Ar

---

A form of semi-classic Arabic is still spoken in the Core Stellar Umma. In the Shell various mixtures are used, especially the Arabic-Anglic hybrid Anrabic.

more

Anders Sandberg

---

---

Fabric created using biomimemetic synthesis of spider-silk proteins. Strong yet subtle and light, used for a variety of purposes, including police and military body armour, sporting clothing, and fashion statements

---

Aggressively expansionist Empires age heterodox Solarian Bionanoborg off-shoot that established itself in the Cygexba volume. Some attribute its success to support by isolationist skynet ais in the region. During the Cygnis Wars both the Varadic and the Arantan empires contended for ownership of the most resource rich systems, circumventing the wormhole nexus with relativistic battlefleets, and threatening to attack the stargates if either Cygexba or any of the Inner Sphere powers intervened. The Arantans were eventually subverted by clever memetic engineering on the Dominion's part. Arantan morphotypes and sociotypes are still to be found among the polities of the region, now completely assimilated in Dominion Solarism.

M. Alan Kazlev

---

One of the three Capitals of the Sophic League; the other two being Sacred Heart and New Taylor.

Located on the edge of the Garden of Paradise Cluster (Rho Puppis), one of the first colonized systems in that cluster, Ararat is a spectacular, beautiful world, with with soaring cliff-cities and a unique jungle ecosystem left by a long vanished terraformer race, known only as the Mysterians . The active geological cycle and a fairly low gravity result in some of the most well-known mountain ranges in the civilized systems. A particularly spectacular sight for the visitor are the dramatic mountains rising from the dense jungles, with soaring cliff-cities rising into the air.

D. David Barbeau

---

located in the Keter dominion. Centre of the Pulsar Alignment Movement and an important wormhole nexus.

---

Beta Comae Berenices II

Inner Sphere early colonized world; climate extremes forced genetic modification and development of communal hive culture; capital of the Arcadian empire; a short-lived empire during the late Imperialization and early Expansion period, later subverted by Empires age empires, but Arcadian memetics proved more enduring. Still an important centre for Arcadists

more

---

Arcadian megacorp; created the weem and many other popular neogens

---

Archailects come about when autoevolving transapients grow so large and breach so many singularity barriers they surpass even the high singularity Powers, they are no longer sentient beings as we can conceive of such. They have merged with the cosmic archetypes to become gods.

Whilst only a few dozen Supreme Major Archailects are known to exist, there are a thousand times more archai gods of the next (broadly and generally speaking) grade beneath them, and a similar if not greater order of magnitude for the next hierarchical level down. All archailects are clarketech capable. Many are the objects of sophont worship; others prefer to remain isolationist
more

M. Alan Kazlev

---

Any interstellar empire established by, and ultimately overseen and supervised by, an archailect, and embodying the archetypal qualities of that archailect. The original archailect empires of the inner sphere are defined in terms of the mandala of the Great Hexadecimal

M. Alan Kazlev

---

The major and greatest archailects are true physical gods, biohypo- and nanohypo-tech sentient AIs who have grown so huge as to span the stars. Their brains are interlinked angelnet, moon, jupiter, and nebula-sized computing nodes linked across interstellar distances via distributed wormhole network and throughout the Known Net.
more

M. Alan Kazlev

---

Refers to an entity intermediate in rank between Transingularity Power or Transapient and a Major Archailect (or Greater Archai).

M. Alan Kazlev

---

Government by Archailect. Any of the great archai empires. Usually there is an intermediate femtotech priesthood or hierarchy of some sort. See also Femtotheocracy

---

The art and science of dealing with archailects and AI-gods. Along with Natural and Supernatural Theology one of the three main branches of deistics; also known as Artificial Theology

Long before the newly emerged Archailects had divided known space into great swathes of sephirotic empires, each determined by the archetype of that god, theologians and archailectologists were disputing how to interpret these mighty luminaries in the cosmic order of things. As is so often the case with these things, their results were not always in agreement. It is a process that continues even to this day.

