''Sector General'' is a series of twelve

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 unive ...

novels and various short stories by the

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

author James White. The series derives its name from the setting of the majority of the books, the Sector 12 General Hospital, a huge

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

space station A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station i ...

located in deep space, designed to treat a wide variety of life forms with a wide range of ailments and life-support requirements, and to house an equally diverse staff. The Hospital was founded to promote peace after humanity's first interstellar war, and in the fourth book the authorities conclude that its emergency services are the most effective way to make peaceful contact with new species. In order to treat patients of other species, doctors must download into their brains "Educator tapes" containing the necessary medical knowledge, and these tapes also transmit the personalities of their donors. As a result, doctors have to struggle with the tastes imported from their donors, ranging from a dislike of their own species' normal food to sexual attraction for members of the donor's species. Other

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are not ...

s include the acerbic tongue of the Chief Psychologist and one very senior non-human doctor's love of gossip, especially about the sexual behavior of other species. The series is noted for its diverse and believable non-

humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and ''-oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20t ...

alien life forms, and for its

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

philosophy. White chose the hospital setting as a way to generate dramatic tension without violence, and because in his youth he wanted to be a doctor but had to go to work. Some commentators have praised the whole series, while others have thought there was a decline after the sixth book. One reviewer described the last book as "in a very positive way, a throwback to an earlier era in science fiction".

Background

Sector General is a gigantic multi-species

founded as a peace-promoting project by two heroes from opposite sides of humanity's first full interstellar war. The hospital accommodates patients and staff from dozens of species, with different environmental requirements, behaviors and ailments, but many of the stories feature types of patient that the builders did not anticipate. Also at Initially most of the stories center round the career of Doctor Conway, who rises from junior surgeon to the top level, Senior Diagnostician. In the fourth book the Galactic Federation decides that the emergency service which the hospital offers to victims of space accidents and planetary catastrophes is its most effective means of making peaceful contact with new spacefaring species, which allows the series to expand its range of plots, characters and locations. White said that

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

induced him to write about the sort of world he would like to live in, and that he disliked war and militarists. As a youth he wanted to become a doctor, but had to go out to work. Hence he relied on epidemics and natural disasters to provide the conflicts that stories need to make them interesting. He credited his wife, who was an intensive care nurse at the height of The Troubles, for advice on medical details and for pointing out how

padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

often did more good than doctors for disturbed patients, which inspired '' The Genocidal Healer''.

Challenges of inter-species medicine

Sector General was founded to promote inter-species harmony, and therefore all medical staff must be prepared to treat beings with very different

physiologies Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical an ...

and behavior patterns, and sometimes with environmental requirements that would be lethal to staff without suitable protection. The hospital uses a four-letter system to assign patients to wards that provide suitable environments, a classification technique used earlier by E. E. "Doc" Smith's '' Children of the Lens''. White's '' Star Healer'' introduces the classification "FOKT", which is regarded as an

in-joke An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or a private joke, is a joke whose humour is understandable only to members of an ingroup; that is, people who are ''in'' a particular social group, occupation, or other community of shared interest. It i ...

on the name of the

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

science fiction club Friends of

Kilgore Trout Kilgore Trout is a fictional character created by author Kurt Vonnegut. In Vonnegut's work, Trout is a notably unsuccessful author of paperback science fiction novels. "Trout" was inspired by the name of the author Theodore Sturgeon (Vonnegut's ...

. Early on, it was learned that diseases were species specific, so there was no danger of a disease or virus spreading to other races and potentially causing a pandemic. Extreme care is still taken, as there only has to be single instance of this not being the case to have deadly consequences. When necessary

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

s and

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...

s download information about patients' species into their minds from "Educator tapes", recordings of the memories of great practitioners in the appropriate species. However, in addition to medical knowledge, the educator tapes also capture the personalities of the medical experts who recorded them. Thus having an educator tape active threatens the recipient with

multiple personality disorder Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...

. The new personality is from a vastly different species, often with very different behavior codes and sexual preferences, and, to make matters worse, the donors were often very dominant personalities. The mildest symptom of such conflicts is a

in which users of these tapes are often seen in the Sector General's cafeteria, eating a bland-looking sandwich with closed eyes. On the other hand, the risk of finding members of other species sexually attractive is a serious concern. Junior doctors usually have these acquired memories erased as soon as possible. However, as a doctor rises up through the hospital hierarchy, and if its mind proves to be sufficiently stable, it may find itself the permanent recipient of one or more tapes. Diagnosticians, the medical elite of Sector General, can have as many as ten different tapes active at one time, as they may have to supervise treatment of many species at the same time. In the case of species with two permanent sexes, including but not limited to Earth-humans, the stories state that females are psychologically incapable of allowing their psyches to be violated to the extent required by the educator tapes. However, in one of the later books a very assertive non-human female character accidentally acquires several sets of memories which cannot be erased, and adjusts to this with relative ease.

