Fuzzies/Other People

"They don't even know that lying is possible. They don't have anything to lie about naturally. Their problems are all environmental, and you can't lie to your environment; if you try to lie to yourself about it, it kills you. I wish their social structure was a little more complicated; lying is a social custom. I wish they'd invented politics!" - Leslie Coombes, chief counsel for the Charterless Zarathustra Company (CZC), in this book This 3rd Fuzzy novel was first published in 1984 - twenty years after Piper's death, which left his estate in such a mess that the manuscript had been lost for most of that time. Consequently, the two farmed-out Fuzzy novels of the early 1980s - Tuning's FUZZY BONES and Mayhar's GOLDEN DREAM - were written to be consistent only with Piper's first two Fuzzy novels, not with this one, although they don't overlap in time. The first chapter serves as a refresher for those who've had a long separation from Fuzzy fuzzy holloway - the species now recognized as Fuzzy sapiens zarathustra, the two-foot-tall golden-furred people only just discovered on Zarathustra, 25 years after the planet's discovery, much to the chagrin of the Chartered (now Charterless) Zarathustra Company. The Pendarvis Decisions of the murder trial forming the heart of the first book, LITTLE FUZZY, established not only that Fuzzies are people too, but that legally they have the status of minor children - being super-sane and generally very decent people, they're considered too innocent to cope with the complex snares of human society. Neither side of the human/Fuzzy communication problem understands the other's language and mindset well enough to explain/understand things like ownership of land and so forth. (Fuzzies fortunately live on only one continent, the least explored and most lightly settled.) However, the Fuzzies' minor-child status is based a reversible judicial opinion, lacking the force of law unless and until it can be enshrined in Zarathustra's soon-to-be-written constitution, although it's been the foundation for all Fuzzy-related policy on Zarathustra in the 6 months since the ruling. It's the reason why the Native Affairs Commission could finance its Fuzzy health and education programs by leasing the Yellowsand sunstone deposits on the Fuzzy reservation back to the CZC. What were the odds that with so much money at stake, the minor-child status would go unchallenged? Hugo Ingermann, the sleazeball mob lawyer defending the Thaxter/Evins/Novaes attempted robbery from FUZZY SAPIENS, hasn't got a prayer of winning on the burglary and larceny charges, but he hopes to cop a plea to drop the faginy and enslavement charges (they kidnapped a small group of Fuzzies from the wild and forced them to sneak through a security system). He plans to attack the minor-child status by arguing that adult Fuzzies are adult aborigines, and the enslavement charge by claiming that Fuzzies can't legally testify in court, since no Fuzzy test-witness can be fou

This third book in Piper's wonderful Fuzzy series picks up almost immediately after Fuzzy Sapiens. With the trial of the Fuzzy kidnappers coming up, all the friends of this newly discovered sentient race are hoping for a decisive conviction. However, the kidnappers' lawyer, Hugo Ingermann, has a few aces up his sleeve, the biggest ace being that a standard lie detected will now show when a Fuzzy is lying, making their testimony inadmissible. The biggest problem seems to be that Fuzzies do not understand the concept of lying, so now the race is on to find a Fuzzy that can lie.This book was written before H. Beam Piper's tragic suicide in 1964, and was subsequently lost. Later found in an old trunk, it was published in 1984, and what a gem it is! Written with the same gentleness as the first two books in the series, this one also starts out somewhat slowly, and then picks up speed, reaching its final crescendo with the final court case. As a matter of fact, I must say that my favorite part of the book comes when we see the court case through the eyes of Hugo Ingermann!This is an excellent book, a worthy addition to the library of H. Beam Piper books. He was a great author, and his death was truly our loss. If you are a fan of H. Beam Piper, then you really MUST get this book!

I liked this story. I get a warm 'fuzzy' feeling from the Fuzzy stories, and this one was no exception. If my memory serves me correctly, this was done based on Piper's notes, after his death. It was certainly done with Piper's style. Recommended.

An enjoyable book even if you haven't read the other two books. Piper, in private notes, complained about "those damn Fuzzies!" Why? Because readers liked them too much. Read all 3 books in one sitting, and then ask yourself if there such a thing as having too much of a good thing.