In the science fiction of Cordwainer Smith, the Instrumentality of Mankind refers both to Smith's personal future history and universe and to the central government of humanity within that fictional universe.[1]The Instrumentality of Mankind is also the title of a paperback collection of short stories by Cordwainer Smith published in 1979 (now superseded by the later The Rediscovery of Man, which collects all of Smith's short stories).
In the history of Cordwainer Smith's "Instrumentality" universe, the Instrumentality originated as the police force of the Jwindz or "perfect ones" on a post-nuclear holocaust Earth. After attaining power and the expansion of humans in space, they eventually entered a somewhat stagnant phase in which a fixed lifespan of four hundred years was imposed on the human inhabitants of the planets where the Instrumentality directly ruled, all the hard physical labor was done by rightless animal-derived "underpeople", and children were never raised by their biological parents. This somewhat empty and sterile system was reformed and enlivened by the "Rediscovery of Man", the backdrop against which Smith's novel Norstrilia and the majority of his short stories, covering thousands of years of fictional time, are set. The cycle does not come to a final resolution (there were hints dropped about a mysterious trio of "robot, rat, and Copt" which were not followed up, possibly because of Smith's own death).
Algis Budrys in 1965 praised Smith for creating "a completely consistent phantom universe", in which stories are not sequels to each other but "tesserae in a mosaic". Other authors, he said—including himself—connected stories with a common character or theme; "Not Smith. He's not inventing, he's reporting. And he's doing it from God's point of view", and only the lack of time prevented Smith from portraying all of the "infinite" fictional setting.[2]
Characteristics
Though the Instrumentality does not directly administer every planet, it claims ultimate guardianship over the destiny of the human race. For example, it strictly bans the export of religion from planet to planet. Its members, the Lords and Ladies of the Instrumentality, are collectively all-powerful and often somewhat callously arbitrary. Although their motives are genuinely benign, they act with utmost brutality when survival is at stake.
Each was a plenum of the low, the middle, and the high justice. Each could do anything he found necessary or proper to maintain the Instrumentality and keep the peace between the worlds. ... The Instrumentality had the perpetual slogan 'Watch, but do not govern; stop war, but do not wage it; protect, but do not control; and first, survive!'
Individual members
Some prominent Lords and Ladies of the Instrumentality:
Lord Jestocost (the latest of a dynasty of that name), descendant of Lady Goroke
Lady Panc Ashash (as a posthumous personality recording; the eponymous "Dead Lady of Clown Town".)
Lord Femtiosex
Lord Sto Odin
Lord Crudelta
Lady Alice More, partner of the seventh Lord Jestocost.
Lady Arabella Underwood
Lady Johanna Gnade
The names Goroke, Femtiosex, Sto Odin and Panc Ashash are number-word names of the type common during the Instrumentality's decadent period: "five-six" in Japanese is Go-Roku, in Hindi it is Panc-Ashash, and in Swedish Femtiosex (literally "fifty-six"). 'Tiga-belas' and 'Veesey-koosey', the names of supporting and main characters of the Instrumentality story Think Blue, Count Two, also mean 'thirteen' (Indonesian or Malay tiga meaning three, and belas being equivalent of English "teen") and 'five-six' (Finnish viisi and kuusi), respectively. Sto Odin is "a hundred and one" in Russian. The name Jestocost is based on the word for "cruelty" in Russian (жестокость), and Crudelta is the equivalent in Italian (crudeltà, feminine). Gnade is a German word meaning "grace" or "mercy".
The Human Instrumentality Project in the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series is a reference to Cordwainer's works. A password used in the anime Serial Experiments Lain, "Think Bule Count One Tow" (used by Lain's father) is a misspelled reference to Think Blue, Count Two.
The Dreadstar comic book features the Church of the Instrumentality which is a space empire. The church has created a race of cat-people, similar to the underpeople of the Instrumentality of Mankind. In the light novel series Log Horizon, the animal-like Werecat, Wolf Fang, and Fox Tail races were created by what was called the Norstrilia Project, in reference to his novel. The anime series Fafner in the Azure is based on concepts of telepathic warfare against an unknown enemy similar to those explored in The Game of Rat and Dragon. Furthermore, the robot piloted by the main character in the first half of the series bears the name Mark Elf, shared by another story set in the Instrumentality fictional universe.
^Seed, David (2001). "Story Cycles of Future History: Cordwainer Smith's 'Instrumentality of Mankind'". The Yearbook of English Studies. 31: 133–143. doi:10.2307/3509380. ISSN 0306-2473.
^Budrys, Algis; Pohl, Frederik (April 1965). "Galaxy Bookshelf". Galaxy Science Fiction. pp. 137–145.
