What do the Air Caste do? and other Tau questions

[Trasvi]

I was trying to write a short story about the Tau, and I came across some 'issues' with the background:

1) What do the Air Caste do? I know they are given the roles of pilot and messenger. Is that all? I think if you counted the Earth's entire population of messengers and pilots, you'd end up with a very small number. Unless the Tau Fleet is much bigger than we thought. Which leads me to...
2) Are the populations of the Castes distributed evenly? as in, 1/4 each with a smattering of Ethereals? Given the background of Earth caste as the manual labourers AND scientists, it seems to me that they might make up the bulk of the population.
3) Where would the following occupations come from in the Tau society?
a) Lawyer
b) Police Officer
c) Shelf Stacker (or other physical labourer in retail sector)
d) Psychologist
e) Professional Athlete
f) Songwriter
g) Doctor
h) Medic (battlefield)
i) Combat Engineer
j) Architect
k) Bartender
l) Interior Decorator
m) Fitness Instructor
n) Public Telephone Cleaner ( )
o) Judge
4) We know that Fire Warriors advance in rank roughly every 4 years of active service. How does one advance in rank in the other Castes? I can see an interesting system for the Water Caste (merchants) defined by their success (which means that a Galaxy Financial Crisis would send some Por'O plummeting back to Por'la)
5) Shas'O is listed as the highest rank of Fire caste. But this is still an active combat role. You don't see Generals in modern armies on the front lines. Are there potentially other ranks above 'O for the higher ups?
6) Are there non-combat Fire caste?
7) Do the Tau have a defined (ie, canon) monetary system?

... and thats all for now.

[ForgottenLore]

I have been trying to argue for years that the caste system has to be taken somewhat loosely because there are simply many more than four jobs required for a functioning society, but no one ever seems to want to listen to that argument.

To answer some of your questions,

There is no data on the demographics of the castes. Other than an assumption that Ethereals are very rare no one knows.
These days, most physical labor in the Empire would be done by drones, so I suspect that the reference to Earth Caste being laborers is simply outdated. Before drones became common, I would imagine that members of all 4 of the castes would have had to do some of the blue collar jobs simply because that is how a society functions.

a) Lawyer - Earth probably, unless all such tasks are handled by Ethereals
b) Police Officer - see some comments below
c) Shelf Stacker (or other physical labourer in retail sector) - Drones
d) Psychologist - Earth and/or possibly water depending on the approach
e) Professional Athlete - I imagine that all 4 castes have their own forms of recreational sports and so members of each caste would be involved if there are professional versions
f) Songwriter - as a profession, don't know. As a hobby I imagine there are musicians in each caste
g) Doctor - Earth caste
h) Medic (battlefield) - argument could be made for either fire or earth caste. Only fire caste are supposed to be in combat situations, but only earth caste should be learning a science like medicine. I could see it either way.
i) Combat Engineer - As a bove, but more likely earth, I think. Easier to keep the engineers behind the lines. Also, more technical than medic.
j) Architect - Earth
k) Bartender - If not done by drones, water.
l) Interior Decorator - not sure this would even be a job in the Tau empire
m) Fitness Instructor - could be earth or fire, or possibly each caste manages its own health concerns
n) Public Telephone Cleaner ( ) - drones
o) Judge - Ethereal
4) We know that Fire Warriors advance in rank roughly every 4 years of active service. How does one advance in rank in the other Castes? - We don't know
5) Shas'O is listed as the highest rank of Fire caste. But this is still an active combat role. You don't see Generals in modern armies on the front lines. Are there potentially other ranks above 'O for the higher ups?
I feel that there should be some higher ranks, however, the introduction of Aun'Va killed that idea as he is explicitly listed as an Aun'O, and the highest ranking Tau of them all
6) Are there non-combat Fire caste? - probably. invalids if nothing else. Just because they can no longer serve on the front lines doesn't mean they can't contribute to the war effort as advisers and strategists, etc....
7) Do the Tau have a defined (ie, canon) monetary system? - None that I have ever heard


Police

I once wrote an article on the old Kovah Tau'Va forum where I tried to flesh out Tau society some (this was before the Tau Empire codex came out). One of the things I postulated was that there would be numerous jobs in the Empire that each would be done by different castes. I used police detective as an example. I figured that each caste was psychologically wired to approach problems in certain ways, Fire Caste preferred to take action. Their first response to a problem was to DO something, preferably something physical. Earth, by contrast, would first try to study and analyze a problem to figure out the best method of solving it. The Water Caste's preferred response is to form a coalition to solve the problem. With that in mind, I saw a Fire Caste cop as being the sort that is on the street, so to speak. When there is a crime he brings suspects in for questioning (and possibly tries to beat a confession out of them), an Earth caste cop is a criminologist, he collects forensic evidence, analyzes is and determines who the guilty party is, a water caste cop has loads of contacts and can get useful information out of witnesses and others who may know something.

