Whipping Star
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Whipping Star is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert in 1969.
Warning: plot or ending details follow
In the far future, humankind has made contact with numerous other species: Gowachin, Laclac, Wreaves, Pan Spechi, Taprisiots, Caleban, and others. Humankind has also found the need for a Bureau of Sabotage (BuSab).
In Whipping Star, Jorj X. McKie is a saboteur extraordinary, one of the chiefs of BuSab responsible for detecting, exposing, and correcting strains of violent or anti-sentient behaviour.
19 years prior to the setting of Whipping Star, the Calebans appeared and offered jump-doors to the collective species, allowing sentients to travel instantly to any point in the universe. Gratefully accepting, the sentiency didn't question the consequences. Now, a psychotic human with immense power has bound a Caleban in a contract that allows the Caleban to be whipped to death; when the Caleban dies, everyone who has used a jump-door (which is almost everyone) will die as well. McKie has to find the human and stop her before that happens.
The sequel to this novel is The Dosadi Experiment.