A classic is now a special paperback omnibus, M. A. Foster’s stories of the bioengineered assassin who began life
as Jedily Tulilly. The story begins on the planet Oerlikon. This is a world that was uninhabited when it was
discovered. It was so far off the normal trade routes, it was only found by accident. Those who settled there were
people who hated the rapidly changing life brought by interstellar travel and trade.
Now, after several centuries, life is the same as it was when the first settlers arrived. Those who govern
Oerlikon work hard to keep change from taking place anywhere in Lisagor, the name the inhabitants gave the country
in which they dwell. Inside the facility known as The Mask Factory, Jedily was transformed into a man named Rael,
an assassin who couldn’t remember being the elderly woman, Jedily. He was able to transform himself into another
person, even changing his DNA.
In the first volume of the trilogy, The Morphodite, Jedily-as-Rael is given a task that his creators think
cannot be done. He is to calculate who is the one person keeping the Changeless in power. This, Rael claims to have
done. The man who is in charge of The Mask Factory, Luto Pternam, makes a deal with a group wanting change. He then
releases Rael to do what he was created to do, though Pternam thinks he can’t. Too late, he realizes he can’t track
or control the killer he has created.
This is a book sci-fi enthusiasts will want to add to their collections of classic tales. This is a timeless
story as pertinent to today’s political climate as when it was first written. For those who’ve never read these
classic tales, prepare for a fascinating experience.