Co to Cq

Rare femtotech / clarketech device that disrupts molecular bonds at a distance (generally not more than 20 meters, although range varies). This involves unusual quantum effects; some have suggested a quantum resonance field that synchronizes the phase of electrons in a way that a common chemical bond (like carbon - carbon) breaks, but this is debatable. In any case, the broken bonds re-connect but generally in the wrong way, creating a massive chemical rather than physical shock. It would likely coagulate flesh directly. Coagulators and similar clarketech devices appear with monotonous regularity in pop-immersive virchdramas, almost always in the hands of a one-dimensionally sadistic villain who is almost always vanquished (usually with eir own coagulator weapon) by the hero/heroine.

Seat of the Wormhole Cooperation Assembly of the Sagittarius Transcultural Cooperation

A person, ai or program that traverses code for a living. Not the most glamorous job, but very necessary to fix glitches, old bugs, find out how to upgrade legacy systems etc.

Blanket term for any socio-ideological or memetic movement that advocates equal sharing of power between two disparate clades or categories of sophonts - e.g. between hu and ai (see also Fedhead)

Two or more organisms experiencing evolution in response to one another. This may result in a biological arms race, or it could produce a symbiotic relationship.

Capital of the Silicon Generation. Colonized in 3405. Surrounded by a partial Dyson sphere. At the time it was discovered, "cog" was a disrespectful term some humans used to refer to vecs, hence the vec colony was discovered in 3698, was labelled "Cog" by the sensationalist media. The name stuck, and eventually acquired a certain sense of prestige.

Late Establishment age cyborg utopian (b. 2821, New Tycho, Terran Federation) who, concerned at the degree of SI:<1 reliance of ai, wished to create a society free of hyperturing supervision, where all sentients would be considered free and independent regardless of clade, species or toposophic.

Unique su clade with distinctive gengineered skin structure giving resistance to nanite attack

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Eccentric renegade high singularity Formalhautian ai who is collects other AIs.
The Power left it's office for uncertain reasons, took a roughly human form and settled on Eden. There it began to collect AIs. It is quite powerful, and can protect its charges. Some regard it as an honour to be collected by the collector, others may be less enthusiastic but who is going to argue when e holds your core consciousness module and has a team of war-lawyers ready? Some archai may have deigned to allow the collector to collect part of em.

An apparently mythical ultratech polity that dwells beneath the surface of an unknown planet in the Hinterworlds.

In Jungism the collective repository of unconscious thoughts, feelings, and memories that pertain to an entire clade, rather than an individual. Also supposed to be the source of archetypes, although this is disputed by some schools

Small hills or knobs on the surface of a moon or planet

Sophont being who leaves eir homeworld to colonize a new solar system

Dependent member of a larger polity or empire. It is ruled by the parent polity, usually through a governor or colonial administration AI. The colonists may have an elected council to petition the governor, or an elected or chosen representative in the parent polity or empire, but they have no say in their own government. Colonies may be established as part of an expansionist drive by the parent polity or empire, or they may be regions that already have a society but were technological inferior and hence easily conquered. Colonies tend to be less organized and with less government (less infrastructure, luxury items, no welfare services or angelnets, etc.) than the parent polity. See also territory, protectorate.

The charge of the strong nuclear force. While electromagnetic charge can be positive or negative, the nuclear force charge can take three values: "red", "green" and "blue" (this has nothing to do with optical colour). Colour charge is transmitted by gluons. Colour charge is confined: quantum chromodynamics prevents coloured groups of particles, resisting efforts to separate groups with equal red, green and blue charge.

hedonistic Utopiac nanocyborg clade, combining the Keterist transcendentalism with Ceresian technoutopianism

A warship carring hundreds or even thousands of autowar devices.  More

A sophont skilled in statistical interpretation and manipulation of data.

