Turtledove
Register
Advertisement
Felless
Fictional Character
Worldwar
POD: May 30, 1942
Appearance(s): Second Contact
through
Homeward Bound
Type of Appearance: Direct POV
Species: The Race
Nationality: Empire of the Race
Religion: Emperor-worship
Occupation: Psychologist, Diplomat
Professional Affliations: The Race's Colonization Fleet

Felless was a female of the Race, an expert in alien psychology, and a member of the Race's Colonization Fleet. She was assigned to study the psychology of Tosevites on Tosev 3. In this she worked closely with Ttomalss, a far more experienced psychologist from the Conquest Fleet, who, despite being junior to her, despised her and felt no respect toward her. Regardless, Ttomalss sought her for insight on Kassquit; in this matter she provided little help.

Felless was assigned primarily to the Race's embassy in Germany. There she became heavily addicted to ginger and was involved in a number of sexual scandals, including matings with the Race's ambassador to Germany, Veffani. Like many males of the Race, Veffani found Felless extremely distasteful (when he wasn't mating with her) and arranged for her to remain in the German embassy (an assignment she desperately wanted to leave, to the point that she attempted to provoke the German government into declaring her persona non grata) until the entire embassy was expelled at the outset of the Race-German War of 1965.

Felless temporarily settled in a refugee center on the Arabian Peninsula and faced derision for her associations with the Tosevites. She was soon requisitioned by Veffani to be a part of his new diplomatic team in France on the condition she quit her ginger addiction in order not to repeat her sexual scandals. She told him she would do so, but proved unable to keep her promise.

While in France, Felless was bribed by ginger-smuggler Keffesh into using her influence to exonerate Monique Dutourd with the French authorities. This did not go unnoticed by Veffani and Pshing, Atvar's adjutant, who informed the Fleetlord.

Felless fled to Australia, along with a lot of ginger generously provided by Keffesh, for an overdue vacation. However, she was recalled by Veffani regarding the United States government's role in the 1962 nuclear attack on the Colonization Fleet. Following the destruction of Indianapolis, Felless was placed on detached duty and transferred to Cairo to participate in a commission to examine Earl Warren's decision to attack the Colonization Fleet and subsequent decision to sacrifice Indianapolis rather than give up his country's space program. Felless was not at all pleased that Straha, a former shiplord who had previously defected to the United States, already knew the explanation for Warren's actions.

After returning to Marseille, Felless was disappointed to learn that Keffesh was caught by the authorities, denying her access to ginger.  She was later blackmailed by Rance Auerbach into helping Monique Dutourd again, this time helping to secure employment for Dutourd with the Race.

In the late 2010s and early 2020s, Felless was intrigued by strange physics experiments being performed in the United States. She forwarded information on them to her former colleague Ttomalss on Home, where he showed them to Pesskrag, a physicist of the Race. These experiments disproved the section of the Theory of Relativity which held that no object in the universe could travel faster than the speed of light. This was not realized until the American starship Commodore Perry, a FTL capable vessel, arrived unannounced in the Tau Ceti system in 2031. Felless was one of several Race officials invited to travel aboard the Perry so they could verify for their government that the ship had indeed traveled faster than light.

Advertisement