Uranian Encyclopaedia
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
Actinium Era, the: see The Actinium Fulfilment
Age of Spies,
the
Age of the Wise,
the: a term sometimes applied
to the Hafnium Era, when most big decisions were left to
Simulators.
Ahim Trarv
77062
airved: see currency
Allv
Aluminium
Era
Antimony
Era
anyne
Ao: see under Cities, The Great Triangle
and The Last Great Hive
Arclour: the
fabled Starward Polar region of Ooranye, antipodeal to the Sunward City,
Skyyon. It was the ultimate intended destination of Sunnoad
Fiarr Fosn 723 and the First Great
Fleet. He never got near it, of course; and the legendary
disaster which overwhelmed him and his fifteen hundred airships seemed
to confirm that mankind was not destined to reach Arclour.
Recently, however, with the success of the Second Great Fleet, Uranians
- like Earthmen after the first moon landings - have had to get used to
thinking of what used to be unattainable, as having now been
reached. As for what was found there - it is only possible to hint
at it, in any human language. At the moment of the arrival of the
Second Great Fleet, Arclour became the site of the hinge event in
Uranian history, the "write-over" or "Fostering", whereby Ooranye's past
was grafted on to the formerly lifeless gas-giant planet Uranus, so that
Uranus became its full, destined self - as Ooranye - and moreover, has
now always been so. See The Assault on Arclour.
arelk: the
political "hardening of the arteries" whereby the freedom and
renl of a noadex is converted into a
rigid, authoritarian structure.
Argon Era,
the:
Arn
Arsenic
Era
Astatine
Era
ayshine
A C D E F G
H I J K L M N
O P Q R S T U
V W X Y Z
B
Bank of Light, the: nickname for an institution arising in the Phosphorus Era as a reaction
against the hubristic power-hunger of that era. Citizens could
deposit units of a different kind of power into this Bank: units of
mind-power arising from contemplation. The Bank, by releasing this
hoarded awareness at a crucial moment in history, saved Syoom
from possible annihilation after the destruction of the Great Fleet.
Barium
Era
Beryllium
Era
Bismuth
Era
bneen, the: see micro-organisms
Boron
Era
Bromine
Era
Brown Smoke, the: one of the forms taken by Fyayman retaliation for the incursion
of prospectors which had occurred during the Thulium Era. The
shock of its attack on Vyanth brought on
the Ytterbium Era. See The 'Dassan
Call.
A B D E F G
H I J K L M N
O P Q R S T U
V W X Y Z
C
Cadmium
Era
Caesium
Era
Calcium
Era
Capfaym Duuv: the psi-sensitive who communed with the
world-spirit to obtain advice for humanity in the
crisis at the end of the Thallium Era. See The Era of Psi.
Carbon
Era
Cerium
Era
Chelth: the
dimension, or universe, looted of much of its energy by the
Uranians, thus fuelling the greatness of the Phosphorus Era. See The Plunderers.
Chlorine
Era
Chromium
Era
Cities
Cobalt Era,
the:
Conquered Era, the: sobriquet of the Radium Era (era 88) because during that time
most of Syoom was in fact conquered by its enemies - kalyars, Gedars, some Quonians and (in 21 out of the 25
cities) hostile Ghepions. The four
cities which remained free were Vyanth, Skyyon, Lysyon and Pjourth.
contado: the
area around a city, subject to it and providing for its
needs.
Contahl
Copper
Era
Corrector: the
title given to someone who has taken it upon nenself to coerce a
Sunnoad, and has got away with it - has succeeded in getting the Sunnoad
to see the error of nen's ways. See institutions.
