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.
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.
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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
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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
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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
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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:
undoubtedly the Rhenium Moment gave a huge impetus to
the belief that Ooranye itself is alive or has a tutelary spirit who
spoke to the people of Syoom on that occasion. But the idea
that there existed a world-spirit, or at any rate some kind of emergent
emanation of Ooranye's physical self, had already been
around for a long time.
At the end of
the Thallium Era the psi-sensitive Capfaym Duuv succeeded
in communing with the world-spirit.
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Xenon
Era
Xydur
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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
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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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