| Xing Mei-lin | |
| Fictional Character | |
| "Bluff" Set in the 22nd Century | |
| Nationality: | China |
| Occupation: | Linguist, astronaut |
| Affiliations: | The Crew of the William Howells |
Xing Mei-lin was the linguist aboard the William Howells. Like the rest of the crew, Mei-lin was puzzled by the Kussaran tendency to make decisions based on what they believed their gods were telling them to do. She studied the language of the people of Kussara, and noticed that there were no words in the Kussaran language that related to cognition, such as "to think" or "to doubt". She and Helga Stein were at their wits' end.
When Ramon Castillo presented his hypothesis that the people of Kussara spoke to their gods because they were not truly conscious beings, Mei-lin was the only voice that was initially supportive, quickly seeing how Castillo's idea would explain the complete lack of any word for thought in the Kussaran language.
| ||||||||