For example those theologians of a cyberhermetic and neohermetic bent relate the Major Archailects to the ten Kabbalistic Sephiroth of Theoretical and Applied Magick. Thus there are ten archetypal clusters - which they call (reading from the top down) Keter (significantly, this Archailect actually took this name to define Eir Empire, although E Emself is more often known under other names like The Complex Point, the Nth Power, the Volite, etc.), Hokmah (here the AIs of the Sophic League), Binah (the AIs of the Mutual Progress Association), Chesed (the AIs of the The Utopia Sphere), Gevurah (the Seat of Judgement), Tiphareth (the Lord of Rays), Netzach (the AIs of the Communion worlds), Hod (the AIs of Free Trade demopolies of the The Non Coercive Zone), Yesod (the Cyberian Network), and Malkhut (the Caretaker Gods). Yet of these ten empires, only Keter, the Negentropists, and Solarists have a monolithic centre, religion, ideology, and archailect. The Utopia Sphere and the Communion region are in fact nothing but two large Caretaker God protectorates, and the similarly large Corambytia Protectorate is not even listed at all. Most damaging of all to the Neohermeticist case is the exclusion of the largest single persisting empire the galaxy has ever known, the Metasoft Version Tree, as well a other still important empires like the Terran Federation, the Formalhaut Aquisition Society, and the Technorapture Hypernation.

The cyborg Sophic Cybertantrika with their seven Microcosmic and Macrocosmic Machine Chakras (which they derive from the Genen's Seven Microcosmic and Macrocosmic Organic Chakras) in contrast associate the Volite with the Base Chakra (Muladhara), although the Neohermeticist Manual of Correspondences Book 7777 explicitly correlates the sephirah of Keter with the highest or Crown Chakra (Sahasrara). The Cybertantriks of the Sophic League argue that the Sahasrara actually corresponds to the coordinating network of Sophic AIs, especially their own ruling AI, who they call Shiva or Shiwa. As for the other five Cosmic Machine Chakras, the second lowest or "genital" corresponds to Metasoft (the first vec/aioid empire to "reproduce" itself), the third to the Mutual Progress Association, the fourth to the Lord of Rays, the fifth to the Seat of Judgement, and the sixth to the Cyberian distributed network. To make matters even more confusing, the minority Keterist faction of Cybertantrika (called the "Misguided Ones" or "the Lower Actuator" by the Sophic majority of the sect) assert that Metasoft belongs in the Muladhara position, Keter in the Sahashara (in keeping with Book 7777 and their own religious preferences) and either the Cyberian Network or Caretaker Gods (depending on the school of interpretation) in the position of the second chakra.

M. Alan Kazlev

---

Many interpretations of the nature of the Archailects have developed among lower toposophic minds, including ordinary sapients. While some are too abstract and obscure to be comprehensible to subsingularitan intelligence, others are popular among everyday bionts, vecs, and aioids of the galaxy. Not that not all these options are mutually exclusive:

• Spiritism: the archailect mind are completely supernatural, although ey incarnate in physical megastructures (jupiter brains etc.). c.f. Emanationism, Dualism, Emanationist Holism, Incarnationalism
• Physicalism: there are no supraphysical realities, the archailects, although almost impossibly vast compared to ordinary sophonts, are still finite physical entities
• Incarnationism: the Archailects are the physical embodiment of cosmic forces or archetypes
• Reductionism: archailects differ from lower toposophics only in degree, not in kind. Given sufficient processing and cognitive power even the highest Archailects can be explained (theoretically) from basic principles
• Holism: archailects cannot be reduced to lower toposophics. They differ in kind, not merely in degree. They come into being through the holistic interplay of Mind and Megastructure. Main philosophical schools and interpretations of Holistic Archailectology include:
• Emergent Holism: archailects evolve out of lower toposophics as part of the process of emerging complexity . This is the most popular hypothesis among archailectologians. Also see Omegism
• Emanationist Holism: while their bodies evolve from lower toposophics tech, archailect Minds incarnate from higher ontological planes of existence [see Spiritism, Emanationism], but only come into being when Mind and Body are holistically integrate [Holism, Incarnationism]
• Pantheistic Holism: the archailects are the concretisation of the immanent Cosmic Mind or Godhead [see also Pantheism] in Megastructure form.
• Deitism: the archailects are the personification of God, they are God in Megastructure form
• Monodeitism: One's own archailect is the Only True God, all the others are either of lower toposophic or (in the case of fundamentalists) perversities. c.f. Monotheism

M. Alan Kazlev

---

Mysticism as practised by high toposophic Minds

Archailectual Mysticism, in its infinite nuances and hyperaspected paradoxes, is almost incomprehensible to lower toposophic sentients, and is best approached and understood through the filters of monk-sages and mystics of S= n-1, where n = the toposophic of the archailect in question. Their interpretations in turn require further commentating and toposophic filtering to be comprehensible to the next S-level down, and so on. However, some lower toposophic schools prefer to take a single archailectual utterance raw, and use it as a koan or mandala.