Corruption Ray: the evil weapon sometimes used by one city against another
during the Nitrogen Era . It set up a mental
field which somehow attacked the sense of value. The Ray had the
effect of undermining traditions, weakening moral fibre especially with
regard to people's attachment to their cultural roots. It was a
way of causing one's enemies to rot from within. The Ray was
destroyed at the end of era 7 (see The First Sunnoad), but was
briefly rediscovered and unleashed again in eras 84-85, when it was let
loose in more concentrated form by Nehal Fozdak
(see Impostor).
crystal groves: small forests of crystalline plants, bristling with natural
defences and almost immune from attack; the proprietors of the groves,
who have spent generations in fostering trust with them, are the only
humans who can enter them with impunity.
currency: the basic
monetary unit in Syoom is the airved, or
"phial-credit", equal in value to a phial of ell-light extracted from
the vheic plant and fuelling a skimmer for one
hour. 100 airveds = 1 nubner; 10 nubners = 1
smoath; 1000 smoaths = 1 genth (or
"megaphial" as we might say). The physical forms taken by these
denominations have varied throughout history.
Incidentally, because of their origin, Uranian currency
terms are identical to Uranian measures of energy.
cyborgs:
the man-machine hybrids responsible for the
disastrous expedition to Solor which brought an end to the Gold
Era. During the subsequent Mercury Era they ruled most of
Syoom. Their power was destroyed by Hevad Notoxt
69546.
A B C E F G H I J
K L M N O P Q
R S T U V W X
Y Z
D
'dassan: see
kommassandassan
Deev
dlax: (plural
dlaxou ) Hemispheric forcefield atop a circular
hover-raft. Invented early in the Phosphorus Era, when such
energy-guzzling devices were most used.
Dmara: the first
human city. Before it was a city it was the site of the
sivvan. See The Hydrogen Era.
Dmarnenn: see Liquid
Men.
Drainage, the: a
so-called anti-psi treatment which Syoomeans underwent during the
forty-minute Lead Era. In fact the psi powers possessed by
humanity were not so much destroyed as sublimated or, to use the
opposite metaphor, "drained into the race sink", in accordance with the
advice given to Capfaym Duuv by the
world-spirit. See The Era of
Psi.
Dynnt Eshnun: explorer who captured an eopc during the
Beryllium Era He took a blood-sample from the giant bird, and from
tests made on this the Rin-Stazel discovered the
existence of the dimension of Chelth. See The Plunderers.
Dynnt Gilvar
48559
Dysprosium
Era
Dzolm: colloquial nickname for the
Sun-Egg.
A B C
D F G H I J K
L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y
Z
E
eomasp: A
disturbance in the normal rhythm of day and night caused by an
exceptional psychic storm, in turn created by the waft of emotion
accompanying some great event. From the end of the Lithium Era onwards, eomasps marked
the transition from one era to the next. It is possible - some say
probable - that eomasps also marked the earlier transitions, from eras 1
to 2 and 2 to 3, but the records are unreliable.
eopc: giant
bird, wingspan up to 70 yards; the largest known winged creature on
Ooranye. It does not eat or drink, and the mystery of whence it
obtained its energy led the researchers of the
Rin-Stazel to discover the dimension called
Chelth. See The Plunderers.
eras: see Table of Eras.
Erbium
Era
Europium
Era
evenshine
evil, problem of: see Mentality
A B C
D E G H I J K
L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y
Z
F
fauna
fdalm
Fiarr Fosn
723
First Contact: the date, or the event, of the first radio contact with
the Terrestrial ships that went into orbit around
Ooranye during the last few lifetimes of the Actinium Era.
The actual date of First Contact was 11,002,739 Ac. (In Earth
terms, the 10th of July, A.D. 3564.)
flare of arrest: the term given to the event which occupied and defined the
Magnesium Era: a worldwide frisson like a ghostly tap on the
shoulder, thought to be caused by the action of a
Chelthan entity who had become aware of the
attempt by the Uranians to plunder his universe. See The First Sunnoad.
flora
Fluorine
Era
Foam,
the
Francium
Era
Fyaym: the
term given to any area of the world in which a lone wayfarer has a less
than 50% probability of surviving a thousand-mile journey. More
generally, "Fyaym" means "the unknown", "the lands outside
civilization".
