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I read 'The Mote in God's Eye' thinking there were only a few variations of Moties:

Master
Mediator
Engineer
Doctor
Warrior
Farmer

But then I read 'The Gripping Hand' and now it seems like there are a lot more types of Motie including hybrids, such as Warrior-Doctor and Warrior-Engineer.

How many different types of Moties are there? (Not sure if Watchmakers count as a true Motie or not, as they are kind of subspecies of Engineer).

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  • 2
    You forgot to end each sentence with "the gripping hand"
    – Valorum
    Sep 23, 2014 at 20:28
  • @Richard Crap! (the gripping hand)
    – Jack B Nimble
    Sep 23, 2014 at 20:29
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    Just to be pedantic, Mediators were already hybrids. And to add something positive, in the first novel there are references to Merchants (IIRC, they are told of the massacre of Doctors and Bury comments that the ones who survived would have been very valuous, and one of the Mediators answers that they were thought the origins of the Merchants).
    – SJuan76
    Sep 23, 2014 at 20:33
  • @SJuan76 My question was not intended to be its own answer. I listed the ones I remember off the top of my head, hoping someone else can complete the list.
    – Jack B Nimble
    Sep 23, 2014 at 20:41
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    Wikipedia page for "The Mote in God's Eye" also lists Porters, Runners, and Meats. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mote_in_God's_Eye
    – Will Feldman
    Sep 24, 2014 at 3:39

1 Answer 1

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In addition to the Masters, the Engineers, the Mediator hybrids, the Warriors, the Doctors, the Farmers, the Watchmakers (which breed true and so are not a simple hybrid), the Warrior/Doctor hybrids, and the Warrior/Engineer hybrids, there are, as mentioned above, the Meats, the Porters, the Runners, and the Merchants. The humans also saw a painting with what appeared to be a rat-like cross between the Warriors and the Watchmakers—in such numbers that they must have bred true.

In-universe, the Moties concealed much and there must have been other versions never acknowledged. Indeed, the painting with the Warrior/Watchmaker cross was described as a portrayal of a legend, and only later did a human scientist realize that this must represent a real Motie version.

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