This is all just fan speculationthough, with no basis in canon. (In case your wondering, I first thought of all this while watch the TV show "The Shield", I realized that Vic and Dutch were an excellent example of the difference between Fire and Earth castes. Both were highly effective cops (though in vic's case, VERY corrupt), but they both approached the job in such radically different ways.

Air caste was always a problem though because, as you mention, an entire quarter of the population as pilots and messengers (who, according to the fluff, can't live on a planet) just really doesn't make sense.

[Kakapo42]

I was trying to write a short story about the Tau, and I came across some 'issues' with the background:

1) What do the Air Caste do? I know they are given the roles of pilot and messenger. Is that all? I think if you counted the Earth's entire population of messengers and pilots, you'd end up with a very small number. Unless the Tau Fleet is much bigger than we thought. Which leads me to...
2) Are the populations of the Castes distributed evenly? as in, 1/4 each with a smattering of Ethereals? Given the background of Earth caste as the manual labourers AND scientists, it seems to me that they might make up the bulk of the population.
3) Where would the following occupations come from in the Tau society?
a) Lawyer
b) Police Officer
c) Shelf Stacker (or other physical labourer in retail sector)
d) Psychologist
e) Professional Athlete
f) Songwriter
g) Doctor
h) Medic (battlefield)
i) Combat Engineer
j) Architect
k) Bartender
l) Interior Decorator
m) Fitness Instructor
n) Public Telephone Cleaner ( )
o) Judge
4) We know that Fire Warriors advance in rank roughly every 4 years of active service. How does one advance in rank in the other Castes? I can see an interesting system for the Water Caste (merchants) defined by their success (which means that a Galaxy Financial Crisis would send some Por'O plummeting back to Por'la)
5) Shas'O is listed as the highest rank of Fire caste. But this is still an active combat role. You don't see Generals in modern armies on the front lines. Are there potentially other ranks above 'O for the higher ups?
6) Are there non-combat Fire caste?
7) Do the Tau have a defined (ie, canon) monetary system?

... and thats all for now.

1) Those are the two main jobs of the Air Caste yes. They are, however, much broader in practice. Pilots here means running the Empire's space assets and aircraft. Basically if it flies, the Air Caste is in charge of it. This means every single plane, satellite, space station and starship is manned or administered by the Air Caste.

The other role they have is running the Tau's communications, every single one of them. Take a TV broadcast for example. The Water caste creates the show (and most likely acts it out if need-be), then the Air Caste transmits it across Tau space, while the Earth Caste maintains all the technical equipment.

2) Aside from the Ethereals, who are extremely rare, yes it would appear that the other four castes are evenly split, although many visitors will see varying amounts of them (mostly Water Caste, but a few Earth Caste as well, and they'll be lucky to see any others at all). The proportions of castes also varies from Sept to Sept. Most Tau worlds have a more or less even distribution, but more militarised septs like Vior'la and Sa'cea have more Fire Caste than anything else, while trading hubs such as Dal'yth and Tol'ku having many Water Caste and science and technology centres like Bork'an and Fal'shia have large amounts of Earth Caste.

3) My guess would be:
a) Water Caste
b) Not sure, although the 'protecting the public' part has the Fire Caste written all over it. I don't get the impression that the Tau need much policing though...
c) As has been said, done by drones
d) Water Caste
e) Some in each Caste most likely
f) Water Caste or Earth Caste, whoever's in charge of poetry
g) Earth Caste
h) Medical drone
i) Engineering drone. In fact, the DX-4 technical drone (available from forgeworld) is able to act as a combat engineer, a combat medic or even a surveillance camera.
j) Earth Caste
k) Either Earth Caste, Water Caste or a drone
l) Earth Caste or Water Caste most likely
m) Some in each caste no doubt
n) Earth Caste or a drone, although this is a VERY important task. Can't be just exiling them on any spaceships now can we
o) Water Caste or in some extreme cases an Ethereal

4) One advances in rank in the other castes in much the same way as the Fire Caste. The difference is what's done at each trial. An Air caste might have to fly an aircraft along a set course, while an Earth Caste might have to solve a challenging logic puzzle. Also remember that the Water Caste are more than just merchants, they are diplomats and administrators as well, so causing a second Damocles crusade could be just as much grounds for demotion as triggering an economic depression.