A B C
D E F H I J K
L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y
Z
G
Gadolinium Era
Gallium Era
gedars:
submen rumoured to have originated from relics of the
dying Dmaran sivvan. They came in a variety of builds and
sizes, but their faces were always misshapen like the products of an
inexpert sculptor. The gedars became a general nuisance in
the Vanadium Era when, sensing the Nenns'
weakness after the Great Winter, they swarmed over Syoom, looting and
killing.
genth: see
currency
Germanium Era
Ghepions,
the: a generic term for many
different kinds of sentient machines; all that they have in
common is that their intelligence is the result of their own evolution,
untended by Man. Contact with the Ghepions was first made in the
Silver Era. Ghepion-human relations have had a chequered
history. Many Navy men still resent Ghepion infiltration of their
High Command in the Platinum Era - see The
Sunnoad's Navy. Also, Ghepions were persecuted in the Thallium
Era because of their complicity in the plot of the cyborgs .
Gold
Era
gralm: the
granular semi-organic "loam" which covers the plains of Ooranye.
In the Lanthanum Era some of it expanded into the Foam which covered much of Syoom and buried its
cities.
Grard
Grardesh Sponndar,
the: nameless criminal mastermind from
the city of Grard; opponent of Restiprak
Zentonan. Born in the Hafnium
Era, he put himself into suspended animation and awoke in the
subsequent, Tantalum Era.
This is one of the very few known cases of a person living in
widely separated times not through reincarnation but through mechanical
means.
Great Cycle: the period of 100,000 Uranian years (8.4 million Earth years)
which is the largest unit of Uranian history. We are about
one-seventh of the way through the current Great Cycle. Some
artefacts and remains from previous Great Cycles exist, though they are
few and mysterious. It is thought that in the next Great Cycle the
kalyars will take over from
the Nenns as the predominant
human culture on Ooranye.
Great
Fleet: fifteen hundred airships -
the largest fleet in history - commanded by Fiarr Fosn 723. Its
purpose was to conquer Fyaym. Its failure and destruction marked
the end of the mighty Phosphorus
Era.
Great Triangle, the: see Triangle, the
Gyan Ennye: in
his first incarnation, the Jaaxan officer who made the first 'dassan call. In his second
incarnation, an eminent Lysyan officer of the Actinium Era.
gvo: semi-kolv; a compound of particulate and
non-particulate matter, the latter component left over from the previous
universe, and a source of enormous power. The ovoid mountain
called the Sun-Egg was composed of glowing orange
gvo.
A B C
D E F G I J K L M N
O P Q R S T U
V W X Y Z
H
Hafnium
Era
Helium
Era
Hevad Notoxt
69546
hive minds:
see The Last Great Hive; Sentient Cities
Holmium
Era
Hoog
Hyala Movoun 1: the first
Sunnoad. See eras 7 to 14.
Hydrogen
Era, the
hylozoic: pertaining to the doctrine of hylozoicism, that all matter
is alive. The most important instance in Uranian
history that suggests this might to some extent be true, is
the episode of the Foam.
A B C
D E F G H J K L M N
O P Q R S T U
V W X Y Z
I
Idun-Sjalsk: the Sun-Egg.
iedleis: the
ultimate metal, the substance of which the disc-on-stems of Uranian
cities are composed. Iedleis is believed to maintain its integrity
over a whole Great Cycle.
Ierax
Indium
Era
Innb
Iodine
Era
insectoids: see Nemaeans
institutions
Invun
Ipemenir Honnd: the Jadorian who was energized by the "bank" of unconscious
powers which had been accumulated by the Other Syoom. He saved
that land from disaster during the Germanium Era. See The Age of Spies.
Iridium
Era
Iron
Era
Iyen Noom
80525
A B C
D E F G H I K L M N
O P Q R S T U
V W X Y Z
J
Jaax
Jad Darkal
35480
Jador
Jommdan: the
"high tongue" still spoken by about 21% of the Syoomean population; an
elder cousin of Nouuan. Classical Jommdan in particular
is many-layered, in such a way that the apparent length of
a text adjusts itself according to the reader's background
knowledge of the subject matter. The more you know, the more the
words seem to run together, and shorter it all seems.
