A
A: (Imperial English): The neutral-animate pronoun. Emperor Chang disliked the fact that there was no good Standard English pronoun that referred to a single individual of unknown sex, or where sex was immaterial, so he made use of the Celtic "a", often written with an accent mark (á) by those who use Standard, to distinguish it from the indefinite article (@ is sometimes used when the printing/writing device cannot show accent marks). In Imperial English orthography, the Cyrillic "ya" (reversed R) is used.
[Preparer's note: The @ symbol has been used throughout these stories in the manner described above.]
ACADEMY: The Imperial Military Academy or Imperial Administrative Academy. Both are headquartered in and have their most prestigious facilities in the Antarctica Palace Complex; "branch" Academies are located throughout the Empire.
AHTO, Subsector 12-C:
No. systems: 89 Sector: Eridanus
with 3 inhabited planets: 2 Ruled by:
with 2 inhabited planets: 11
with 1 inhabited planet: 21
AEGIR, Subsector 17-D:
No. systems: 72 Sector: Indus
with 3 inhabited planets: 3 Ruled by:
with 2 inhabited planets: 8
with 1 inhabited planet: 24
AGNI, Subsector 11-B:
No. systems: 153 Sector: Gemini
with 3 inhabited planets: 4 Ruled by:
with 2 inhabited planets: 12
with 1 inhabited planet: 24
ALANNA, Clan: First of the Sandeman clans. Famous for its outstanding edged weapons.
ALANNA, Dana Dru-: Originally Dana Manfredi. A Terran woman who swore personal fealty to Richard Jason. When Jason repudiated her after trying to kill her, Dana asked the Alanna clan-chief's help in making atonement for allowing him to accept an unworthy thakur-na. After seeing the evidence, the Alanna instead asked Clan Miklos to convene a planet-wide conference, and asked Clan Vader to rule on both Dana's and Jason's actions. The decision was that Dana had acted properly and Jason had not; the Alanna then offered her his clan's countenance (essentially adoption), and when she accepted, claimed Chief's Right on her behalf. The conference agreed with that, banning Jason from any business in Subsector Sandeman, declaring his property forfeit, and giving him a day to get off-world or be killed by the first warrior who saw him. It also named Dana to the warrior caste and gave her the right to wear honor-black. ("Thakur-Na")
ALDRAS:
Sector: 16, Virgo Year:
Subsector: C, Ishtar Day:
System: Elder Gravity:
Settled/established: Axial tilt:
By: Oxygen:
Satellites: % Water:
Ident code prefix: ALS Continents:
Ruled by: Fayette family<
(Barbara Tennison)
ALPH, Subsector 17-A:
No. systems: 95 Sector: Indus
with 3 inhabited planets: 3 Ruled by:
with 2 inhabited planets: 9
with 1 inhabited planet: 20
ALTERNATE UNIVERSES: Until the first ship from a provably alternate universe appeared in the Empire, these were thought to be mathematical abstractions. Afterward, however, they were accepted as fact. That first confirmed inter-universe transition, like most, was the result of a drive malfunction, and led to the further discovery that if the drive was repairable, the ship's next hyper-transition would take it away (from what happened to Imperial ships, return it to its own universe). If the drive could not be repaired, the transferees had to remain.
That, at least, was and is the official story. In actuality, controlled inter-universe transition exists, but is a strictly-controlled secret. There are several reasons for this, but the primary two are the Ravagers and the fact that, although the time rate is constant, the apparent time ranges from megayears in the "past" to megayears in the "future".
AMATERASU, Subsector 1-E:
No. systems: 61 Sector: Orion
with 3 inhabited planets: 4 Ruled by:
with 2 inhabited planets: 10
with 1 inhabited planet: 24
AMATOR: (Xanadu) A member of the Guild of Amators, a professional entertainer specializing in sexual activities. Students are unrated; examinations, when their instructors consider them ready, will rate them as Specialist, Generalist, or Extra Class. Ratings can be upgraded by further training and examination.
ANGHNAR:
Sector: 5, Pegasus Year:
Subsector: B, Sleipnir Day:
System: Freya Gravity:
Settled/established: Axial tilt:
By: Oxygen:
Satellites: % Water:
Ident code prefix: ANG Continents:
Ruled by:
General: The world where Ranger James Medart picked up a number of
Sandeman prisoners, including Dartha DruLewies, who helped him end
the Sandeman war.
ANTHEM, IMPERIAL: Otherwise known as "Darth Vader's Theme", by John Williams, from the Star Wars trilogy. In Annexation, this choice of anthem has a strong effect on the Sandeman attitude toward the Empire.
