The Humanx Commonwealth is a fictional interstellar ethical/political entity featured in the

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

novels of

Alan Dean Foster Alan Dean Foster (born November 18, 1946) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction. He has written several book series, more than 20 standalone novels, and many novelizations of film scripts. Career ''Star Wars'' Foster was the ghost ...

.Phylogenesis: Book One of The Founding of the Commonwealth
''Alan Dean Foster'' The Commonwealth takes its name from its two major sapient species, who jointly inhabit Commonwealth planets and administer both the political and religious/ethical aspects. They are the mammalian Humans of the planet

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

and the

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

oid Thranx which dwell upon Hivehom. The Commonwealth is described as a progressive, well-intentioned

liberal democracy Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into ...

spanning many star systems, and is somewhat similar to the

United Federation of Planets In the fictional universe of ''Star Trek'' the United Federation of Planets (UFP) is the interstellar government with which, as part of its space force Starfleet, most of the characters and starships of the franchise are affiliated. Commonly refe ...

from '' Star Trek''. The Humanx Commonwealth is notable for its portrayal of a human–alien relationship that is not just mutually beneficial but symbiotic, allowing an amalgamation of the two species. Humanx emblem

Commonwealth Stories

* ''

Midworld ''Midworld'' (1975) is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster. It is set in his primary science fiction universe, the Humanx Commonwealth. Plot Midworld is a planet entirely covered by a rain forest three-quarters of a k ...

'' (1975) * '' Cachalot'' (1980) * '' Nor Crystal Tears'' (1982) * '' Voyage to the City of the Dead'' (1984) * '' Sentenced to Prism'' (1985) * '' The Howling Stones'' (1997) * '' Drowning World'' (2003) * '' Quofum'' (2008)

Stories featuring Flinx (a.k.a. Philip Lynx)

* '' The Tar-Aiym Krang'' (1972) * '' Bloodhype'' (1973) * ''

Orphan Star ''Orphan Star'' (1977) is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster. The book is Foster's eighteenth published book, his fifth original novel, and is chronologically the third entry in the Pip and Flinx series. '' Bloodhype'' ...

'' (1977) * '' The End of the Matter'' (1977) * ''Snake Eyes'' (short story) (1978) * '' For Love of Mother-Not'' (1983) * '' Flinx in Flux'' (1988) * '' Mid-Flinx'' (1995) * '' Reunion'' (2001) * ''Side Show'' (short story) (2002) * '' Flinx's Folly'' (2003) * '' Sliding Scales'' (2004) * ''

Running from the Deity ''Running from the Deity'' (2005) is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster Alan Dean Foster (born November 18, 1946) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction. He has written several book series, more than 20 ...

'' (2005) * ''

Trouble Magnet ''Trouble Magnet'' (2006) is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster Alan Dean Foster (born November 18, 1946) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction. He has written several book series, more than 20 standalon ...

'' (2006) * '' Patrimony'' (2007) * ''Growth'' (Short Story) (2008) * '' Flinx Transcendent'' (2008) * ''Strange Music'' (2017)

Icerigger trilogy

* '' Icerigger'' (1974) * '' Mission to Moulokin'' (1979) * '' The Deluge Drivers'' (1987)

Founding of the Commonwealth

* ''

Phylogenesis Phylogenesis (from Greek φῦλον ''phylon'' "tribe" + γένεσις ''genesis'' "origin") is the biological process by which a taxon (of any rank) appears. The science that studies these processes is called phylogenetics. These terms may be ...

'' (1999) * ''

Dirge A dirge ( la, dirige, naenia) is a somber song or lament expressing mourning or grief, such as would be appropriate for performance at a funeral. Often taking the form of a brief hymn, dirges are typically shorter and less meditative than elegi ...

'' (2000) * '' Diuturnity's Dawn'' (2002)

Timeline

* '' Nor Crystal Tears'' (-89 AA) prequel * ''

'' (-60 AA) Founding of the Commonwealth 1 * ''

'' (-35 AA) Founding of the Commonwealth 2 * '' Diuturnity's Dawn'' (0 AA) Founding of the Commonwealth 3 * '' Voyage to the City of the Dead'' (106 AA) * ''The Emoman'' (?? AA but before Icerigger) Short story * ''

'' (445 AA) * '' Icerigger'' (548 AA) Icerigger 1 * '' For Love of Mother-Not'' (548 AA) Pip and Flinx 1 * '' The Tar-Aiym Krang'' (549 AA) Pip and Flinx 2 * '' Mission to Moulokin'' (549 AA) Icerigger 2 * ''

'' (550 AA) Pip and Flinx 3 * '' The Deluge Drivers'' (550 AA) Icerigger 3 * ''Chilling'' (550 AA) Icerigger short story * '' The End of the Matter'' (551 AA) Pip and Flinx 4 * ''Snake Eyes'' (551 AA) Pip and Flinx short story * '' Flinx in Flux'' (551 AA) Pip and Flinx 5 * '' Mid-Flinx'' (552 AA) Pip and Flinx 6 * '' Reunion'' (553 AA) Pip and Flinx 7 * ''Sideshow'' (554 AA) Pip and Flinx short story * '' Drowning World'' (554 AA) * '' Quofum'' (555 AA) * '' Flinx's Folly'' (557 AA) Pip and Flinx 8 * '' Sliding Scales'' (557 AA) Pip and Flinx 9 * ''Growth'' (558? AA) Pip and Flinx short story * ''

'' (558 AA) Pip and Flinx 10 * '' Bloodhype'' (558 AA) Pip and Flinx 11 * ''

'' (558 AA) Pip and Flinx 12 * '' The Howling Stones'' (558 AA) * '' Patrimony'' (559 AA) Pip and Flinx 13 * '' Sentenced to Prism'' (571 AA) * '' Cachalot'' (572 AA) * '' Flinx Transcendent'' (? but after ''Patrimony'') Pip and Flinx 14 * ''Strange Music'' (? but after ''Flinx Transcendent'') Pip and Flinx 15

Adaptations

In 1987 Steve Jackson Games published the ''

GURPS Humanx ''GURPS Humanx'' is a sourcebook for ''GURPS''. Contents ''GURPS Humanx'' is a ''GURPS'' supplement of science-fiction role-playing rules set in an interstellar commonwealth of humans and the Thranx, allied insectoid aliens. The book covers cha ...

'' sourcebook for their ''

GURPS The ''Generic Universal RolePlaying System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting. It was created by Steve Jackson Games and first published in 1986 at a time when most such systems ...

roleplaying game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...

. Scheduled for 2023, Battlefield Press International will be releasing a new game for popular RPG systems.

References

External links

*
Alan Dean Foster's official website
Fictional governments Novel series