Glossary

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Glossary of Terms I am slowly creating individual sub-pages for each of these items, so the glossary is quickly outdated.


A

Ancients: the Builders of Roads, the people who founded the ancient Empire of Roads, which rose and fell in Antiquity before even the start of recorded history. The Fall of Roads was followed by a long dark age, out of which began the Mage Wars, or The Age of Magic. The Ancients are often identified as the Progenitors, or the Progenitor Race; however, evidence exists of another, older civilization, which likely gave birth to the Ancients before Antiquity.

Anticom Sililqui: a book written during the Mage Wars by Arch Magus Septim; a study of the hierarchy of the Underworld and the Trinity of Evil.

Antiquity: the era before recorded history in which the civilization of the Ancients rose and fell. Exact data is non-existent, but Antiquity supposedly lasted some thirty thousand years, and is marked by two distinct periods: a period of war, which lasted 20,000 years, followed by a period of peace lasting 10,000. Antiquity ended with the Fall of Roads.

Age: a thousand years. Established by the first council of the Unity Earth Sphere Alliance, an Age is equal to one thousand dimensional standard years. Most worlds have roughly the same day-night cycle, but minute variations made the establishment of a Dimensional Standard Day impossible. Three hundred and sixty five days, assuming a day is no less than twenty-two hours long, is one Dimensional Standard Year.

All Forces Nullification Point: A point at which the gravitational pull from any number of sources reaches perfect equilibrium, this creating a point at which all forces effectively nullify each other.

AP Cannon: high-energy, compressed plasma-beam weapon first developed by Crimson Blade Open Recruit Jessica Sainato, as a large-scale mining tool. It was quickly modified (very quickly) for use as a weapon. The AP, or 'Anti-Proton' Cannon, uses a matter-antimatter annihilation to spark a jet of high-energy plasma. This plasma is then ionized and compressed by means of an artificial-gravity nozzle (a nozzle design type that produces higher compression using less energy than traditional magnetic nozzles) into a high-intensity beam. Because the reaction is sparked by anti-matter, the plasma produced is significantly hotter than laser-induced fusion-bread plasma beams. The AG nozzle also creates a greater degree of compression, creating a beam less likely to scatter on impact. Intead, the beam can overwhelm most deflector shields and burn straight through even mercury-grade armor. The use of AP-fuel to spark the reaction and AG nozzle technology allows the weapon to brough online quickly and requires very little energy to utilize. Because of the low overhead, AP cannons fall into the category of Orange systems.

Arcotype: the operating system of a mobile suit. Sometimes used when referring to the actual computer device itself.

Assassin’s Guild: there is a guild for everything. Because of the more or less clandestine nature, the Assassin’s Guild is often shortened simply to ‘Guild’, and those in the right circles know which guild you mean.

A.Y. System: the year numbering system of the Unity Earth Sphere Alliance. A.Y. stands for Alliance Year, for example Hunter was born in 6882 A.Y. The first number of the four digit year refers to the Age, so the eight hundred eighty second year of the Sixth Age.

B

Battle Charter: the set of rules for war set fourth by Gudersnipe. These rules are created primarily from basic human rights, and enforced as a way to protect the civilian population. Some of the major points include a ban on nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons; and also a restriction on nuclear-powered weapons and vehicles. The primary goal of the charter is to prevent the weapons of war from causing irreversible damage to a world or its inhabitants.

B.E.L.: Basic Equipment List.

B.G.A. System: dates prior to the establishment of the Golden Age use the Before Golden Age year numbering system. The end of the Mage Wars is set at 0, and the system counts back. Uther began his quest in B.G.A 6, the Mage Wars started some time around B.G.A. 3628, etc.

Bladeth Armor: armor system that covers a ship’s hull with blade-like plates of simulated matter, based on a technology not unlike GS simulator rooms. This technology is not fully understood by most, but it is known to have originated with a race the Saratoga encountered while exploring the Remus Star Cluster.

Bussard collector: named for the theoretical Bussard Ramjet, it is a type of electro-magnetic ram-scoop often employed by spacecraft to mine the inter-stellar medium or other regions for free isotopes to be used as fuel. A part of the theoretical Bussard Ramjet, this technology was explored and ultimately dismissed by the Gudersnipe Foundation due to a slow acceleration curve.

C

CCC: Acronym for Central Command and Control. Usually refers specifically to the gigantic tactical complex within Gudersnipe School Proper, but is often used to refer to any master-command station.

C.A.S.T.S.: acronym for Combat Armor System Transformation Set. Used primarily by base Toras and Saber Toras, but also on various Gunjins and other mechs. It is a system by which a mech’s armor and weapons can be quickly removed, and a different set attached.

Cloaking Device: a system that hides a ship’s location be bending waves around it. In a nutshell, all active modes of detection be it radar, infrared, even visual tracking hinge upon bouncing a wave of something off of something else, then observing the waves that bounce back. The cloaking device effectively ‘bends’ waves around the ship so that instead of hitting it and coming back, they effectively continue moving as if nothing was there. Cloaked ships can, however, still be detected through passive scanning systems, most notably by mass. A gravitational measurement system might pick up the gravity-well generated by a ship, and specifically the artificial gravity used by the crew. However, active scans to confirm that the blip was more than an anomaly would find nothing. Heat detection is another means of tracking cloaked ships, however various small modifications can reduce the total heat emitted as well as the times at which is doing so, making it easy to avoid detection via this method. The cloaking system is a piece of technology brought back from the Remus Star Cluster by the G.S.S. Saratoga.

