Across the Scattered Worlds

Tcherlatha

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:18:00 +0000

Tcherlatha is one of the Scattered Worlds, known for the speed of its ever-changing ecology. Biological evolution on Tcherlatha moves at hyper-speed. In the Scattered Worlds, a well-known saying describes a very busy person as "busy as a Tcherlathan biologist."

Despite all this frantic activity, Tcherlatha has never developed sapient life. Many conflicting theories of the development of intelligence have tried to explain this, but scientists have found none of them conclusive.

copyright (c) 2011, Don Sakers

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A Voice in Every Wind (Ebooks Make Great Gifts #2)

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:59:00 +0000

I have a copy of the Fifth Forbidden Book.

My friend Treyl was very anxious to see it; he did not realize that my people used books. So I led and Treyl followed with his strange ungainly waddle, away from the clevth and northward into the hills. This was in the time of the wet spring winds, when the rimmith bloom for their brief lives and the sun passes the Seam of Heaven in a shower of sparks. The clevth was upwind, and every gust brought the awareness of my people preparing for the time of breeding: young females ready to mate and drop their eggs in the shallows, half-year-olds anxious to pick up the beginnings of their coats, adolescents ready for a last taste of the ancestral waters before entering their fina1 forms. The night was alive with sensation, alive in a way that made Treyl and the Fifth Forbidden Book so much more exciting.

With Treyl watching I carefully took the Book from its wrapping — cured membranes of the large jarief flsh — and cradled it in my three forward hands. My copy of the Fifth Forbidden Book is a heavy thing, with leaves made from pressed plantfibers and separated by more membranes. As I held it, my hands detected its ancient holiness, and I caught a wisp of the long-ago scribe who had lovingly transferred the words of the original Book to this copy. I opened the Book to its first leaf, raised it to my face and caressed it with my antennae. Just as he had deposited them so long ago, I felt the thoughts of Ep-Naph the Great Warrior, thoughts that he had left to be preserved by the brotherhood for those of his descendants who could comprehend them.

Treyl leaned forward, looking naked without a coat of star-shaped pled by their hundreds, looking ready to fall over as he balanced on an amazing two limbs while reaching for me with the only other two he possessed. When I first met Treyl, I closed my mind against the onslaught of pain that had to emanate from one so crippled — only later I learned that his people are naturally malformed.

His backpack spoke: a combination of the soundless speech of my people, and the noisy chitters and clicks of the secret tongue of the brotherhood. “May I see it, Dleef?”

“It is old and fragile, my friend Treyl. Please take care as you would handling a newborn.”

He left me holding the Book, removed an antenna from his backpack and brushed it lightly over the surface of the leaf. “Amazing. That chemical traces could be so exact. That your sensory apparatus can pick them up. That they convey so much information.”

“The Book is old,” I told him, “and was but a copy to begin with. Many passages have faded and are hard to read.”

“My backpack can read them all. Possibly it can duplicate the chemicals and make those passages easier to read. Would you like me to do that?”

I regarded him well, this odd small creature from nowhere. The rest of the clevth bore him the usual disregard for a stranger who does not smell right; why did I trust him? Was it that other thing, which made me a part of the brotherhood and brought me the emnity of my people? Whatever, I knew that I did trust Treyl, trusted him with something in me that went beyond his smell and his strangeness. “The clevth leaves with morning, and although I do not wish to go south right now I shall accompany them. You may work your maglcs on the Book until daylight.”

“Until daylight.” He pressed one of his hands against mine, gently, to avoid hurting himself on my pled coat. And through the interstices and the living bodies of my pled seeped a measure of his alien feel, and once again I wondered about him.

About myself.

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
Find out more in A Voice in Every Wind ($2.50 ebook, $7.50 print)
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Ebooks Make Great Gifts Part 1: The Leaves of October

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 14:32:00 +0000

I am but a sapling, yet already I have become proficient in the reading of the First Language, in the rustles and whispers of the Second Language, and even a bit in the vast soundless waves of the Inner Voice with its meanings from beyond the sky.

I am also skilled in relations with the other orders of life, although this world has circled its sun but a dozen times since I broke soil. You may find it strange to hear a Hlut speak of relations with other orders— these are the Hlutr, you may say to yourselves, who stand so far above the others that they touch the clouds, who live so long that they watch mountains change, who talk among themselves in their two languages (for what can you know of the Inner Voice?) all oblivious to the world. How, you may ask, can they even be aware of others?

And your thoughts are partly right, Little Ones— but only partly. True, the Elders…those who are old even as the Hlutr count time…do not pay that much attention to others. True, they live so slowly that your lives are but a flicker, and to them you are less than goats are to a mountain. Yet you must not make mountains of us, Little Ones, for we are alive (even as are you) and we know the pains and beauties of living. We feel kin to all life.

Let me assure you that the Hlutr do care, tiny and ephemeral as you are. We know you and feel you and cherish you, although you may not think so; for truly, we do not speak with you and seldom acknowledge you. We are aware of the flying creatures who perch upon us, of the land beings who jump, walk and creep around us; of the grubs and many-legged crawlers who live on us and in us and within the ground beneath our roots. We appreciate, we feel for, we cherish all Little Ones— down to the tiny, primal bits of pulsing, growing, mindless life within you and their dull feeling for the Inner Voice, their dull awareness of the great world about them.

I have been taught to be even more conscious of you, Littles, than are my brethren Hlutr. I have been taught by Elders and normal Hlutr alike, living so fast that I have fit many of your lifetimes into my scant dozen years. With each day I grow better with the First and Second Languages, the expressions of my people; with each day I become more attuned to the waves of the Inner Voice…not only that I might communicate with my brethren of far-off worlds, but also that I might talk with you, Little Ones.

Why, you may ask, have I been created this way, why have I been bred and trained into such a non-Hlutr type of Hlut? You may wonder what need the Elders have of a Hlut like me. I wonder too, my Littles. I have some idea. There are whispers in the wind, and pulses in the Inner Voice, that bear news across the galaxy and around the world to me. There is news from the Ancients of Nephestal, whose culture is almost as old as the Hlutr.

The Daamin, the Ancients, tell us that there is a new race ready to come forth and join the Scattered Worlds of the Galaxy. We will all have company soon, dear Little Ones, and I believe the Elders wish to be ready for these new ones.

