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| Xa to Xh | Xi to Xz |

Xa to Xh

Xanax and Lucinda

A story of unknown author describing love between two uploads.

Incompatible software developed from two rival companies caused both Xanax and Lucinda to slowly start malfunctioning whenever they came into contact. The virtual lovers chose to stay together, which made them both slowly melt and finally disappear.

Jorge Ditchkenberg

Xanthric Flowerweed

A sessile, neogen (possibly an arcadian prank that got out of hand) carnivorous plant that has recently (since 9800s) become established in a few newly-terraformed worlds in the Udryck Sector (Outer Volumes), where it seems to have hitched a ride on local subrelativistic bioships.

Also known as Yellowtrap, Yellow Carpet and Runfus, the neogen bears hundreds of small, innocuous-looking blooms. When disturbed, the flowers emit a powerful narcotic gas, putting any terragen-vertebrate (and equivalent) organics to sleep. The plant slowly surrounds the victim with tiny tendrils, secreting digestive fluids and absorbing nutrients from the body. Large specimens have been known to cover 500 m². The plant is quite popular in some middle tech and biotech polities as a perimeter defense, and a number of different color varieties have been bred, as well as a number of popular plant-animal varieties, including "Furry Xanthric" and "Scaly Peril".

modified by M.Alan Kazlev from original entry by Kevin Self

Xanware

piconanofirmware standard distributed by the Xan Polity (TRHN). Not to be confused with xunware

M.Alan Kazlev

Xdim

Inner sphere system surrounding the M4V star HIP 38956.

Xdim was colonised in the 5500's by Xdim Euhabi, a corporation-sect maintaining the computronium habitats of uploaded bionts. Although they had significant holdings in many systems, they considered HIP 38956 to be a suitable location for their isolationist storage: uploads that had no desire to interact with the external world, and hence did not require any out-system bandwidth. The corporation-sect converted a number of asteroids into nanocomputing nodes, transporting their isolationist customers to the system. Over time the system came to be the destination of a large percentage of all isolationist uploads, as well as maintainer of a number of virtual heavens and hells for various religions and a large number of backup copies of active uploads and AIs.

During wartime, Xdim Euhabi kept studiously neutral. The system lacked strategic importance, had no stargates except for one to the Solar System and held no important resources. Occasional visitors arrived to try to visit certain uploads, with mixed results. Slowly the Xdim nanohabitats were extended to more parts of the solar system, converting Xdim III, Xdim IV-1,2,3 and 5 and Xdim V-1 into megastructures for information storage. The system remained essentially unchanging for millennia.

Although enormously large amounts of storage space were available, by the 9000's it was beginning to run out according to industry observers, and no further suitable planets to convert existed. Still, for the last millennium Xdim has continued to accept new uploads and datablocks and have in fact begun to undercut prices in other isolationist storage systems. How they can do this remains a mystery; there is no evidence of any picotech storage, and beside it would be extremely expensive to manufacture. It is also exceedingly unlikely that they have deleted any of their ancient customers given the Negentropy-like tenets of Euhabism and numerous spot-checks done by investigators. A nasty rumor suggests that they have struck a deal with the Paradigm for extra space, and pipe their oldest uploads into Paradigm dysons. The Euhabi AIs simply keep quiet, calling it a trade secret.

Anders Sandberg

xenecology

study and application (in habitat design, biospherics, etc.) of alien (non-terragen) ecologies.

Xenobacter mirabilis

Derived bacterium found on Mykropht III - easily geneered to form symbiotic upregulated DNA repair systems used by soft radnads.

Xenobiologist

One who studies non-terragen lifeforms.

Most survey and research vessels have at least one Xenobiologist (or equivalent turing- or superturingrade ai or expert system) on board. While some xenobiologists have a generic knowledge that is applied to xenobiota and xenecologies in general, most tend to specialize in an individual world, specific environment or world type, or even a single alien taxon or species.

Xenobiology

The field of science dealing with non terragen lifeforms and their biology. Also known as astrobiology, cosmobiology, exobiology, [name of planet]biology, etc.

xenobiont, xenobiota

Generic term for alien (non-terragen) lifeform. May be animal-like, plant-like, protistan, exotic chemistry, or any other possibility. Does not have to be sophont. Oin fact just as on Earth, very few alien species ever evolve any measure of cognitive intelligence.

While some display broadly parallel evolutionary traits with terrestrial creatures, others are completely unlike any terragen life. May be found in any environment that can support life, include extremophile conditions deadly to most terragen organisms. The number of different xenobiont species discovered and recorded so far numbers in the trillions, but this is still but a tiny percentage of total species of life-forms to be found in our galaxy alone. Also, even planets that have been mapped and surveyed may contain many undiscovered or unrecognized species (especially rare or microscopic forms).

Many natural garden worlds with their complements of alien life forms have been claimed by corporations or caretaker gods, the former marketing select species as pets or novelty value, the latter jealously guarding the indigenous biota from appropriation by other sentients.

xenobiota

The totality of non-terragen life on a specific planet or non-terragen ecosystem.

xenolinguistics

the study of non-Terragen communication systems that are equivalent to languages

xenologist

One who studies non-terragen life-forms, especially sophont non-terragens. Xenologists are responsible for devising first contact procedures and frequently serve in the role of adviser to an alien emissary or contact intelligence.

A popular and glamorous profession. However the number of aspirants for professional xenologist outweigh by several orders of magnitude the actual vacancies available

modified from original entry by Robert J. Hall

xenology

The study of non terragen lifeforms (including intelligent life), their biology, psychology, culture, technology, etc. Has many subdisciplines, including archaeoxenology, xenobiology, xenophysiology, xenopsychology, exopaleontology, xenotechnology, xenosociology, xenohistory, xenolinguistics, xenocybernetics, and so on. The Eden Institute is the largest center of Xenological Studies in the galaxy.

xenopsychology

the study of alien mental processes

xenosociology

the study of alien societies.

xenosplice

[1] Gengineering of two or more alien species, or of xenobiota and terragen life. May be sapient or non-sapient

[2] A terragen sapient who incorporates non-terragen genome, or vice-versa.

xenotechnology

the study of alien technologies

xenoprovolve

A non-sapient or sub-sapient non-terragen lifeform provolved to sapience.

Xeric Subtype

Gaian Type world in which water covers 10 to 25% of the surface. A continental climate prevails, dominated by arid conditions. Though the poles may be cold, precipitation is rare. The oceans may be quite saline. Life may be common.

Planet Classification List

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