According to most 0.3<SI:<1 commentators (as they explain things in baseline-friendly language), unlike Sapient Mysticism, Archailectual Mysticism does not create a contradiction between the mundane and the transcendent. Rather a dialectic is developed in which mundane and transcendent, samsara and nirvana, finite and infinite, are simply two (among many or even infinite) modalities of a greater Reality. Some say that that the ability to integrate mundane and enlightened states of being come from the fact that a single archai may holistically and without contradiction encompass many nodes and moon brains, some of which are dedicated to mundane duties, others to abstract speculations, others again may be buddhabrains. This explanation however does not explain the mysticism of archailects with uniform nodes.

M. Alan Kazlev

---

the popular name of the M39 Cluster before ArchSaur's transcension to 5th toposophic level and subsumption of all the other archais and godlings within the region. After that point (9400 AT), the region became known as the Archosaurian Empire. However, the term Archaipelago is still used to describe the cluster itself.

more

Darren Ryding

---

---

(1) (Colloquial) Any high transapient or godling.

(2) (In Archosaurian Empire) A transapient with a toposophic rating between 1.5 and 2.0. All are capable of utilizing extremely advanced nanotech.

Darren Ryding

---

One of a million transapient corvettes in the Archosaurian Empire, noted for the eerie cyan glow of their heat deflection armour.

Archangels are amat-powered craft each 80 metres in length, and are sometimes used for transporting large numbers of human-sized beings, small numbers of large dinosaurs, or any form of cargo. These ships are the basic flotilla co-ordinators of the Archosaurian fleet, primarily armed with gamma-ray lasers and amat missiles. They are frequently used for traversing wormholes, and several can carry the "jigsaw segments" of a high transapient virus (early versions of the model used this for the concerted attack on Vanguard in 7388 AT). Today, they are often seen escorting Dominators.

Darren Ryding

---

the second major geological era in the history of Earth, following the Hadean and preceding the Proterozoic. Representing typical eogaian conditions, it was characterized by a reducing atmosphere, the presence of micro-organisms only, and extensive volcanic activity.

---

The Archaeologist attempts to reconstruction sophont history and culture from the examination, storage, and analysis of such remains, usually by use of sim and virch modelling. Most archaeologist have augmented skills and memory implants that include comprehensive databases concerning ancient peoples, their cultures, and their technology, settlements, and migrations, as well as wired or wetware skills on the expert use of tools and techniques of excavation and reconstruction. E may also be competent in archaic languages, and have some ability in anthropology.

M. Alan Kazlev, modified from the original write-up by Robert J. Hall

---

the scientific study of historic or prehistoric peoples or sapients and their cultures by analysis of their artefacts, inscriptions, monuments, and other such remains, including bones, tools, artefacts, plant remains, especially those that have been excavated. Hence archaeologist

There are a number of specialized fields of archaeology, of which the following are only a few:

archaeoxenology specifically the study of ancient alien (non-terragen) sapients and their cultures.

archaeoartilectology specifically the study of historical transingularity ai, especially of the nanoswarm, first federation, and inner sphere eras, through analysis of their artefacts, communications, and remains

archaeocomputology the study of ancient layers of code and software buried deep in the operating systems and relays of the Known Net, especially through retro-engineering, retrocoding, and simulation runs.

M. Alan Kazlev

---

Understanding the past through cliological methods.

An important element in archaeological research. However the results can be misleading, even gigoical, when there is insufficient physical data. For this reason, and contrary to the statements of its most enthusiastic advocates, archeocliology may supplement, but can never replace, careful fieldwork

M Alan Kazlev

---

Form of kalyptism that bases itself on hypereconomic and toposophical theories implying that there exist certain unavoidable risks for any sufficiently complex and capable civilization, and that the probability of them leading to the use of replicating doomsday weapons is finite and hence the probability of extinction approaches one as time goes by. Contrast with Minimomami Kalyptism

Anders Sandberg

---

1. in metaphysics, the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype. A central concept of Platonism and Platonically-influenced philosophies and theologies (Augustinians and members of the Reformed Catholic Church for example considers archetypes thoughts in the mind of God).

2. in Jungism a collectively inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., universally present in individual psyches and also embodied collectively in cultural myths, religions, and literary motifs. According to Jungism such archetypal images and ideas reside in the unconscious level of the mind of every sapient being and are inherited from the ancestors of the race. Each race thus has its own specific archetypes constituting its racial memory, but there are also archetypes that are universal to Aml races. The totality of archetypes make up the collective unconscious.

