The Game Of Rat And Dragon Analysis

In this passage from Cordwainer Smith’s “The Game of Rat and Dragon”, Underhill sees himself as his nurse sees him, through the telepathic connection he makes with her. Not all humans in Smith’s story have the same abilities as Underhill. In fact, there seem to only be a select few humans with telepathic capabilities. The telepathic humans are employed as a sort of military force referred to as “pinlighters”. These “pinlighters” then, become infamous “others” to the un-evolved, or non-telepathic, humans. The alterity of the “pinlighters” creates a rift between them and their fellow humans. Ironically, the “pinlighters” are able to make connections with cats, called “partners”, that they cannot seem to make with non-telepathic humans. The relationship that Underhill has with his partner, a cat named …show more content…
The more that Pollard evolves, the more grotesque and horrifying he seems to Wright, and vice versa. Thus, the superiority of Pollard’s cognitive abilities becomes a negative attribute in the eyes of the un-evolved Wright, much like it does for the nurse in Smith’s story. Though she may see him as attractive and super-human, her inability to connect with him the way that he connects with another telepathic being, in this case Lady May, prevents her from being able to accept him. Conversely, cognitive incompatibility keeps Underhill from being able to feel attraction to non-telepathic women. This too is reflected by Hamilton’s story in that, the more Pollard evolves, the less human connection there is between him and his one-time friends. The intellectually superior being, is considered less human or, even, horrifying compared to the non-telepathic or un-evolved humans in each story, as a result of their inability to connect