Background
The book is set in the constellation Hydrus, which is known in the Alliance-Union universe as the "Hydri Reach", and also as "Serpent's Reach", from which the book takes its title. The Hydri stars are home to the alien Majat, an insectoid race with a hive-mind consciousness. Like some species of Earth insects, the Majat are eusocial, featuring separate Drone, Worker and Warrior castes that serve each hive's single Queen. There are only four distinct hive-mind identities in the Majat species which were arbitrarily assigned colors by the humans: blue and green (the "tame" hives), and red and gold (the "wild" hives). They are native to Cerdin, a planet in the Alpha Hydri system (but see "Majat planet of origin" below).
The entire constellation is under strict quarantine due to the dangers inherent in human-Majat interaction. The first contact with the Majat, for example, resulted in the human delegation being eaten. Humans do live in the Hydri stars, however, because Union had established colonies there before ceding Serpent's Reach to the Alliance, which subsequently imposed the quarantine. A space station orbiting the planet Beta Hydri II, called Istra, serves as the sole point of contact between the Alliance and the human/Majat society of the Hydri stars.
The human segment of that society is structured into three tiers. The top tier is the Kontrin Company, or Family, comprising 27 Houses with 58 Septs within the Houses. These aristocrats rule the system and direct relations with the Majat. They are also "immortal" in the sense that they do not die of natural causes, although they can be killed. This immortallity was a gift from the Majat who could not come to terms with the concept of "minds-that-died".
The second tier of humans, referred to as Betas, are "normal" humans that were initially created by the Kontrin from human eggs, programmed to be loyal to the Kontrin, and then allowed to breed amongst themselves. Cherryh's Azi race of human clones make up the third tier, acting as servants or slaves to the Kontrin, the Betas and also the Majat. Although it is primarily an "Alliance-side" novel (not Union), the story nevertheless features Azi because Union settlers originally colonized the Hydri stars.
Read more about this topic: Serpent's Reach
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