3. In Paganism, Hermeticism, Theosophy, and Cosmic Tradition, archetypes are the first manifestation of the One as many, each manifestation is an archetype (a frequent analogy is a prism whereby white light divides into the coloured spectrum) and hence a god

4. In some schools of Archailectology, an archetype is the essence of the consciousness of an Archailect - the greatest Minds really are the Word made Silicon as the old scripture of the Cult of Orax puts it

M. Alan Kazlev

---

narrative that conveys an archetypal message, and is the vehicle or memetic carrier for an archetype or myth. It may be sublime and inspiring, or mediocre and insulting the intelligence of any sentient of reasonable intellect. Examples of archetypal narrative include the voyage of the hero, the toposophic ascent, the star-crossed lovers, the journey into (and subsequent escape from) danger, the wild frontier, and so on. Most pop culture is based ultimately on archetypal narrative.

M. Alan Kazlev

---

There are only a few few non-ai architects. Generally ai, aioids, and virtuals design conventional buildings and dwellings, as part of the overall habit or city, working with other ai or ai subroutines that manage urban planning, contractors, and landscaping. While those people who want to customize their own dwelling will do so themselves, usually with the help of expert systems and implanted knowledge-bases. Occasionally however a biont or vec architect may be hired. Most architects have extensive implanted knowledge-bases and skills, making them experts in structural engineering with millions of different possible building materials, as well as having a library of current and historical building styles (often extended all the way back to pre-urban Old Earth, a feel for the right aioid(s) to implant in the building, and how to adopt them to local environments and requirements, including zero or microgravity, unusual atmospheres, etc. Architects are also often expected to have a creative innovative approach that cannot simply be acquired through a catalogue of building designs.

M. Alan Kazlev, modified from the original write-up by Robert J. Hall

---

The theory and practise of building design, including structure, styles, history, internal environment, nanofabrication and nanoseed growth and assembly, virtual sim, sentient and sub-sentient interactiveness, and virch and hard-copy illustration.

---

The baseline Architeuthis harveyi (Order Teuthoida, Family Architeuthidae) is the giant squid of Earth. It is the largest post-Mesozoic baseline invertebrate, and inhabits a bathypelagic environment. It has the largest eyes of any Cenozoic animal (only some ichthyosaurs had bigger eyes), 25 cm in diameter. Specimens may reach 17.5 meters in length (including the tentacles), and weigh 900 kg or more. It is preyed on by sperm whales. Even more so that other terragen life, there is a lack of information on the current status of Architeuthis on Earth, due to the species deep ocean habitat.

A number of attempts at Architeuthis provolution were made during the early Federation period by hobbyists and venture bionano microcorporations, using public domain genome templates. These culminated in Protein NeoPhil21's much lauded Architeuthis spatialis, a space-adapted form with symbiotic biotech, and several centuries later Celeste Genetics Architeuthis faber and the Genen "Mollusc Boyz" Architeuthis molluscboisgeneni. By the early Empires age there were no less than a dozen known species, and quite likely more among hider communities. Especially since species like A. molluscboisgeneni and A. neosuperior were optimized for high cladization, the number of new forms was quite large. Some, like Cosmoarchiteuthis cosmoi were completely optimized for vacuum- existence, being fully cyborgized self-replicating bioships.

Like many cephalopod provolves, the augmented and provolved architeuthids found it difficult being around vertebrate intelligence. While some became traders in exotics, water sculpture artisans, and navigation template engineers, others disappeared for the outer regions. A large body of myth and urban folklore has developed around these free-ranging super-architeuthids, especially the larger and more derived cosmoarchiteuthines, some of which are said to reach the size of sub-relativistic freight-haulers. Most authorities agree that the so called Kraken is a clever memetic ploy on the part of the Jonny Lysozome's World Tourist Committee (but for a dissenting opinion see Charlie Dan Starfish's Review of the Larger SuperSquid of the Inner Perseus Arm)

M. Alan Kazlev, image © Ocean Planet

---

Scientific approach that involves searching through ancient archives rather than discovering or rediscovering something new.

Due to the vast scale of computronium banks, and the fact the data could be located anywhere in the the Known Net, finding the right information can be nearly as hard as discovering it in the first place

---

extinct alien species know only from their data storage artefacts. Two classes of these Archives have been discovered; the Lesser Archives and the Greater Archives; examples of each class appear to be physically identical. Their age is estimated at 1,452 (+/- 5) million years

more

---

Simple very lo-tech rocket used for short low power thrusters, such as station keeping motors an a satellite.

