A

Achenaar Antilles Line: The largest merchant trading and passenger line in the Great Spiral area of the Sylean Main, operating over 1,000 ships of all sizes throughout the Core Sector.  Rualto Achenaar and Joffan Antilles founded the line on F'rnow (Core 0722) in -567, during the years of Interstellar Confederacy.  F'rnow continues to be the central seat of operation for the sector-wide merchant line. (Travellers' Digest #9)

Airplant: One of the terraformer's best tools is a lichen native to Saandeth (1232 B130563-D) in Core Sector.  BEcause of this purplish-black, spreading plant, very small desert worlds may have their atmosphere altered to become a thin but breathable atmosphere of nearly 100% oxygen.
      Oxygen is frequently present in the soil of barren worlds, locked in chemical compounds.  The airplant absorbs large quantities of solar energy, including ultraviolet and gamma rays, which power its enzyme systems and break the bonds of these compounds.  If the planet's gravity is strong enough to hold the liberated oxygen near the surface, a light but adequate atmosphere builds up over the centuries.
      To speed the terraforming process after introducing the plants, domed areas may be constructed to hold the oxygen in higher concentrations, allowing human settlement that much sooner.  The smallest worlds rarely hold hydrogen in their formation, so is still non-existent in such places.  But hydrogen can be brought in and burned in fuel cells, producing both energy and water for a colony.
      On its home world, airplant is part of a small eco-system of bacteria and lichens which requires almost no water and derives what it needs from the breakdown of minerals.  The population of Saandeth is clustered into a few dense population centers, leaving most of the surface undisturbed. (Travellers' Digest #10)

Ancients: Highly intelligent race which gained prominence approximately 30,000 years ago.  Most of what is know about the Ancients has been gleaned from archaeological excavations of Ancient sites, the remains of cities, bases, outposts and settlements of the Ancients.  Dating procedures have established that a Final War spanning a 2,000 year period destroyed virtually all of the Ancients of that time.
     The influence of the Ancients is broadly felt in the universe today.  Humans from Terra were transported to many worlds by the Ancients; the Vargr have been shown (through genetic testing) to be descendants of genetically manipulated Terran canines.
     Ancient artifacts which have been discovered show a very high tech level and an equally high degree of sophistication, often revealing new, previously undiscovered or unexploited technologies. (Travellers' Digest #3)

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B

"Behind the Claw": A Galanglic slang term used by the inhabitants of the Spinward Marches, Deneb and Trojan Reach sectors to refer to these areas.  The term derives from the supposed resemblance between a claw and the Great Rift, as seen on maps of the Imperium.  Inhabitants of this region feel a certain pride in this designation, and it is used to imply that they share a camaraderie and common interest.  The name was once used as the title of a popular newsmagazine with a circulation area encompassing the three sectors named above.  The term is rarely used by inhabitants of other areas of the Imperium. (Travellers' Digest #1, Travellers' Digest #2)

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C

Chanestin Kingdom: One important rival to the Sylean Federation (which later became the Third Imperium) was the Chanestin Kingdom of Dunea subsector.  Originating on Keshi, the militaristic empire of the Chanestin dynasty extended a feudal rule over some twenty-five star systems within a five-parsec radius.  The Keshi conquests began when technology declined on Keshi's neighboring planets while Keshi itself retained jump drive.  The Chanestins were careful to consolidate each new planetary takeover before moving on, so the core of their pocket empire proved a solid base for new expeditions.
     Once established, rule by the Chanestins was not particularly harsh, except in the suppression of uprisings.  Sylean trader-emissaries, however, arriving in -107, received very short shrift when they spoke of their growing Federation, bound together by economic self-interest and mutual defense.  The summary execution of these "spies" brought the Syleans in force against the Chanestin systems when a much more peaceable meeting could have been arranged in the absence of such paranoia.
     War lasted well into Cleon's reign and was a chief reason for the defensive architecture of the first Imperial palace. (Travellers' Digest #10)

Corridor: Imperial sector containing 267 systems dramatically split by the Great Rift; 69 systems lie rimward of the Rift and 149 systems form the coreward third of the sector.  Corridor is named for its role in connecting the old, well-established Vland sector with the frontier sectors of Deneb and the Spinward Marches.  The name Corridor dates from about 140, and has displaced the old Vlani name (Eneri, rough translation: "star salad") for the sector. (Travellers' Digest #3)

Corsairs [Vland Sector]: Units of Vargr corsairs are located at 1104 Gvaellekh, 1202 Anghurr, 1901 Ghurrllekh, 2203 Angvae, 2501 Khugan, 3002 Ksuerrgh, 3003 Khughfudz and 3201 Thoegzknaedz, as well as just beyond the sector borders.  Until the Newcastle (1807 Anarsi) affair in late 1100, the corsairs' depredations had been confined to shipping in the coreward edge of the sector.  When Newcastle's government was captured, Navy and system defense boats in Vhodan, Anarsi and Theton subsectors were put on alert. (Travellers' Digest #4)