Important historical multi-polity Galactic Empire

a minor celestial icy body that orbits a star in a highly elliptical path. It is made up of a nucleus (solid, frozen ice, gas and dust), a gaseous coma (water vapour, CO₂, and other gases) and a tail (dust and ionized gases). Its long tail of gas and dust always points away from the sun, because of the force of the solar wind. The tail can be up to 250 million km long, and is most of the visible part of the comet. Comets are highly prized as a source of water and other useful habitat and terraforming materials.

Class of leftbehind in which the ascended transapient, who doesn't want to remain anymore with eir former associates, but cares enough to not want to leave them feeling abandoned emotionally or however, will create a sapient Proxav (Proxim) to fill the void he left by going on in his ascension.

The state allocates resources, and sets production targets and growth rates according to its own view of people's wants. The state allocates resources, and sets production targets and growth rates according to its own view of people's wants.

a situation where two organisms (whether biological, alife) are associated in a relationship in which one benefits from the relationship and the other is not affected. Each organisms is termed a commensal. Commensalism is a type of symbiosis

Major Archailect-ruled empire, the Empath empire, one of the Great Hexadecimal or 16 Inner Sphere Archetypal empires. The Neohermeticists associate Communion with the sephirah Netzach, but this is disputed by classical Hermeticists

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Sociopolitical system based on centralized economy and equality of citizens

A personal assistant; either aioid (implant or remote) or a distinct sapient being (biont or vec, domestic or zar). Depending on the type and purpose, may function as secretary, data miner, bodyguard, servant, esoteric companion, etc.

Hider and Sempterist term of abuse for sophonts dependent on higher toposophic minds

A planet controlled by a company or corporation and run for profit. This system was very common during the later Interplanetary and the first Federation eras, and has remained common throughout many sparsely settled regions in the outer volumes where there is little government or policing regulation.

An interaction between or among two or more individuals, species, clades, corporations, nanecologies, polities, or empires, in which exploitation of resources by one affects any others negatively. A driving principle of evolution and of galactic society

the complete reorganization of the tissues of an animal during its life cycle from larva to adult, usually involving the addition of legs and wings. The larval stage of butterflies and moths (the caterpillar) metamorphoses into a winged, flying adult.

The avatar of Complete Skies, Prefect of Helios-Namhadiya at eir residence at Cape Boyman, Eclaire. Complete Skies, despite belonging to the senior ranks of the Divine Order (e reached the 56th rank of the Order of Cinotti in 10258) is one of the most accessible solarian prefects, and regularly meets with petitioners. The choice of a genus 3 Chen-Gackstatter-Thayer surface as a body reflects the prefect's dedication to solarian minimalism.

A life cycle that consists of several distinct stages (e.g., larva and adult) (see also complete metamorphosis)

A number that has a real and an imaginary (e.g. square root of -1) component and is characterized as a point on a plane (instead of the real number line). Complex numbers are important in many forms of computation, simulation, and higher mathematics

any entity that consists of many simpler interacting components. It may be a biont, an ai, a polity, a weather pattern, or anything else. These components may themselves in turn be complex systems made up of still smaller or simpler components. Even if the underlying behaviour of any of the parts is easily understood, the behaviour of the system as a whole defies simple (especially SI:<1 comprehensible) explanation.

Generally something that is neither random nor regular, but somewhere in between. Intuitively and aesthetically, complexity is a measure of how interesting something is. Many AIs find complexity and diversity to be interesting things, and hence encourage it within their spheres of influence.

When a device or program or process becomes so complex/involved that it spontaneously achieves self-awareness and self-volition even if (or especially if) you don't want it to.

To turn matter into computronium. An old blue chip industry that has never gone out of demand

basically, what a computer does; which is mapping one set of numbers to another. The actual process of computing can be defined in terms of a very small number of very simple operations, such as addition, multiplication, recursion, and so on. Computing devices can also make statements about other computing devices

A computation device, which may be sentient or non-sentient.

The design and development of computational devices on any scale, from micro down to nano and pico.