5) Shas'O is the highest rank in the Fire Caste, and there is no higher rank than 'O. However not all Shas'Os participate in active combat, and after another four years of active duty they are allowed to 'retire' and join the Shas'ar'tol, Tau military high command that administrates the Fire Caste, or the council that advises the Ethereals.

6) Sort of. There are some Fire Caste that conduct c3 duties, as well as the aforementioned councils that command the entire Fire Caste (basically the Shas'ar'tol is to the Tau what the Pentagon is to the United States) and advise the Ethereals. Most Fire Caste tend to perform some sort of combat role though.

7) No, no official sources have elaborated on what sort of monetary system the Tau use, or even if there's one at all.

[Trasvi]

1) Those are the two main jobs of the Air Caste yes. They are, however, much broader in practice. Pilots here means running the Empire's space assets and aircraft. Basically if it flies, the Air Caste is in charge of it. This means every single plane, satellite, space station and starship is manned or administered by the Air Caste.

The other role they have is running the Tau's communications, every single one of them. Take a TV broadcast for example. The Water caste creates the show (and most likely acts it out if need-be), then the Air Caste transmits it across Tau space, while the Earth Caste maintains all the technical equipment.

Again, how many people does that really take? An entire quarter of the population of Earth is not devoted to communications or transport. And considering that the Fire Caste at least appear capable of flying skimmer transports, I assume that Air aren't needed for every single vehicle. Even if you take a broad view of the air caste role, and assume they employ every single driver, entertainer and a considerable Fleet, I come up very short of 25%. Unless 40% of your entire race's population (the whole fire and 80% of the air caste) is devoted to military endeavours, which might not actually be far from the truth in 40k.

Further to that... do we have estimates of the total Tau population?

f) Songwriter Water Caste or Earth Caste, whoever's in charge of poetry

Not Air?
Most of that list was Earth or Water. Which seems to fit our (human) society - http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_201.htm (US) - maybe 10%, being very generous, would fit Air.

[Kakapo42]

It may take more than you think. Spaceships in 40k are HUGE, and Tau ships are no exception. Most standard Tau vessels would have crew in the hundreds (air caste are also captains, navigators, ensigns and other shipping jobs as well remember, and in many cases also make up the gun crews on Tau warships), if not thousands (even with extensive drone assistance), and the Tau do possess an extensive fleet of starships.

Not Air?
Most of that list was Earth or Water. Which seems to fit our (human) society - http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_201.htm (US) - maybe 10%, being very generous, would fit Air.

Not quite. If you're using music as an example, than the Water or Earth Caste would be the songwriters and singers, while the Air Caste would be the record distributors, so to speak.

The Air Caste are also responsible for the transport of goods as well, so I imagine the roles of postmen and Fedex couriers would also be handled by the Air Caste

[Ordo Hydra]

Air Caste pretty much handle everything that handles aircraft and starships. So, essentially, they are the space navy/airforce part I would imagine and handle things like piloting, transportation, messengers and staffing their space stations. Seems restrictive i know but seems to fit from what we know about the Tau. Combat is handled by Fire Caste personnel and engineering by Earth Caste whist the Water Caste ensuring everything is managed well.

Will have a stab at the occupations thing though.

3) Where would the following occupations come from in the Tau society?
a) Lawyer = Water Caste
b) Police Officer = Fire Caste or Drones
c) Shelf Stacker (or other physical labourer in retail sector) = Drones most likely but possibly Earth Caste
d) Psychologist = Water Caste
e) Professional Athlete = Again Caste
f) Songwriter = Earth Caste or possibly Water Caste
g) Doctor = Earth Caste
h) Medic (battlefield) = Possibly Earth Caste or maybe even specially trained Fire Caste
i) Combat Engineer = Earth Caste
j) Architect = Earth Caste
k) Bartender = Drone or Earth Caste
l) Interior Decorator = Earth Caste
m) Fitness Instructor = I think any Caste could do it, Air Caste could do fitness on ships, Fire Caste doing for ground troops etc etc
n) Public Telephone Cleaner ( ) = Drone
o) Judge = Ethereal Caste

[MajorWesJanson]

I'd break the castes into what parts of society they serve-
Etherials- leadership (political leaders, judges, religious figures)
Fire- combat (war, police, guards)
Water- service sector (social elements, laywers, media)
Earth- manufacturing sector (construction, industry, engineering, drone creation)
Air- technology sector (electronics, communications, piloting, drone development and programming)

[Lothlanathorian]

But everything except piloting that you listed as 'technology sector' sounds more like something to be covered by Earth Caste, who are not just manufacturing, but are also, well, technology and science.