There are strange stories about them, stories which I do not quite understand. The Daamin tell of these new ones, these Humans, and of their distant planet and their odd ways. We have learned of our stunted relatives the Redwoods of Terra; we have been told of Animals and Dolphins and some of the Humans’ strange societal customs (some of them a little like the many-legged crawlers and some of the grubs). In their own way they have studied the Universal Song and learned some of its principles. Enough, at least, to harness some of the power of the First Cause. And they are coming, Little Ones; already their seeds flash outward from their world at speeds as fast as the Inner Voice can move, and soon they will be here among us.

Little Ones, we must prepare for the Humans.

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
Find out more in The Leaves of October (ebook $2.99, print $14.99)
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The Hallelujah Chorus

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 12:35:00 +0000

Date: Fri, August 1, 2042 08:16:18 (EDT)

To: All Residents, Guests, Visitors, and Their Sordid Entourages

From: Miranda Maris (m@maris-institute.org)

Subject: Tonight’s Festivities

Message-id: <20421316180326_512530.70601_AX020@maris-institute.org>

Content-Type: text

Status: O

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Since this has been the proverbial Week From Pell, I am afraid that the Hyperspace Jig will simply Not Be Enough. Therefore, please come prepared to participate in the traditional midnight performance of the Hallelujah Chorus around the pool. This is mandatory, as Miz Miranda needs some definite cheering up. Those who feel they need to practice beforehand, should meet in the Grand Ballroom at eleven. Bring friends (or whatever passes for friends in your sad, lonely, meaningless lives).

The Calvert Ballroom will be dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives in the Timbuktu disaster. Works of art, performances, memorial services, and remembrances are all welcome and encouraged. The U.N. Timbuktu Relief Fund and International Red Cross/Crescent/Wheel will be on hand to accept money, clothing, nonperishable food items, and volunteers. Donated materials will be auctioned on Sunday afternoon for the benefit of the Relief Fund.

-M.

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NOTE: Don Sakers will be on panel discussions and other program events at this weekend's Darkover Grand Council in Timonium, Maryland. The Darkover Grand Council, a three-day celebration of diversity and creativity, is our favorite convention. Look for our room party on Friday night...and yes, the Hallelujah Chorus will be sung in the hotel lobby at midnight on Saturday.

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
Find out more in Dance for the Ivory Madonna
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The Empire of the Iaranor

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:29:00 +0000

A long time ago, oh, a few hundred Galactic Revolutions of Nephestal, the Iaranor thought they had ended war. They had an Empire, very like the Human one, except that it didn't control the entire Galaxy. Their colonization had not reached so far. Fewer planets were fit to support life, in those days.

The stories tell that there was a long period of peace, a Pax Iaranori I suppose you would call it. The Iaranori built many beautiful buildings, and made lovely decoration, and stumbled across some profound and stunning music. And their biologists made efforts to breed aggressiveness out of their race.

Well, this Empire of the Iaranor lasted for a good long time, but it didn't get much larger, nor did the Iaranor respond when hostile Core cultures made forays into the Scattered Worlds. Soon their Empire began to crumble around the edges, simply from entropy.

Finally the Emperor -- an Iaranori named Takonnen -- took action. He undid what the biologists had done, reintroduced the genes for aggressive tendencies, bred an entire planet of atavistic Iaranori.

Under their chieftain, Batydded, these new Iaranor supernovaed forth and, in a generation of bloody war, doubled the size of the Empire until it embraced every Iaranor in the Galaxy. Batydded herself led expeditions against the Core worlds, toppled their structures of government, and removed Core military influence for millions of years.

That generation of Iaranor produced works of visual art, symphonies, drama, and literature that dazzled all subsequent civilizations. Ismallia, Batydded's capital, is still one of the most impressive worlds in the Galaxy.

The Empire soon fell apart into warring factions. The Iaranor live longer than Humans, but they do not live slower. Batydded lived to see her Empire torn apart, and the Iaranor went through hundreds of generations of ignoble strife before they finally reached true racial maturity.

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
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What's the Order?

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 16:06:00 +0000

People have been asking "In what order should I read the Scattered Worlds books?" and "In what order do the books go by internal chronology (i.e. when things happened in the Scattered Worlds universe)?" Both are good questions.

Reading Order

Unlike many series out there, the Scattered Worlds stories are meant to stand on their own. You can pick up any title without having read the others. That's why I call it a mosaic rather than a traditional series. There is no required order for reading the constituent parts. However, after a while you will come to realize that they are all part of a larger pattern, a continuing narrative. In the end (and I promise you, there is an end), the Scattered Worlds books will tell a complete story that transcends the individual parts.

That being said, The Leaves of October is a good place to start. It covers the full sweep of Scattered Worlds history from the beginning up to the Maturity of Humanity, and provides a framework that the other stories can hang from.

After Leaves you have a choice. If you want to read more kewl aliens and find out more about the alien cultures of the Scattered Worlds, you might want to move on to A Voice in Every Wind and A Rose From Old Terra, then pick up Weaving the Web of Days and All Roads Lead to Terra (just released), and fit Dance for the Ivory Madonna in whenever you're in the mood for something near-future.

If you'd rather read more about the Human cultures, then jump right into Weaving the Web of Days, follow up with A Voice in Every Wind, All Roads Lead to Terra, and A Rose From Old Terra. Dance for the Ivory Madonna, finally, will give you a feeling for how all this stuff originated.

Chronological Order

I don't suggest reading the books in chronological order your first time through, but here it is:

(Actually, it's more complicated than that. The sections of The Leaves of October, A Voice in Every Wind, and All Roads Lead to Terra actually take place in several different time periods. But this'll do for now.)

Be aware, though, that there are more books coming -- and they will definitely appear out of chronological order. I'll periodically revisit this list as more books come out in the future.

-Don Sakers

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
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Brandix

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 14:35:00 +0000

Brandix was origianlly a Tr#skan deity, a capricious one at that. His worship became popular among university students in the final pre-Imperial decade, and was institutionalized over the next half-century as they grew.

It was not until TE 164, with the Council of Credix, that Brandixian theology became linked with the cults of Kaal and Meletia.

In the eternal trinity, Brandix is the Trickster, the Other, the spirit of youth and rebellion, the divine embodiment of androgyny, change, unconventionality, disaster; the Eternal Outsider. Brandix was a particular favorite of minorities and those on the outskirts of society. He was also a traditional advocate for gays.

The Brandixian sacred litany starts: "This hour, call it one. All that has gone before, forget it; wipe it out; it can hurt you no longer. All that will come, prepare to meet it."