Coalition of Wings: The secret society that patrol space, to stop any civilization from developing interstellar travel, whom they think unready, or unworthy, to take part in the interstellar community. Very few among the characters even know them to exist; places they patrol are called 'where the Ancients fear to tread'.

Common: older variation of the Standard Tongue. The two are almost indistinguishable, but hail from very different epochs.

Compfer: a brick-and-thrust style flight-type mech developed by Gudersnipe. The Compfer is comprised of commonly available alloys like steel, aluminum, and titanium. It uses traditional air-breathing engines as apposed to complicated Vernier thrusters or aero-spikes, which make the craft easy to build, easy to maintain, and easy to repair when it breaks. In all, the Compfer is a sturdy, reliable, and simple low-grade mech.

Crete: name given to the odd substance used in much GS construction. Crete is a fast-hardening chemical compound much like concrete, only lighter, and much more elastic. Crete is favored as a building material because it is versatile, strong, and won’t kill you if it falls on you. Crete has the ability to bend in an earthquake, and when it does finally break, it tends to break into many small pieces. It also has remarkable sound-dampening capabilities. It is often believed that crete is inexpensive, but in truth locally-available materials would often be more cost-competitive. However, the raw materials for crete and the finished product are mined and manufactured in areas where supplies and labor are extremely plentiful (see GS Labor Mill), thus making crete or crete/metal construction very affordable for the Foundation.

Crystal Technology: usually referring to computer systems that use synthetically grown crystals instead of wires and chips. The crystals are grown such that the internal structures carry out all the functions of the computer, from processing data to storing it. Because the binary data is imprinted on the lattice of the crystal, the technology is not susceptible to EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) interference, and is far more reliable than standard transistor-based systems. Unfortunately, the high complexity of the crystals makes them much too difficult to mass-produce, and therefore despite availability it remains outside of widespread use.

D

Dark Times: the dark age between Antiquity and the Age of Magic, or the Mage Wars.

Deftly: Quick and skillful; adroit.

D.S.D.: Dimensional Standard Dollars; the currency backed by the full faith and credit of the Unity Earth Sphere Alliance. Ironically, they aren’t accepted very many places. Most companies with multi-dimensional presence instead trade in Gudersnipe-issued GATE credits as currency. One credit is good for moving one pound or one square foot of material through one GATE jump.

Deus ex Machina: an improbable contrivance in a story. The phrase describes an artificial, or improbable, character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation or untangle a plot.

Dragon: a type of Mystical Creatures; usually described as 'The head of a camel; the horns of a stag; the eyes of a hare; the ears of a bull; the scales of a carp and the scutes like a clam's shell; the clasp of a tiger and claws of a hawk; the wings of a bat and the wisdom of sages', attached to a long, quasi-crocodilian body.

E

E.E.L.: Emergency Equipment List.

Eerie: a dragon roost, or system of caves a dragon flight has claimed as its home.


F

Fall of Roads: the collapse of the Ancient civilization, which marked the end of the period known as Antiquity, and the beginning of the Dark Times.

Faustian: referring to the tale of Faust, who traded his presence in the afterlife for power. A ‘Faustian Bargain’ would be on in which a person trades something very important to them for something else.

FTL: Faster Than Light.

FTL Drive: faster-than-light propulsion system.

Fernel Limit: The set of theories and observations regarding starships and FTL propulsion within a solar system, or more precisely the effective gravitational pull of a star. The Fernel Limit explains how and why the star’s gravity affects the ships engines, acceleration, and the warping of space-time created by relativistic velocities achieved using the ship’s drive field.

G

G.A.T.E.: Acronym meaning Geoconcentric Actuary Transit Entity, Gudersnipe’s inter-dimensional transportation network. The GATE system is owned and operated by the school, and is also the primary source of revenue for the Gudersnipe Foundation. As the only economic way to transport people and goods from one dimension to the next, it is also the school’s primary political leverage.

GATE Hub: A hub for the GATE network. GATE Hubs very in size and complexity, their locations determined by multi-dimensional physics and not geographic locations. Gudersnipe is known to operate nine Central Hubs throughout the Known Worlds, which serve as the backbone to the entire GATE network. These locations are well-defended and highly secret, the bulk of soldiers defending them do not even know what they are guarding.

GATE-Point Interface: While the GATE can move and retrieve objects to and from anywhere within range of a hub without the need for on-site hardware, Point Interfaces are often employed. These interfaces add an extra level of redundancy, as well as reducing the over-all power required for the move.