Unfortunately, the easier it is for the reader, the harder it is for the
writer. Few have mastered Classical Jommdan.
Juxxt
A B C
D E F G H I J L M N O P Q
R S T U V W X
Y Z
K
Kalishan Voice, the: a telepathic broadcast accidentally triggered by an
archaeologist investigating ruins in Oirr. The 57-minute
broadcast - a warning against the Quonians -
blanketed Syoom; it comprised the Nickel Era.
kalyar: "evolved man" - a vague, general term for a Uranian human being
who belongs to one of the strains that, from the Tungsten Era onwards,
have evolved away from the norm (the norm assumed to be that of the
Nenns).
Karth
Koar
kolv: the
continuous, non-atomic substance, left over from the previous
universe. Its part-atomic compound, semi-kolv or
gvo , was the substance of the
Sun-Egg.
kommassandassan: compression into one word of the Nouuan phrase, colloquially
translatable as "I am laying my life on the line". For its
significance, see The 'Dassan
Call.
Krypton
Era
A B C
D E F G H I J
K M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y
Z
L
languages
Lanthanum
Era
Lead
Era
Lehal Thoal: the first Corrector. See the history of the Neon Era - The First
Sunnoad.
Linnt
Liquid Men: the proto-humans who evolved in the
sivvan. Instead of skin they had a
form-field which needed frequent immersion to preserve its integrity;
hence they could not travel far from the sivvan, until, late in
their history, an energized flexi-suit was developed, which increased
their range and enabled one of them to help Tisswa
Ardea find the Sun-Egg . See The Hydrogen Era.
Lithium
Era, the
Lotch,
the
Lrar Verzak: the first Nenn .
lremd: the
adjective pertaining to the noun renl. Someone
who has renl is said to be lremd.
Lrissj: one of
the three languages of Syoom. Spoken by 34% of the population,
Lrissj is not at all closely related to Jommdan or Nouuan. It is
spoken in four of the cities - Juxxt, Yoon, Narar and
(surprisingly, since it is on the other side of Syoom) Grard. Apart from these it is the tongue
mostly of smaller settlements and farming communities scattered over the
length and breadth of Syoom.
Lutetium
Era
Lysyon
A B C
D E F G H I J
K L N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y
Z
M
Mad City, the: a nickname for Oso, because of its history during eras 49 and 50,
when, under the control of a Ghepion, it tried to conquer and control
the rest of Syoom. See The Ghepions.
Magnesium
Era
Manganese
Era
mareks
mascon: mass-concentration; an area of denser-than-average material in
the crust or mantle of Ooranye. Very rarely, due to convection
within the mantle, a mascon may surface and take the form of a
mountain. The Sun-Egg was one
such mascon.
Much later, in the Bismuth Era, men found it possible to
travel by means of the tetrak through the material of
Ooranye's crust and mantle, to visit the mascon worlds embedded
therein. See The Mascon
Expeditions.
mawo: an
aerial corpuscle, about wardrobe-size, fuzzy at the edges and light
enough to drift on the wind. (In the vegetable stage of its
life-cycle it is called not a mawo but a
vrayn.) Mawos avoid the presence of man, but
nevertheless pose a danger, in that if left alone they will eventually
block off huge areas of sky, crowding out other aerial organisms on
which living things depend for their light. In general they are
nothing worse than a nuisance during periods in which Syoom is powerful
and well-organized. But they can become a menace when Syoom is
relatively weak, and this was especially true during the Lithium
Era, when Syoom's economic needs outran its technological
capacity.
Melikon: the
village 90 miles outside Skyyon, where - since the end of era 88 - the
hut has been sited that is the official residence of the
Sunnoad.
mentality
Mercury
Era
micro-organisms
mind-nauts: users of the Sight
Projector
Molybdenum
Era
morningshine
Mount Gnemek: the highest peak on the planet Ooranye. Its summit reaches
out into space. It was scaled by Restiprak
Zentonan.