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
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The Virgo Mariner Expedition

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 13:42:00 +0000

The Virgo Mariner was a Second Terran Empire vessel, carrying a Scattered Worlds crew under the command of Mal Arin, sent on a voyage of exploration to the Virgo Cluster in 23,524 H.E.
The multi-species, multi-discipline crew included:

Mal Arin: Human, historian, Captain.
Borinat t'Lemest: Metrinaire, Economist
Debrettar: Iaranori, Chief Engineer
Kiryl: Human, Second-in-Command
LeMoine: Human, Poet
Mondappen: Iaranori, Galactic Rider
Doctor na-Pekah: Dorascan, Chief Astronomer
Explorers: Twin Hlutr, Advisors
Osteva Rul: Human, Geneticist
Fadil Tormity: Human, Galactic Rider
Tiglath delv Napitsha: Avethellan, Telepath
Tila Zakodny: Human, Biologist
Wu Plenr: Daamin, Librarian
Ximu Qin: Daamin, Geneticist

The Virgo Mariner crew visited the planet Metaneira in the Ring Galaxy, where they contacted the Twilight Dancers. A particular Twilight Dancer, Song of the Eventide Wind, was the crew's main contact.

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
Find out more in The Leaves of October
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The Mehbis Cluster

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:08:00 +0000

The Mehbis Cluster was an open cluster of 38 stars that existed approximately 400 million BCE. The Mehbis Cluster contained 18 habitable planets. The dominant higher lifeform was a species of "Singing Trees" which were Hlutr-descended and had strong telepathic/empathic abilites. Through the mediation of the Singing Trees and the co-operation of local Hlutr, the entire Mehbis Cluster became one single ecological unit.

In time, a form of co-operative micro-organisms developed intelligence and managed to build up a sophisticated nano-scale technology, including interstellar travel. However, technology fed upon itself and the micro-organisms severely overpopulated the entire cluster. The ecological crash, when it came, was quick and devastating; in the end, both the micro-organisms and the Singing Trees were driven to extinction, and the Cluster's biodiversity was decimated.

Over the course of Galactic revolutions, the stars of the Mehbis Cluster drifted apart. Today, there is no unity among the remaining planets, and only a few (mostly microscopic) ruins remain as evidence of the glories that once existed there.

The Children of Lavarren

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 14:08:00 +0000

The Children of Lavarren were a Scattered Worlds race which flourished c. 500 million BCE. Lavarren was their homeworld.
The Children of Lavarren were descended ( via Pylistroph Seed Vessel) from the Evellan. Physically, they were tall and willowy, and had rudimentary wings that allowed them to glide in Lavarren's low gravity. They were long-lived, with a juvenile phase that lasted about six to eight Human centuries, and and adulthood that could easily span ten thousand years.

Over the course of about six hundred millennia, using simple lightsail technology and a primitive form of ultrawave, the Children of Lavarren forged a union of roughly three hundred worlds across a distance of about two hundred parsecs along one Galactic Arm. They sent our exploration parties across the Galaxy.
When a long-distance exploration team from Lavarren penetrated the Gathered Worlds, the Children of Lavarren attracted the attention of Garadhros. Slowly, carefully, agents of Garadhros moved through the Lavarren union sowing the seeds of dissent and war. The Children of Lavarren, who until now had been peaceful, discovered war -- and soon the union was torn by strife.

At last, researchers on Lavarren itself developed a doomsday device: a method of triggering the simultaneous supernovae of sixteen key stars throughout the union, thereby flooding space with hard radiation that would render the entire arm of the Galaxy uninhabitable.

The crisis raised enormous moral conflicts among the ranks of the newly-formed Galactic Riders. The Riders finally came to realize that the only way to prevent the Children of Lavarren from self-destruction was to take away their freedom, and so they focussed their attention on evacuating innocent sapients, and (in the last throes) saving and preserving works of art.

In the end, of course, the doomsday device was used. And so the Children on Lavarren passed away in suicide, while the Scattered Worlds, Hlutr and Daamin and Riders alike, watched in sorrow and horror.

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
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The Folk of a Thousand Suns

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:07:00 +0000

The Folk of a Thousand Suns were a Scattered Worlds race which flourished c. 220 million BCE in a globular cluster far below the Galactic Plane. At their peak, the Folk commanded an empire that nearly encompassed the entire globular cluster, and lasted for nearly 10 million years.

The Folk were space-dwellers, evolved in the chaotic cometary shells of stars near the center of the globular cluster. There, where stars were at an average separation of a third of a parsec or less, the intensity of radiation drove evolution at enormous speed.

Individually, the Folk were large, hundreds of kilometers across. They were very long-lived, and had means of propulsion that allowed them to move from star to star. By choosing the level of cosmic ray flux in which they reproduced, the Folk had some control over how much their offspring would diverge from the parent's form.

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
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The Sardinian League

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:32:00 +0000

The Sardinian League formed in 5973 CE, and had a very uncertain course throgh the millennia. The League, never a formal government, was more of an economic and cultural alliance. The four main member states -- Borshall, New Sardinia, Terexta, and Sedante -- freely withdrew and rejoined many times as shifting political realities forced realignments of power in the sector.

The Sardinian League came to a formal end when it became one of the founding members of the Second Empire in 20,724 HE.

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
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Roots of the Second Terran Empire

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:55:00 +0000

from Preface to Imperial History by Zuri Hoister, Terra-Prime Publishing Corporation, 21,467 H.E.

Each of the three main Galactic regions provided important elements to the Second Terran Empire, founded in 20,724 H.E.

Credix supplied the mystical foundations: the moral/philosophical system of Lorecanism; the Old Empire cults of Kaal, Brandix, and Meletia; and the all-important legitimacy inherited from the First Empire.

Borshall/New Sardinia provided the head and heart of the Second Empire: the brains, the technology, and the culture that would hold it together.

And Geled...which had learned warcraft through centuries and millennia beseiged by neighboring hostile states...Geled supplied the force, the might, the Armies and Navies to unify the Galaxy.

All it really took was us to supply the spark....

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
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Scattered Worlds Ebooks

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:51:00 +0000

Three Scattered Worlds titles are now available in Kindle ebook format (see the links to the right).

You don't need a Kindle to read these ebooks. The free Kindle app is available for iPhone, iPad, Windows PC, Mac, Blackberry, and Android...so go crazy!