[Dhurrin]

Quite. Just like the Fire caste would be all things army/marines/police, Air caste are all things air force navy.

[Kakapo42]

Quite. Just like the Fire caste would be all things army/marines/police, Air caste are all things air force navy.

Not just that, but all things cargo shipping and commercial airlines as well.

[The Devourer]

As forgottenlore said it becomes fairly easy to determine what roles belong to each caste when you castes as seperated by skillsets rather than roles. It would go against the Tau philosophy to limit each general area to one caste. Instead each specific job is linked to a caste. While some jobs may seem like they don't require many caste specific skills there will always be Tau who simply aren't very good at their castes skills. Most basic labour jobs will be performed by drones or other types of AI.

My speculation (from the way Tau seem to behave) would be:

Fire caste tau are Forceful, more agressive (likely making them more competitive), much more prepared for confrontation (even with their own species) and prefer a direct approach. Aside from military roles Fire caste Tau would be low level police and other basic security/ enforcement roles. Experienced Fire Tau will work in tactical roles. While there may be specialist jobs within the military it is likely that any job that may see combat will be done by a fire caste- it's easier to teach a fire caste engineering than to prepare an earth caste for combat. While all military Fire caste Tau can fight doesn't mean they do it on a regular basis. It may just be very rare for a high level FW to be on the batttle field.

Water caste specialise in manipulation via communication. They are experts at using language and subtlety. Since we know they are diplomats it would make sence that they are taught psycology learn how to deal with others- I imagine they would deal with social sciences. This knowledge should also make them fairly good actors as they know how people are expected to behave. Outside of diplomats they would make excellent traders, lawyers, interogators, translators, and low level judges (there aren't enough ethereals for them to completely fill the justice system) ect.. If there is a universal type of entertainment across the castes it is likely it will feature many water caste tau since they have the best understanding of behaviour and desires.

Earth Tau are physical scientists, focusing on anything from health and biology to achitecture. They would be very logical and methodic in their approach. They will take longer to prepare for an action than other tau since they thoroughly research however when they perfom an action you can be sure they are fully prepared. They would be doctors, architects, engineers, researchers.

Air Tau are harder to place. They are much more niche as they are just pilots. while they can't walk on a planet the Tau probably have sufficient technology to allow them to enter lower atmosphere. Aside from piloting spacecraft they would handle anything from movement of good to luxury transporation to bus driver.

Ethereals don't really perform tasks like other Tau. They mainly watch and advise other Tau on the thought process behind the greater good. They aren't actually leaders and don't give the orders. They fulfill a similar role as medievil priests who gave spiritual guidance to leaders but still left decisions to those with the experience and knowledge. Ethereals remind and explain the concept of the greater good but leave it to the other Tau to decide how it is applied. They only take charge when the leading Tau takes a path which is at odds with the greater good. They are more like priests than politicians.

The progressions shown in the codex (specifically for FWs) are the available progressions witin the castes. It is possible for a sufficiently experienced Tau join a council. In effect their leave their castes roles and become a leader of the Tau society- filling the role of a politician. It is these Tau which decide how the greater good applies to the actions of tau society.

[ForgottenLore]

I want to bring up the concept of Lawyers. Most everyone else seems to be defining them as a water caste profession and I am not sure where that is coming from. Law is an extremely technical, academic field requiring an ability to process large quantities of information and use very precise, detailed language. While a trial lawyer may be the most visible (especially on TV) type of lawyer, it isn't the most common. Lawyers spend most of their time researching and collating data not talking. That sounds much more like something for an Earth caste mentality to me.

Of course, with Lawyers and Judges, we don't actually have any idea what the Tau legal system is like. Such jobs may not even exist. Law enforcement may simply feed the known facts into a drone intelligence which then spits out an indictment, verdict and sentence all in one go.

Disputes may be handled entirely in-caste, with each caste handling matters in their own way. Fire caste have a trial by non-lethal combat, water caste have a debate and so on. With only inter-caste disputes handled by Ethereals.

