Whipping Star is a science fiction novel set in a future where humans live alongside many alien species. Saboteur Extraordinary Jorj X. McKie works for the Bureau of Sabotage, an agency designed to slow the machinery of government and keep it from growing too powerful.
He is sent to deal with a crisis involving Fanny Mae, a being from another species whose life is bound up with humans in unusual ways. The story is fast and witty, and it explores communication across species, ethics and the limits of understanding.
Quotes
Where is the weapon with which I enforce your bondage? You give it to me every time you open your mouth.
You can say things which cannot be done. This is elementary. The trick is to keep attention focused on what is said and not on what can be done.
Learning a language represents training in the delusions of that language.
Providence and Manifest Destiny are synonyms often invoked to support arguments based on wishful thinking.