The study of language can also be considered a path to empathy. It can open up a culture that is new to the learner in ways that not speaking the language would miss. While language is in this way one of the most powerful tools of understanding, it is also still a tool that can be misused by those with ill intentions. For example, spies are more effective in undermining the culture or civilization that they’re infiltrating when they speak its language. In S. L. Huang’s The Language of Liars, the spy indeed turns out to be a linguist.
Ro specializes in the study of the Star Eaters. He is, at heart, an academic in his native Orro society. Much to the disappointment of his elders, who would prefer his learning to take a more active role, Ro cares more about linguistics than spying. He would rather play word games than learn how to create a cover. He wants more than to work in his culture of interest; he wants to understand it. So, in a moment of empathy, he jumps. For the Orro, jumping means entering the mind of a living Star Eater. In a moment of fellow-feeling with the Star Eaters, Ro overwrites the mind of one, killing it. In Huang’s story, actions always have devastating consequences.
The ability to jump into the body of a Star Eater while retaining one’s mind is the pinnacle of Orro academic achievement. It is a secret amongst the Orro, and even general citizens don’t know that it’s possible. Further, Ro has accomplished something that other more senior academics have tried and failed to achieve. His triumph, however, disappoints his elders, because Ro is unable and unwilling to focus on the spy portion of his job. Ro sees himself as an anthropologist embedded within the target of his studies.
Nonetheless, now in the body of a Star Eater, Ro is tasked with a mission. Star Eaters mine meridian, the fuel which makes interstellar travel possible and upon which the system-spanning conglomerate therefore depends. The conglomerate comprises many different civilizations and species, but some are more equal than others. For its part, the Orro are a smaller civilization dependent on access to the conglomerate’s interstellar trade to survive; Ro’s civilization could not survive on its own. As such, his elders task him with stealing some meridian to smuggle back to Orro—and thus offer it some modicum of self-sufficiency. Ro is aghast to learn that all his studies, all his efforts, were preparation for becoming a thief. What about knowledge? What about learning why Star Eaters aren’t producing young?
The Language of Liars is a beautiful look at civilizations and cultures that are dependent upon a limited resource for fuel. The Orro feel that the only way for their small civilization to survive is to steal meridian. Orro elders rationalize their theft as a way of evening the scales with larger civilizations. Crimes are justified in the name of keeping the Orro civilization alive, and Huang conveys that, without meridian, the Orro would perish. Knowledge is the path for progress, and thus theft of knowledge speeds up a society along that path.
For this reason, and much like here on Earth, spies are often found among academics. Inhabiting the body of a Star Eater lets Ro explore this problem in a way that outsiders couldn’t: Maybe if the Orro can understand the Star Eaters better, they could discover why the Star Eaters are dying out. Why haven’t any new Star Eaters been seen? Ro ponders this problem when he’s not being pressured to steal meridian, but he does not find his answers: Being a Star Eater provides no insight into the problem; in fact, Ro finds a civilization equally obsessed with meeting quota.
No one tells Ro what quota is; yet the other Star Eaters constantly repeat their word. Their society speaks in clichés. Among the repetition, Ro finds linguistic puzzles to mull over. Indeed, his diagnosis of the Star Eater language is very enjoyable for those who like to think about alien languages. Huang’s ability to describe alien languages through Ro’s translations is fantastic. “In Birjivina, the trade language of the Andu-Erjians, doubt meant a question—either a question raised or a question asked” (p. 1). Huang then goes on to describe how other civilizations use the word “doubt.” These passages are small but set the stage for an extremely populated galaxy.
Meridian brings disparate aliens together to form the conglomerate. None of the aliens in the novella resemble humans: The Orro have fur and sense auras; the Star Eaters exist in the vacuum of space. The aliens and civilizations feel distinct within the short bounds of this novella. In fact, it can be difficult adjusting to the numerous different methods of communication. For example, the Star Eaters communicate through gestures of their appendages, and Huang signals this through the Star Eater dialogue as all capital letters; but the robot Overseers communicate in flashes. And Ro’s thoughts remain in Orro. There’s a lot going on.
Nonetheless, the pacing of the plot keeps the reader invested in the story while allowing them to revel in the writing and Ro’s discoveries. The book is just a hundred and fifty-five pages long, and it reads quickly. Huang’s story is beautiful and poignant. It starts cozily, as Ro is disciplined by his Elders for ignoring the “spy” portions of his education. As it progresses, the story remains cozy, but with gradually more layers of stress and tension: The Overseers menace the Star Eaters, and tension ramps throughout the novella. The ending is layered and satisfying with brutal implications. It lingers long after reading the final word.
In the Star Eaters themselves, Huang creates an intriguing depiction of the long-term effects of slavery. Huang’s text begins each chapter with excerpts from various sources, building the world while lending proceedings an academic feel. These excerpts demonstrate the collective understanding of the Star Eaters and language. Ranging from academic texts to social media posts, they give a depth to this novella and demonstrate the wider civilization that exists beyond the Orro or the Star Eaters.
In the history of this galaxy, the Star Eaters were slaves. They mined under the watchful eyes of the Overseers, which are robots tasked with keeping the miners on schedule. If they don’t maintain schedule and quota, correction will be given. Once the Star Eaters were freed from slavery, they continued to mine. Civilizations assumed this meant that the Star Eaters enjoyed the mining, thus minimizing the horrors that happened during slavery. Even though civilizations recognize that it was an immoral horror, the stereotypes of the Star Eaters are forever descended from the view of them in slavery: “The Star Eaters derive pleasure from work. […] With their survival needs provided and the pressure of higher decisions removed, they could focus on the mining” (p. 38).
Ro is exactly the protagonist that the Star Eaters need. He isn’t a hero; after all, his journey begins by overwriting another sentient being’s consciousness. But his questioning nature leads to discovery of facts sitting in plain view for those looking. In just a hundred and fifty-five pages, Huang creates a universe populated with fascinating, all-too-human creatures. Through the combination of language studies and spycraft, Ro uncovers the secrets to a mystery that shakes the foundation of a galaxy-spanning society. What begins with a little empathy could end “civilization” as billions know it. The Language of Liars tells its story in its title.