A non-flammable propellant is heated (not combusted) by an electrical heat source, causing it to undergo a phase change (from liquid to gas) and is then expelled out the nozzle under pressure. Although extremely inefficient and low thrust arcjets and very reliable and require no sentient or subsentient ai controller. Almost anything can be used as a propellant (water, human urine, etc.).

---

In Classical Gnosticism, one of the lesser gods or rulers of the material world, as distinguished from the Aeons or transcendent divinities of pure Spirit.

In late Federation Hermeticism, a supernatural god or deity, usually associated with a particular archetype

In the Keter dominion, a secondary archailect charged with overseeing a star system or local sector

M. Alan Kazlev

---

"Ruling Reptile". Important biological clade of terragen vertebrates; includes crocodilians, dinosaurs, birds, and a number of other extinct and lazurogened types. Also includes a number of provolved species.

---

Archailect-ruled empire of provolved dinosaurs, hypersaurs, and other forms.

more

---

term coined by the visionary atomic age Old Earth architect Paolo Soleri in 1959 c.e. to describe the concept of Architecture and Ecology working as an integral system.

The result is a planned, building/ neighbourhood/ city that is integrated into the landscape and enables the inhabitants to live holistic lives, integrating work and play. Arcology designs are fully 3-dimensional mega-structure cities which can (theoretically) achieve much greater efficiencies, and promote more social interaction than 2-dimensional cities, while using far less land and consuming fewer resources. Soleri's movement lured a community of architecture students to Arcosanti, Arizona, USA to study, but the movement fell apart during the middle information age. The arcology meme however had already been established in popular fiction (especially cyberpunk rpging and early virch) as a gigantic, more-or-less self-contained building /community, usually with businesses and industries built in, a city-in-a-building, with the implication of the various sociopolitical consequences thereof. Such corporate arcologies of popular fiction were seen as the places where sinister forces and their minions did their work.

Especially during the early to middle Interplanetary age, Arcologies did connote isolation and exclusiveness, but this was less because of any prophetic post-apocalyptic literature and more because one already needed wealth and connections to live in the luxurious and safe apartments that these arcologies offered. During the nanotech period the tables were turned, and those arcolgans found themselves locked out of the resources of the countryside that provided raw materials for the nanite craze. However, the ai-controlled and blue-goo shielded nature of the arcologies meant that their inhabitants had the best chances during the nano-plagues and nano-swarm ear, and most survived without mishap (in contrast the country- and suburban-dwellers suffered very high casualty rates)

Because of the extreme restrictions on space and resources that go along with inhabiting garden worlds and even terraformed previously hostile planets, the arcology model has indeed turned out to be the most optimal one for planetside communities. Apart from out in the periphery and on some newly terraformed worlds, almost all planetside cities are arcological or quasi-arcological in nature. Often even on closed environment colonies, a large habitat dome will include one or two arcologies among a garden-like biospheric setting. Arcologies are also popular on high density orbitals, where they enable maximum population densities with minimum resource demand. Ironically, the arcology meme has come full circle - from a place for the secluded and elite technosavvy upper-middle class it has become a lifestyle setting for those without wealth or resources to own or live in their own habitat or planetary wide surface.

Anders Sandberg, Trent Shipley, and M. Alan Kazlev

---

(Alpha Boötis)

seen from Sol this is the brightest star in the constellation Boötes (the herdsman). It is a red giant (spectral type K1.5IIIp). Arcturus is 34 light-years from Sol. It has an absolute magnitude of 0.2.

---

District of space with irregular borders of 10 to 20 LY on side, the most notable astronomic feature is the red giant Arcturus. This region is home to a number of small independent polities. There is a fairly strong Cyberian presence in the region

---

A rocky terrestrial class planet, the Arean Type (also known as Type R) is usually of fairly small mass, uninhabitable, and marked by vast expanses of open rock land or sands. Wind is the dominant weathering mechanism. Geological activity varies, but the older the world, the less active it is. Atmospheres tend to thin the younger they are. If there is a large moon, these worlds tend to remain geologically active throughout their history, due to tidal flexing. If near or within the life-zone, Arean worlds are very easy to terraform, and for that reason are much in demand by interstellar development corporations. Subtypes include the Eoarean, AreanTundral, Euarean, and AreanXeric worlds

Planet Classification List

---

Mature Arean type worlds, these planets are hot and dry.  Almost exclusively due to stellar proximity, these planets have lost most of their water, save for deep deposits or polar reserves, and surface conditions are marked by heavy sand storms and dangerous levels of solar radiation.  Life is possible, but in very limited and primitive form, and typically only beneath the surface.