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D

Deneb Sector: Imperial sector containing 385 systems beyond the Great Rift; named for the sector's brightest star, Deneb (1938).
     The Deneb sector was fragmentarily settled by both Vilani and Vargr during the latter years of the of the First Imperium, but major development of the sector only took place after the Third Imperium Scout Service explorations located major resource worlds in quantity.  Industrial worlds to exploit these resources soon created trade routes and commercial ties that still link the Imperial core with the Spinward Marches.
     The Deneb sector is primarily Imperial.  The Imperial border runs just within the coreward edge of the sector, and scattered Vargr systems (as well as non-aligned systems and client states) lie beyond the border. (Travellers' Digest #1, Travellers' Digest #2)

Digest Touring Award: Outstanding journalist award offered by The Travellers' Digest every seven years.  The recipient, who must be a professional journalist living and working "Behind the Claw," is given honorary membership in the Travellers' Aid Society (worth one million credits); they are then expected to travel through the region during the tenure of their award, and to submit a feature article about their latest journey once every thirteen weeks.  The intent of the Digest with this award is to "promote understanding of the cultural diversity within the Imperium."  The most recent winner of the award, in 1100, is Akidda Laagiir of Mora/Mora. (Travellers' Digest #1, Travellers' Digest #2, Travellers' Digest #3)

Directions, Galactic: Conventions with express galactic direction are based on the core of the galaxy and the direction of its rotation.  Toward the galactic core is coreward; away from it is rimward.  The direction of galactic rotation is spinward; the opposite direction is trailing. (Travellers' Digest #1)

Droyne: Intelligent major race inhabiting scattered worlds throughout explored space.  Droyne are winged, intelligent omnivore gatherers.  Their society is differentiated into six castes, determined at adolescence in a ceremony involving small metal disks called coyns.  Droyne are known to be descendants of the Ancients. (Travellers' Digest #3)

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E

Express Boat: Interstellar message or data carrier.  Express boats attempt to reduce the information lag time between systems by relaying messages to succeeding boats with a minimal delay between jumps, much like the Pony Express [of ancient Terra].
     The use of express boats becomes important as the interstellar community becomes larger and the delay between jumps further delays transmission of messages.  The Imperial express boat system is typical of the approach to the problem.  Selected locations along major trade routes are established as express stations: their orbital facilities service and refuel the boats on their communications runs.  When an express boat arrives insystem, it beams its recorded message to the express station, which then retransmits them to a boat waiting to make its jump.  Time between arrival of one boat and departure of the next ranges from a few minutes to a few hours, and is considerably less than the days most ships would spend refuelling and preparing to leave again.  Messages received from the express boat system are processed and those intended for the current system are forwarded to local addresses on planet.  Messages addressed to worlds which are not directly served by the express boats are accumulated and forwarded by the next available ship.
     The express boat system is available for use by government, business and private individuals.
     Express boats within the Imperium are commonly called xboats. (Travellers' Digest #1)

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F

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G

Galanglic: "Galactic Anglic," the official language of the Third Imperium.  Galanglic is a direct descendant of Anglic, the language used during the Rule of Man (-2204 through -1776).  The popularization of Galanglic is important to the Imperium, because a common language known by all is beneficial to commerce.  On many worlds, Galanglic is in fact a second language, used only in dealing with offworlders and Imperial officials.  Although Galanglic is the official name for the language, it is often called Anglic by its speakers. (Travellers' Digest #1, Travellers' Digest #2, Travellers' Digest #3)

Great Spiral: An alternate name for the 32 worlds of the the Sylean Main once dominated by the Interstellar Confederacy (circa -684 to -1). (Travellers' Digest #9)

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H

Humaniti (former spelling "Humanity"): Collective name for all human races, including Solomani, Vilani, Zhodani and others. (Travellers' Digest #1)

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I

Imperium: See Third Imperium.