Regular characters

Although many of the characters are "Earth-human" – "human" is ambiguous because all species refers to themselves as "human" in their own languages – the stories feature medical staff from a wide range of species. In each story characters belonging to species different from that of the protagonist are treated as neuter and referred to as "it". Some species are touchy about any reference to sexual roles and behavior, some have more than two sexes and some change sex once or more during their lifetimes. The following appear in nearly all the stories: ;Dr. Conway :A male Earth-human who starts as a junior intern and, over the course of the series, works his way up to Chief Surgeon and eventually Diagnostician in Charge of Surgery. Conway (whose first name, Peter, is only revealed in the ninth book) generally prefers extraterrestrial company to that of his own species, and has a habit of thinking aloud. His passions are healing and Murchison. ;Murchison :A curvaceous female Earth-human first seen as a senior nurse in the Pathology department. She eventually becomes a doctor and a Pathologist herself, and also Conway's wife. ;Dr. Prilicla :A large but fragile winged insect-like being from the very low-

gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...

planet Cinruss. In addition to being highly skilled in the more delicate types of surgery, Prilicla is an

empath Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. Definitions of empathy encompass a broad range of social, cog ...

and therefore can sense the emotions of most other lifeforms including many non-intelligent animals. Its tact and the desire of colleagues to avoid distressing it by displaying negative emotions generally makes others willing to follow its advice – a pattern that one reviewer described as "a pleasant Machiavellian streak." Despite its natural timidity and the distress that other beings' anger, fear and pain cause it, Prilicla uses its empathic ability in prolonged searches for survivors of space combat and accidents. ;Major O'Mara :The Earth-human head of the hospital's Psychology department, his job is to ensure that the hospital's diverse species work together as harmoniously, efficiently and safely as circumstances allow, and particularly to save the staff from being driven insane by over-use of Educator tapes. Since he is a very acute observer of behavior and often uses sarcasm "to shrink heads, not swell them", he is sometimes called a "latter-day Torquemada". ;Charge Nurse Naydrad :A member of the Kelgian species, Naydrad looks like a giant caterpillar. Since the involuntary movements of Kelgians' fur completely show their emotions, the species is incapable of both lying and tact. Naydrad is a specialist in rescuing victims of space accidents. ;Thornnastor :A native of the high-gravity planet Traltha, Thornnastor (nicknamed "Thorny") has a body like a six-legged elephant, and its own keen senses are supplemented by a

symbiont Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...

that provides acute vision over up to 360

degree Degree may refer to: As a unit of measurement * Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement ** Degree of geographical latitude ** Degree of geographical longitude * Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics ...

s. Thornnastor is the Diagnostician in Charge of Pathology, and it carries ten Educator tapes. Its fascination with gossip, especially about the scandalous activities of a multi-sexed,

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Eart ...

-breathing,

cryogenic In physics, cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures. The 13th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration (held in Washington DC in 1971) endorsed a universal definition of “cryogenics” and “cr ...

species, is a

in the series.

Critical appraisal

The Sector General series defined the subgenre of multi-species medical stories, although

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianeti ...

's ''

Ole Doc Methuselah ''Ole Doc Methuselah'' is a collection of science fiction short stories by American writer L. Ron Hubbard, published in 1970. Contents The stories follow the adventures of "Old Doc Methuselah" in a future where interstellar travel is completely ...

'' stories and

Murray Leinster Murray Leinster (June 16, 1896 – June 8, 1975) was a pen name of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an American writer of genre fiction, particularly of science fiction. He wrote and published more than 1,500 short stories and articles, 14 movie ...

's Med Service stories, neither of which were highly regarded, had explored some similar themes. Sector General was "the first explicitly

space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soci ...

" series, while much of contemporary space opera from the USA was notably military.

Mike Resnick Michael Diamond Resnick (; March 5, 1942 – January 9, 2020) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He won five Hugo awards and a Nebula award, and was the guest of honor at Chicon 7. He was the executive editor of the defunct ...

described the series' characters as "the most memorable crew of aliens ever created". Michael Ashley commented that the setting of the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

'' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' is reminiscent of Sector General. The ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tel ...

'' television series was also set in space station with atmospheres for different species. It is highly likely that the short lived 1998-99 television series ''

Mercy Point Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, rel ...

'' was influenced by Sector General. Many commentators attribute the series' popularity to the altruism of its doctors and the emphasis on seeking to build peaceful relations between different species.

