A Ktadlyno from the Ringworld: Revenge of the Patriarch video game
Kdatlyno are sentient bipedal humanoids native to Kdat. Kdatlyno are chiefly known for their touch sculpture, their sonar "vision" and for being a race subjugated by the Kzinti.
Anatomy
In appearance they are a physically large and powerful bipedal species with muscular build, rough scaley skin, retractile claws and thick hides, growing up to eight feet tall. Kdatlyno are one of the few sentient races that can physically intimidate an adult Kzin.
They have no eyes, having evolved on a world which instead drove the development of echolocation rather than vision of the visible light portion of the EM spectrum. A large membrane called typmanum makes up most of the head; by making a constant ultrasonic signal, it can sense size, motion, range, temperature of remote objects and their interiors.[1]
History
The Kdatlyno were invaded by the Kzinti and lost a long and bloody war which made them a slave race.[1]
There is at least one mention of them being used as elite Imperial Guards for the Kzinti Patriarch, presumably due to both their great strength and their uninvolvement in Kzin imperial court politics.
Kdat was liberated during the Second Man-Kzin War.[1]
Culture
They are suspicious of outsiders and aloof to alien species and have a strong sense of personal honor and vengeance, comparable to that of the Kzinti.[1]
Migrant Kdatlyno excel in professions pertaining to their sensorium such as medicine or touch-sculpting.[1] The most famous Kdatlyno is Lloobee, a touch-sculptor who works primarily for a human audience.
References
Grendel (short story), in Neutron Star (New York: Ballantine, 1968, pp. 51-72 ISBN 0-345-29665-6)
External links
- Kdatlyno at the Encyclopedia of Known Space