Interstellar Confederacy: A loosely allied collection of 32 star systems within the Bunkeria and Cemplas subsectors.  The Interstellar Confederacy was the largest interstellar government to oppose the Sylean Federation during their 650 year ascendance in the Core Sector.
     Formed in -684, the Confederacy was primarily interested in preventing any further technological decline of its member worlds.  The Interstellar Confederacy stopped accepting members after it absorbed the 32 systems in the Great Spiral region of the Sylean Main.  The Confederacy members considered the 32 systems to be the maximum that could be efficiently coordinated.
      After its initial formation period, the Confederacy turned in upon itself and made no further attempts to contact adjacent systems until contacted from the outside by Sylean Federation Scout ships in -301.  The meeting was an uneasy one on both sides and finally erupted into open warfare a hundred years later as the Sylean threats of expansion into Interstellar Confederacy territory increased.
      The centers of power within the Interstellar Confederacy rested with the four to five tech level 12 worlds it contained.  Individual planetary rights were paramount in its charter &madash; so much so in fact that the confederacy rarely achieved the cooperation necessary to carry out its intention to halt the slow loss of technology and loss of general prosperity.
     The Interstellar Confederacy had very few contacts with outsiders, and those that it did have were generally not pleasant.  However, after contact with the Sylean Federation, the Confederacy steadily weakened in influence until finally in -17 Cleon convinced a number of member worlds to pull out of the Confederacy altogether.  By -1, the Interstellar Confederacy ceased to exist as a government entity, conquered more by the apathy of its members than by any hostile intent on Cleon's part. (Travellers' Digest #9)

Ishimaga Genealogical Society (IGS): Members of this group are proud of the high percentage of Vilani blood flowing through their veins.  Potential members are carefully screened, both genealogically and biologically, to ensure that they qualify by their racial purity.  The IGS was formed sometime during the Long Night, but its early history is not well known.  Offices of the IGS can be found throughout the Imperium, with headquarters in Ishimaga (Lishun 0101). (Travellers' Digest #5)

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J

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K

Kaaribilanidin ("Vland Club"): Kaaribilanidin is less violent that many pro-Vilani societies.  The group is not strictly anti-Terran, but believes that Vland, because of its historical status as the capital of the First Imperium, should have more direct control over political decisions in the Imperium.  Kaaribilanidin was founded on Vland in 654, shortly after the Civil War.  It was instrumental in influencing Emperor Zharkirov to reject the Solomani Movement's basic positions and to sympathize with Vilani nobles. (Travellers' Digest #5)

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L

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M

Monadium: Inpenetrable bluish-gray metal used as the basic construction material by the Ancients at the site on Antiquity/Ian.  It has defeated all efforts to determine its exact composition: some experts believe it contains titanium.  Even modern (TL 15) plasma and fusion weapons are unable to penetrate it. (Travellers' Digest #3)

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N

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O

One Imperium Movement: Adherents of this organization believe that all of the peoples of both the previous Imperiums should be united in one massive Imperium, including the coreward extents of the First Imperium and the Solomani Sphere.  An offshoot of this group, the Full Imperium Party, believes that because the Zhodani are humans, they should also be conquered and forced to live like "decent people."  The One Imperium Movement has a long history, dating from shortly after the verification of the Solomani Hypothesis.
     In 1098, several high ranking officials of the Full Imperium Party were prosecuted by the Imperium for the high justice crimes of bribing Imperial officials in the Spinward Marches sector and the attempted theft of a 500,000-ton Naval dreadnought. (Travellers' Digest #5)

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P

Plague of Duskir: Ravaging worlds from the Solomani Rim to Vland during the Rule of Man, the Plague of Duskir followed in the wake of conquering Solomani troops.
     The biological history of Vilani settlers, whose ancestors were transplanted onto a world of alien biology, ill-prepared them for contact with other Human races.  Minor plagues had of course broken out in many of their previous contacts, but the most serious of these outbreaks stemmed from the Solomani, who carried germs that had attacked Humans for millennia.
     Neither the Vilani immune systems nor their pharmaceutical stocks were ready for what happened.  The plague of Duskir was no single disease, but rather a complex infection by several organisms normally harmless to Solomani (or at least easily controlled).  The most common pattern of infection involved two varieties of yeast, staphylococci, digestive bacteria, and venereal diseases.
     Ironically, the plague is named for the Vilani doctor who first analyzed its cause and treated it correctly, although some wrongly believed that the Vilani started the plague.  With the help of Solomani medical texts and the facilities of Dishadshii University, Duskir brought the diseases under control, first on his own planet and then on many more.
     Today, Human stock has so intermixed and travel is so widespread that such bacteriological disasters are rare.  The lessons learned from such epidemics have taught Imperials how to contact minor human races without wiping them out unintentionally. (Travellers' Digest #10)

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Q

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R

Rachele Society: Secret Vilani supremacist group founded on Pretoria/Pretoria by Zid Rachele in 992.  Genocidal policies favoured by the group culminated in the attempted takeover of the Pretorian government in 1010.  An attempt at nuclear blackmail backfired when 26,000 people (including 1,900 Rachelean commandoes) were killed by a nuclear explosion after the Society seized Imperial Scout facilities on Saki/Pretoria (0306).  The Imperium plans to relax martial law over the next ten years, although some military intelligence analysts insist that the Rachele Society still exists; Zid Rachele himself disappeared in 1015 after escapting from the prison world Exile in the Usani subsector (Deneb 1928). (Travellers' Digest #1, Travellers' Digest #5)