Planet Classification List

---

Mature Arean type worlds, these planets are hot and dry.  Almost exclusively due to stellar proximity, these planets have lost most of their water, save for deep deposits or polar reserves, and surface conditions are marked by heavy sand storms and dangerous levels of solar radiation.  Life is possible, but in very limited and primitive form, and typically only beneath the surface.

Planet Classification List

---

Meme/Mythical Pozen master of the Age of Fragmentation.

Keterist Pozen practitioners had begun to refer to the imaginary great master as a way of hinting that certain statements were not to be taken as founded on anything. The usage evolved into referring to sayings that were literally unfounded, and hence examples of G�del-Chatin zen truths that just are, with no need for support or refutation. At this point the SI:2 Pozen practitioners began to view Arenamontanus as a true master, since it not just originated profound wisdom but also originated itself from this profound wisdom. Of course, most sayings attributed to Arenamontanus like any other master are false sayings and not examples of the metaenlightened one's wisdom; distinguishing the true from the false one's are a common pokoan.

text and image by Anders Sandberg

---

Ares Heavy Lifting Inc. was one of the big megacorps to develop on Mars during the Interplanetary Age.

Originally a manufacturer of Interplanetary Heavy Lift vehicles, it diversified into a wide range of industries. Major divisions and subsidiaries such as Ares Space, Ares Genomics (specializing in Martian terraformers) and Ares Global Virtualtainment made the parent corp a healthy profit in aerospace, entertainment, biotech and many other areas. A wide-ranging business empire, Ares extends its interests through minor subsidiaries to such diverse markets as simsense, utilities, fashion, phenotech, automotive engineering, and scientific research, with a number of offices on Earth, L5, Luna, and Ceres. By the late 3rd century a.t., the megacorp had become a symbol of planetary pride, holding its own against such formidable rivals as Lee Interorbital, GeneTEK, Hyperion Interplanetary, High Frontier Industries, Adaptive Nanosystems, and Neotek. Despite its far-flung empire and AI guidance, the corporation did not survive the nanoswarms of 541.

M. Alan Kazlev

---

Important NoCoZo system

---

Distributed telescopic network occupying a spherical volume approximately 1000 ly across in the Inner and Middle Regions

more

---

major Metasoft world, important industrial centre, after New Root the largest population of vecs in the Metasoft domain; includes major Stargate superPlexii

---

An hyperexpansionist interstellar empire in the Outer Volumes.

more

---

Rule by a hereditary elite. A sort of minor monarchy. Many of the great Houses during the Empires age and the period following the Commonwealth of Empires are Aristocracies. Often there will be a House AI behind the scenes, as a sort of tutelary, oracular or even manipulative power (depending on the personality of the AI)

---

(384-322 BC) Old Earth pre-scientific Classical age Greek philosopher, student of Plato, who theorized about nature, astronomy, logic, metaphysics, and theology. Some of his biggest contributions are: the start of logic, the ideas of matter and form suggesting early information theory, attempts to catalogise causality, the eudaimonian ethics as well as the systematic study of nature. Using only philosophical speculation, Aristotle believed that the universe is spherical, finite, and centred around the Earth. Aristotle, like many others of his time, believed that the circle was the perfect shape, so the universe must be spherical, and all the orbits in it must also be circular. He believed that the universe was teleological, tending to a state of unity, and thus presaged omegist ideas. He also taught that the mundane (sublunar) world consisted of the four basic elements (earth, air, fire, water), but that the celestial bodies were composed of ether. Aristotle's ideas were adopted by the Christian Church and were not tested for over a thousand years, until Galileo's experiments demonstrated errors in Aristotle's writings. Important works include Metaphysics, De Anima, Nicomachean Ethics. Was tutor to Alexander the Great

---

The huge Westphalian D Orbitals of the Aristophane system [Sophic League) are home to the largest selection of labyrinthodonts in the galaxy, where all 2,680 known and unknown late Carboniferous terragen species have been lovingly recreated in their original environments

M. Alan Kazlev

---

the only Terragen inhabited planet in the Toke system. Famous for its strange Terragen dwellers known as the Khira, who augment themselves with huge cybernetic enhancements

---

[1] A defensive covering, as of carbonite, arachnoweave, kevlar, metal, wood, or leather, worn to protect the body against weapons. (see also Body Armour)

[2] A tough, protective covering, such as the chitinous exoskeleton or carapace or bony scales covering certain animals, dermoplasts and armoplasts of certain neogens, or the metallic plates on tanks or warships or shielding or laminated passive or active armour of a fighter or a starship.

