Okay, I just read the other thread linked to in the first post here, and the posters there seem to think that the Chee could not harm any living thing. Was it any living thing, or sentient beings? Could they kill bugs? And what about plants? They had to do something with all of the dead organic matter (aka, food) that they used during their times as humans. And is all harm considered violence? I don't think so. Yeah, electrocuting Rachel musta hurt... a lot... but it helped her. It wasn't violent. Resetting a broken bone is painful, but no one would consider it violence.
Here's a section from book #10:
"How long has this been going on?" Cassie
asked.
Erek smiled warmly. "I helped to build the great
pyramid."
"You designed the pyramids?"
"No, no, of course not. We have never interfered
in human affairs. I was a slave. I helped
to quarry the stone. It was a challenge, because I was
new at pretending to be human. I had to hide my
real strength, of course. The Pemalite home world
had a gravity four times stronger than Earth's.
Naturally, we were designed for that gravity, which
means we are quite powerful by human standards."
"And you stayed as a slave?" Jake asked. "You
could have taken over Egypt. You could have taken over the
world."
"No. We are not the Yeerks," he said
coldly. "You see, when our creators made us,
they hardwired us for nonviolence. We are
not capable of hurting another living being. No Chee
has ever taken a life."
Notice the bold portions. Obviously, the Chee have interfered to some degree, because hello, they were passing as humans. That in itself is interference. And there is a mention of them providing ideas and things to certain people throughout the series (such as helping Pasteur). And there is also the fact that they were spying on the Yeerks (a sentient species) to help the human race. But, they don't interfere.
And also, what counts as 'harm' and what counts as a living 'being'? I think it is safe to assume that plants aren't included. Do bugs? Do rodents? Domesticated animals? Wild animals? Dictionary.com defines 'being' as "conscious, mortal existence" and also as "a living thing". Thanks to the insanity that is the English language, this isn't too helpful. Does anyone recall any instances of any Chee eating meat or swatting flies? And also, I think that this excerpt may be of interest:
<How did you convince the Yeerks that you
are one of them?> Ax asked him.
Erek turned off his hologram and became a
machine once again. And then the front of his head
split open. Inside his steel and ivory head was a
chamber, just a few inches in diameter.
And inside that chamber was a gray slug,
helpless, unable to escape. Tiny wires, no
thicker than hairs, wrapped around it.
<Yeerk!> Ax hissed.
"Yes," Erek said. "The Yeerks
believe I am human. I accepted infestation. But
of course the Yeerk cannot make a Controller of me. I made a
place for him instead. He sees nothing. Knows
nothing. I tapped his memory, not the other way around. And now I can pass
among the Yeerks like one of them."
So apparently, they can definitely interfere (even if they claim not to, they aren't hardwired not to....... It's impossible to coexist with or even observe something without influencing it in some way.). And they can also be an inconvenience to other beings, to say the least. Erek was able to be a barricade when the Howlers were attacking. And also, he caused the Pemalite ship to expel everyone aboard it. But back to the issue of harm. Where do you think they draw the line there? I figure harm would be non-desirable or non-desired pain/discomfort/etc. Pulling a bandaid surely can't be against their programming if they are able to electrocute, perform CPR (not a gentle procedure) or reattach limbs, etc. Pain, in all its variations, can be beneficial, and their programming must somehow distinguish between hurt (helpful) and hurt (violence).
And here's a real puzzle: can the Chee cause chaos and destruction, so long as no one gets hurt? They can obviously deceive (see imprisoned Yeerk) and they can pick favorites (The Chee say they can't let the human race fall because dogs are 'intertwined' with them... favoritism). Also, it's impossible to live in human society without at some point inflicting some amount of emotional harm. Is there a line there? I imagine the Chee to be a generally peaceful (duh?) but they can argue/disagree (many Chee don't agree with Erek telling the Ani's about them.) and they can show anger (for example, at the Howlers, who are still a sentient species).
I hope my Weathel-worthy rant isn't too confusing or incomprehensible. Feedback, please?