John Clute John Frederick Clute (born 12 September 1940) is a Canadian-born author and critic specializing in science fiction and fantasy literature who has lived in both England and the United States since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part o ...

wrote that "in the depiction of goodness may lie the real genius of James White." White's hatred of war and

xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

is a constant theme of the series, notably in: '' Star Surgeon'', where the Monitor Corps fights a savage battle in defence of the hospital space station, to prevent the conflict from escalating into a full interstellar war that can only end in

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

; and in '' The Genocidal Healer'', where an alien race's sexual urges are almost eliminated by a plague and can only be stimulated by hand-to-hand combat. The early stories focus almost entirely on medical problems, mainly from Conway's viewpoint. In

Dave Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for mos ...

's opinion the xenobiological novelties were becoming less credible by the end of '' Star Healer'', and using a variety of alien viewpoint characters gave the later books "considerable new pep". These also deal with deeper issues, notably in '' The Genocidal Healer'', and better than most science fiction according to Resnick. Opinions differ about the quality of the series as a whole. For example, Gary Westfahl wrote that "the Sector General stories remained consistently fresh and involving, and they grew in prominence as the series progressed." On the other hand, Todd White wrote that the series declined after '' Star Healer'' (1985), hitting a low point with '' The Galactic Gourmet'' (1996), and that the later books tended to stretch a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

's worth of content to the length of a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

. However he thought that '' Mind Changer'' (1998) represented an improvement. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' described ''Mind Changer'' as "White's finest performance, replete with wit, originality, medical expertise and sheer decency" and commented that the series shows no signs of aging, and

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

described the book as an "enjoyable, witty resumé" of Chief Psychologist O'Mara's career. Clinton Lawrence described the last Sector General book, ''

Double Contact ''Double Contact'' is a 1999 science fiction book by Irish writer James White (author), James White, the last in the Sector General series. Clinton Lawrence described ''Double Contact'' as "in a very positive way, a throwback to an earlier era ...

'' (1999), as "in a very positive way, a throwback to an earlier era in science fiction" since it is optimistic and depicts several advanced species working harmoniously. The struggle to build trust and produce a successful first contact is, he thought, as exciting and suspenseful as one could wish for. However he noted that the level of characterization was the minimum required to support the plot.

Stories in the series

The Sector General series began as

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

published in ''

New Worlds New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz Albums and EPs * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartn ...

'' from 1957 onwards. Originally White intended to end the series with '' Star Healer'' (1985), by which time the central characters had reached the top levels in their careers, but

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...

persuaded him to continue. He extended the stories' range by introducing new central characters beginning with '' Code Blue - Emergency'' (1987), and '' The Genocidal Healer'' (1992) focused on psychological and theological issues of guilt and forgiveness rather than strictly medical ones. The books in the series are: * '' Hospital Station'' (1962: stories published in ''New Worlds'' 1957–1960) * '' Star Surgeon'' (1963) * '' Major Operation'' (1971: stories published in ''New Worlds'' 1968–1971) * '' Ambulance Ship'' (1979) * ''

Sector General ''Sector General'' is a series of twelve science fiction novels and various short stories by the Northern Irish author James White. The series derives its name from the setting of the majority of the books, the Sector 12 General Hospital, a hug ...

'' (1983) * '' Star Healer'' (1985) * '' Code Blue - Emergency'' (1987) * '' The Genocidal Healer'' (1992) * '' The Galactic Gourmet'' (1996) * '' Final Diagnosis'' (1997) * '' Mind Changer'' (1998) * ''

'' (1999) These were also published as omnibus editions: * ''Beginning Operations'' (2001) contains ''Hospital Station'', ''Star Surgeon'' and ''Major Operation''. * ''Alien Emergencies'' (2002) contains ''Ambulance Ship'', ''Sector General'' and ''Star Healer''. * ''General Practice'' (2003) contains ''Code Blue - Emergency'' and ''The Genocidal Healer''. * ''Tales of Sector General'' (1999) contains ''The Galactic Gourmet'', ''Final Diagnosis'', and ''Mind Changer''.

Short stories

*White's short story "Sector General" is included in the book ''Hospital Station''. *In addition to these books, several related short stories ("Countercharm", "Tableau", "Occupation: Warrior", and "Custom Fitting") appear in other collections by White. The first three appear in ''The Aliens Among Us'', the fourth in ''Futures Past''. *The short story "Custom Fitting" does not mention Sector General, but does describe the Galactic Federation making its first contact with Earth. "Tableau" also does not mention Sector General but introduces the alien race of the Orligians, who appear in the series. *The short story "Occupation: Warrior", published in 1959, provides the

backstory A backstory, background story, back-story, or background is a set of events invented for a plot, presented as preceding and leading up to that plot. It is a literary device of a narrative history all chronologically earlier than the narrative of p ...

of the Monitor Corps' Commander Dermod, who appears in some of the books. However the editor of '' Science Fiction Adventures'' removed all reference to Sector General from ''Occupation: Warrior'' because he thought it was too grim to be treated as part of the series. "Countercharm" is the only short story actually set in Sector General not included in a Sector General book.