Rachelean Revolts (1010-1011): Major uprising on Pretoria/Pretoria, fomented by the Rachele Society, resulting in martial law under the Imperial Navy since that time.  The Imperium as a rule does not interfere with local politics, but their intervention was forced when a Scout Base on Saki/Pretoria (0306) was destroyed by nuclear weapons. (Travellers' Digest #1)

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S

Sector: Mapping unit in astrography consisting of sixteen subsectors arranged in a pattern of four across and four deep.  Sectors are broad measures of area and have an average of 480 to 640 worlds each. (Travellers' Digest #1)

Shudusham Concords: Agreement signed by twelve worlds of the Sylean Federation at Shudusham/Capital (Core 2214) in -110, dealing with weaponry carried by robots.  The Concords have no legal force now, of course, but many worlds have adopted similar or identical standards, using the Concords as a template, and most robots produced commercally in the Imperium are designed with this in mind. (Travellers' Digest #1, Travellers' Digest #2)

Shuulamane: Native to Khula (Vland 1920), the shuulamane was accidentally introduced to Vland by some of the earliest Vilani space flights.  The animal is now so common (and so obvious when encountered) that most Vilani do not realize that the shuulamane is not a native species.
      The creature is ugly and rodent-like, with dull greenish-gray fur covering its body, except for the head, which is smooth and has no apparent ear.  The most obvious feature of the shuulamane is the product of two powerful scent glands, used to mark carrion and prevent other species from interfering with its find.
      Unfortunately, the shuulamane reproduces quickly, with up to four litters of six to ten young each during Vland's long year.  The shuulamane can be found in almost every region of Vland with a temperate climate, although eradication of the species in larger cities has been mostly successful.
      The shuulamane is the subject of many Vilani proverbs and folktales, all attesting to the animal's vices of stupidity, laziness, cowardice, foul odor and lack of cleanliness. (Travellers' Digest #5, see Source for encounter statistics and Referee info)

Society for the Protection of Terra: Members of this society recommend that Terra be kept under Imperial rule, and not be allowed self-government again.  They argue that since Humaniti originated on Terra, the world should be administered as a preserve by the Imperium and not be given the chance of rebelling again, "endangering our glorious heritage and the plant of our origins."  The SPT was founded by Admiral David Mason in the 1050s, several decades after the Solomani Rim War had come to a close.  The group is strongest in Vland Sector. (Travellers' Digest #5)

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T

Third Imperium (0 to present): Founded in the year 0 by Cleon, first Emperor, as the successor to the Sylean Federation, a growing, expanding government centered in the territory formerly part of the First and Second Imperiums.  The rise of the Third Imperium marked the end of the Long Night and the beginning of present day interstellar government.
     The Third Imperium containts more than 11,000 worlds in a area more than 700 parsecs across. (Travellers' Digest #1)

True Humanity Society: This radical group believes that when the Ancients brought Humaniti out of Terra, they took sentient humans and left only the subhuman "apemen" of Terra.  They also believe that pure-blooded Vilani should cooperate with the Zhodani and some of the minor human races to "put the apes back in the zoo (Terra)."  After its founding by Sumaam Parshish and Khadu Shaa in 1076 and a few brief years of activity, the True Humanity Society is now almost extinct. (Travellers' Digest #1)

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U

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V

Vargr: Intelligent major race inhabiting regions generally coreward of the Imperium.  Vargr are derived from Terran canine stock which was genetically altered to allow an upright stance, an opposable thumb and intelligence. (Travellers' Digest #1)

Vilani Main: The Vilani Main, one of the largest chains of jump-1 worlds in the Imperium, is the oldest, richest and most cohesive section of the old empire.  Few of its worlds gave up interstellar travel during the Long Night.  Almost two-thirds of the planets in the Vland sector can be reached from Vland by a series of one-parsec jumps.  Maps produced before the Rule of Man call the Main by its original Vilani name, Arshukaa Sagalaa. (Travellers' Digest #1)

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W

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X

Xboat: See Express Boat. (Travellers' Digest #1)

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Y

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Z

Zhodani: One of three major human races within the known galaxy.  Zhodani inhabit the empire known as the Zhodani Consulate, with its capital at Zhodane.  More than 90% of all racial Zhodani live under the Consulate.
     The major distinction of the Zhodani race is its routine acceptance of psionics: all Zhodani of noble birth (social standing of A+) receive psionic testing and training in the normal course of their education. (Travellers' Digest #1)

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