Some Parallels

"Delta v" is a concept relevant to subliminal space travel but it crops up several times in Poul Anderson's "Inconstant Star" and I now have a layman's understanding of its meaning. See Comments here.

Poul Anderson describes "...popping in and out of hyperspace..." as "...transition between relativistic and quantum modes..." (Man-Kzin Wars III, p. 265) but this makes Known Space hyperspace sound like Technic History hyperspace. The latter is original: not another space but a succession of instantaneous quantum jumps within relativistic space.

In Anderson's Technic History, a Merseian says that "'...the highest end...'" is:

"'...absolute freedom for our race, to make of the galaxy what they will.'" (Young Flandry, p. 27)

- and tells his latest grandcub:

"'You shall have stars for toys...'" (p. 28)

One of Larry Niven's kzinti, written by Anderson, bares fangs at the stars and tells them:

"...we shall do with you what we will." (Man-Kzin Wars III, p. 261)

Merseians and kzinti are comparable to SM Stirling's Draka who say, "Glory to the Race!" but do not mean by this the entire human race and in fact succeed in making themselves a distinct species.

"Homo Sum"

"Homo sum" is Latin for "I am a man." (Two words instead of four: no article and an inflected verb, not requiring a pronoun.)

After quoting this Latin phrase, Poul Anderson rightly celebrates the diversity of humanity. He lists, and says that he can learn from:

a Navajo herdsman;
an Australian bushman;
a Yankee capitalist;
a European socialist;
a Confucian scholar;
an Islamic warrior -

- so diverse that they seem to be of different species!

I was reminded of this Andersonian list when I reread SM Stirling's account of three caravan guards from "...some very rough places indeed."
-SM Stirling, The Peshawar Lancers (New York, 2003), Chapter Fourteen, p. 248:

"...a thick-shouldered, bandy-legged Mongol with a quiver and recurved bow over his shoulder...";

"...a very black African with no tongue and hideous scars on his back...";

"...a man with tattooed cheeks and red hair who was of no race or tribe King could recognize and who carried what looked like a jointed iron flail." (ibid.)

Thus, Mongol, African and unrecognizable-despite-red-hair! I like that third guy. Stirling's shorter list of diverse human beings reminds us of what people do to each other (tongueless; scarred back) and to themselves (tattooed cheeks) and there is plenty of violent intent (bow and arrow; iron flail). We may add that these three serve a Jewish man who is loyal to the Angrezi Raj.