冬星，寒冷，偏僻，远离人类活动范围，但人类的一支仍旧在这里扎下根来，生长繁衍。

终于有一天，人类联盟发现了这一支兄弟。他们伸出了手：回来吧，我们的兄弟。

机动使，联盟与未知星球**次沟通的使者，代表着人类联盟善意的手。担任这一职位的人必须坚强勇敢，因为他是孤身一人，深入未知；他必须睿智机敏，以理解当地的政治与人情；最重要的是，他必须胸怀宽广，能够包容当地种种奇异的观念和风俗。

冬星是对以上种种素质的**考验，因为它是人类所知的唯 一 一 个单性繁殖社会。

闻所未闻的风俗、变幻莫测的政局、国家的冲突，加上猜疑、背叛和出卖，阴暗的冬星似乎将永远游离在人类联盟之外。

但黑暗中伸出了一只手。它是要与机动使相握，还是排斥来自远方的善意？它代表着光明，还是黑暗？

光明是黑暗的左手，黑暗是光明的右手。

——冬星诗人的作品

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A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary’s mission to Winter, an unknown alien world whose inhabitants can choose—and change—their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter’s inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters. Exploring questions of psychology, society, and human emotion in an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of science fiction.

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The Once and Future King by T. H. White
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Neuromancer by William Gibson

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