Later Eron’s lover Otaria found them, brought in tow by Scogil’s Petunia. “Is he all right?” Otaria asked.
“He’s asleep.”
Osa-Scogil felt very peculiar about having a wife and a Frightfulperson. And a daughter standing behind him with her arms wrapped affectionately around his neck. And an Admiral’s head in his lap who was also a madman and a father. “Life isn’t very predictable,” he said.
“I know,” replied the Mermaid of the Calmer Sea.
Appendix A
GALACTIC STANDARD TIME
One jiff is 3,066,899 cycles of light from cesium 133
One second is 9,192,631,770 cycles of light from cesium 133
Velocity of light is 100 million meters/jiff
Light year = 9,460.471452 trillion meters League = 10,000 trillion meters
A Galactic Standard Year: = the time it takes light to travel 10,000 trillion meters = 12.87 months = 386.067 days
A Galactic Standard Month: = the time it takes light to travel 1000 trillion meters = 1/10 GST year = 1.29 months = 38.31 days = 926.57 hours
A Galactic Standard Watch: = the time it takes light to travel ten trillion meters = 1/100 GST month = 0.38 days = 9.26 hours = 555.94 minutes
A Galactic Standard Hour:
= the time it takes light to travel a trillion meters = 1/10 GST watch = .93 hours = 55.59 minutes = 3,335.64 seconds
A Galactic Standard Inamin:
= the time it takes light to travel ten billion meters = 1/100 GST hour = 33.356 seconds = 0.556 minutes
A Galactic Standard Jiff: = the time it takes light to travel 100 million meters = 1/100 GST inamin = 0.33356 seconds
An Archaic Year: = the time it takes Rith to orbit Sol = 0.946 GST years = 94,604,714.58 jiffs
An Archaic Month Varied at the Whim of Despots:
7,252,579 jiffs = 28 days
7,648,305 jiffs = 29.52 days, the time it takes the Moon to orbit Rith
7,770,620 jiffs = 30 days = 77.71 watches 8,029,641 jiffs = 31 days
An Archaic Day: = the time it takes Rith to complete one rotation around Sol = 2.59 GST watches = 25.90 GST hours = 259,020.68 GST jiffs
An Archaic Hour: = 1/24 archaic day = 1.08 GST hours = 107.93 GST inamins = 10,793 GST jiffs
An Archaic Minute: = 1/60 archaic hour = 1.80 inamins = 179.87 jiffs
An Archaic Second = 1/60 minute = 2.998 jiffs
Appendix
B
TIMELINE OF GALACTIC HISTORY
Year Galactic Era:
time it takes light to travel 1.OOOOOOOOOO x1016 meters
Year Anno Domini:
time it takes light to travel 0.9460471452 x l016 meters
Conversion Equations: year GE = (year AD x O.946047)—61,248 year AD = (year GE+61,248)x 1.05703 year FE = year GE—12,068 [FE stands for “Founder’s Era.”]
64th Millennium BGE
Construction of the Great Pyramid (Rith), 63,591 BGE; 2478 BC
62nd Millennium BGE
Emperor Huangdi-of-Qin (Rith), 61,493-61,447 BGE; b259; reign 247-210 BC
Emperor Augustus Caesar of Rome (Rith), 61,273-61,233 BGE; reign 27 BC to 14 AD Missing year catastrophe, 61,247 BGE; 0 AD Jesus Christ bom, saving mankind from sin, 61,247 BGE; 1 AD
61st Millennium BGE
Conquest of England (Rith) by Norman barbarians, 60,240 BGE; 1066 AD
Pope Innocent III (of Rith) exterminates Christian rivals in Zara, Constantinople, and France, 60,114-60,097 BGE; 1198-1216 AD
60th Millennium BGE
Voyages of Discovery by sea (Rith), 59,929-59,808 BGE; 1394-1522 AD
Renewed religious dissent, Luther, 59,813 BGE; 1517 AD
Index of Forbidden Books, 59,773 BGE; 1559 AD
Astronomical mathematics, Johann Kepler, 59,762-59,706 BGE; 1571-1630 AD
Rediscovery of pendulum clocks, 59,700 BGE; 1636 AD
Begin 20th century AD, extreme population ramp-up, 59,451 BGE; 1900 AD
Max Planck’s Nobel Address, 59,433 BGE; 1918 AD
Intercourse Of Commingled Bodies legalizes metric-meter for Americ colonies, 59,424 BGE; 1928 AD
First Venteen Flying Fortress built, 59,417 BGE; c. 1935 AD
Nuclear fission discovered (Rith), 59,414 BGE; 1939 AD
Begin 21st century AD, population ramp-up continues, 59,356 BGE; 2000 AD
Great Die-off (Rith) c. 59,250-59,000 BGE (undocumented)
59th Millennium BGE
First Rithian Interstellar Wanderer (sublight), 58,912 BGE; 2469 AD
Last Rithian interstellar expedition, 58,056 BGE; 3374 AD
57-49th Millennia BGE
Sublight colonization radius reaches 1000 leagues.
