Cordwainer Smith is one of the four pseudonyms of Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger (1913–1966), a man of many talents who was born, as they say, with a golden spoon in his mouth. His father was a prominent diplomat, advisor and friend of Sun Yat-sen (the 1920s Chinese leader became little Paul's godfather). Constant moving, including for security reasons, from the United States to Europe and Asia did not prevent Paul from learning six languages and receiving a doctorate in political science at the age of 23. While holding a professorship at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, he simultaneously collaborated with the CIA and developed the first psychological warfare section in the US Army. K. Smith's stories and novel, dedicated to the world of the Toolkit, were published from 1955 to 1966. Most of them take place in the distant future, between 4000 and 14000 years. Humanity, under the leadership of the Toolkit, is gradually recovering from the devastating Ancient Wars and begins to conquer the stars. Over the course of several millennia, people settle across many planets, and... stagnation sets in: robots and artificially bred mutants - half-humans - are busy with hard and thankless work, and people themselves are genetically programmed from birth for certain activities. Realizing the threat of the degeneration of civilization, the Toolkit at the end of this period tries to revive the old earthly languages and traditions, and the demi-humans are freed from centuries of slavery.