The theoretical and practical application of computational devices, including hardware, firmware and software architecture, programming skills, simulation techniques, customized algorithms and dedicated aioids, virtualics, networking, parallel programming, intelligent subroutines, information storage, comparative machine-level low level, and intermediate level operating systems, and subturing artificial intelligences.

Matter supporting computation, especially artificial substances suitable for high efficiency computation.

An intelligent entity (such as a Jupiter-Brain or ISO) which is spatially concentrated into a single volume, as dense as possible, to reduce communications lag. This arrangement is not as flexible as a distributed intelligence, but probably more efficient.

The use of Mnemonet technology to facilitate information transfer between sentient beings.

Originally designed as a pet for some clades of cephalopod provolves, and designed primarily for aquatic environments. These organisms are based on the conch genome, modified with symbiotic bionano that grows into and with the shell. The intellect of the conchoid grows as the animal ages and increases in size. The juveniles have low level sentience comparable to baseline conches, but older conches are ordinary to very high level sapient beings, some with abilities exceeding those of many superbrights. There are rumours that one or more ancient conches may have spontaneously ascended.

A group of independent states, worlds, polities, or systems united for specified purposes under a loose regional, planetary, interplanetary, or interstellar government, while generally retaining more freedom of action than the members of a federation. Also known as a league or alliance (especially of princes, nations, states, worlds, or systems). This is a very common form of government. The Interplanetary Age Orbital Alliance, and many of the Non Coercive Zone worlds (and even it could be said the NoCoZo as a whole), are good examples of confederations.

An individual, organism, or virtual, whose physiological, informational, or memetic state (e.g., body temperature, data protocol, belief structure, fashion-statements) are identical to, and varies identically with, that of eir surrounding environment

Constructed religion, a religion that has been deliberately formulated rather than being received as revelation or tradition.

The part of the psyche of any being that experiences awareness and consciousness. In bionts there is a large demarcation between conscious and unconscious; in augmented cyborgs, vecs, and ai the distinction is less clear

The principle of awareness, sentience, I-ness, the witness, the observer, that part of the being that experiences all things, yet is not touched or altered by the experience.

The Novikov consistency principle states that the probability of a series of events leading to an inconsistent or paradoxical physical state (such as travelling back in time and killing ones grandfather before one's father was born) is zero. The consistency theorems of Wu, Lang and Bauger proved this principle within the framework of information physics.

A series of regional inter-megacorp and post-megacorp wars fought in the colonies during the Federation period, as local colonial fiefdoms and vested interests sought to secure their position

A period during the middle or late First Federation, when regional powers established local fiefdoms free of Federation influence. The term is sometimes used to refer to the Empires period

an organism (whether biological, alife, or psychic) that consumes other organisms to survive. Primary consumers feed on producers, secondary consumers feed on primary consumers, and so on.

an economic entity that consumes goods.

A coorbiting pair of stars whose inner atmospheres or surfaces touch.

the slow movement of crustal plates (usually bearing continents or terranes) on a tectonically active eoarean, eogaian, or gaian world. The plates float over the molten asthenosphere

A stable, ancient region, usually flat and oval-shaped, in a continent on a world that experiences continental drift.

Clade of aioid business beings, descended from the first federation era New Mars think tank Contelligence. As it diversified and expanded, the Contelligences became a ubiquitous part of Inner Sphere economics. The Contelligence brand is strictly regulated by intra-clade regulations, and has proven to have a high brand name stability. Politically the Contelligence clade has been neutral, with pacifist leanings.

The theory that "I" am the same person as various future and past selves with whom I am physically and temporally continuous. (Cf pattern identity theory).

important Metasoft world

Early expansionist relativist empire - led to the Second Empires War

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Capital of the Conver Ambi up until the Conver War.