A B C
D E F G H I J
K L M O P Q R
S T U V W X Y
Z
N
Nalre
Zitpoidl 4854
names
Narar
narp: a
laser-tipped weed which can live for hundreds of human lifetimes on
the plains of Ooranye, occasionally shooting down wayfarers and
absorbing the wrecks of skimmers.
Nehal Fozdak: claimed by some (including himself) to be the greatest criminal
in Uranian history; destroyer of Jersh, murderer of Sunnoad Ahim Trarv
77062 and rediscoverer of the Corruption Ray. See
Impostor. Fozdak was finally
tracked down and killed by the lawmen of the Francium
Era.
Nemaeans:
generic term for all the Uranian insectoids
- the large flying beings which swarm, particularly in Fyaym,
often exhibiting a group intelligence of a malign character.
The destruction of the Great
Fleet was carried out by insectoid swarms, possibly under
the control of higher entities.
Nemyurur
nen: the
unisex pronoun meaning "he or she".
Nenn:
a Uranian human.
Neodymium
Era
Neon
Era
Nickel
Era
Nii
Niobium
Era
Nitrogen
Era: the evil era 7. See the
last part of The Plunderers and
the beginning of The First
Sunnoad.
Noad: the
ruler or focus of a city; its chief. No equivalent exists in
Terrestrial history. Generally a Noad holds office for life, like
a king, but is elected, like a president. A Noad of a healthy city
will rule not through beaurocracy but through the quality of
renl .
noadex: the
office or institution
of Noad.
Norkoten Hall: previously Zdinth Hall but renamed in
honour of Taldis Norkoten 64702 .
Nouuan: the
most widespread language of Syoom -
currently spoken by 45% of the population.
nubner: see
currency
Nusun
Nuvium
Nyav Yuhlm
80438
nyr
nyzynzyr
nyzyr
A B C
D E F G H I J
K L M N P Q R S T U
V W X Y Z
O
Olhoav
omzyr
Osmium
Era
Oso
Other Syoom, the: an area of civilization, comprising the empires of Yalar and Nii, surrounded by Fyaym and unsuspected by the
rest of Syoom until the Gallium Era; it was the object of the Syoomean
rescue expedition in that era commanded by Sunnoad Jad Darkal
35480. See The Age of
Spies.
Oxygen
Era
A B C
D E F G H I J
K L M N O Q R S T U
V W X Y Z
P
Palladium
Era
pallyne
Phosphorus
Era, the
Pjourth
Planetary Intelligence, the:
see The World
Spirit
Platinum
Era
pmetn
Poleva
Polonium
Era
Potassium
Era
Praesodymium
Era
Promethium
Era
prospectors
Protactinium
Era
psi
Pyoan Tatham: the last powerful director of the
Rin-Stazel. He was responsible for the decision
to solve the energy crisis by plundering
Chelth. He was killed during the breakout of the
captive eopc, during the disastrous day which became
known as the Carbon Era.
A B C
D E F G H I J
K L M N O P R S T U
V W X Y Z
Q
Quonians, the: a race of humans, physically only slightly different from the
Nenns of Syoom, but considerably different mentally and
culturally. They have discovered the secret of sending objects
back in time, in certain limited cases where no paradoxes are thereby
created. The Quonians arrived openly in Syoom during the Copper
Era, though already in the last part of the Cobalt Era they had been
surreptitiously planting "false pasts" in Syoomean archeological
sites. Their cultural infiltration - amounting to an invasion -
failed when their methods were exposed, partly due to the warning given
by the Kalishan Voice. Discredited, they left
Syoom at the end of the Copper Era. They were involved in another
invasion which also failed, this time militarily, during eras
38-39. See The Age of
Spies.
A B C
D E F G H I J
K L M N O P Q S T U V W X
Y Z
R
Radium
Era
Radon
Era
rbexca
refelc
renl: the
quality of being able to be at the right place at the right time; of
juggling competing demands; of weaving one's way efficiently through
complex situations without resort to rules, paperwork or beaurocratic
structures. See mentality. The
strength of renl in the Uranian psyche must be some kind of adaptation
to that world, whose immense mysteries would otherwise overwhelm
humanity. Those Nenns who exhibit most renl are apt to become
elected as Noads. The quality first became necessary and evident
in the city of Contahl in the Lithium Era. The adjective lremd means
"possessing renl".
