost (and is promptly eaten by a fish), and so on.

* [[Really Gets Around]]: Kitten Kai-Sung, in ''Bloodhype'', or at least that's the impression she likes to give.

* [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money]]: A rare example of the protagonist using this trope; after ''Orphan Star'', Flinx is so rich (the Ujurrians rigged his account with [[Arbitrarily-Large Bank Account|effectively infinite wealth]]) that he can buy his way out of many situations. Of course, in later novels he's wanted by nearly every Commonwealth authority, so the value of his "inheritance" is a bit dubious.

** Blatantly invoked by Jack-Jax Coerlis, the {{spoiler|first}} villain of ''Mid-Flinx'', {{spoiler|1=at least until the ''real'' threat (the AAnn) show up}}.

* [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness]]: Truzenzuzex is occasionally afflicted with this malady. The rather more laconic Bran Tse-Mallory loves to rib him about it.

* [[Shoulder-Sized Dragon]]: Pip all but breathes fire.

* [[Street Urchin]]: Flinx starts out as a orphan who spends a lot of time on the streets as a petty thief under the auspices of his adoptive mother. In ''Trouble Magnet'', he takes some urchins under his wing because they remind him of his past.

* [[Subspace Ansible]]: The Deep Space Beams, which use "space minus", but are very expensive. Ordinary interstellar communications are carried on starships through space plus, or sent via messenger drone.

* [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien]]: The Xunca. Also, the Ulru-Ujurrians ''become'' this over the course of the novels. That is, they grow from illiterate hunter gatherers to near [[Reality Warper]] level in ''less than ten years''.

* [[Super Intelligence]]: The Ulru-Ujurrians are said to be capable of exponential learning, which is triggered by Flinx arriving on their world and offering to teach them the "game of civilization". In the months he spends there, they go from illiterate hunter-gatherers to building spacecraft. Over the next ten years, they learn to tunnel through space-time and are hinted to be [[Reality Warper|Reality Warpers]]. Flinx and the Commonwealth are very lucky that they are ''true'' [[Innocent Aliens]], lacking any malice or ambition.

* [[Traveling Landmass|Traveling Planet]]: Quofum, which is only occasionally found at its traditional spacetime coordinates. {{spoiler|It's the Xunca homeworld, and they rigged it to dimension hop, which is admittedly more convenient than getting in a starship if you want to go somewhere quickly.}}

* [[Ultimate Evil]]: The galaxy-eating horror that's approaching from across the universe. Although it's presented as the greatest threat to existence ever known, it doesn't do much aside from giving off "evil vibes" and is so far away that it only shows up in the most advanced of astronomical instruments (and Flinx's mental projections). {{spoiler|And then, in ''Flinx Transcendent'', Flinx triggers an ancient Xunca weapon that simply makes it go "foop".}}

* [[Unperson]]: The United Church puts information about people or places it doesn't want anyone to know about Under Edict. Public records are redacted, the few remaining official records are heavily guarded, and even star maps are altered to remove planetary coordinates. Automated warning systems are placed around Edicted planets with instructions to destroy intruders who don't have a Church override.

* [[Viewers Are Geniuses]]: The climactic chapters of ''Flinx Transcendent'' read like an exercise in applied string theory. Where did the Xunca go again? How exactly does the [[Lost Superweapon]] work? Better hope you're up on your applied math or have a scientist friend handy.

[[Category:Long Running Book Series]]

[[Category:Science Fiction Literature]]