Series of sometimes purely abstract and sometimes very bloody late Empires age wars centred around the Conver Ambi and involving a number of SI:1 and SI:2 intellects

When a trait develops independently in two or more evolutionary sequences or groups of organisms; e.g. the development of skin-flap wings in pterodactyls and bats. Mathematically, this refers to a dynamic systems settling into an attractor.

Spacecraft propulsion using monopole catalysed fusion;  More

Weaponized versions of pico/femtotech devices used to convert matter to energy, either by using monopole catalysed fusion or by converting part of the mass to amat or exotic matter. Such devices can cause massive destruction if used to partially convert a target to amat or implode it into an unstable exotic matter husk (which often explodes spectacularly). Banned by treaty in most parts of the civilized galaxy. More

Megastructure of unknown terragen origin that replicates and displays a simple cellular automation cycle

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Predatory lifeform native to the planet Elmo.

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tiny shrimp-like crustaceans; some types such as krill are an important food-source for many baleen whales and other marine animals. They are a a major constituent of terragen zooplankton, and an important source of protein for the whale provolves of Oro Mistral and Pacifica

Old Earth amateur Polish astronomer who developed the Copernican system, a model of the solar system in which all the planets orbit the Sun, thus overturning the earlier Ptolemaic System. His seminal work was De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium ("On the Revolutions of the Celestial Orb"), published in 1543.

An uploaded digital copy of a rl person (whether biont or vec) that experiences emself in all ways as identical to the original alpha. Also can refer to a biological copy, occupying a body with identical DNA to the original person, but differing from a clone in that the memories of the original have been transferred artificially into the new body.

terragen marine metazoan animal, class Anthozoa, phylum Cnidaria, a type of colonial or solitary polyp, many species secrete a hard outer casing that builds to form beautiful limey structures. They are brightly coloured when alive, but after death of the polyp the colour fades and becomes a bleached white. Because they derive much of their sustenance from symbiotic photosynthetic algae, corals are limited to sunny shallow water. An important element of many phototrophic tropical ocean biospheres.

Aquatic terragen community of organisms, wave-resistant biological structure resulting from cementation processes and the skeletal construction of hermatypic corals, calcareous algae, and other calcium carbonate-secreting organisms. Forms a rich habitat for many types of marine organisms. Coral reefs are popular in many large terragen habitats with a strong aquatic component and tropical or semi-tropical climate. Some coral reefs have been provolved to sapience.

The Corambytia Protectorate is the largest and most well-known volume ruled by a single Caretaker God.

The densest, brightest central region of a galaxy.

innermost layer of a celestial body (such as a planet, moon, or star). It is usually under great pressure and of very high temperature, many millions of degrees. In stars, this is the dense central region where nuclear reactions occur

node representing key access to the main processors and functions of a system.

When the casing or shell or container field of a nuclear reactor or ship drive system is penetrated, resulting in melt-down, release of radiation, super-heated plasma, or (in the case of reactionless drive ship) exotic matter, all of which can have catastrophic effects

when the central processing node of a system - especially of an AI - is penetrated, for example by an intrusion system (AI virus, hacking program, etc.).

Occurs when a star loses its pressure support because no more energy can be released by nuclear reactions. The core collapse drives the explosion and heavy-element creation of a supernova.

The Sol system and neighbouring systems which were the first colonized by terragens

[1] In astrogation the direction of the Sagittarius arm and the centre of the galaxy.

[2] in the direction of Sol (more properly termed Solward)

not a true force, but an side-effect of the rotation of a body. Objects moving in a rotating environment experience a force at right angles to its velocity and the rotation axis. In the case of the rotation of a planet around its axis, storms rotate counter clockwise in the Northern and clockwise in the Southern Hemispheres. In a small orbital or rotating ship (such as a 100 meter diameter cylinder simulating 1 G), the Coriolis force causes a sideways movement in an object that falls to the floor (the outer wall) which can be quite disorientating. For this reason, rotating habitats tend to be large enough that only a slow rotation is required.