Why might a shapeshifter need a partner?

sunandshadow · Oct 30, 2006

I want to write a story about a magical military academy sort of place, where two races, one of shapeshifters and one of something else, are trained and matched into partnerships where one member is from each race. But I need to think of a reason that the shapeshifters need partners - being able to take any shape is a really powerful ability, so why don't they just fight on their own or even conquer the other race? What weakness or need could the shapeshifters have, or what ability could the other race have that the shapeshifters don't?

TheIT · Oct 30, 2006

One of the things which always annoyed me about Odo, the shapeshifter character from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, was the lack of consistency in his mass. He could change into forms from large to small, and his weight always changed. Where did the extra mass go? In one episode he turned into a glass which was carried on a tray by someone else, and they never explained how.

For other references to shapeshifters, you might want to read Sheri S. Tepper's work. I think she had several books about a shapeshifting species.

Your shapeshifters might need someone of constant shape to anchor them back to their original forms.

sunandshadow · Oct 30, 2006

I was planning on having my shapeshifters maintain a constant mass. I am imagining a scene where one is annoyed because it takes so darn long to flow through a small crack.

Nakhlasmoke · Oct 30, 2006

Maybe shapeshifting drains the shifter?

If the shifting gives him some kind of power boost, then it makes sense that afterwards he would need a recovery period.

Another idea, when shifted, there's a significant drop in intelligence, and the shifter needs to follow commands given by the partner.

Just some thoughts.

NicoleJLeBoeuf · Oct 30, 2006

You might look at Jennifer Roberson's Cheysuli chronicles. She has a race of people who are shape changers, but these people are vulnerable to a competing race who are sorcerers. I may be misremembering this, but I think the main deal was, neither race could use their superpowers against the other, which made them vulnerable to each other in ways they wouldn't be to normal humans.

alleycat · Oct 30, 2006

I'm not well read in this area of sci-fi, but my first thought is the other race has some sort of limited ability to detect a shapeshifter; some sort of visual or mental ability. Or perhaps the shifters and the other race are actually descended from the same common ancestors; one branch has become shifters, the other has lost the ability.

As for why they would need or want a partner, one reason might be that the shapeshifters are few in number, while the other race provides the bulk of the "warrior class". Or it could be that the enemy is well-known to the non-shifters (their culture, their military, their "secrets", etc.); to develop an effective "battle plan" will take both shifters and non-shifters working together.

LloydBrown · Oct 30, 2006

Maybe the shifter has the people skills to pull off the disguise, but it's the partner who actually casts the transformation spell--and thus is needed to turn him back, too.

Mac H. · Oct 30, 2006

sunandshadow said:
..being able to take any shape is a really powerful ability

It seems pretty powerful, but it certainly isn't the most powerful.

For example, if a shape-shifter suddenly appeared in our modern age, we could spot them easily (after the initial shock) with cheap pin-hole cameras scattered everywhere - if a filing cabinet suddenly morphed into a person, it would be detected.

Sure - they could pretend to be human (or a particular human) , but a humanlike opponent could do it anyway - just with decent makeup.

Being able to 'magically' appear to be a table or chair might be great - but in any 'real-ish' shapeshifter, they'd also have to change their colours, translucense etc to fool anyone. Sure, they'd probably get very good at it - but being very good at it isn't a 100% copy - the 'enemy' would also get very good at spotting ones that weren't perfect. You wouldn't need superhuman abilities - just like a fashion Nazi can tell the difference between a 'real' Prada handbag and a fake one.

And imagine if the shapeshifter was colour blind !

The reasons for a partnership might be as much political as military - like some military forces in Indonesia etc try to balance the number of each ethnic group in individual units. Or perhaps our mismatched partners in the buddy-cop drama ASSUME it is just politics that forces them together - before realising that they do make a good team.

Mac

TheIT · Oct 30, 2006

Thanks, Alleycat, you reminded me of my second pet peeve against the shapeshifters on ST: DS9. They couldn't be detected by any means including tricorders. Great for the shapeshifters, but completely ludicrous. Even if the shapeshifter is transformed into a vase, wouldn't it still think? How would a shapeshifter turn off brain waves? Couldn't a telepath detect it? Heat sensors?