GLM: common slang for G.L.M., which is the acronym for Glorified Lifting Machine. The GLM is a simplistic mech used primarily in labor-related fields. The design is based on sound, combat-tested engineering, but the mobile suit is ultimately an over-rated forklift. These suits do however offer a wide variety of versatility, as a pilot with the right skills and the right attachments can do the job of several different pieces of construction equipment. The GLM is also fully classified as a mobile suit, and can be equipped for combat with no real modification. A GLM is roughly thirty feet tall with a slender body and long arms and legs. The design does not even try to come close to the ‘magic number’ associated with Gunjins, as the suits are not ultimately meant for combat. The name is usually spoken as the three letters, but the suits are also occasionally referred to as ‘Golems’.

GSNet: Gudersnipe’s own private information super-highway. Designed for inter-foundational use only, GSNet is often criticized for being remarkably insecure. Opponents site its lack of encryption and high degree of speak-easy security. Said individuals are unaware that security for the network is handled by Gudersnipes’ Misinformation-division. The net contains countless layers of security, guard-dog-programs, and numerous honey-pots with varying degrees of believability. No legitimate security breaches have been recorded to date. Surprisingly, while no hostile entity has ever successfully penetrated GSNet, it does contain numerous backdoors and well-hidden security ‘holes’. These do operate on speak-easy security, but are kept extremely secretive, to be used by Foundation members in times of need. Most such holes only lead to communications ports, allowing an operative to contact someone inside the Foundation and authenticate themselves. Good training and accurate profiling of Foundation members has helped avoid any security breaches.

GS Labor Mill: mill or plant whose primary function is not the production of goods but the provision of jobs for unskilled laborers. One of the Foundation’s goals is to provide stability: this is accomplished by determining what stabilizing factors a given civilization needs, and providing that to them. A perfect example comes when evolving civilizations make the transition from unskilled labor to skilled labor. Say a company makes cars: cars were originally assembled by hand on an assembly line, perhaps five hundred workers might have their hands on a given car as it moved down the line. Each worker had to know how to do only one thing, so the plant employed many unskilled labrorers. That same plant then replaces human hands with robot hands, and replaces five hundred workers with perhaps fifty, who must know how to service and maintain the robots, and the computers that operate them. This transition from five hundred grunt workers to fifty skilled workers does not leave four hundred-fifty jobless; it leaves all five hundred jobless, and hires fifty new people. Quite invariably, there are people unwilling or unable to make this transition, people who lack the education or resources to work at a skilled job. Worse still, if the society fails to provide enough opportunities for their children, these people become locked in a never-ending cycle of poverty. Not enough unskilled jobs around, not enough education to obtain skilled ones. Enter the Gudersnipe Foundation, and the Labor Mill. Labor Mills are usually constructed on otherwise uninhabited planets, because their presence near urban centers tends to hurt the economy more than help, by introducing a rapid influx of money. Instead, unskilled laborers are brought to these mills were they live and work, performing unskilled labor. They live in communities where they enjoy all the same comforts as skilled workers might, though because it is a 100% Foundation-controlled society, the economy is strictly regulated. However, these laborers are given a task to which they are suited, the opportunity to learn more challenging tasks, and most importantly; a top-of-the-line education for their offspring. The kind of work most often performed at these facilities could be done easier, faster, and cheaper by machine, but that’s not the point. The purpose of the Labor Mill is to provide jobs, and self-worth to people whose only marketable skill may be a strong back.

Gudersnipe: a fairly well-known group in the Multi-Verse, famous mostly as Gudersnipe Assassins School, but also for the Crimson Blade Mercenaries and the WorldCraft Terraforming firm. While the school’s primary export is to train assassins, most of their revenue actually comes from sending its students out as mercenaries, and could more accurately be known as Gudersnipe Mercenary School, but GMS didn’t have the same ring to it as GAS. The G.A.T.E. network is also the property of Gudersnipe, or more precisely its parent organization, the Gudersnipe Foundation. Very seldom is the Foundation actually mentioned, as the school is the most visible aspect of the organization. It seems, at times, as if there really is no Foundation, and that the school is really calling all the shots.

Gudersnipe Foundation: the Gudersnipe Foundation evolved from a group of battling sorcerers who had embraced technology, and believed that a solid fusion of the two (magic-tech) would give them total dominion of the Multi-Verse. Called simply ‘Gudersnipe’ after their founder, Laytami Gudersnipe Savont, they became an extremely powerful force towards the end of the Mage Wars. Technology could do things magic couldn’t, which gave them a very impressive edge. Laytami’s Gudersnipe army eventually became the final major obstacle for Uther, first Pendragon of Slayer Dragons, in his goal to end the Mage Wars. See “Day of Dawn’s Reflection.”

Gunjin: a human-type battle mech approximately seventy feet tall. There is a certain mathematical proportion between height, weight, and several other statistics regarding Gunjin mobile suit that designers and pilots call the ‘magic number’. The actual magic number is different for every design, but when it is reached the suit will have the best combination of speed, strength, operating window, and power output.

Gunjinite: the metal alloy commonly used for producing Gunjins. Unlike most materials, this metal actually garners it’s name from the machine it is used almost exclusively to build. Gunjinite is an alloy based primarily on Narrite and Titanium. In the correct ratios it is strong and surprisingly light, and can stand up to high-energy plasma for brief lengths of time. All of Gunjinite’s properties make it the ideal metal for Gunjin mobile suits, and allow designers more leeway when aiming for the ‘magic number’. Because of the unusual properties of Narrite, Gunjinite can only be properly produced in zero gravity.

