Shift, Barnardean —(n) A measure of time equal to 10 Barnardean hours or 35,937.5 standard seconds. There are two shifts in a pid, and 23 pids in a Barnardean day. Attributed to Bascal Edward de Towaji Lutui.
Sila'a —(n) A pinpoint fusion generator or “pocket star” consisting of a wellstone-sheathed neutronium core surrounded by gaseous deuterium. From the Tongan si'i (“small”) and la'aa (“sun”).
Sketchplate —(n) A thin, rectangular block or sheet of wellstone sized and preprogrammed for the portable display and input of text, drawings, and physical simulations.
Skyhook —(n) Any device or structure spanning the region between a planet's atmosphere and the surrounding vacuum, especially as part of a transportation system.
Smalter —(n) A fax machine specialized for the extraction of useful elements from ore or waste, and/or the dispensing of purified elements as part of an industrial process.
Spall —(v, n) To break up or reduce via the removal of small surface particles, as with a chisel or laser. As a noun, a particle which has been struck from the surface of a larger object.
Squozen Moon, the (see Lune)
Stealth —(n) Concealment, especially during movement or action. Colloquially, a synonym for technologically derived invisibility.
Superabsorber —(n) Any material capable of absorbing 100% of incident light in a given wavelength band. The only known universal superabsorber (i.e., functioning at all wavelengths) is the event horizon of a hypermass. (Approximations of 100% absorption are generally referred to as “black.”)
Superfluid —(n, adj) Any fluidized material capable of propagating with zero friction and zero viscosity. The vast majority of superfluids are either cryogenic, as with liquid helium, or supercondensed, as with neutronium.
Superinsulator —(n) A material or device which completely forbids the passage of electrons in a given energy band. Universal superinsulators (i.e., functioning at all energies) are unknown and may be physically impossible.
Superreflector —(n) Any material capable of reflecting 100% of incident light in a given wavelength band. No universal superreflectors are known. (Approximations of 100% reflectance are generally referred to as “mirrors.”)
Ta'ahine —(n) A maiden or virgin, or a mature woman of high status.
Taha mano ta'u —Traditional Tongan birthday wish. Literally: ten thousand years.
Talematangi —(n) On the Barnardean world of Sorrow, aka Planet Two, a persistent cough brought on by atmospheric halogens and other irritants. From the Tongan tale (“cough”) and matangi (“air” or “atmosphere”).
Tazzer —(n) A short-range beam weapon consisting of pulsed, coaxial streams of electrons and metal ions in a guide beam of blue or violet laser light. Tazzers are primarily used to induce temporary incapacity (pain, paralysis, unconsciousness), although lethal versions also exist.
Teleport valve —(n) A device for regulating the flow of atoms or molecules between two discontinuous points in space.
Telomere —(n) The natural end of a eukaryotic chromosome, used in biology as a regulator of cell division. The shortening of telomeres within the cells of an organism is both a marker and a determinant of geriatry. Complete erosion of the telomere results in cellular senescence and is generally considered fatal in the long term.
Terraform —(v) To make Earthlike. In general, to match the gravity, climate, and atmosphere of a planet or planette to that of Earth, possibly including the imposition of a stable biosphere. Enclosed spaces are “climate controlled” rather than terraformed. Attributed to Jack Williamson.
Timoch —(prop n) Capital city of the Luner nation of Imbria, with a population of approximately 2 million.
Titranium —(n) Public domain wellstone substance characterized by moderate flexibility, extreme toughness, and a lustrous gray appearance.
Tonga —(n) Former Earth kingdom consisting of the Tongatapu, Ha'apai, and Vava'u archipelagoes of Polynesia, and scattered islands occasionally including parts of Samoa and Fiji. Tonga was the only Polynesian nation never to be conquered or colonized by a foreign power, and was the last human monarchy prior to the Q1 establishment of the Queendom of Sol.
Tuberail —(n) A monorail system in which the rail, usually circular in cross-section, carries power and other utilities between destinations and for the benefit of tuberail cars and podships traveling along it.
Tui Barnarda —(n) Formal title of the King of Barnard.
Ullage —(n) Waste, inefficiency, or loss. The space in a container which cannot practically be filled, and also the remnant contents of a container or plumbing network which cannot practically be emptied.
Upsystem —(adj or adv) One of the six cardinal directions: away from the sun in any orientation.
Varna —(prop n) A 640-meter-radius planette constructed in orbit around Luna by private investors during the latter years of the Queendom of Sol. Site of the Q1290 Treaty of Varna, granting Right of Return to Barnard refugees.
Vendory —(n) A portable device consisting of a power supply, mass buffer, fax hardware, and small print plate, usually capable of drawing additional buffer mass from the atmosphere. High-quality vendories are technically capable of producing almost any device or substance, but are generally restricted by software and tradition to the production of foodstuffs and eating utensils.
Waldo —(n) Any teleoperation system where movements of the operator's hands are replicated by handlike devices at a remote location. Attributed to Robert Heinlein.
Wellcloth —(n) A fabric woven wholly or partially from wellstone fibers. While sheet wellstone could technically be considered a form of cloth, the term “wellcloth” is generally reserved for fabrics with weave lengths larger than 1 micrometer.
Wellglass —(n) Any wellstone substance which is both optically transparent and electrically insulative, often employed as the default state of wellstone devices. Most typically refers to a wellstone substance closely emulating the properties of transparent silica-soda-lime (SiO2, NaO, CaO) “window glass” preparations except in terms of mass and toughness. In general, natural substances containing a preponderance of silicon are the easiest to emulate in a wellstone matrix.
Wellstone —(n) A substance consisting of fine, semiconductive fibers studded with quantum dots, capable of emulating a broad range of natural, artificial, and hypothetical materials. Typical wellstone is composed primarily of pure silicon, silicon dioxide, and gold.
Wellwood —(n) An emulation of lignous cellulose (“wood”), often employed as the default state of wellstone devices.
Wideband —(adj) Describes any signal, carrier, or network with a bandwidth greater than 100 MHz or an effective data rate greater than 100 Mbit/sec.
Williamson, Jack —(prop n) American romanticist of the Old Modern period.
Zettahertz —(n) A measure of frequency equal to 1021 Hertz, or one thousand billion billion cycles per second.
Appendix C.
Technical notes