Weaving the Web of Days:

Maj Thovold has led the Galaxy for three decades, a Golden Age of peace and prosperity. She is weary and ready to resign, but two pieces of unfinished business remain. The first is her choice of a successor; the second, an old enemy that only she has the power to defeat. The last battle will take place on the strangest battlefield known: a web of living tendrils that stretches across interstellar space. A web where Maj's enemies wait, like spiders, for their prey....
A Voice in Every Wind:

Imagine a world where creatures communicate by scent and taste as much as sound and sight, where meaning lives in every rock and stream, and every breeze brings a new voice.... A pair of linked novellas introduces us to the planet Kaa and its alien inhabitants. From the viewpoint of a remarkable alien, Dleef, we witness a world alive with sensation and emotion; and we meet a Human explorer, Treyl, who is witness to a powerful and profound transformation. For on Kaa, consciousness and sapience are new experiences — and Treyl is present at nothing less than the birth of intelligence and culture on Kaa. Sixty years later, with the Human galaxy convulsed in war, Kaa’s fragile and beautiful society is menaced by the arrival of a notorious war criminal. Standing in his way is Captain Le Galvao of the Terran Empire. But Le is opposed by the Human inhabitants of Kaa. For in the depths of the forest, a secret project is underway, a project that could alter the future of Humanity.... A Rose From Old Terra:

LIBRARIANS IN SPACE

A single yellow rose summons Jedrek nor Talin back to Old Earth. A decade ago, he served the Terran Grand Library as one of the guardians of Humanity's collected knowledge. Now the last Librarian has called together the memrbers of Jedrek's broken work circle to protect the Library from its greatest threat. Four millennia after the Terran Empire fell, the Galaxy's communications system is breaking down. Jedrek and his coworkers set off into deep space to repair ancient Imperial equipment. But the aren't the only ones.for the warring remnants of the old Empire have also dispatched ships on the same mission. Suddenly, a peaceful settlement becomes ground zero in a clash of Galactic cultures-and a bare handful of Librarians are all that stand between the Galaxy and disastrous interstellar war.
Watch for more Scattered Worlds titles coming to ebooks very soon.

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
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The Imperial High Court

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:19:00 +0000

The High Court was the judicial arm of the First Terran Empire. The Court itself consisted of a panel of nine High Justices (one from each Province and Special Territory). The High Court also managed several thousand lower courts: a Circuit Court for each Province, Planetary Courts for each planet, and Local Courts for settlements and smaller political divisions. A formally-defined appeals procedure led upward through the various levels of Courts, with the High Court being the ultimate voice.
High Court decisions could only be reversed or altered by the Emperor acting in combination with the Imperial Council.

High Justices were appointed by the Secretary-General/Emperor and confirmed by the the Imperial Council, and served for life (or until removed from office, which took a three-quarters vote of the Council). Once they assumed office, High Justices became completely anonymous. They were seldom seen, even during hearings; when appearing in their official capacity they went hooded, masked, or otherwise obscured. Their voices were altered to preserve anonymity. Decisions from the Court were announced simply by vote totals, i.e. "Six Justices concurring, three dissenting." Published Court opinions and rulings followed a strict written format aimed at reducing the chance of identifying a particular Justice.

Nominees were extended the same anonymity, their identities concealed from even the Imperial Council.

In practice, this system of official anonymity often broke down under the scrutiny of dedicated Court watchers. In most cases, the identities of particular Justices could be determined with a high degree of confidence.

As a result of this official anonymity, High Justices were often able to carry on "normal" lives under a variety of aliases. It was customary (and expected) for Justices to spend time with "regular" people.

Officials of the High Court wore dark red uniforms.

Clerical support for the Courts was often supplied by the Bureaucratic Corps.

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
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The Council of Escen

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:26:00 +0000

By 5350 CE, the expanding Natalese Confederation had encountered the Duchy of Geled.

In 5372, war broke out between the two, a war which continued until 5408 CE.

The Geled-Natal War caused economic disruption throughout the region, particularly affecting the Independent Traders. When the Independent Trade Ship Keala-ka's was caught in crossfire and destroyed (although the crew survived), the Traders had had enough.

A peace conference was held on Escen (10 - 24 Ahktyahbr 5408 CE); when the Council of Escen was over, the disputed territory was made into the Free Territory of Cisnatal, with its capital at Tep Kecor. Cisnatal provided a much-needed buffer zone between Geled and Natal.

Cisnatal, however, did not last. In the long economic depression that followed the war (5408 - 5460 CE), Cisnatal slowly dissolved. By 5440 there was little left of the Free Territory.

Both Geled and Natal were so weakened by the war that neither tried to claim the contentious territory; the peace held through the dissolution of Natal c. 6000 CE.

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
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Emperor Alex Leonov

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:52:00 +0000

Reigned: TE 321-341
Born: 16 September TE 304
Died: 30 August TE 341

When 17-year-old Alex Leonov took the Throne in TE 321, it was necessary for him to build up a power base virtually from nothing. His grandfather (Dirk Fodon) had been disliked as an Emperor, and now various factions sought to ignore Alex and take over the government on their own.

One of his steppingstones was his staunchest supporter, 17-year-old Betty Sanceau. By espousing her and elevating her instantly to the status of Imperial Consort, Alex secured the support of the Sanceau factions in the Imperial Council. Betty that year bore the Heir, Jef Leonov.

Another of Alex's ploys was aimed at Jean Carroll (b. TE 279), who as Idara Carroll's Rep to the Council commanded all the intricate web of generations-old Carroll alliances. Alex could not elevate Jean Carroll's status any more -- in Imperial hierarchy and in fact, she stood just below the Imperial Family itself. So Alex bought Carroll support with the only coin he had: he agreed to espouse his firstborn daughter to Bob Carroll (b. TE 312), son of Jean Carroll and Dave Engelbach.

Jef, of course, was male; it was not until TE 326 that the bargain was closed, with the birth of Alex's daughter Anna.

About TE 333 the state of the Empire was looking bad: the Patalanian Union was expanding and the Empire's economy was tightening under the war effort. Along with economic and political moves, Alex took very drastic measures to boost morale with both troops and the Civil Service. Jef refused to father a Carroll Heir, so Imperial biotechs bred an in vitro daughter from 8-year-old Anna and 22-year-old Bob Carroll. This daughter, Laura Carroll, was born in 334 and hailed as Heir's Heir.

One question remained. Why a granddaughter, instead of a child for Jef? The Carroll alliance had to be preserved at all costs, and arranging for a Carroll to take the Throne cemented the alliance for good. The real reason, however, lies with the Emperor's increasing disenchantment with Jef, who was making the wrong kind of friends (especially among Idara Schmidt and their powerful anti-Carroll coalition).

During the first few years of Alex's reign, the Imperial Council passed a number of laws restricting the Throne's powers and privileges. Most notable of these was the Sovereign Cyborganic Implants Act of 321, which prohibited members of the Royal Family from having bodily implants other than those necessary for the job (i.e. the implants that interfaced with the Memory Crown). This law was passed in reaction to Dirk Fodon's apparent desire to prolong his life with medical implants.