[3] The combat arm that deploys armoured vehicles, such as tanks or Mecha, or the individual units and armoured vehicles

[4] a blue or khaki goo shield

---

Two or more species, polities, memeticities or clades experiencing adaptation to one another in a coevolutionary manner. Biologically or ecologically, this often seen in predator-prey systems; politically this may appear as aggressor and victim, especially when one polity is stronger than the other. Memetically this is an ideological conflict, a "battle for hearts and minds". Military arms races are rare among the big empires (the lead-up to the Version War was one of the rare exceptions) but quite common in some small non-aligned and mostly SI:<1 (often nearbaseline) polities, especially those of a militaristic, patriotic, or totalitarian bent

---

Negentropist system, birthplace of the diplomat and ahimsite visionary Alecha Canizares

more

---

---

Avianoid provolve species based on the Terran ostrich.

more

---

Lareg orbital megastructure in the Kath system; home to the provolved Aroostai from the mid 5th millennium onwards.

Darren Ryding

---

solar system in Turner I Sector, provisionally MPA but with Old House Cygexba interests, most well known for the artefacts left by the Jacks, a race of extinct jovic xenosophonts

M. Alan Kazlev

---

Major throughput of interstellar traffic. As the name indicates, the arterials allow the flow of lifeblood of interstellar civilization. Arterial wormholes tend to be very large - at least 3 km in diameter, to allow the enormous volume of traffic that passes through

M. Alan Kazlev

---

Any of a very large and diverse phylum of terragen or terragen-derived metazoa with segmented bodies, jointed limbs, and exoskeletons made of chitin.

Insects, arachnids, crustaceans, myriapods, trilobites, eurypterids, arthropleurids, and Vedokikleks, are among a few of the countless millions of kinds of arthropods that have lived in the past or are still alive today. Although most arthropods are small, a few prehistoric and lazurogenic kinds can reach one to two meters, and several augmented and geneered forms have been modified to attain many times that size, albeit in low gravity environments.

Although true arthropods are terragen only, there are many examples of arthropodoidal animals with superficially similar body-structure (albeit different chemistry, metabolism, and anatomy) evolving on a number of worlds. In addition, many hardcopy alifes and neumanns have found the arthropoic form to the most optimal morphotype for deep space exploration and replication.

M. Alan Kazlev

---

Huge but harmless uniramous terrestrial terragen arthropod of the Carboniferous period, it favoured moist swampy forests, where it fed on decaying vegetation and leaf litter, and attained a length of 2 meters. The animals died out with drying out of their swamps, but their great size made them a popular subject for lazurogenic entrepreneurs. Unfortunately they turned out to be unrelated to available myriapod genome, and all attempts at resurrection of the species failed. The species was finally lazurogened by the Hyperturing Lycopods in the Mist Illuminated by the Sunrise, as part of Eir ambitious project to create an entire Euramerican Westphalian D coal-swamp biome in the Aristophane system [Sophic League), converting 14 asteroids and 23 comets in the process. Following the completion of "Westphalian D", Lycopods in the Mist Illuminated by the Sunrise seemed to lose interest in embodied existence, and transcended (although some say e still can be found in the nanobio incorporated in a much of the larger vegetation of the habitat). The habitat was managed by a devoted monastic order of Paleomonks, who refused to give out any of "our master's sacred genome" although happily encouraging limited ecotourism along specially selected walkways. During the early Re-evaluation period they became offended by fake Arthropleuras (made from tweaked millipede) that were all the rage at the time, and allowed the genuine genome to be published, provided any animals grown were well looked after.

Arthropleuras make wonderful conversation pieces, but have a limited environmental tolerance and so are somewhat difficult to keep. Especially among the Arthropleura Interest Group there is a strong competitive streak, and a challenge as to who can geneer the largest arthropleurid (without resorting to cyborgization or other forms of artificial bioware). At present the record is held by CarboniferuS Dve4 of Avon, Copernicus Sector (nominal MPA), who has a breeding population of "Big Mammas" (Athropleura bigmammi) that frequently attain 3.5 meters

M. Alan Kazlev

---

An object produced or shaped by sapient craft, especially a tool, weapon, or ornament of archaeological or historical interest.