Gunzhanzhengjin: a highly complex alloy also used in the production of Gunjin mobile suits. Gunzhanzhengjin fulfils all of the same requirements of Gunjinite, but is much stronger and more heat resistant. Gunzhanzhengjin requires many exotic elements which can only be produced in advanced particle accelerators, unlike Gunjinite, which is made entirely out of materials present in nature. Gunzhanzhengjin is frequently abbreviated as Gunzhengjin, or simply GunZen when referring to its few applications outside of mobile suits.

H

H.E.A.T. Round: the High Explosive And Thermal or ‘heat’ round has long been the staple ordinance of GS anti-armor tactics. The high temperatures on the outside of the round make it possible to melt into armor, creating an imperfection torn apart by the following explosion. While not traditionally preferred for anti-personnel uses, the bullet is often employed as an all-around havoc-inducing weapon. Many forest fires have been started by stray H.E.A.T. rounds.

Human: Human is actually (surprisingly) a more or less relative term. 90% of the Known Worlds is populated by humans, or what are politely referred to as ‘passers’. Passers are, in essence, beings that can ‘pass’ for human at a glance. The Kami are an excellent example, who appear human on the exterior but have significant physiological differences. The Satyarans are an example of a statistically insignificant segment of the population who are biologically similar to humans but cannot pass. Many races do not identify themselves as humans (such as the M’Kharens), but by their nationality. Most of these races are effective passers. There is no quintessential ‘human’ found anywhere in the Multi-Verse, because when factored against all of the known ‘passers’ no single biological distinction stands out. Further, many non-passers (like the Satyarans) have proven that while they do not appear physically human, they are capable of breeding successfully with passers. The Elves and Dwarves do not ‘pass’ for human, but are also capable of producing cross-breeds, as are many of the Mystical Creatures (Dragons, centaurs, fairies, etc.; Unicorns are theoretically capable of breeding with humans, but no instances of this have ever been reported). Thus, humanity has become the race of exclusion; if you aren’t an Elf, a Dwarf, or a Mystical Creature, you must be a human. And I’ll bet you feel just great about it.

I

Inhume: to place in the ground, to bury. Slang: to kill, to murder, destroy, or otherwise render lifeless.



J

Johan Fernel: scientist largely congruent to Sir Isaac Newton, widely credited, at least by the Gudersnipe Foundation, with establishing the first three Laws of Physics.

K

Kit Fernel: descendant of Johan who followed in his ancestor’s footsteps with further scientific advancements, including the establishment of the Fernel Limit. Though Kit began his work long after the development of FTL, he is responsible for many experiments involving warping effects, and ultimately the perfection of the technology, thanks to his work on sensor data gathered from the Adam Cadman II encounter.

Kalinihta: Greek for ‘good night’.

Kami: the race of peoples known as Kamians. Kamians, Kami, and a few other variations, in the ancient tongue Kami means ‘godly people’. Unfortunately the Kami suffer from an unwavering belief in their own divinity. The larger body of the Kamian race believes that they are chosen by God to rule the Multi-Verse, and anyone who stands in their way should be brutally crushed. The extremists amongst the Kami believe they are Gods and are the only ones with the right to live in the Multi-Verse. They engage in genocide in order to ‘cleanse’ the Multi-Verse of the unclean. To say that all Kamians are violent, warmongering psychopaths would not be a racial stereotype, because all Kamians are in fact violent, warmongering psychopaths.

Kinjikin: a game invented by bored G.S. students. Kinjikin is the thing you play outside when you have nothing else to do. The actual piece of athletic equipment, known as the Kinjikin (High M'Kharen for ‘thingy’) can be anything. The game has two rules: get the kinjikin, kill whoever has the kinjikin.

Kiyoku: The cockpit system discovered in Hunter’s second mobile suit, named Tsubasa. The original Kiyoku was a system that fed flight recorder and radar data directly into the pilot’s brain through a Mind Stream Generator.

Known Worlds: The Known Worlds comprise the bulk of known space, as known by the Unity Earth Sphere Alliance. Geographically by area, Gudersnipe and the Alliance jointly control around 30% of the Known Worlds, with each side also controlling an additional 10% individually. Thus the two major powers together comprise over 50% of explored space. Another 25% is comprised of statistically insignificantly-sized governments with no mutal affiliations and not a part of the Alliance or under the protection of Gudersnipe (Read: nobody controls them). M’KHara alone comprises 10%, and the mapped regions of Kamian space represent 5%. The other 15% belongs to the Elves and the Dwarves, though limited interaction between them and humans, coupled with difficulty converting units of measure, has led to a marked lack of understanding in the exact size of the Elven and Dwarven domains. Their lands lie on the outskirts of the Known Worlds and may, if political winds allow for full exploration, eventually double or triple the Known Worlds. It is also important to note that the full scale of Kamian space is unknown, and based on conservative estimates may add an additional 10-20% if and when accurate charting can be performed. Beyond the Known Worlds lies an uncharted vastness of dimensions. This area is imaginatively identified as ‘The Unknown.’