With the departure of the Paranormal Families in 335, and the subsequent diminishment of Schmidt opposition, Alex's mood mellowed and he had a reconciliation of sorts with Jef. The two worked closely together for the remaining years of Alex's reign. The Imperial economy slid downhill, reaching a low point in TE 340; by this time Alex was in bad health, and Jef took on an increasing share of authority and responsibility. It was in 340 that the Masilek dynasty took over the Patalanian Union and began to pursue a more aggressive policy -- responsibility for response fell upon Jef, as Alex remained indifferent to the Empire's losses.

Alex died in August 341, and Jef succeeded him with only token resistance in the Terran Council.

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
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The Legend of Mooredann

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:52:00 +0000

The Reign of Aemallana was a time of peace for both Scattered and Gathered Worlds. But Aemallana's descendants were not so peaceful.

Thus Aemallana begat, of Kasuret, Eper-Heran. And Eper-Heran begat Takhmis, beloved of the Galactic Riders. And of Bata-Bedhet, son of Kresnes, Aemallana begat Tharnagod, who was the father of Mooredann. And Takhmis, being senior, was the Heir of Aemallana.

Now Takhmis was well-studied in the disciplines of warcraft and statecraft, while Mooredann studied philosophy and history. And Mooredann went to the world of the Daamin to study, and she journeyed even to the innermost of the Gathered Worlds,. And Mooredann was captivated by the lingering power of the Gergathan, so that she desired to rule the Scattered and Gathered Worlds. The Gergathan then supplied the means.

It came to be in that time, some of the Gathered Worlds rebelled against Aemallana. These were Kaernesh, !Th-thren, Evenyth, and the three worlds of Toomenaw. Now Aemallana went to calm the peoples of these worlds, and Mooredann used trickery to force Aemallan to fly into a collapsar. So passed Aemallana from the Grand Scheme, betrayed by Mooredann.

Now Mooredann spoke to the peoples of the Galaxy, and told them that Takhmis had murdered Aemallana that she might rule in her stead. Many people loved Takhmis, but they loved Aemallana more. And such was the influence of the Gergathan that many fell under its spell, especially many of those from the Gathered Worlds. So it came to pass that, using the peoples' love for Aemallana, Mooredann had Takhmis executed. And Mooredann also destroyed Maercal, the son of Takhmis, and Desthaltor his daughter. But the Galactic Riders protected the infant Toolea, daughter of Desthaltor and the last survivor of Takhmis's line, and took her away from Avethell to be raised in the Secluded Realm.

Now Mooredann ruled from the Seat of Aemallana on Messilinia, and for a time there was peace. Mooredann told the people that peace had come, and so it seemed, For the Gergathan did not incite the peoples of the Gathered Worlds into more rebellions, and while Mooredann ruled there was no war. So Mooredann reduced the size of Avethell's defense fleet, saying that it was time to put away the weapons of war and begin the work of peace.

Now many years passed, and finally Mooredann delivered her final stroke. The fleet was reduced to helplessness, and Mooredann ordered a general overhaul that left most ships grounded. Then the powerful vessels of the Gergathan swept out of their hidden hangers in the Gathered Worlds, and the Free Peoples could offer no resistance. And so the Empire of Avethell, which had conquered the Gathered Worlds and ruled in peace for many millennia, came to a tragic end.

Commentary

Aemallana:: This is a title given to the Queen of Avethell by the Galactic Riders, and possibly derived from Coruman words for "sexual attractiveness" and "life-affirming."
The Reign of Aemallana:: According to legend, Aemallana ruled throughout the 70,000 years of the Avethellan Empire. According to historical sources, the same individual reigned for that vast period. All available evidence indicates that the Avethellans had a natural lifespan of about 500 years. It is possible, however, that artificial methods of rejuventation, possibly psi-based, were in use during this period.
Kasuret:: One derivation suggests that this name was related to the Avethellan word for "loyalty." No entity named Kasuret is documented in historical sources, and Klin Taris has suggested that Kasuret is an amalgamation of several historical figures. A wealth of legend has grown up around Kasuret in Avethellan tributary states.
Eper-Heran:: Daamin records speak of an "Eppur Haarin" who spoke before the Council of the Free Peoples around the 21,500th year of Aemallana's reign. The date of Eper-Heran's birth, then, can be fixed at no later than 21,475. Eper-Heran apparently lived for many scores of millennia, for records continue to mention this individual until the year 68,700. Later legend held that Eper-Heran was a trusted counselor of Aemallana. Eper-Heran may have died in a battle of some sort, for Avethellans still celebrate "the heroic death of Eper-Heran."
Takhmis:: Takhmis became Grand Vizier of the Scattered Worlds in the year 63,000 of Aemallana's reign; his birth is placed by legend at least ten centuries before that date. The best estimate seems to be about the year 61,800.
Bata-Bedhet:: Bata-Bedhet is a Gathered Worlds name, and seems to mean something like "solidarity." Bata-Bedhet's parent is given as "Kresnes";. an Avethellan named "Chrasnash" is recorded to have been Grand Vizier of the Gathered Worlds sometime around the year 30,000 of Aemallana's reign.
Tharnagod:: The name means "shameful" in Avethellan; it is most likely a later emendation for the real name of Mooredann's parent. Tharnagod's birth can be set at no earlier than the year 30,500.
Mooredann:: Clearly derived from the Coruman "Marannadenen," meaning "mother of destruction." Again, the name is probably a later emendation, and is not the name by which Mooredann was actually known to contemporaries.
The World of the Daamin:: Usually supposed to be Verkorra, homeworld of the Daamin race. However, it is more likely Nephestal, since the next clause says she journeyed "even to the innermost of the Gathered Worlds." Verkorra, of course, is one of the innermost of the Gathered Worlds; if Mooredann were studying there, then the next clause would seem redundant. Poetic redundancy is not a major rhetorical device in Avethellan literature.
Kaernesh, !Th-Thren, Evenyth, Toomenaw:: Altogether six planets are mentioned (including the "three" worlds of Toomenaw). The vast multiplicity of planets in the Gathered Worlds makes it nearly impossible to locate any of these worlds with certainty. In later times, legends grew up around Kaernesh, making it out to be a world of merciless warriors. Today, some of the folk of the Scattered Worlds will say "You fight like you come from Kaernesh" to indicate someone who mindlessly and stubbornly argues a particularly irrational point.
Maercal:: Maercal remains only a name; no data is known about him at all and no historical figure can be identified with him.
Desthaltor:: Although the translation can be confusing, the original Avethellan pronoun makes it clear that Desthaltor is the daughter of Maercal, making her the granddaughter of Takhmis. Tradition maintains that Desthaltor was sixty years old when she died, while her daughter Toolea was an infant. With only three generations spanning the 8200 years between the birth of Takhmis and that of Toolea, clearly something beyond normal Avethellan longevity is at work. The most persuasive theory is that Maercal was not born until very late, sometime after the death of Eper-Heran. Internal evidence suggests that other members of the Royal Family participated in whatever rejuvenation techniques were applied to the Queen.
Toolea:: The great-great-great-graddaughter of Aemallana was supposedly spirited away by Dareenten, the last of the Galactic Riders in Aemallana's time. Dareenten was an Iaranori, with the typical Evellan lifespan of millennia. It was the same Dareenten who took away the Golden Throne of Avethell. Legend has it that Aemallana knew of her upcoming death, and commended Toolea into the hands of Dareenten. After the fall of Avethell, Toolea reputedly reached Nephestal and lived with the Council of the Free Peoples until her death, founding the dynasty which eventually helped the Galactic Riders to restore Avethell.
The Seat of Aemallana:: At this time the Golden Throne was still at the court on Avethell, but Mooredann preferred to rule from Messilinia, where the Seat of Aemallana was an alternate throne. During Malreppidar, the Gergathan's lieutenants ruled from the Seat of Aemallana, so that in the Gathered Worlds, the term became synonymous with tyranny.
Hidden hangers:: Internal evidence suggests that the minions of the Gergathan had been rebuilding the Gathered Worlds fleet throughout Aemallana's reign.

