T
“TANGAGRIA”: folk song from Bologna, Italy. Composer unknown.
TEQ: see Transluminal Energy Quantum.
TESSERITE: mineral unique to Adrasteia. Similar to benitoite but with a greater tendency toward purple.
TFEIR: one of six Arms of the Wranaui. Noted for its heresy of the flesh: self-replication via the Nest of Transference without the death of one’s original form. Considered a sin of pride by the rest of the Wranaui. A major contributing factor to the Sundering.
THRESH: hardcore smasher metal that originated in the farming communities of Eidolon. Noted for use of agricultural implements as instruments.
THULE: aka the Lord of Empty Spaces. Pronounced THOOL. God of the spacers. Derived from ultima Thule, Latin phrase used to mean “a place beyond the borders of all maps.” Originally applied to a trans-Neptunian planetesimal in Sol, the term came to be applied to the “unknown” in general, and from thence gained personification. Extensive superstitions surround Thule among the asteroid miners in Sol and elsewhere.
TIGERMAUL: large, felinesque predator native to Eidolon. Noted for the barbs on its back, yellow eyes, and high intelligence.
TORQUE ENGINE: generator and propulsive engine devised by the Old Ones. Used to power Unity as well as drive spaceships of the Old Ones’ design. Works by “torqueing” the membrane of fluidic spacetime in such a way as to allow the extraction of energy from superluminal space, despite the lower energy density of that space. The distortion can also be used to propel the engine through subluminal space via warping or to form a Markov Bubble for FTL travel.
TORQUE GATE: artificial wormhole generated and sustained by a torque engine stationed at either mouth. Used by the Old Ones for near-instantaneous travel over vast distances.
“TOXOPAXIA”: popular jig from one of the hab-rings around Sol.
TRANSCENDENCE: computer game where the goal is to guide a species from the dawn of sentience to colonizing nearby stars in as short a time as possible.
TRANSLUMINAL ENERGY QUANTUM (TEQ): the most fundamental building block of reality. A quantized entity of Planck length 1, Planck energy 1, and zero mass. Occupies every point of space, both sub- and superluminal as well as within the luminal membrane that divides the two.
TSURO: signaling device used by the Old Ones for summoning and controlling the Seed. Accomplished via a modulated TEQ wavefront.
TWENTY-EIGHT G: one of several commsats in orbit around Zeus and Adrasteia.
U
UMC: United Military Command. Combined military forces of the League drawn from the constituent members. Numerous of those governments have ceased maintaining their own militaries and instead direct all their defense resources to the UMC.
UMCA: United Military Command Army.
UMCI: United Military Command Intelligence.
UMCM: United Military Command Marines.
UMCN: United Military Command Navy.
UMCS: United Military Command Ship/Station.
UNIFIED FIELD THEORY: theory outlined by Ilya Markov in 2107 that provides the underpinnings for FTL travel (as well as numerous other technologies).
V
VANISHED: see Old Ones.
W
WEYLAND: colony planet in orbit around Epsilon Indi. Named after the Nordic/Germanic smith of legend. No notable native life-forms.
WHIRLPOOL: see Great Beacon.
WIRE SCAN: an in-depth, invasive review of all the data gathered by a person’s implants. Often damaging to the physical and mental health of the subject, given the strength of the electrical signals used as well as the intimate nature of the probe. Sometimes results in loss of brain function.
WRANAUI: sentient, space-faring race originating from the planet Pelagius. Highly complex life cycle, with an equally complicated, hierarchical social structure dominated by Arms and a ruling form. Wranaui are naturally an ocean-based species, but through extensive use of artificial bodies, have adapted themselves to nearly every possible environment. Aggressive and expansionist, they have little regard for individual rights or safety, given their reliance on replacement bodies. Their scent-based language is exceedingly difficult for humans to translate. Even without technological augmentation, Wranaui are biologically immortal; their genetic-base bodies are always able to revert to an immature form in order to renew their flesh and stave off senescence. Some evidence indicates they may have been genetically modified by the Old Ones at some point in their distant past.
Y
YANNI THE NEWT: children’s entertainment show popular on Ruslan that led to a fad for owning pet newts.
APPENDIX IV. TIMELINE
1700–1800 (est.):
The Sundering
2025–2054:
Development and construction of Earth’s first space elevator. Quickly followed by increased exploration and economic development within the Solar System (Sol). First humans land on Mars. Moon base built, as well as several space stations throughout Sol. Asteroid mining starts.
2054–2104:
With the space elevator up, colonization of the Solar System accelerates. Hutterite Expansion begins. First floating city on Venus established. Permanent (although not self-sustaining) outposts on Mars. Many more habitats and stations built throughout the system. Construction begins on an orbital ring around Earth.
Fission-powered, nuclear-thermal rockets are primary mode of transportation in Solar System.
Mathematician Jalal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich publishes founding precepts of Entropism.
Law enforcement becomes increasingly difficult throughout the Solar System. Clashes start between the outer settlements and the inner planets. International space law is increased and further developed by the UN and individual governments. Militias spring up on Mars and among the asteroid miners. Space-based corporations use private security firms to safeguard their investments. Space is fully militarized at this point.
Venus and Mars remain tightly tied to Earth, politically and resource-wise, but independence movements begin to form.
Giant solar arrays built in space provide cheap power throughout Sol. Overlays, implants, and genetic modification are common among those who can afford them.
Powerful fusion drives replace older fission rockets, drastically reducing travel times within the Solar System.
2104–2154:
Fink-Nottle’s Pious Newt Emporium established.
STEM shots are invented, effectively rendering humans biologically immortal. This leads to the launch of several self-sustaining, sublight colony ships to Alpha Centauri.
Soon after, Ilya Markov codifies the unified field theory (UFT). Working prototype of an FTL drive constructed in 2114. Experimental vessel Daedalus makes first FTL flight.
FTL ships depart for Alpha Centauri, overtaking sublight colony ships. First extra-solar colony is founded on Stewart’s World at Alpha Centauri.
Oelert (2122) confirms that the majority of local superluminal matter exists in a vast halo around the Milky Way.