Protectors

Pak Breeders and Pak Protectors are two generic forms of fictional life in Larry Niven's Known Space universe. The protector form of the species is the result of a transformation brought about in a breeder by the plant known as Tree-of-Life. more...

Home
Cultures, Ethnicities
Decorative Collectibles
All God's Children
Andrea by Sadek
ANRI
Armani
Avon
Bing & Grondahl Coll Plates
Blue Sky Clayworks
Boyds
Bradford Exchange
Byers Choice
Cat's Meow Village
Charming Tails
Christopher Radko
Danbury Mint
David Winter
Dept 56
Dreamsicles
Duncan Royale
Enesco
Faberge
Fitz & Floyd
Flambro
Franklin Mint
Halcyon Days
Hallmark
Hamilton Collector Plates
Harbour Lights
Harmony Kingdom
HOMCO
Hummel, Goebel
Josef
Knowles Collector Plates
Lefton Figurines
Lenox
Liberty Falls
Lilliput Lane
Limoges
Lladro
Longaberger
Baskets
1990-94
1995-99
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Mixed Lots
Pre-1990
Unknown
Candle Holders, Votives
Candles
Coasters
Combos
Dinnerware, Serving, Pottery
Fabric
Garters
Handle Grippers
Handle Ties
Lids
Liners
Magnets
Metalworks
Napkins, Placemats
Ornaments
Other Longaberger Items
Pens, Pencils, Pads
Pins
Prints, Wall Hangings
Protectors
Tie-ons
Totes, Wallets, Cases
Cases, Accessories
Other
Totes, Bags
Wallets, Coin Purses
Towels
Madame Alexander
Margaret Furlong
Mary Engelbreit
Midwest of Cannon Falls
Norman Rockwell
Old World
Other Brands
PartyLite
Patricia Breen
Pendelfin
Polonaise
Precious Moments
Rein Poortvliet
Roman
Royal Copenhagen Coll Plates
Royal Doulton
San Francisco Music Box
Sarah's Attic
Schmid
Sebastian Miniatures
Shelia's
Slavic Treasures
Swarovski
Thomas Kinkade
Tom Clark
Unbranded
Wade Figurines
Wedgwood
Willitts
Willow Tree
Holiday, Seasonal
Religions, Spirituality

The Pak species

The Pak species evolved on a planet near the core of the galaxy. Increased radiation levels at the core cause severe mutations that can destabilize the evolutionary process. As a result, the Pak evolved a mechanism to eliminate dangerous mutations from the population. That mechanism is the protector stage.

Pak go through three stages of development: Child, Breeder and Protector.

Pak Children are sexually immature and are primarily cared for by their Breeder parents.

Pak Breeders are sexually mature, unintelligent and sub-sentient primates essentially identical to Homo habilis. Towards the end of their reproductive life, Pak Breeders acquire a taste for a root containing a symbiotic virus that triggers the transformation to the Protector stage.

Pak Protectors are highly sensitive to the smell of their close relatives and 'weed out' those that smell wrong, which may indicate a potentially dangerous mutation. Protectors are fully sentient, and are far more intelligent than humans.

Tree-of-Life

Tree-of-Life is a bush whose smell is unnoticeable or unpleasant to breeders until they reach about 25 Pak years (or 42 human years); after that, the smell suddenly becomes irresistible. The breeder gorges on the root, infecting himself with a symbiotic virus in the root and triggering the transition.

After consuming Tree-of-Life root, Pak breeder forms (and their offshoots, such as humans) turn into the Pak Protector form, which involves reconfiguration of the anatomy, including the acquisition of a leathery armor or exoskeleton, strong enough to turn a copper knife. Joints swell until the creature becomes "a parody of the human form done in cantaloupes and coconuts". This expands the leverage available to muscles by increasing the moment arm: the protector can lift 10 times his own weight. Genitalia vanish, and a second two-chambered heart forms in the groin. Fingernails turn into rectractile claws. Teeth fall out, and lips fuse; the resulting structure is a sort of bony beak. The brain grows to an enormous size; the resulting mind, even starting from something as dumb as a chimp, becomes far more intelligent than a human mind. Humans who convert into protectors have intellects that are beyond human comprehension (Louis Wu described the mind of a Protector as having "diamond" precision, insight, and clarity - breeder level thinking is "fuzzy" in comparison). All the breeder's hair falls out and the head acquires a bony ridge to protect the newly-expanded cranium. Pak Protectors also acquire an extended lifespan, and can live tens of thousands of earth years. However, most protectors die as the direct or indirect result of conflict with other protectors, so death from old age is almost unknown in the Pak culture.

Read more at Wikipedia.org