Jagar Unit: a high speed thruster assembly system designed for land-based animal-type mechs. Usually deployed to the cat-type variety, these systems come in many makes and models, but the official system baring the trade-marked name belongs to Fluffy Cloud Enterprises and consists of two high-output super vernier thrusters coupled with lift-stabilizers. A Mark II unit was released to the general public in limited quantities, with a much higher output it could bring heavier mechs to greater speeds, but the increased thrust made it exponentially more difficult to control, plus the units had a nasty habit of exploding randomly. There was also a Mark III developed at Fluffy Cloud’s main research facility, created very simply by scaling up the Mark II design. But the additional bulk of the MARk III’s size and fuel tanks brought even the fastest mech to a crawl, and the performance was so low that the entire project was scrapped and the one working prototype sent to Victory Research Facility where a team of engineers experimented with fitting it to a heavy-combat animal type mech designed on-site, with similar characteristics to the Iron Bison. The engines preformed beautifully on the super-heavy mech, allowing it to reach speeds similar to the lower-end of the high-speed spectrum. However, maneuvering such a bulky mech at those speeds was an impossible task for any pilot, so the project was mothballed and the researchers sent to other projects. The Mark III engines, as well as the prototype mech, remain at the research center. A Jagar Mark IV was also developed on-site at the Victory Facility, for use as one of the Rion mech’s CASTS. The underlying technology for the system was licensed from Fluffy Cloud.

L

Library of Arindell: the massive library in Stormreaver Valley.

Lucid: 1. Easily understood. 2. Clearly perceived. 3. Shining or bright. 4. Clear or transparent.

M

Mage Wars: the Multi-Verse-wide conflict that marks the beginning of recorded history. The Mage Wars lasted approximately 3700 years and can be broken down into four distinct periods. 3700-2500 B.G.A.: the First Chaotic Period, 2500-2400 B.G.A.: the Intermediate Period, 2400-300 B.G.A.: the Dynastic Period, and lastly 300-0 B.G.A.: the Second Chaotic Period. Exact dates are never possible, and the exact beginning of the conflict is ultimately unclear. The Mage Wars are preceded by the Dark Times, an era of unrecorded pre-history lasting approximately 1000-1300 years. Anything before the Dark Times is known as Antiquity.

Mech: short for mechanical, used when referring to manned piloted battle robots.

Mind Stream Generator: a device that inputs data directly into the human brain. First developed by the Arroyo Foundation in the 475th year of the third age. The Mind Stream Generator has formed the basis for most neural interface systems since its development. Improper calibration or overuse of the device often results in insanity or severe brain damage.

M’KHara: M’KHara is the home of the M’KHarens, one of the few old kingdoms to survive the Mage Wars intact. M’KHara was formed in the early Dynastic-period. There are buildings in M’KHara that have been in continuous use for over ten thousand years. While generally friendly with the Unity Earth Sphere Alliance, M’KHara is not officially a member. They are a mostly closed society, content with the foreign policy of ‘leave us be, we’ll leave you be’. They do not get along at all with Gudersnipe, and where it not for the Alliance acting as a geographic buffer zone, there would likely be a full-scale war between them. M’KHara is a constitutional monarchy, in which the Emperor maintains significant power but the day-to-day goings-on are governed by a democratically elected council. One of the primary underpinnings of M’KHaren society is a general feeling of ‘if it works, don’t change it’, which has led their society to advance very slowly. Because of the closed nature very little is known about the interior of M’KHara, though they do possess space travel and other ‘have’ technologies. A few M’KHarens have forsaken the ways of their ancestors and taken to the known worlds in ships of exploration, thus leading the M’KHarens to be known far and wide.

Multi-Verse: Multiple Universes.

Mesphosphonic Theoic Acid: nerve gas.

N

N2: used to refer to Nuclear II technology, essentially what Gudersnipe has dubbed the second evolution of nuclear ordnance. N2 bombs use a sophisticated multi-stage detonation system that is highly efficient at converting nuclear fuel into energy, thus the bombs are very ‘clean’, leaving behind little residual radiation. Additionally the energy is distributed differently, creating a much more powerful explosion within the blast radius and reducing the eventual effects. N2 was designed specifically for use in space.

Narrite: an element originally discovered by Gudersnipe that has amazing heat absorption properties. It is capable of absorbing heat better than most ceramic polymers, and is also soft and malleable enough to be easily formed into shapes or even woven into thread. Narrite is combined with several other compounds to create Gunjinite, the material commonly used as armor platting on Gunjin mobile suits.

Negative Mass Generator: the Negative Mass Generator or NMG is a device invented by Kendrick initially to help aide the Saratoga’s cloaking device. It has also been used in the same fashion as a GFG to lower a ships mass to effectively zero. A PMG (Positive Mass Generator), effectively an NMG in reverse, has been used to increase the effect of a ramming attack and to make small probes appear on sensors as massive starships.

Nephil: an immortal similar to the Seraphim, but with only two wings, white skin, and hair of very vivid color. Like the Seraphim, the Nephil cannot remain on any Planet except its own without assuming the form of an indigenous animal at intervals. Constant rivalry exists between all and any given Nephil and Seraphe. Selfish, lascivious, proud, and covetous. Plural: Nephilim.