Restiprak Zentonan
33337/45329
Revestru, the: the insectoid species which warred with the Wonarr in the early
Hydrogen Era.
revolutions
Rgiohafnarn Dzeld: "Voluntary Contemplation Store" - proper name of the
institution commonly called the Bank of Light .
Rhenium Era: see
Rhenium Moment, the
Rhenium
Moment, the: Era
75, which lasted five hours. During this time the world-spirit
communicated with the people of Syoom, and especially with the delegates
to an international conference meeting in the Hall of Zdinth,
Skyyon. Only gradually over the next era was the message of the
Moment understood. It prevented a general inter-species war
between Nenns and kalyars.
Rhodium
Era
Rin-Stazel: the scientific institution which grew out of the standing
committee established by the Congress of Contahl at the end of the Lithium Era. During the
Beryllium and Boron Eras the Rin-Stazel led research into ways of
solving the looming energy crisis caused by the imminent depletion of
the Sun-Egg. Under its last powerful director, Pyoan Tatham, the
fateful decision was made, that steps must be taken to plunder the
dimension of Chelth. The Rin-Stazel was disbanded during the
troubles of the Nitrogen Era, but its aims were later carried out by
Hyala Movoun, the first
Sunnoad.
Rubidium
Era
Rubidium Fort, the: a fortress at the far point of the salient of Syoom which
reached into Fyaym in the direction of the Other Syoom, during era
37. The fort fell at the end of that era. See The Age of Spies.
Ruthenium
Era
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R T U V W X Y Z
S
Samarium
Era
Scandium
Era
Selenium
Era
sfy: the safety-contours (or peril-contours) on Uranian maps.
sfy-50:
the
boundary between Syoom and Fyaym. A safety-contour joining all
those points on a map which represent places where the chance of
surviving a lone journey of 1,000 miles is 50 per cent.
Sight Projector: the device used to project the sight and in effect the mind of
the user over distances, so that far lands could be explored without
physical travel. See The Age of
Spies.
Silicon
Era
Silver
Era
Simulator Project: the cultivation, in the Lutetium Era, of a machine to aid
decision-making. It helped to exonerate Gyan Ennye
after the first 'dassan call. Later it
was allowed to fall into disuse, but successors were built and dominated
the culture of the Age of the
Wise.
sivvan: the
prebiotic lake, at what is now Dmara , from which the Nenns emerged at
the beginning of the Hydrogen
Era.
skimmer: the main personal
vehicle used by Uranians. A skimmer is designed as a one-man flier
though it can carry two at a pinch. It is roughly canoe-shaped,
five yards long and at the centre one yard wide. It cannot fly
higher than six yards above ground, except during the risky manoeuvre
known as "stormriding". Top speed: 200 miles per hour. Its
lift is provided by one of the indestructible antigravity units
produced in their billions in the Phosphorus Era; its propellant power
comes from a related device fuelled by phials of ell-light extracted
from the vheic plant.
skimmjard: a word
literally meaning "pilot of a skimmer"; sometimes used more
generally to mean a traveller.
Sky Patrol, the: a Syoomean Navy which flourished during the Cobalt Era.
Skyyon
smoath: see
currency
Sodium
Era
Solor: also
dubbed the Numinous Land. In a way it was the Uranian equivalent
of Eden. Long assumed to be in Fyaym (if its existence was
suspected at all), it was discovered to lie in Syoom after all, but it
was hard to find, due to its space-stretching and its psychic
defences. The quest for Solor
was mainly a preoccupation of the Gold Era. When at last its
defences were breached (by an expedition secretly planned by the cyborgs), Solor seemed to
disappear; later it was found still to exist occasionally, but with
a new defence more powerful than before, a capacity to induce
disbelief in its existence in the mind of any searcher who came too
close.
