of Wunderland by the Kzinti in the First Man-Kzin War, at the age of 18 he joined the "Free Wunderland Navy," what purported to be a resistance group but was little more than a band of space pirates occupying the Serpent Swarm (Alpha Centauri's asteroid belt). He was responsible for the capture of the United Nations spaceship Catskinner, whose crew later were responsible for the assassination of Chuut-Riit. He also came under the control of a Thrint who escaped its Slaver stasis field before being destroyed by the Catskinner AI. By the time Wunderland was liberated in 2420, Reichstein-Markham had become an admiral, and then was chosen to be Minister of War for the free Wunderlander government. He finally died in the year 2443 after being selected to chair the Interworld Commission, an early form of pan-Human government established after the peace treaty with the Kzin was signed. Prior to his death, he had used his position to give the secret of hyperdrive to the Kzin disguised as a diplomatic packet, in the hopes of creating a lasting peace of equality between the two races. Although he did not live to see it, Reichstein-Markham's treachery meant that, far from his intentions, the Kzin would grow strong enough to launch four additional wars of conquest against the Human worlds. Beowulf Shaeffer Lit Shaeffer Charles Martin Shaeffer is nicknamed "Little" Shaeffer and is known to most of his friends simply as "Lit". A Belter, born in the late 21st century, he is First Speaker for the Belt Political Section when Kzanol the thrint is revived from stasis in the early 22nd century. He is friends with Lucas Garner and has visited with him at least once on Farmer's Asteroid, one of the Belt Bubbleworlds. Lit's nickname comes from the fact that he spent a good deal of time in low and zero-g during his body's growth period, and is now unusually tall. The Shaeffer family is very active in Belt politics, and are likely ancestors of Beowulf Shaeffer, but this is never established definitively. Lit Shaeffer is featured in the novels World of Ptavvs, Protector and in the short story "At the Bottom of a Hole". Ander Smittarasheed Ander Smittarasheed, a native of Earth, was hired by Shaeffer to ghostwrite his neutron star story, and again four years later to write his galactic core story. Athletic and well-built, easily able to have