Newman Limit: the theoretical barrier preventing ships from achieving FTL travel within a planet’s atmosphere. The Newman Limit Theory states that multi-dimensional technologies like FTL drives and four-dimensional shields cannot function in flat dimensions or on the surfaces of planets due to a barrier between the third and fourth dimensions, preventing matter in the first three dimensions from affecting matter in any other dimension. This limit is believed to be the result of the gravitational will of the planet, and theoretically any sufficient gravitational force will have a similar effect.

New-Type: often refers to a type of mobile suit, but can be referred to any technology that has been lost and then re-discovered. Usually only used in reference to lost technology that is superior to modern technology in some way.

Nonlinear Security Agency: Gudersnipe’s ‘Watchdog’ organization known for dealing with security threats in a round-about way. Essentially, the NSA is responsible for stopping leaks before they start.

O

OMS: acronym meaning Orbital Maneuvering System, which has found its way into extremely widespread use. On starships it refers specifically to the fine maneuvering thrusters used primarily during orbital decent and within the atmosphere. The Arcotype for the first series of hybrid space and planet-side mechs used a separate Orbital Maneuvering System Pod of OMSP added on to the command line. This had to be attached to the main program after the fact, as the first generation mechs were really just conversions of older-generation machines. The OMSP was necessary to control the fluid switch between sub-orbital, orbital, and deep space control systems. With the development of the Vernier Engine and the advent of the first true planet-space hybrids, the OMSP was converted to act as a kind of witch, a key in the operating system which handled the differential calculations based on ambient gravitational systems. That is the technical designation, however most pilots and technicians tend to refer to the entire flight system as the OMS, and frankly when you drive a twenty-ton giant robot, nobody tries to correct you.

Opalessence: An unusual humanoid species genetically engineered by the Eladamri. They have a Road, but think it leads only to Hell (even though it leads really to a jungle on the other side of their planet).

Optical Voice: a type of communications system developed by Gudersnipe. It is based on the concept of how your brain translates the audible vibrations of people’s voices into words in your brain, but instead of using noise, using light. One unusual side effect of the optical voice is that by using visible light instead of audible sound, it bypasses some portion of the language center of the brain, making the ‘voice’ understood by anyone, regardless of language. Optical Voice is a truly universal language, if only one-way. Slightly modified, the system can also be used to convey massive amounts of data to someone as the human brain is capable of processing light much faster than sound, and when used on an unconscious individual the rate is substantially increased as the unconscious mind seems able to process data far, far faster than the conscious. Despite many years of study, the exact process by which Optical Voice actually functions has yet to be understood. Scientists who work with the technology have taken to referring to the process as Twosthyb.

Orachim: a female creature resembling a winged mass of light, but able to assume any form without experiencing side effects. Typically lighthearted and optimistic, though they can be ferocious when need be. Orachim enjoy life and do not worry about anything. They are nearly immortal, though they can be killed if attacked in a mortal form. Considered “sisters” to the Seraphim and Nephilim. The word “Orachim” is both singular and plural.

P

Palyndrum: a step beneath the multi-spatial circuit, the palyndrum is a device that can re-order matter on a sub-atomic level. The primary function of the palyndrum is in mech-armor self-recovery systems, where the device can be used to draw in stray molecules of air and bind them to the decaying molecules of the armor and strengthen it.

Pithy: brief, forceful, and meaningful in expression; full of vigor, substance, or meaning

PNR: Point of No Return.

Powered Gun: the term ‘gun’ is used very broadly at Gudersnipe, referring to many, many kinds of fire-arms. Generally speaking anything that when pointed a given direction causes anything in that direction to die is labeled on some level as a ‘gun’. A Powered Gun or simply power-gun is a very specific term however, applying exclusively to electro-magnetic mass accelerators, commonly known as railguns.


Q

R

Ragnarök: the final night of the world, the mythical battle in which the world will ultimately be submerged in water, only to emerge again fertile and renewed. As to what will actually come about: no one can say for certain, but it is known that Loki the Trickster will lead the armies of Hell into the world.

Railgun: an electro-magnetic mass accelerator that uses two rails and a conductive slug to accelerate a projectile down a barrel at high velocity.

RCS: Rocket Control System, the system of action-reaction engines used by spacecraft for attitude control.

Real Mode: see Real Type.

Real Type: a mech that has been engineered and developed to a point where every single design flaw has been removed and the final product is built from the highest possible quality components. In order to create a true Real Type, several prototype builds must be created and tested to ensure that every design flaw is removed.

Ritash-Ritar: lit. Assassins-Assassin, an assassin who kills other assasins. This practice is forbidden both by Guild law and by the Assassin’s Code. The term also means outcast, as any assassin turned Ritash-Ritar, even by accident, will nolonger be welcomed by the guild. Such assassins then must usually turn in their credentials and begin a new life as something other than an assassin.

S

Saber Tora: a cat-shaped animal-type mech originally built by Red Storm and later re-produced by Fluffy Cloud Enterprises. The Saber Tora is essentially an “economy” model of the Tora, meant to be much less expensive and more easily manufactured.