[The Devourer]

I wouldn't think Lawyers would be earth since that is very specifically described as a scientific caste. While both roles require research the type of research is so different that it isn't compatible. Scientific research is about studying new data and comparing it to known processes while the research done by a lawyer would simply be reading other similar cases. While not an expert on law it would seem to me that the major skill required for a lawyer is to understand the technicalities of law and to present an arguement as to why a person is guilty or innocent of a crime. As you said yourself:

Law is an extremely technical, academic field requiring an ability to process large quantities of information and use very precise, detailed language

Discussion is very clearly defined as a water caste trait and they are well known to be exceptionally fast thinkers in an arguement. While they may not use their language skills at talking they would have a very good grasp of language which would be very beneficial. They would naturally understand and manipulate the specifics of the law in a way an earth caste couldn't. The water caste specialise in fast thinking and using the ambiguity of language. On the other hand earth caste specialise in solid fact and wouldn't go very far as a laywer if they only saw the aw in black and white. I would see research as a skill which can be done by any caste (even Fire caste need to research the enemy) as it doesn't require any real special traits- in fact it is very possible that they have the technology to quickly pull up any relevant information.

[ForgottenLore]

it would seem to me that the major skill required for a lawyer is to understand the technicalities of law and to present an argument as to why a person is guilty or innocent of a crime.

But I don't believe that IS the major skill required of a lawyer. At least on earth (my understanding is that) most lawyers DON'T really present an argument very frequently, they are managing the legal technicalities of establishing a corporation, or making a will, stuff that there isn't any disagreement on, just someone needs to know the legal realities of something in a technical sense.

I could be wrong about all that though, it is just the impression I have been given over the years.

On the other hand, with the Tau there is no guarantee that these things are all handled by one profession, perhaps there are Earth caste legal experts who can tell you what the facts of the law are, and water caste advocates who work with them to advocate a position when that is needed.

[Kakapo42]

Perhaps the role of lawyer is not handled by one caste, but split between two. In Tau society 'lawyers' might in fact consist of a team with an Earth Caste researcher paired up with a Water Caste representative. The Earth Caste then digs up the facts and gets the ins and outs and necessary information, and then the Water Caste turns all that into an effective argument. Two castes working together for the Greater Good, as it were.

[Xisor]

What, exactly, would a lawyer do in the Tau Castes? Adjudicate and approve town planning? (Nope, surely the Earth Caste there.) Decree civil ordinances? (Borderline between Earth Caste [sheer scientific] and Water Caste [sheer social engineering?]) Advise at the top-level? (A drone expert system could handle that.) Adjudicate and preside in enforcement of criminal law? (Tau society suggests that most 'lawbreaking' isn't of the 'disobedience' form - rioting and civil disorder are unheard of. Dealing in in-Caste discipline? That's in-Caste again?)

It sounds curious, but for the vast bulk of 'technical' law, you're looking at Earth/Water answering the "what's for the best?" question. If it becomes an interpersonal thing requiring mediation: Water, but that's surely counselling and adjudicating as opposed to... lawyering.

And if it comes to down to serious, high-end moral/pseudo-religious law? Well, that's the Ethereals.

In most cases, however, you're going to find most 'technical' things settled within their castes. If it's a 'big, super-complex' thing, then the Earth Caste preside. If it's 'making a subjective and emotive decision to be reasonable and appetising for all parties involved', you're looking at expert Water Caste (who's knowledge is surely augmented by Earth Caste research).

In a manner, given how well organised the Tau Empire should be, I'd wager that most 'one person jobs' are inherently combined with other one person jobs and then split between people, making the Castes inextricably interlinked. E.g. Fire-Caste or Air-Caste paramedics, possibly both, but they have to collaborate on 'handovers' - so someone's injured on the battlefield, a BF medic is trained to get the casualty to a transport and, if they're a driver, to hit the transport over to a drop-zone. At that point, Air-Caste come in, load up injuries into their ship and perform interim stabilising procedures with their 'mid-range' knowledge. Sometimes others are pushed back onto the battlefield, other times they're extracted to an Earth Caste enclave where the surgeons and their drones can diagnose and operate on massive hosts of casualties between only a small surgical & intensive/emergency care staff of Earth Caste 'doctors'.

Similarly, when you're interfacing at the boundaries of planning a new town - you've got Earth Caste forwarding the constraints, Water Caste adjudicating the decisions, organising teams, liaising with other worlds to organise resources, with the Fire Caste for ongoing security, with the Air Caste to ensure adequate overbalance, logistics, further expansion.