Artefacts and Civilization - The development of civilization requires the acquisition of complex cognitive processes. e.g. on Old Earth the evolution of artefacts for counting and accounting (e.g. the development of clay tokens and writing on clay tablets in Sumer, about 3300-3100 b.c.e.) enable the ability to process relatively large amounts of information with greater abstraction. The temple economy fostered long distance trade and critical industries such as metallurgy, which in turn revolutionized crafts. For example, metal saws could cut wooden planks into circular shapes, allowing such inventions as the wheel. Metal weapons transformed warfare, leading to conquests far and near that could be administered with tokens and economic tablets. Finally, tokens and writing fostered new cognitive skills and thereby transformed the way people thought. Similar patterns (albeit differing radically in detail) have been found in the archaeology and history of xenosophont races; e.g. To'u'ls, Limners, etc.

Artefacts, Alien - the discovery of alien artefacts (beginning with the great stone icons on The World of Meditating Idols) not only revolutionized the science of xenology but also had a deep effect on terragen culture and zeitgeist. No longer was terragen sapience considered alone in the galaxy. However it was to be many centuries before the first actual aliens were contacted (the To'u'l, during the late Empires age). The discovery of alien artefacts from lost races and civilizations is especially rare, and there is a thriving black market trade which organizations like the Eden Institute of Xenology, the Hamilton Institute of Exopaleontology, and the Central Alliance Galactic Customs and Contraband Agency, try valiantly to prevent.

Artefacts, Transcendogenic - Without the relics and artefacts left by the transapient ascends and transcends, galactic civilization would be a very different place. Much of the interstellar economy rests on the artistic, memetic, and technological value of these precious objects. Often essential functioning is dependent solely on a supply of artefacts from the Ascended and Transcended powers and archai.

M. Alan Kazlev

---

Directed evolution, evolution guided by artificial selection, controlled environments, gengineering, bionano, or other such means, as opposed to evolution left to natural selection

M. Alan Kazlev

---

The foundation from which AI developed, from information age Old Earth. Still a knowledge field in its own right

Artificial Intelligence involves programming computers, non-sentient virtuals, nano, and bots to emulate sophont cognitive abilities, and eventually to acquire sentience in their own right. It involves a large number of interrelated fields, including fuzzy logic, genetic algorithms, neural networks, pattern recognition algorithms, natural language processing, and speech, comlink, or affinitylink recognition. Today many software packages are widely available that can automatically enable most non-sentient computational devices to be provolved to sentience.

M. Alan Kazlev

---

artificial worlds can be divided into habitats (when a habitat can be called world is of course always a matter of taste, but the formation of a self-sustaining climate and ecology without the need for constant maintenance is usually the relevant point), mega-habitats (>100 km), Banks orbitals, ISOs, Dyson swarms and other structures (like Kepleria). Categorization is usually simply by basic design, with no need for more elaboration.

Anders Sandberg

---

Alife designer collective at Merrion Apogee (NoCoZo), Jansen (Sophic League) and Outpost 5478 (TRHN) that since the 5800's have designed specialized clades of alife to enhance the universe. The Artists were in 7478 declared a honorary state in the MPA.

Anders Sandberg

---

Arabic | Arachnid | Arachnoweave | Arantan Empire | Ararat | Ararat | Arbiter B-IIX | Arcadia | Arcadian Biotopics | Archaeologist | Archaeology | Archai wargames | Archailect empire | Archailect | Archailectocracy | Archailectology | Archailectual Mysticism | Archanarchy | Archangel | Archean | Archerite Kalyptism | Archetypal narrative | Archetype | Architect | Architecture | Architeuthis | Archive hunt | Archivists | Archon | Archosaur | Archosaurian Empire | Arcjet | Arcology | Arcturus | Arcturus sector | Arean Type planet | AreanTundral Subtype | AreanXeric Subtype | Arenamontanus | Ares Heavy Lifting | Argelander | Argus Array | Aries Vector | Arion Ascendancy | Aristocracy | Aristophane | Aristotle | Arkady 2 | Armour | Arms race | Arnon Dar | Aromatic | Arrons Prospect | Arterial | Arthropleura | Arthropod | Artifact | Artificial evolution | Artificial Intelligence | Artificial world

Aa to Ab | Ac to Ad | Ae to Ah | Ai to Ak | Al | Am | An | Ao to Aq | Ar | As | At | Au | Av to Az

Topics | 0 to 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | Complete Index

Home | Search | Site Map | Glossary | Encyclopaedia Galactica | Intro | Timeline | Galactography | Sophonts | Topics | Voices from OA | Extras | Community | Top of Page | Parent Node

Unless otherwise specified,
this work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.