ANTI-AGATHIC: A drug developed in 2113 which greatly extends the lifespan of humans, both standard and variant. Begun immediately after adolescence, it will approximately double expectable lifespan; begun later, the effect is less dramatic but still appreciable. Biological age remains what it was when treatment was started, until the last 3-5 years, though some minor cosmetic changes (such as graying hair) may appear at around the normal time.
ANTI-INTERROGATION CONDITIONING: A total memory erasure triggered by a code phrase spoken by the person needing to use it. At this point, the victim fixates on the first person seen or heard. Memory up to the time of the last conditioning can be restored by replay of a mindscan tape made then, and memory after the conditioning is triggered is retained; the interval between is lost.
ANUBIS, Subsector 15-A:
No. systems: 48 Sector: Auriga
with 3 inhabited planets: 2 Ruled by:
with 2 inhabited planets: 11
with 1 inhabited planet: 23
APIS, Subsector 9-C:
No. systems: 91 Sector: Ursa
with 3 inhabited planets: 2 Ruled by:
with 2 inhabited planets: 11
with 1 inhabited planet: 24
AQUILA, Sector 10:
Ruled by: No. systems: 207
Subsectors: 3 Inhabited planets: 147
A. Thunderbird
B. Roc
C. Garuda
ARDEN, Subsector 4-E:
No. systems: 149 Sector: Fornax
with 3 inhabited planets: 1 Ruled by:
with 2 inhabited planets: 9
with 1 inhabited planet: 28
ARGUS, Subsector 2-A:
No. systems: 141 Sector: Hydra
with 3 inhabited planets: 5 Ruled by:
with 2 inhabited planets: 9
with 1 inhabited planet: 23
ARIES, Sector 18:
Ruled by: No. systems: 1,067
Subsectors: 8 Inhabited planets: 416
A. Ebisu E. Prometheus
B. Pallas F. Forseti
C. Magni G. Tyr
D. Vishnu H. Donblas
ARMS BALDRIC: A formal or semi-formal way of displaying arms. The baldric is a length of cloth or other material about eight inches wide, hanging down in front to about wrist length, draped over the left shoulder, around the back to waist level on the right, and over the left shoulder again to about knee-height in back, with the arms pinned to it just below the left shoulder. It is colored in accordance with the level of the jurisdiction issuing the arms: green for the Empire, white for a Sector, yellow for a Subsector, orange for a system, red for a planet, and black for any lesser jurisdiction. The baldric may be fringed in silver or green, depending on the baldric's color.
ARRIAN:
Sector: 19, Leo Year: 425.28 days
Subsector: B, Galatine Day: 24 hr 18 min
System: Regulus Gravity: 995 cm/sec2
Settled/established: Axial tilt: 21.4 deg.
By: Oxygen: 25.3%
Satellites: 1 (Whirlaway) % Water: 80
Ident code prefix: ARR Continents: 5
Ruled by:
General: The entire population is male. Some are semi-androgynous,
known as gynandri (singular gynandra), genetically engineered to be
able to carry children. These are not numerous (most children are
gestated in artificial wombs; all are products of cloning or
laboratory gene-splicing), and they require considerable medical help
to carry the baby to term once the embryo is implanted. While the
genetic engineering that creates the gynandri is contrary to Imperial
law, the reason was because the Arriani wanted to retain the closest
approximation they could manage to natural reproduction, so until
research can provide a way for women to live on Arrian, the
engineering of gynandri is excepted. The Arriani, however, do not
realize this; as far as they are concerned, they have managed to
keep the gynandri a precious secret of their way of life.
Religion is based on the Lady of Love.
ASGARD, Subsector 3-A:
No. systems: 63 Sector: Sculptor
with 3 inhabited planets: 5 Ruled by:
with 2 inhabited planets: 8
with 1 inhabited planet: 21
ATHENA, Subsector 16-A:
No. systems: 67 Sector: Virgo
with 3 inhabited planets: 6 Ruled by:
with 2 inhabited planets: 10
with 1 inhabited planet: 19
AURIGA, Sector 15:
Ruled by: No. systems: 510
Subsectors: 4 Inhabited planets: 210
A. Anubis C. Tuonetar
B. Nephthys D. Yama
AURORA:
Sector: 8, Centaurus Year:
Subsector: D, Pan Day:
System: Aurora Gravity:
Settled/established: Axial tilt:
By: Oxygen:
Satellites: % Water:
Ident code prefix: AUR Continents:
Ruled by:
General: Had an interest in the heavy metals market strong enough for
it to engage in industrial espionage; this attracted OSI's attention
because of the possibility a former IntelDiv field agent was involved,
which proved to be the case. (Barbara Tennison)
AVALON, Subsector 4-C:
No. systems: 106 Sector: Fornax
with 3 inhabited planets: 3 Ruled by:
with 2 inhabited planets: 11
with 1 inhabited planet: 22