Role in The Hainish Cycle
The peoples of the various worlds in Le Guin's space fiction are descendants of an ancient settlement from Hain. The Gethenians of The Left Hand of Darkness are believed to have been genetically engineered, as are several other peoples, but the Alterrans are not mentioned in this context.
Descendants of the earth human/Trevarian mix would eventually rescue a conquered Earth from alien conquerors who could mind lie - which they used to conquer the telepathic League of All Worlds. This is the 'backstory' to City of Illusions. The reunification is mentioned in The Left Hand of Darkness, though no story has yet given us any details.
The planet called Werel in Four Ways to Forgiveness is a completely different world from the planet of the Alterrans.
Read more about this topic: Planet Of Exile
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