Solor finally, though gradually, faded from history
during the Thallium Era. See The Quest for
Solor and The Era of Psi.
Soolm
Spe Dalalt: the officer who played the key part in the counter-deception
which foiled the Ghepion plot to infiltrate the Sunnoad's Navy in the Platinum
Era. Turning their own methods against them, he impersonated
one of the Ghepions and discovered their headquarters. In so doing
he also unexpectedly discovered the reality behind the myth of
Solor .
sponnd: the personal
weapon most commonly carried by Uranians. It is basically a laser,
usable either in blade-mode or bolt-mode. It is often referred to
with great respect, with the honorific initials of its owner.
sponndar: in
all three languages of the Nenns this word means, literally, "a person
armed", or "warrior", and more loosely is used as a vague title of
respect like our "Sir" or "Madam". It can also correspond to
our use of the word "gentleman", mostly in its modern, imprecise
sense, but also, at times during the Vanadium Era, in its old sense of a
man who does not have to live by manual work or trade.
spotlit: adjective describing those who, from era 59 onwards, seem to live
lives marked by unusual or dramatic events, different from the humdrum
lives of ordinary, "unspotlit" people. See The Praesodymium Spotlight.
Strontium
Era
Sulphur
Era
Sun-Egg, the: an approximately globular mascon composed of semi-kolv or gvo
, which surfaced due to crustal convection; its
discovery marked the end of the Hydrogen Era and a quantum leap in
the energy resources of Uranian mankind. At the time of its
discovery (at the end of the Hydrogen Era) the Sun-Egg was an ovoid
mountain; by the Nitrogen Era it had all but disappeared; during
the Sodium Era its last fragments were completely used up.
Sunnoad: the
Noad of Noads; holder of the highest and most revered office in
Syoom. A Sunnoad is the only person entitled to wear the golden
cloak of Skyyon, and to have a number after nen's name - the number
denoting nen's place in the list of sunnoads. Nen's duties vary
according to the period of history concerned. At the very least a
Sunnoad has enormous prestige and advisory influence; usually nen has
the right to command the military forces of Syoom in an
international emergency; sometimes nen's powers are greater and more
continuous, above all in the notorious case of Tu Rim 78860.
sunnoadex, the: the office of Sunnoad. See institutions.
Sunnoad's
Navythere have been many instances
in Syoomean history of an international force of airships
loyal to the Sunnoad rather than to any particular city. The
most renowned and successful of these was the one which patrolled the
skies during the Iridium Era, embodying the ideals of Taldis
Norkoten 64702. This was the Navy's golden age. Its
reputation was tarnished in the Platinum Era, when its High Command was
infiltrated by Ghepions .
Syoom: the
term literally applies to any area of the world in which a lone
wayfarer has a more than 50% probability of surviving a thousand-mile
journey. More loosely, "Syoom" means "the area of civilization",
"the civilized world". See Syoom and
Fyaym.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S U V W X Y Z
T
Taldis
Norkoten 64702
Tantalum
Era
tax of awareness: the "tax on consciousness" levied by city minds on the minds of
their inhabitants; when conditions are good, from each individual the
contribution is unnoticeably small.
Technetium
Era ;
Teleological Guilds,
the: organizations whose origins lie
back in the Cobalt Era but which flourished only during the Zirconium
and Niobium Eras. See The Institutes of
Fate. The purpose for which they came into
being, was to make discoveries about human destiny on
Ooranye. By studying the racial and planetary consciousness, they
hoped to uncover the broad outline of fate. This activity, on the
borderline between science and superstition, never yielded much in the
way of definite results. By the end of era 41 the Guilds were mere
sociopolitical societies, promoting various mundane aims.
One of the guilds was revived during the Tungsten Era
and caused trouble by observing that the kalyars were not destined to flourish until the
next Great Cycle.