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The Imperial Act of Nonexploitation

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:35:00 +0000

The Imperial Act of Nonexploitation was passed in TE 123, five years after the discovery of the Kien Khwei, and was required by the Kien Khwei as a condition of opening the Kao Li trading hegemony for Imperial trade.
Major provisions of the Act included:

Guaranteed native government.
Minimal Imperial contact unless specifically requested.
Native government to decide on all use of profits accruing from trade with the Empire.
Human colony members and descendants agree to peacably and permanently vacate planet if ordered by (a) native government, or (b) Imperial government.
If provision (4) is not followed, Imperial Navy will enforce it at request of native government.
All natives eternally and irrevocably granted the full rights due to all Human Imperial citizens, excluding right of Galactic franchise. Any conflct between rights of Human colonists and natives will automatically be decided in favor of natives. Only an Imperial Court of Inquiry will be empowered to reverse this decision.
When possible, all Colonial matters (excluding contact with Empire) will be conducted in or translated into native language whenever natives are present; native language is strongly encouraged for colonist use at all other times.
All questions of natives to be answered truthfully and completely, except for matters involving Imperial Security.

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Dynsal Moucahter-Maynemeh (A Tr#skan Tale)

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:24:00 +0000

When BDA Tr#ska fell in 4635 CE, the High Knight Economic was Dara Meh, and she was of course executed. Her daughter Colena and grandson Kalan were also killed by the Deletian invaders.

But Kalan Meh had a young friend, a boy of seven named Dynsal Moucahter-Maynemeh. Dynsal was overlooked when the Meh home was raided, and a minor assistant in the Knights Economic managed to get the boy off-planet safely.

Dynsal was raised in a tiny enclave of the Knights Economic on the capital world of the Duchy of Mel. By the time he was fifteen he had raised enough money through trade to purchase a secondhand starboat and cargo tenders.

At age eighteen he returned to Ermina with a brand-new starship from the Vermis shipyards; he organized a crew of Knights Economic and set out on a trade route that touched most worlds and settlements with refugee Tr#skans in the population.

When he was 22, the same year the the Deletian Monarchy was conquered, Dynsal held on R Staran the first Assembly of Tr#skan Families since BDA Tr#ska fell. A little over two hundred delegates from various surviving families attended. The business of the Assembly had much to do with inheritance disputes, but before it adjourned Dynsal passed resolutions to hold new Assemblies every ten years, and to ensure the continuity of the Tr#skan race. There was also some discussion of the possibility of getting Tr#ska back -- but the Assembly did not take Dynsal seriously and he bided his time.

When Dynsal was 26 there was a serious conflict of inheritance between two Tr#skan families claiming the precedence of the Meh family; the Galaxy's Tr#skan communities were polarized until Dynsal forced the summoning of an early Assembly to deal with the matter. At this Assembly, he and his crew were granted permission to lead an occupation mission to BDA Tr#ska.

Dynsal's crew was beaten easily by the Post-Deletian Empire, and Dynsal lost a good portion of his personal fortune. Still, by the time of the Third Assembly (this time with over two thousand attendees) when he was 32, Dymsal had regained all that he'd lost and had started building a trade fleet of six ships.

By this time the Tr#skan Trade Union was definitely finished. Even the designation of traders as "Knights Economic" had begun to fade. But Dynsal retained the title as he retained all the trappings of the Union.

The Fourth Assembly granted Dynsal, at his own request, the old Meh Family title of High Knight Economic. In his 43rd year High Knight Moucahter-Maynemeh led a 27-ship assault force against BDA Tr#ska and established a camp on Tr#skan soil. It took the Post-Deletian Empire three years to throw him off the planet. Over the next five years the Empire made constant efforts to keep Dynsal and his followers away from Tr#ska. Finally Emperor Bertilleffar I ordered BDA Tr#ska made uninhabitable; in part, Bertilleffar said, "I do not want my great-great-grandchildren to have to deal with a strong BDA Tr#ska, so now I will destroy a weak Tr#ska forever. "

A ten-year program left BDA Tr#ska's atmosphere poisoned, her temperature rising under a greenhouse effect, and her seas boiling away.

Dynsal was now 61 years old and had in his lifetime made and lost several fortunes. All he had left was a ship and some expensive cargoes -- he sold them all to hire a Borshallan investigative team to come to BDA Tr#ska and estimate a price for terraforming the world. The figure Dynsal was quoted was far beyond a world's ransom...it was, in fact, slightly more than the total profits from the Tr#skan Trade Union during its entire history.

At the Sixth Assembly Dynsal presented this finding, and asked that the Assembly begin a program dedicated to raising the money and the military forces that would be necessary to reclaim the Tr#skan homeworld. But by now there were few had ever set foot on Tr#ska, and although they had a feeling of racial commonality, the Assembled Families voted not to begin Dynsal's program.