Seraphe: a type of immortal resembling a golden man, but with dozens of wings. Is able to tolerate temperatures exceeding that of the Sun’s surface, but cannot remain on a Planet to which it is not native without assuming the form of an indigenous animal at intervals. Benevolent and wise, but somewhat arrogant. Plural: Seraphim.

Shadow Program: a curious computer program developed by Jason Bur’I for one of the Saratoga’s ‘blackout’ or off the records missions. The Shadow Program runs silently in the background of a central computer system, and autonomously erases all logs created during its duration, while simultaneously covering it’s own tracks. Once the Shadow Program has been activated, all records after the activation and of the activation become irretrievable.

Ship’s Systems: GE ship systems are classified into three different color-coded categories: Blue: Primary Systems; shields, weapons, engines, power generation, big stuff. Purple: Support Systems; life-support, power-transfer, stuff that makes big stuff work. Orange: Minor sub-systems and diagnostics, artificial gravity, water purification, computers, little stuff, generally low-power.

System classifications are based on numerous criteria such as complexity, importance, power-requirements, integration, etc. Waste-management, for example, would not normally be though of as ‘primary’; but because ship’s waste is fed into the engines as fuel, waste-management is closely integrated with engines and thus a Blue system. Weapons, while not vital to the ship’s general survival, are high-energy and high-complexity and are thus Blue. Life support, while vital, is a support-system, and thus classified under ‘Purple’.

In addition to color, all ship’s systems have a primary and secondary designation, used namely during repair operations. Life support, for example, is ‘primary’, because life sucks without air. Waste management, is, of course, secondary, because you don’t need the ability to flush the toilet in order to breath. Power Transfer is primary because nothing else works without it; weapons are secondary because you don’t need to shoot when you can’t breath. Shields are primary because ships can’t move very fast without them (impacting a piece of space dust at 70% light speed will kill you without deflectors). Thus, it falls to the engineers and chief petty officers to understand all this stuff and actually make the ship go.

Shock Suit: refers to the specific type of armored EVA suit worn by Gudersnipe Shock Troops. Shock Troopers have the most dangerous task among any GS soldier. Essentially, during close-quarters space combat, Shock Troops cross between starships, penetrating enemy vessels through hull breaches. This allows them to gain access usually without triggering an intruder alarms, and circumvent standard counter-insurgency techniques. Shock Suits were initially intended for shock-trooper combat, however the rugged nature of the suit and extreme operating capabilities have caused it to be adopted as the primary general-use EVA suit by much of the Foundation. Though the Shock Suit was designed for use in space, it has found extensive use planet-side. The composite nano-polymer armor plates of the shock suit are designed to deflect shrapnel in a vacuum, making them extremely well equipped to carry out the same task on a planet’s surface. By providing the Lancer within with an independent atmosphere, they offer protection from chemical and poison-gas attacks. Shock Troops can walk through fire, cross rivers on foot, and perform all kinds of tasks simply be being largely impervious to the environment around them. They just can’t walk very fast.

Sisyphean: as an adjective, to repeat an endless and/or repetitive task.

Slayer Dragons: the ten warriors commissioned to defend the world of life from evil, and to uphold order and liberty. The Order of the Slayer Dragons was first established by Uther in the Year B.G.A. 6 of the Age of Mages (Note: this antedates the Unity Earth Sphere Alliance calendar and the AY system). His victory brought an end to the Mage Wars and began the Golden Age, the first Age of the Alliance calendar. The Slayer Dragons are dedicated to three ideals: Truth, Justice, and Liberty.

Standard: the standard language of the Multi-Verse. Specifically the primary language of the Unity Earth Sphere Alliance, but generally a language used by most dimensions. Thousands of other languages exist, but Standard is still Standard.

Stormwind Keep: home of the Slayer Dragons and capital of the Unity Earth Sphere Alliance.

Substance: Gudersnipe uses the Substance ID# system of elements, rather than the now-antiquated Periodic Table. Essentially, with the ability to custom-build atoms with the desired number of protons, neutrons, and electrons, the School felt the Periodic Table was outmoded, because cramming new elements in was getting complicated. So the Atomic Number becomes the Substance ID, beginning with Substance One (hydrogen), and ending with the heaviest element they’ve managed to synthesize this week (The current record is Substance 140,5121,995, which has a macroscopic nucleus). For isotopes, a dash and a second number are added to indicate the sum of the atomic number and the number of neutrons; thus an atom of Dueterium would be Substance 1-2. The enriched Uranium used in N2 warheads is Substance 92-235, etc.

Superstructure: in starship-building terms, the superstructure refers to the rigid skeleton of the ship, or the structure onto which all other structures are fastened.

Streamer: GS matter transport system. The Streamer works by picking apart an object atom by atom and ‘streaming’ it across space to a destination. Despite a terrific safety record, very few people trust the technology and it usually requires a direct order from someone not using it to get a person to go through. Numerous safety enhancements exist, including a system with no less than twelve layers of redundancy, but still very few takers.