Tellurium
Era
Terbium
Era
tetrak: vehicle invented and used during the Bismuth Era. It
was able to phase into vibrational modes which allowed it to slide
through solid matter. It was used to explore the interior of
Ooranye and visit the mascon worlds. See The
Mascon Expeditions.
Thallium
Era
Thorium Era: see
Thorium Whisper, the
Thorium Whisper, the: A hint received by the minds of Syoom, on the day of the
departure of the Second Great Fleet for Arclour. Sunnoad Iyen
Noom 80525 has since admitted that the Whisper
may have been triggered by his historic decision to allow the use of the
tetrak's method of transport by his ships. This bold and risky
decision led to the success of the enterprise which the Fleet
had undertaken, and led also, we believe, to a sharp separation between
two alternate probability universes, the one in which he
decided thus, and the one in which he did not. The latter
continued with the Thorium Era; the former - ours - went straight on to
the eight-day Protactinium Era, the triumph of the Fleet, and the
meeting of worlds. See The Assault on
Arclour.
throom, the:
see micro-organisms
Thulium
Era
Tin
Era
Titanium
Era
Tjoren: the
member of the avian species taharen, who offered Syoom help against the
White Sun but who was then murdered by Sunnoad Nalre Zitpoidl 4854,
who suspected his motives. This event ushered in the Titanium Era
- the era of the Great Winter, thought to be
the work of weather-controllers in retaliation for the
murder.
Tisswa Ardea: the human discoverer of the Sun-Egg (she may have had help from
one of the Liquid Men ). See The
Hydrogen Era and Syoom and
Fyaym.
Toolv
Triangle,
the: An alliance
between Ao, Skyyon and Vyanth, which, during the Osmium
Era, patrolled the area bounded by those three great cities.
More loosely the Triangle is held to refer to the lands themselves - a
triangular area roughly equilateral, roughly 6,000 miles on a side; a
realm of unusual peace and security.
Tu Rim
78860
Tungsten
Era
Tva
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T V W X Y Z
U
umbna-jorraynt
Unity Club: the international secret society which, during the latter
days of the Hydrogen Era,
plotted the great change that was to come, solving the great problem of
that age - the psychological problem of how to live on the giant planet
while still retaining human identity. The solution lay in the
concepts Syoom and
Fyaym.
Uranian:
(adjective:) pertaining to the planet Ooranye - also known as
Uranus
Uranium
Era
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U W X Y Z
V
Valim
Poand: Noad of Vyanth at the end of the Vanadium Era who ended that era by freeing his
city's slaves. This led to the upheaval of the pan-Syoomean slave
revolt and the subsequent revolutions (eras
24-26).
Vanadium
Era
vellg
velng
vheic
Vlamanor
Vraik,
the
vrayn: the
vegetable stage of the mawo life-cycle. See Lithium Era.
Vus
Vyanth
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V X Y Z
W
wayfarer: member of the profession of voyagers who undertake to provide
statistics for the safety-contours on Uranian maps. They provide
these data by the mere fact of surviving or not surviving their
journeys. Any additional information or understanding they achieve
is pure bonus, beyond the call of duty.
White Sun, the: the gleaming sphere which rose through the gralm during the reign
of Sunnoad Nalre Zitpoidl 4854, and is
believed to have caused the feeling of unfamiliarity with everyday
objects which then began to plague Syoom.
Wonarr, the: the species of laser-tipped weed (ancestral relative of the narp)
whose war with the Revestru made the environment dangerous to man during
the early Hydrogen
Era.
world
spirit, the
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
X
Xenon
Era
Xydur
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z
Y
Yalar
Yaz
Yoad
Yoon
Yr, City of Mists: a mobile, floating city launched during the Zirconium
Era. It seems to have found some way of making itself
invisible. Reports of its destruction are suspect; the
consensus of opinion is that it still exists.
Ytterbium
Era
Yttrium
Era
yyne
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
Zairm,
the
zamur
Zdinth Hall: the hall in the Palace of Skyyon, scene of the Rhenium Moment. Later renamed Norkoten
Hall.
Zinc
Era
Zirconium
Era
zynzyr
zyr
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