Also, if the shapeshifter is transformed into an inanimate object, how does it perceive anything without ears or eyes? How long can it stay shifted into another form?

Peggy · Oct 30, 2006

It seems to me that the ability to change into, say, the shape of different people wouldn't necessarily give you the abilities of those people. Different body shapes have different centers of mass and I think the coordination needed to operate your muscles efficiently would be different. The non-shapeshifter could be there to provide skills (fighting or otherwise) that require coordination.

BottomlessCup · Oct 31, 2006

This shapeshifting, it's not a physical trick - it's all in the head.

They've learned the incredible fragility of reality and our perceptions thereof. They've been taught to snap the edges, poke through the holes, blur the details. They can change shape because they no longer believe in things like shape and identity and the world's consistency.

But this knowledge - this lack of belief - has a horrible effect on their psyches. They have no 'ground' on which to keep their mental 'feet.' Their world is a mess, a jumble. Like being on hallucinogens or being insane all the time.

To them, nothing is real - except their partner. Their anchor.

The anchors learn to be utterly consistent - within and beyond reality. They lack 'edges' and 'holes'. They're the dead opposite of a shapeshifter - unchanging and unchangeable.

The anchors are the shapeshifters' handlers, contacts, therapists, and only friends. It's an intimate relationship - one ripe for abuse.

Euan H. · Oct 31, 2006

sunandshadow said:
I want to write a story about a magical military academy sort of place, where two races, one of shapeshifters and one of something else, are trained and matched into partnerships where one member is from each race. But I need to think of a reason that the shapeshifters need partners - being able to take any shape is a really powerful ability, so why don't they just fight on their own or even conquer the other race? What weakness or need could the shapeshifters have, or what ability could the other race have that the shapeshifters don't?

1) Perhaps the shapeshifting isn't completely voluntary and/or under conscious control--think of werewolves and the moon. Perhaps stressful situations trigger a shift--even if the 'stress' involves watching your team lose on the T.V, and then the partner is there for assistance, or reassurance.

2) Perhaps when shifted, the shape-shifter's values or behavior get warped in some way--again, like werewolves. Perhaps the shapeshifting arose from a hunting adaption and the shift itself is associated with heightened or uncontrollable aggression.

3) I also like Bottomless Cup's idea of the non-shapeshifting partner being the anchor for the shapeshifter. The idea that changes in shape lead to changes in identity is something Terry Pratchett uses in a couple of Discworld books, and well as Le Guin in Earthsea (if I remember right).

Oddsocks · Oct 31, 2006

You could always just give the other race some ability that's equally useful - if they're telepaths then they might know what the enemy is thinking (or they could have precognition, telekinesis, or be awesome strategists, etc). Depending on what they are, there are a lot of reasons why they would be useful to a shapeshifter as a partner.

MattW · Oct 31, 2006

The idea of weakness after shifting is good.

I like the idea of the telepath too. Maybe the shapeshifters can take any form, but are essentially mindless vessels for the telepath to inhabit. Also makes the telepath not just an accessory to the shifter - they are a team that needs to be matched and trusted by the other.

The partner could always be there to hold onto the shifters pants and shoes...

J. Weiland · Oct 31, 2006

I would pair them up with anthropologists; then it might be that each shapeshifter worked on a planet where the knowledge of the local society and culture was needed.

badducky · Oct 31, 2006

Well, for one, what happens when a shifter gets shot? If it's anything like all the shifters I've seen on tv, it starts to jump through a bunch of different forms like mad.

People get shot? They can still function in one form. People don't have to concentrate to make their fingers. They jsut have to concentrate on tying off a wound. That's an advantage in any firefight.

Also, why should a shapeshifter race automatically feel superior to a non-shifting one? In a race that must concentrate to maintain a form, wouldn't there be some envy of the race that has a solid place in the cosmos?

ChaosTitan · Oct 31, 2006

What if the other race is simply a bodyguard, as others have suggested? I keep thinking of the film "Windtalkers," and how the Native American codetalkers were protected like crazy by the soldiers, because they possessed an ability that the white soldiers did not and were an extremely valuable asset.

FennelGiraffe · Oct 31, 2006

What if it takes time to shift? And they're helpless while halfway between...

