The Damned Trilogy

"The Damned Trilogy" is a set of three science fiction novels by Alan Dean Foster ("A Call To Arms", "The False Mirror," and "The Spoils of War"), detailing human involvement in an interstellar war.

Plot summary

Two major alien civilizations, the Amplitur (a squid-like species with telepathic and mind-controlling abilities - which they couch as "suggestions") and The Weave (a confederacy of more or less equal species), have been fighting a war for several millennia. The Amplitur are attempting to join all sentient species in what they call the "Purpose", an alliance which they "guide" to some unknown (even to them) end. The Weave is a group of species allied in opposition to the Purpose.

Most of the fighting takes place on planetary surfaces, and is relatively restrained in terms of destruction, the purpose of the war being to convince and control one's opponents rather than destroy them. However, most sentient species in the galaxy have evolved to be incapable of committing violence against other sentients (violence of any sort being most un-civilized, but against another sentient being a [literally] unthinkable crime), which leaves a shortage of warriors on both sides. The Amplitur with their mind-controlling abilities and therefore ease with which they control conquered populations have gradually been pushing The Weave back for centuries and seem to be on track for final victory.

On a mission to find new resources and allies, a Weave scout ship discovers Earth circa late 20th/early 21st century C.E. and find that humans are uniquely suited as allies, in that they have the ability to fight, first of all; are adaptable to a wide variety of environments; and above all have few (or sometimes no) compunctions regarding war (humans having been fighting each other for all of their recorded history, seem even more enthusiastic when their aggression is focused on non-humans). Humans have the potential to become fearsome allies for the Weave and are also somehow immune from the Amplitur mind control abilities.

After the Weave convinces volunteers (mercenaries) from Earth to join the war, the tide turns for the Weave and the main conflict towards the end of the series becomes a question of what will happen to the new warriors when the war finally ends if they have not become more civilized (and therefore, less effective allies). Throughout the book the humans are greatly feared by the rest of the Weave, because of the human race's violent tendencies (the rest of the galaxy's species lived in harmony amongst themselves before they developed enough to reach out into space).

The first book deals with the Weave and humans trying to come to terms with each other, the first humans begin to fight in the War and the Amplitur attempt to capture Earth to deny the Weave their new allies.

The second book details the outcome of the capture of some humans by the Amplitur, who genetically engineer them to become susceptible to the Amplitur telepathic abilities. Weave scientists attempt to reverse this engineering on the re-patriated humans had the (unknown to the Amplitur and Weave alike) side effect of giving those humans telepathy and mind-control talents as well. When the newly returned humans realize their abilities they form a secret society called the Core, whose existence is unknown to even other humans. They fight the war telepathically as well as physically.

The third book, set a few hundred years later, follows the research of a Wais scientist, Lalelelang, studying Humans. The Wais are a delicate, highly civilized ornithorp race and are the most averse to violence of all the Weave species. Some members of this race can be shocked into a catatonic state at the mere sight of violence which makes Lalelelang's friends, family and colleagues all the more fearful for her chosen subject of study. During the course of her research she comes to the conclusion that unless Humans can be 'civilized' somehow they will eventually turn on the rest of the Weave races once the war is over. She embarks on a quest to keep this from happening and is joined by one of the descendants of the 'altered' humans from the second book. Unknown to Lalelelang she will discover shocking things about not only the telepathic humans but a couple of alien species from the first two books as well as herself.

Significant parts of the action of the novels take place between the various non-human species that make up both The Weave and the Amplitur's allies, giving an outside perspective of "normal" human interactions and events as the authors apparent commentary on current events.

Bibliography

*Alan Dean Foster, "A Call To Arms" (Norwalk, Easton, April 1991) (First printing)
*Alan Dean Foster, "A Call To Arms" (New York, Ballantine Del Rey, April 1991) ISBN 0-345-35855-4 (First mass market)
*Alan Dean Foster, "The False Mirror" (New York, Ballantine Del Rey, April 1992) ISBN 0-345-35856-2 (First printing)
*Alan Dean Foster, "The Spoils of War" (New York, Ballantine Del Rey, 1993) ISBN 0-345-35857-0 (First printing)