Hyperdrive discovered at Eta Cuminga, 48,211 BGE; 13,780 AD
Galactic colonization explosion
48—47th Millennia BGE Eta Cumingan Empire
Cathusians of Rith begin to recollect old starship libraries
46—28th Millennia BGE First expansion era, only minor conflict Eta Cuminga gradually loses control Era of 100 empires, 1000 states
27—4th Millennia BGE Continuation of rapid colonization Beginning of Time of Troubles Core settled, Splendid Wisdom, 18,370 BGE; 45,323 AD
First Settlers in the Ulmat Constellation, 16,554 BGE; 47,243 AD
3-1 st Millennia BGE
Era dominated by Sotama traders and mercenaries, 2435-812 BGE
Rise of Machan Confederacy from 812 BGE onward General decline of Sotama influence Theory of multi-poled Hyperdrive invented, 111 BGE; 63,920 AD
Galactic center spawning ground of experiments for next hundred years.
Amateur engineers of Splendid Wisdom first to perfect design of the new Hyperdrive in 603 BGE; 64,104 AD Splendid Wisdom Traders competing with Machan, 500 BGE; 64,212 AD
1st Millennium GE
Kambal-the-First bom, 0 GE; 64,741 AD The army of Kambal-the-First takes over Splendid Wisdom’s trading confederation and crowns him Emperor, 32-62; 64,775-64,806 AD
Defeat of Machan attack on Splendid Wisdom, 400; 65,163 AD
Viceroy of Santar suppresses rebellion within Empire, annexes Machan, millions die, 567 GE; 65,340 AD
Civil War, 783; 65,569 AD
2nd Millennium GE:
Splendid Wisdom controls 90,000 star systems, 65,798 AD
Water ecology Splendid Wisdom nearing collapse, 1300
Kambal-the-Eighth, 1346-1378, coregent 1378-1382 Frightfulpeople infiltrate and dominate Splendid Wisdom and apparatus of fledgling empire. Tanis-the-First, often Tanis One-eye, 1378-1495, declared emperor during War of Two Emperors Six Billion on Splendid Wisdom die. Kambal-the-Eighth captured and murdered, 1382, end of Kambal Dynasty
Tanis-the-First dies at age 171 years, 1495
3rd Millennium GE:
Splendid Wisdom controls a million star systems, 66,855 AD
4th Millennium GE: Splendid Wisdom controls
I, 500,000 systems, 67,912 AD Emperor Ojaisun-the-Adroit, 3231-3245
defeated and executed by daughter, 3245, at Lalaw
II.
5th Millennium GE:
Splendid Wisdom controls two million systems, 68,969 AD
Emperor Harkon-the-Traveller, disappears while on tour, 4327-4357
Rise of Pupian Dynasty by election, 4512 Admiral Peurifoy’s preemptive campaigns, 4780-4822 6th Millennium GE:
Splendid Wisdom controls four million star systems, 70,026 AD
Pupian Dynasty ended by Etalun Military Family, 5220 Etalun Cotoya Court established to promote arts and refinement
Composer Saramantin of Rith at his height, 5390; 70,438 AD
Orr-of-Etalun, third Emperor Etalun Dynasty, 5395-5406
Orion Arm Regionate subjugated, 5397 Etalun Dynasty destroyed by internal conflict, 5413; 70,463 AD
First Horezkor class battleship commissioned, warship of Middle Empire, 5517
Emperor Daigin-the-Jaw, b. 5561, ascends throne 5578, d. 5632; 70,637 AD
Emperor Daigin-the-Mild, second son of the Jaw bom during father’s Persean-Cara campaign, 5597 coronation, 5632
castrated, exiled by Arum-the-Patient, 5641 died 5671
Emperor Arum-the-Patient, first son of the Jaw bom 5591
conquered the Ulmat, 5634-5637 takes throne by military coup, 5641 poisoned by mother, 5662 Time of 17 emperors, 5663-5678 Establishment of Som Dynasty ; end of confusion, 5678