In the first three sequels to his seminal novel, _Ender's Game_, Orson
Scott Card defines and explores the meaning of the Hierarchy of
Foreignness, and ultimately asks whether classifying a species under the
Hierarchy says more about _us_ or _them_.

Card's exploration is against a background which made for a good story, but
which is _not_, ultimately, either the world we live in _or_ the
universe(s) we play Traveller in.

What is the Hierarchy's applicability to Traveller? How should the various
Major and Minor races be classified? _Should they be?_ To what extent does
- or should - the Hierarchy inform your attitude as a player toward the
various aliens (which includes humans other than "mainstream Imperial")?
What about your _characters'_ attitudes? If you play in your own setting,
how do - or should - you apply the Hierarchy to interstellar relations?

Discuss.

(If anyone wants a formal question, as though for the Essay Question
section of _Freelance Traveller_, treat it as "How do you apply Orson Scott
Card's Hierarchy of Foreignness to Traveller?". I'll be very pleased if
people decide not only to discuss it here, but to submit essays for
publication as answers.)

(For those who are unfamiliar with the works in question, find and read
_Ender's Game_ for background, then go read, in order, the sequels referred
to here: _Speaker for the Dead_, _Xenocide_, and _Children of the Mind_.)

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    The Electronic Fan-Supported Traveller® Resource
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