Trade Warriors

The novelette, "Trade Warriors" by F. Alexander Brejcha, in the October 1998 issue of Analog. Is the sort of story I subscribe to Analog for, interesting ideas, not just in science and technology, but also in thought. This story I highly recommend to my readers.

Told in a combination of first person present and flashback, this is the story of how Marie Dupree subverted a culture and made a fortune doing it. Dupree is the first and only human allowed to enter the Trade Academy on Korth. The Kroth will only trade with graduates of their Academy and unless Marie can graduate, Earth will not be allowed to trade with the aliens...and the aliens have some expertise the humans really, *really* want. A completely male dominated society, the femmes movement on Eartth insisted that it be a human female who entered their training program. True to the name of the story, and the nature of the Korthans, their trade academy is run as a cross between "the best of a Marine boot camp and Harvard Business School." For any human to succeed would be very hard, for a human female even harder. Although it is only speculation on my part, I think it is clear there was also a strong segment of Korthan society that wanted the human alien to fail, although it was a minority...at first. Of course, Marie does not fail...hooray for humans, and in keeping with the times in which it was written, hooray for feminism.

I enjoyed the alien-ness of the Korthans as portrayed in this tale, both in shape and cultural mindset. Both were just enough outside human norms to be interesting, but close enough to be understandable...and to provide insights into the human condition. Shorter than humans, but more massive, the carnivorous Korthans were aggressive to the extreme in everything they did. I pictured them as a cross between wolves with their social pack structure and bears. One purpose of the Academy was to teach the hyper-aggressive Korthans how to control themselves physically while only tempering their aggression and directing it toward the war of business rather than the business of war. Dupree has to survive physical challenges...ritual fights...that are supposed to stop short of serious injury, but don't always. Although only one is detailed it is clear by the end of the story she has fought many, and by winning her share earned the respect of many fellow Cadets.

Interesting point number one...the Korthans are lower in technology than the humans, generally, so what is it they have that the humans want so badly? Humans have developed a "Jump Gate" technology that allows us to travel to various star systems, however, the radiation produced by the Gates limits their use badly...more than four times and a human dies. The Korthans, lower in technology in many areas, just happen to be very advanced medically...especially in the treatment of radiation sickness. The powers that be on Earth are sure than, working with the Korthans, the problems of "Gate Sickness" can be solved. New technology, cooperation between species, hopeful progress...just my cup of tea!

Interesting point number two...one of requirements for graduation at the Trade Academy is for the Cadet to start a business during their time there. Given only a small fixed amount of capital to start with, they are expected to cover all of their expenses and earn a healthy profit by the time they are ready to graduate. Marie, knowing little about Korth, would seem to be at a disadvantage, but she brings with her a weapon of war...business war, that is...unknown to the Korthans. Multi-level marketing! Yes, my friends, Mary Kay rules!

Given the male dominated society on Korth, coupled with rising wealth and education, the female Korthans are primed and ready to do more than stay pregnent and barefoot in the kitchen. Marie's business gives them their opportunity. She pioneers the concept of females selling jewelry, clothing and cosmetics to other females...and sitting at the top of the pyramid of the first multi-level marketing scheme she rakes in huge profits. The success of Marie's pyramid begins to upset and unsettle the "powers that be" on Korth and they handle her like the Korthans do...they buy her out. She recieves her diploma early, with honors no less, and a very large payout. The Korth leaders will, of course, shut her business down, but as she says to the human sent to retrieve her, "once Pandora opened the box there was no putting anything back inside." Clearly, she has started a revolution and is walking away rich.

The surprising reveal at the end of the story was that she had made an under the table deal with the human feminist movement leader to do just what she did. Marie went in as an agent provocateur, and will reap even bigger rewards upon returning to Earth. To be honest, this wasn't as big a surprise to me as the author probably intended. I suspected something of the sort was going on, just not the connection to the feminist movement. I suspected the Earth Authority, itself, had given her this assignment...but was that because of my 2010 post-feminist mindset?

Interesting point three...1998 was only 12 years ago. Did 1998 Americans, the primary readership of Analog, find it so unusual for a female to be (a) the protaginist in a tale such as this?; (b) to be a savvy and creative business woman; (c) to think that a hundred years hence humanity would still need a femme movement; or that women could, not just compete, but excel in the war of business...or even the business of war? I can see where the female angle of this story would be radical, even today, in some parts of the world...you are wise enough to know where I mean...but in the "West" do we blink twice at a female CEO? Does the "glass ceiling" even still exist? Perhaps, it does, but surely it is shattering and falling away.

You know, I think we can thank Mary Kay, Tupperware and Amway for some of the changes in our view of women in business. Getting a "foot in the door", lead to a "place at the table", and that lead to where we are now. The female CEO's, Senators, and Secretaries of State, stand on the shoulders of their mothers and grandmothers...and I bet more of them fought their revolution, not on the streets but in living rooms and kitchens selling to other mothers, grandmothers and their daughters.

I really enjoyed this story and would love to read more about the humans and the Korthans...and about Marie Dupree.

As an aside, I have discovered that this was one of the last stories that Mr. Brejcha had published in Analog. He has written many stories since, but either he left Analog or it left him behind...a shame either way.