I think there's elements of overlap within the Castes, as noted above: Fire Caste Medics, Air Caste Medics and Earth Caste Medics. I'd wager you have technicians spread very widely, you'd have researchers and 'thinkers' spread widely too. But 'engineers'? Well, social engineers surely live on the Water Caste side. But Fire Caste engineers? Not so much. Air Caste? Probably, albeit liaising on the massive orchestration of their Caste's 'network' across vast distances - not 'engineers' as in 'designing starship engines'... logistical engineers!

The Tau Empire, if any of this applies, then surely has to be arranged about "things that have to be done for society to survive", not the traditional job types we imagine. From a science-fiction point of view, the Tau Empire's 'oddness' and slight lack of being straight-forward really loans itself to... speculating.

[Lothlanathorian]

I want to bring up the concept of Lawyers. Most everyone else seems to be defining them as a water caste profession and I am not sure where that is coming from. Law is an extremely technical, academic field requiring an ability to process large quantities of information and use very precise, detailed language.

Just like being a diplomat. Like the Water Caste are.

[Salmon]

I think Xisor's on to something here w.r.t. the Tau and division of occupations, not just in the issue of how the castes are divided within work according to their own ability at executing different aspects of the aforementioned work according to their own abilities, but also on the question of whether, due to the Tau's alien nature, certain occupations can even be translated at all.

On the law front, I'm unconvinced by the notion that the Tau even have a concept of legality to rely on and thus construct a legal profession around. Given that the species and empire is based around a kind of utilitarian nationalism, where the Greater Good for the empire is used to determine any given action's moral worth at any given moment, would law not be extraneous to that? Furthermore, would the Tau have a concept of personal responsibility, moral or otherwise, do they believe in the theological free will underpinnings of this philosophy? To put it simply, if an individual Tau be punished for say, killing another Tau through negligence, if it could be established that she or he had learned and would not behave that way in the future? Would the Tau empire base its decision on the utility of such punishment, such as a deterrent effect (which may not even exist for the Tau) or would the Greater Good be sufficiently broad in this instance to engage with abstract concepts like justice, responsibility and vengeance?
The evidence is, of course, limited; we lack good stories for the Tau in this decade and the latter half of the last, but references can be found in the early fluff that would indicate that Tau either lack these feelings and thoughts to begin with, or submerge them with the aid of the Ethereals; I recall the lack of blame on Kais for being driven mad by the depredations of chaos; the death of the Ethereal on Taros does not result in the demotion of the Tau's field commander for the responsibility he might play; in a very early story a fire warrior is not blamed for a mistake he has made in training that would have resulted in his death and perhaps the death of his teammates, but rather given the tools, training and advice in order to improve his performance; finally, Mon'at's are not blamed for succumbing to egomania, but rather given allowances, care and the freedom to exercise that egomania in a way which best serves the Greater Good.

The opening post also touches on another line of investigation, that of entertainment. I wonder whether the Tau lack any notions of entertainment or art; would they produce drama, music, paintings? Would any of those things enrich the Tau individually or collectively, or would they regard those who produce it as having their talents wasted? How do Tau socialize, can this be without collective meeting places, like bars, theatres, stadia? They certainly have domes for demonstrations, but these seem to be put on for the benefit of human diplomats and their purpose for the Tau themselves may, at most, be informative. The Tau also possess some kind of TV news, though the fluff is agnostic on the question of whether television extends beyond the merely educational. However, the fact that the Tau have news for mass consumption at all may suggest their society is more like ours than their alien nature would imply, as it confirms that they have some concept of citizenship as extending beyond hard work to include maintaining an informed body politic. Yet, in the absence of democracy, what purpose would informing the public have? Is the Tau's news merely propagandistic, and if so, why? Would the Tau citizenry, in the absence of such propaganda, rebel? Hardly likely, I would have thought.

Finally there's the question of inter-caste fungibility; in the background there's always this suggestion that there are murmurings within the fire caste at the end of the current time line about re-appraising Farsight's actions and possible demanding a greater role for the Shas'ar'tol in government, which would involve a usurpation of the water and ethereal caste's roles. Additionally the air caste may well have usurped the water caste's role in trade on an interstellar level, as the Kor'vattra is both the war and merchant navy. Thus there's some ambiguity as to the extent to which our understanding of the separation of labour on caste lines is an imperial abstraction or misunderstanding; the Kor seem to take on both military and economic functions outside of a planet's atmosphere; the water caste take over government in the absence of ethereals; similarly the fire caste take over some of the air caste's functions in space-capable craft whose main combat role involves ground insertions i.e. the Orca dropship.