Dynsal gathered a few faithful about himself, styling them all as Knights Economic. Then he bought a small ship and hit the trade lanes once again. By trade and investment Dynsal built his capital, and by the time of the Seventh Assembly (when he was 72), he arrived in a kilometer-long ship modelled after the ships of the Independent Traders. At that Assembly Dynsal announced his formation of Independent Trade Ship Kalan Meh, with the chartered purpose of raising funds to buy back BDA Tr#tska for the Tr#skans.

Dynsal died at 91, just tendays before the Ninth Assembly. At that time, the Kalan Meh had not even paid off its original debts.

But Dynsal's dream did not die, and the Five Hundred Twenty-Eighth Assembly opened seven years ahead of schedule on a fully-restored and habitable BDA Tr#ska in the year 9743 CE, at which time the Kalan Meh was finally removed from service and made into a monument to the man who had bought a world back, Dynsal Moucahter-Maynemeh.

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Nexus Travel Advisories: Indian Subcontinent (June 2042)

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 13:30:00 +0000

Arunachal: Sporadic ethnic violence. Travelers are cautioned not to travel outside major cities at night. Arunachal is a developing country with a parliamentary government. Adequate medical care is available in major cities. Roads, communications, and Net services are adequate.

Assam: Sporadic ethnic violence. Travelers are cautioned not to travel outside major cities at night. The area near the Bangladesh border should be avoided due to frequent disease outbreaks. Assam is a developing country with a parliamentary monarchy. Adequate medical care is available in major cities. Roads, communications, and Net services are adequate.

Baluchistan: Armed battles between clans are frequent. Travelers are cautioned to avoid the interior unless escorted by armed guards. The capital, Quetta, is quieter than the interior, but has experienced serious ethnic violence recently. Baluchistan is a developing country with few natural resources and an ineffective coalition government. Medical care is poor. Roads, communications, and Net services are adequate in the capital, poor beyond.

Bangladesh: Travelers to Bangladesh are cautioned that medical care is minimal to nonexistent. Disease is rampant, especially in the capital city of Dhaka. Bangladesh has a subsistence economy and an ineffective government. Roads, communications, and Net services are poor to nonexistent.

Goa: No advisory. Goa is a medium-income city-state with a fairly-developed economy. Medical care is good. Roads, communications, and Net services are good.

Gujarat: Ethnic violence and border raids along the Baluchistan border. Travelers in this region are urged to use caution. Gujarat is a developing country with a parliamentary democracy. Adequate medical care is available in major population centers, but is usually limited in rural areas. Roads are congested and poorly maintained. Communications and Net services are adequate.

Hindustan: No advisory. Hindustan is an economically developed democratic republic. Adequate medical care is available in major population centers, but is usually limited in rural areas. Roads are congested and poorly maintained. Communications and Net services are adequate.

Hyderabad: No advisory. Hyderabad is an economically developed democratic republic. Adequate medical care is available in major population centers, but is usually limited in rural areas. Roads are congested and poorly maintained. Communications and Net services are adequate.

Indian Federation: No advisory. The Indian Federation is an economically developed democratic republic. Adequate medical care is available in major population centers, but is usually limited in rural areas. Roads are congested and poorly maintained. Communications and Net services are adequate.

Karnataka: No advisory. Karnataka is an economically developed constitutional monarchy. Adequate medical care is available in major population centers, but is usually limited in rural areas. Roads are congested and poorly maintained. Communications and Net services are adequate.

Kashmir: Travelers are cautioned that large regions near the ruins of Sinagar are still contaminated with unacceptable levels of radioactive fallout. Extreme care should be exercised to avoid lingering when traveling into the Vale of Kashmir. Due to dangerous security conditions, caution is essential when traveling overland through the tribal areas to the Khyber Pass. Monthly steam train excursion for tourists through the Khyber Pass is well protected by local authorities. Kashmir is an undeveloped country with many autonomous tribal areas. Medical care is poor. Roads, communications, and Net services are poor. Contamination by radioactive fallout is a constant danger.

Kerala: No advisory. Kerala is an economically developed democratic republic. Adequate medical care is available in major population centers, but is usually limited in rural areas. Roads are congested and poorly maintained. Communications and Net services are adequate.

Maharashira: No advisory. Maharashira is an economically developed constitutional monarchy. Adequate medical care is available in major population centers, but is usually limited in rural areas. Roads are congested and poorly maintained. Communications and Net services are adequate.

Mizoram: Sporadic ethnic violence. Travelers are cautioned not to travel outside major cities at night. The area near the Bangladesh border should be avoided due to frequent disease outbreaks. Mizoram is a developing country with a parliamentary monarchy. Adequate medical care is available in major cities. Roads, communications, and Net services are adequate.

Punjab: Sectarian violence continues, especially in the north. Visitors are cautioned to avoid public transportation and crowded areas. Punjab is a developing country with a parliamentary monarchy. Adequate medical care is available in major cities. Roads are crowded, poorly maintained, and poorly signed. Communications are good in major cities, poor in rural areas. Adequate Net services are available in major cities.

Rajasthan: Sporadic ethnic violence in the area west of National Highway 15. Rajasthan is an economically developed democratic republic. Adequate medical care is available in major population centers, but is usually limited in rural areas. Roads are congested and poorly maintained. Communications and Net services are adequate.

Sikkim: Currently under Nexus interdict; no travel or communications permitted.

Sri Lanka: No advisory. Sri Lanka is a medium-income country with a well-developed economy. Medical care is good. Roads, communications, and Net services are excellent.

Tamil Nadu: No advisory. Tamil Nadu is a medium-income country with a fairly-developed economy. Medical care is good. Roads, communications, and Net services are good.

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
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Albanath and Eklaid

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:34:00 +0000

Albanath and Eklaid are two of the Gathered Worlds in the same planetary system in the Galactic Core. The star is a G4 yellow sun with luminosity 1.02 times Sol.

The first three planets are small, rocky, uninhabitable worlds with masses ranging from 2% to 6% of Earth's. Albanath is the fourth planet and Eklaid is the fifth. The remaining three planets are Jovian gas giants.

Albanath is a near-twin of Earth. It lies at almost exactly the same distance from its sun, its diameter is only 3% larger than Earth's, and it has 92% of Earth's mass. The Albanathian year lasts 326 Terran days, which is 242 local days (the local day is 32.3 hours). Receiving 11% more heath & light from its hotter sun, Albanath is a warmer world than Earth.