S.W.A.T.: Special Weapons And Tactics, usually referred to as a ‘SWAT Team’. Gudersnipe Garrisons provide SWAT Teams to local law enforcement agencies, usually equipped with Shock Suits. SAWT, SES, and Bomb Squad services are usually offered as an alternative to local governments running their own programs.

Syzygy: a perfect alignment of three or more celestial objects, as the sun, the earth, and either the moon or a planet: Syzygy in the sun-earth-moon system occurs at the time of full moon and new moon.

T

Tellerman Principle: theory which states that the gravitational mass of all stars causes them to be linked together through sub-space. While this theory is generally regarded to be true, a survey would have to be completed of all charted stars in order for it to pass into law according to Foundation regulations. In the Unity Earth Sphere Alliance, it is known as the Tellerman Law.

Thingy: Gudersnipe’s technical term for any type of technology or object which cannot be adequately identified or explained easily. Other acceptable terms include: thingamabob, whatsit, doohickey, and mumbly joe.

Tora: a cat-shaped animal-type mech developed by the Red Storm Corporation in the late 730s of the Sixth Age. The Toras unique Arcotype was created by transplanting the consciousness of a tiger into a powerful computer data core and processing system. The earliest Toras were the white or base model, which also pioneered the CASTS.

Tigger: another cat-shaped animal-type mobile suit. The Tigger was built around the same time as the first generation of Toras by a rival company. While fast and agile, they lacked the superior reflexes and intuition of the Tora, and so very few were produced. By the year 750 of the Sixth Age there were fewer Tiggers in operation than Toras, and the production line was completely scrapped when Red Storm unveiled the Saber Tora.

T.W.O.S.T.H.I.Y.B.: Acronym used by Gudersnipe meaning: That Whacked Out Shizzle That Happens In Your Brizzle. Used to describe the unexplainable effect of the Optical Voice.

Teller Fold: a distortion of space-time that causes a heavenly body—or group of heavenly bodies—to translate forward in time, effectively ceasing to exist for a specific period. This phenomenon was first created artificially in a laboratory by doctor Atkin Teller. Using fabricated singularities and sub space fields he was able to send a box of cracker jacks forward in time by twenty minutes. Based on the data collected from his experiment, he concluded that if the right celestial conditions came into syzygy, the same thing could happen. The Multi-Verse being infinite, other scientists confirmed his hypothesis to be a definite maybe. Though as of 757 not a single confirmed natural occurrence has been found, no evidence has yet come to light to indicate that a Teller Fold could not occur.

Tournament World: there is a large flat dimension in the Multi-Verse known primarily as ‘Tournament World’. On Tournament World there is a huge, multi-faceted mobile suit tournament that has been going on for centuries, all overseen by the massive Gudersnipe-built mech Mandate. The entire world is a battlefield, and battles can happen anywhere. The tournament is ongoing, with hundreds of levels and ranks and divisions encompassing every kind of mobile suit imaginable. Simply put; in Tournament World, mechs fight.

U

United Federation Time Police: a mysterious organization from roughly fourteen thousand years in the future (as of A.Y. 6990). They operate teams of Time Police Officers with non-time-specific DNA. There ships use a variation of Hyperspace-window temporal translation technology, which only works one in three times. Gudersnipe students have had numerous encounters with them, yet very little beyond the name and the advanced technology is known about them. And of course there is the curious coincidence between Hunter’s favorite Pseudonym and a particular UFTP officer. Any information about the ‘United Federation’ the time police are supposedly a branch of, is strictly speculative.

Unity Earth Sphere Alliance: the coalition of nations founded in the last year of the Golden Age. Not a single government so much as an alliance of nations that acts similarly to the United States government, in that the Alliance has as much power over the nation states as the Federal government has over the individual states.

Uumen: dragon pronunciation for ‘human’. A dragon’s maw cannot properly form the ‘hew’ sound at the beginning of 'human', so they replace it with a ‘yew’, which is much easier to pronounce. Because the written language of dragons is phonetic, the word is spelled out in dragon dictionaries accordingly, and many younger dragons fail to realize the actual word is ‘human.’ No disrespect is meant by the term.

Unicorn: One of many Mystical Creatures.

V

Vernier Engine: Invented in the late Fourth Age by Dr. Edwina Vernier, the Vernier Engine is the most efficient action-reaction turbine design in the Multi-Verse. The engine is most famous for the special Vernier Fuel (also invented by the talented Edwina) which has an extremely low boiling point. The liquid fuel is heated by a coil in the pre-injection chamber, so that it enters the turbine in gaseous form for maximum combustibility. While other turbines systems have been developed that provide greater thrust, the Vernier Engine is still the king where over-all efficiency is paramount. It is especially favored in the mech field, where maximum thrust for minimum wait and lowest fuel consumption are everything a pilot needs. The Vernier Engine also holds a record as one of the very few designs that can function both in space and in atmosphere.


W

Wemo: \Wē-mō\(n): a wanna-be emo; emotional and angsty preteen; One who wears black and eyeliner but their appearance is not justified by their peppy personality.

Werewolf: The common name of both Lycanthrope & Loup Garoux, all of which three names mean the same thing ('Wolf-man').

Wizard: One of several classes of magic-user; generally speaking, it means a (male) master of magic.