My favorite thing about this story was the article about the author. What a fascinating guy!
The story was a bit of a slap on the hands, we need each other and we need to appreciate each other and what we bring to the table. From the manliest man to the most ultra feminine woman and all the attributes in between. We give each other checks and balances. We challenge each other in unique ways. Or at least try. The Yin to a yang. All things in balance.
I loved the addition of the cats. And found it interesting that Commander used his "power" to have cats come save him instead of just going back in time to get away. He changed DNA and by doing that, what changed out there? The butterfly effect.
You know, the Starship Enterprise's job was "to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before" -- but not to interfere. Not to put their imprint on another's civilization. Sudzal played God. He made choices alone that should have been discussed. He felt he needed no one from the start as he was a Commander who had gone on these long journeys making decisions on his own.
Not only did he succeed in creating a civilization of cats, they prayed to him.
If he would've taken his "wife" brain with him, do you think he would have been so easily duped? Surely not. Wife brain would've put a kibosh to any sort of friendship with the "a mature, warm happy female—some woman of early middle age with a superb speaking contralto."
And cancer. Arachosia women were likened to cancer --not just that they got it, but they were that -- and thus needed to be changed. For their own good. For the survival of Arachosia and then you had a whole world of really tense men.
And I loved how it ended. They sentenced him to death and then they took that sweet release away. And of course Earth worked really hard to strike that information from historical records. Imagine dealing with a population of terrified chaos when they found out cats were coming! Or a pod of blue-balled, angry men. Whichever won the battle between the two. One big damn group of rape-y pillagers!
Holy hell, I don't know what I'm talking about.
Hollah!