Taprisiot
Encyclopedia
Taprisiots are a fictional species in Frank Herbert
's science fiction
novels, Whipping Star
and The Dosadi Experiment
.
Taprisiots (generally called 'Tappys' by humans) appear to be stubby chunks of wood, almost like logs with their branches broken off. Their value to other sentients is that they can communicate directly with each other telepathically
, and can create telepathic communications channels between other sentients with their mediation. They sell their services as communications channels, and have become indispensable to the workings of the pan-sentiency.
Among other users, agents of the Bureau of Sabotage
are sent out on especially dangerous missions with 'Taprisiot monitors': a Taprisiot maintains a telepathic link to the agent, and at the moment of the agent's death, the entire circumstance and contents of the agent's conscious mind can be made available for study.
Characters in both Whipping Star
and The Dosadi Experiment
speculate that Taprisiots are in some sense immature cousins of Caleban
s, who have far greater access to the realm that the Taprisiots use for telepathy. Caleban interaction with sentients is through contracts to provide jump-doors and other, more specific, services.
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
's science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novels, Whipping Star
Whipping Star
Whipping Star is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert. It is the first full-length novel set in the ConSentiency universe established by Herbert in his novelette The Tactful Saboteur.- Plot summary :...
and The Dosadi Experiment
The Dosadi Experiment
The Dosadi Experiment is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert. It is the second full-length novel set in the ConSentiency universe established by Herbert in his novelette The Tactful Saboteur and continued in Whipping Star....
.
Taprisiots (generally called 'Tappys' by humans) appear to be stubby chunks of wood, almost like logs with their branches broken off. Their value to other sentients is that they can communicate directly with each other telepathically
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
, and can create telepathic communications channels between other sentients with their mediation. They sell their services as communications channels, and have become indispensable to the workings of the pan-sentiency.
Among other users, agents of the Bureau of Sabotage
Bureau of Sabotage
The Bureau of Sabotage is a fictional government entity set in two of Frank Herbert's science fiction novels, Whipping Star and The Dosadi Experiment, and first introduced in his 1964 short story "The Tactful Saboteur". It is colloquially known as BuSab. Jorj X...
are sent out on especially dangerous missions with 'Taprisiot monitors': a Taprisiot maintains a telepathic link to the agent, and at the moment of the agent's death, the entire circumstance and contents of the agent's conscious mind can be made available for study.
Characters in both Whipping Star
Whipping Star
Whipping Star is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert. It is the first full-length novel set in the ConSentiency universe established by Herbert in his novelette The Tactful Saboteur.- Plot summary :...
and The Dosadi Experiment
The Dosadi Experiment
The Dosadi Experiment is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert. It is the second full-length novel set in the ConSentiency universe established by Herbert in his novelette The Tactful Saboteur and continued in Whipping Star....
speculate that Taprisiots are in some sense immature cousins of Caleban
Caleban
Caleban are a fictional major race of beings seen in two of Frank Herbert's novels, The Dosadi Experiment and Whipping Star, which is set in the ConSentiency universe series of stories.-Overview:...
s, who have far greater access to the realm that the Taprisiots use for telepathy. Caleban interaction with sentients is through contracts to provide jump-doors and other, more specific, services.