Albanath was settled by Kreen refugees from the Barentikater supernova in the Kreen year 28,521 (approximately 770,000 BCE). The colonization of Albanath introduced a new element into Barentikaterian architecture, a jarring note: the harsh, acute angle and solids based upon it. Albanathian architecture to this day retains that element of shock, that jarring quality in an otherwise-smooth line. Otherwise, Albanath resembles a rather moderate Barentikater IV, with architectural shapes drawn from the harmonies of conic sections, variations on sweeping, curved solids, the spheroids and spirals and arcs of sophisticated analytical geometry, rather than the straight lines and angles of Human classical geometry.

The oldest and most influential chaio on Albanath, ban Tau chaio, lives along the River Shatmisp.

About 2600 CE, the Galactic Riders helped many inhabitants of Albanath move to a new world, Shay Nabath.

Eklaid, home to a small population of Sebhra, is primarily a military base. Its one settlement is a low valley with a breathable atmosphere, and is little more than a spaceport, a plantation of food crops, and herds of food animals. In other areas of the planet, automata carry on the work of building units in a vast war fleet.

Eklaid was annexed by Kaylpeskrit and settled about 3,000 BCE, but major construction of the fleet began only about 2500 CE. The ultimate purpose of this fleet is unknown.

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Mathematical Sociology

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 21:13:00 +0000

Beginning in First Terran Empire times, sociology became a mathematical discipline and a recognized science akin to the physical sciences in rigor.

The scientist Camplowicz was one of the pioneers of the field. Her work in the history and sociology of minorities remained a classic in the field for centuries. Camplowicz identified what she called the "delta-prime factor," which was a measure of the influence that minorities have on the general society. Once delta-prime reaches a critical value of 1300, a minority has reached the point where it is in no danger from the general society; at higher delta-prime levels, the minority actually becomes fashionable and in-demand.

The planetary sociologist Pilli defined five nonsequential stages in a planet's technological development, ranging from primitive Edens (stage 1),through the worst excesses of early 21st century Terra or later Laxus and Lucifer (stage 4). Pilli's five stages culminated with contemporary technology integrated into natural paradise, like Helox. A fully-mutable environment, totally dependent on technology (i.e. Wakmarrel) is Stage Six.

A typical sociological equation contains such elements as:

Delta-sub-aleph (which can be integrated several times)
Holman factors
Lemme responses

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Tachyon Vesicles

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 26 May 2010 13:38:00 +0000

Tachyon vesicles are naturally-occurring piezogravitational bubbles composed mostly of strange matter. They are usually found in interstellar space, in comets, and in the rings of gas giants. Physically, they resemble soap bubbles without the fragility. When stimulated by coherent radiation, tachyon vesicles produce four distinct effects: antigravity, ultrawave, tachyon conversion, and defense screens.

Antigravity

Tachyon vesicles, when stimulated by coherent radiation, produce a grav field which is highly directionsal and variable in intensity. By allowing the vesicles free movement, and by varying intensity and wavelength of the radiation, almost any grav effect can be produced. Generally, since stimulated vesicles are fragile, total vesicle mass should be at least 0.00000364 of the mass being moved.

Ultrawave

A stimulated tachyon vesicle produces a single ultrawave tone. These tones range through six octaves on the UW Effect Scale. Amplitude modulation carries a signal which can be detected in a receiving set. By the variation introduced into the receiving vesicle, decoding can be accomplished even if the two units are not tuned to the same note -- although best results are obtained from units tuned to whole multiples of an octave apart.

A "sealed-beam" ultrawave circuit obtains between to sub-vesicles propduced from the same parent in the same size. Since each vesicle is extremely sensitive to its twin(s), very low amplitude can carry a signal indetectable even to vesicles tuned to the same note.

The Free Peoples of the Scattered Worlds use a frequency modulation ultrawave signal which is totally indetectable without the tuneable antigrav.

Tachyon Conversion

Conversion to tachyon (faster-than-light) phase is a catastrophic effect that takes place when a tachyon vesicle is overloaded with energy. In response, the vesicle expends energy by producing a field which converts all particles within into their tachyon equivalents. The triggering energy varies on a logarithmic scale, according to the total mass of the system. Masses above 10^25 kg cannot be converted; the vesicle(s) will destabilize first.

The radius of the conversion field is determined by the total mass of vesicles used, and is given by r = 1.65*(m)^(1/3).

In the presence of too many shifting grav fields, tachyon vesicles will destabilize; the precise destabilization potential (and hence, speed limits) are given by Basse's Law. In practical terms, Basse's Law limits the speed of FTL travel within the Galaxy to roughly 500 parsecs/hour.

Defense Screens

A rotating tachyon vesicle, within a grav field produced by a resonating vesicle, creates a primitive version of the K1 defense screen. Variations in energy, rotation, frequency, etc. can modulate the field to just about any desired configuration.

The L-type pressure screen is a sophisticated antigrav effect, rather than a true defense screen.

Defense Screen Types:

K1: Absorbs radiant energy, kinetic energy of objects faster than 50% lightspeed; overloads and explodes when radiation passes violet.
K2: Like K1 but radiates well into ultraviolet before failure.
K3: "Full coverage" - reflects all radiant energy & matter. Development of the Federation of Families.
K4: "Antishock" or "Anticrash" -- kinetic damper, can be set for any range -- must be used in connection with another K-type field for radiation. Developed by Federation of Families.
K5: Absorbs all of the above, radiates as neutrinos. Fails when neutrino radiation passes Moore's Limit. Developed in Late Second Empire.

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The Transgeled

noreply@blogger.com (Meerkatdon) — Wed, 12 May 2010 13:19:00 +0000

The area of the Galaxy between Borshall and Geled, called the Transgeled, was the very last region to fall under the control of the First Terran Empire, and it proved trouble for the next four hundred years.

It is surprising that some of the stronger Emperors and Empresses (particularly Maj Thovold) did not organize the area as a ninth province and put a Provincial Capital on, say, Tep Kecor or some other planet. But the Imperial position was highly dependent on the Idara, who were jealous of position and consequently would not favor the establishment of a new province. As it was, Navy bases on Novy Stalingrad and Tep Kecor were the limits of Imperial military force in the region.

After the Empire's defeat at Karphos (TE 361), the Transgeled fell to the Patalanian Union rather quickly. By the First Sack of Terra (TE 381) it was lost to the Empire. Although Geled made moves to recover it, the Transgeled remained wild, providing a starting point for the Volkerwanderung of the 6th, 7th and 8th centuries TE.

Through the Interregnum, the Transgeled remained a wild and dangerous region, a constnt battleground of unstable states.

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