External links
On idealism and morality in the Instrumentality of Mankind
April 18, 2023
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The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia s general notability guideline Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention If notability cannot be shown the article is likely to be merged redirected or deleted Find sources Instrumentality of Mankind news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message In the science fiction of Cordwainer Smith the Instrumentality of Mankind refers both to Smith s personal future history and universe and to the central government of humanity within that fictional universe 1 The Instrumentality of Mankind is also the title of a paperback collection of short stories by Cordwainer Smith published in 1979 now superseded by the later The Rediscovery of Man which collects all of Smith s short stories Contents 1 Origin and history 2 Characteristics 3 Individual members 4 Cultural references 5 Selected bibliography 6 References 7 External linksOrigin and history EditIn the history of Cordwainer Smith s Instrumentality universe the Instrumentality originated as the police force of the Jwindz or perfect ones on a post nuclear holocaust Earth After attaining power and the expansion of humans in space they eventually entered a somewhat stagnant phase in which a fixed lifespan of four hundred years was imposed on the human inhabitants of the planets where the Instrumentality directly ruled all the hard physical labor was done by rightless animal derived underpeople and children were never raised by their biological parents This somewhat empty and sterile system was reformed and enlivened by the Rediscovery of Man the backdrop against which Smith s novel Norstrilia and the majority of his short stories covering thousands of years of fictional time are set The cycle does not come to a final resolution there were hints dropped about a mysterious trio of robot rat and Copt which were not followed up possibly because of Smith s own death Algis Budrys in 1965 praised Smith for creating a completely consistent phantom universe in which stories are not sequels to each other but tesserae in a mosaic Other authors he said including himself connected stories with a common character or theme Not Smith He s not inventing he s reporting And he s doing it from God s point of view and only the lack of time prevented Smith from portraying all of the infinite fictional setting 2 Characteristics EditThough the Instrumentality does not directly administer every planet it claims ultimate guardianship over the destiny of the human race For example it strictly bans the export of religion from planet to planet Its members the Lords and Ladies of the Instrumentality are collectively all powerful and often somewhat callously arbitrary Although their motives are genuinely benign they act with utmost brutality when survival is at stake According to the story Drunkboat Each was a plenum of the low the middle and the high justice Each could do anything he found necessary or proper to maintain the Instrumentality and keep the peace between the worlds The Instrumentality had the perpetual slogan Watch but do not govern stop war but do not wage it protect but do not control and first survive Individual members EditSome prominent Lords and Ladies of the Instrumentality Lord Jestocost the latest of a dynasty of that name descendant of Lady Goroke Lady Panc Ashash as a posthumous personality recording the eponymous Dead Lady of Clown Town Lord Femtiosex Lord Sto Odin Lord Crudelta Lady Alice More partner of the seventh Lord Jestocost Lady Arabella Underwood Lady Johanna GnadeThe names Goroke Femtiosex Sto Odin and Panc Ashash are number word names of the type common during the Instrumentality s decadent period five six in Japanese is Go Roku in Hindi it is Panc Ashash and in Swedish Femtiosex literally fifty six Tiga belas and Veesey koosey the names of supporting and main characters of the Instrumentality story Think Blue Count Two also mean thirteen Indonesian or Malay tiga meaning three and belas being equivalent of English teen and five six Finnish viisi and kuusi respectively Sto Odin is a hundred and one in Russian The name Jestocost is based on the word for cruelty in Russian zhestokost and Crudelta is the equivalent in Italian crudelta feminine Gnade is a German word meaning grace or mercy Cultural references EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed January 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Human Instrumentality Project in the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series is a reference to Cordwainer s works A password used in the anime Serial Experiments Lain Think Bule Count One Tow used by Lain s father is a misspelled reference to Think Blue Count Two The Dreadstar comic book features the Church of the Instrumentality which is a space empire The church has created a race of cat people similar to the underpeople of the Instrumentality of Mankind In the light novel series Log Horizon the animal like Werecat Wolf Fang and Fox Tail races were created by what was called the Norstrilia Project in reference to his novel The anime series Fafner in the Azure is based on concepts of telepathic warfare against an unknown enemy similar to those explored in The Game of Rat and Dragon Furthermore the robot piloted by the main character in the first half of the series bears the name Mark Elf shared by another story set in the Instrumentality fictional universe Selected bibliography EditThe Rediscovery of Man short story collection including all of the Instrumentality of Mankind stories Norstrilia novel set relatively late in the chronology of the future history References Edit Seed David 2001 Story Cycles of Future History Cordwainer Smith s Instrumentality of Mankind The Yearbook of English Studies 31 133 143 doi 10 2307 3509380 ISSN 0306 2473 Budrys Algis Pohl Frederik April 1965 Galaxy Bookshelf Galaxy Science Fiction pp 137 145 External links EditOn idealism and morality in the Instrumentality of Mankind Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Instrumentality of Mankind amp oldid 1114001632, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