What if there is official prejudice against shapeshifters? Even though the value of their skills is recognized they aren't quite trusted, so the partner is really a sort of watchdog at the same time.

yanallefish · Oct 31, 2006

double vision?

Ok, I had a random thought: what if it were mandatory to have two shapeshifters working together, because otherwise they can't shift? Sort of like two strands of DNA. One of the shifters has some abilities and the other has other abilities, but they can't do it on their own. (ok this isn't completely thought out, but it's an idea)

Good luck!

fedorable1 · Oct 31, 2006

yanallefish said:
Ok, I had a random thought: what if it were mandatory to have two shapeshifters working together, because otherwise they can't shift? Sort of like two strands of DNA. One of the shifters has some abilities and the other has other abilities, but they can't do it on their own.

I like that idea.

Another one: Perhaps the Shapeshifter can only replicate the details it can remember. Think about it. If you as a human could morph into another person, I'm sure there are some details you would leave out - birthmarks, eye color, slight limp, etc. If a Shapeshifter tried to impersonate something it would probably be a hazy, vague reminiscence. It'd be like they were wearing a costume of that person/thing. The Second Race could have a genious-level intellect with photographic memory of sorts, and can telepathically communicate the details of the transformation to the Shapeshifter.

sunandshadow · Oct 31, 2006

I'm going to be writing from the point of view of a shapeshifter who is twenty-some years old and has not yet bonded with a partner of the other race. In this unbonded condition he needs to have his own identity, be rational, intelligent, and creative, and be able to shapeshift. So the reason he needs to bond with a non-shapeshifter partner has to be something else. The bonding needs to be either biologically necessary for the shifter to go through puberty or become fertile or something like that (but how would that situation have evolved?) or the bonding might unlock some other new ability. Sort of a coming of age ritual for the shifter.

Oh, and shifters need to be undetectable to the average person of the other race, unless they cast a special spell or have a special instrument or something.

greglondon · Oct 31, 2006

BottomlessCup said:
This shapeshifting, it's not a physical trick - it's all in the head.

They've learned the incredible fragility of reality and our perceptions thereof. They've been taught to snap the edges, poke through the holes, blur the details. They can change shape because they no longer believe in things like shape and identity and the world's consistency.

But this knowledge - this lack of belief - has a horrible effect on their psyches. They have no 'ground' on which to keep their mental 'feet.' Their world is a mess, a jumble. Like being on hallucinogens or being insane all the time.

To them, nothing is real - except their partner. Their anchor.

Ah, so they've realized the truth?

What's that?

There is no spoon.

Selcaby · Nov 5, 2006

Shapeshifters don't need partners. The other race want shapeshifter partners the way humans want horses to ride. Shapeshifters are a subjugate race - their continually shifting identities mean their society isn't cohesive enough to function independently. Your protagonist is unusual in having such a strong identity, and that's the reason why he hasn't bonded - he's too difficult for the other race to "break in". But he wants to be bonded, because the way shapeshifter society is structured, anyone who isn't bonded is an outcast. He won't be able to find a sexual partner - hence be sexually awakened - hence grow up - until he is bonded with a member of the other race. He needs to find an equally unusual member of the other race to whom his peculiarities are an asset instead of a liability.

zornhau · Nov 5, 2006

Doh!

sunandshadow said:
I want to write a story about a magical military academy sort of place, where two races, one of shapeshifters and one of something else, are trained and matched into partnerships where one member is from each race. But I need to think of a reason that the shapeshifters need partners - being able to take any shape is a really powerful ability, so why don't they just fight on their own or even conquer the other race? What weakness or need could the shapeshifters have, or what ability could the other race have that the shapeshifters don't?

For some reason, this thread popped into my head as I was deburring my swords. I think you're attacking this from the wrong direction. This is fiction, not an RPG. So...

What theme does the shapeshifting illuminate? What's it all about?

Get the theme, then find a reason for partnership which amplifies that theme. Only then underpin it with fantasy.

JohnB1988 · Nov 5, 2006

Think about shapshifting your brain! All those neurons getting mixed up! Unless the head, inner cranium remained unchanged, the shifter is going to be spending a lot of recovery time as a blithering idiot. Might need someone to feed, wipe butt etc.
Just $0.02 from the reality dept.

Why might a shapeshifter need a partner?

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