Army General John A. Wickham, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in praise of American soldiers, "They follow orders and they die." Whether drafted for war or for any other purpose, this statement sums up the distressing fate of the conscript. When human beings lose the power to decide the destiny of their own lives, when they are relegated from pursuing their own happiness to merely following orders, then they do die. If the death is not a permanent physical one, it is certainly a death of the human spirit--a death of the soul.
ULTRAVIOLET
REMARKS UPON ACCEPTING THE 1984 PROMETHEUS AWARD
by J. Neil Schulman
The following is the text of my remarks following my acceptance of the Prometheus Award on August 31st, 1984 at the 42nd World Science Fiction Convention, LACon, in Anaheim, California.--JNS, 1986
Science fiction stories are about ideas--and the ideas that people have determine what sort of world they will live in.
I wrote The Rainbow Cadenza to destroy an idea by reducing it to absurdity. The idea is: the rights of the individual should be sacrificed when the greatest good for the greatest number demands it. This idea is the justification for every violation of human rights on this planet today.
What I did in The Rainbow Cadenza was to take the sixties' slogan, "Make Love, Not War," at face value. I show what sort of lousy world we'd have if--in the name of "the greatest good for the greatest number"--people stopped demanding that young men be drafted to Make War, and instead demanded that for three years young women be drafted to Make Love.
I hope this logical absurdity horrifies you even while you smile. If it doesn't horrify you, I wrote The Rainbow Cadenza to show why it should: my young draftee is a woman whose artistry with lasers can make rainbows of hope. If it does horrify you, I wrote The Rainbow Cadenza to show why drafting anyone to Make War should horrify you even more.
Above all, I wrote The Rainbow Cadenza because each artist-- in whatever medium--has a powerful weapon to fight what Thomas Jefferson called "every form of tyranny over the mind of man," and nobody had to draft me for that. I volunteered. Thank you.
Appendix II.
A GLOSSARY OF
THE RAINBOW CADENZA
by J. Neil Schulman
As with afterwords, there's something almost sinful about an author putting a glossary at the end of a novel. It suggests that an author feels, due either to the author's own failure or to the reader's, that the novel can't be understood without further clarification.
I don't believe this to be true about The Rainbow Cadenza.
Some terms, institutions, or situations I invented for the novel may not be clear at the beginning, but I promise that if a story point hinges on something being clearly understood, I'll have told you in time. As a matter of fact, I strongly suggest you avoid looking at this glossary until after reading my novel, since I reveal important plot points here which might ruin the suspense for you.
Then why have a glossary at all?
My reason for writing a glossary is that not everything I wanted to tell about the times and places I've taken you could be catalogued within the dramatic confines of my story. And I hope your reason for reading this glossary will be that I have intrigued you enough that you want still more explicit details about the times and places you've just visited.
In the following, I have attempted to give definitions and encyclopedic background relating to terms found in The Rainbow Cadenza. Those terms I Invented are marked (I); those to which I gave New Meanings are marked (N); and those which are Already In Use, either as accepted terminology or in the writings of other authors, are marked (A). --JNS
* * *
ABSOLUTE POWER: (N) The maximum power output of a CHROMATIC LASER instrument. For Joan's LCAA MARK 800B, this is 86 Watts. A LASEMEISTER will warn a student that "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." This is not a restatement of Lord Acton's political dictum, but a practical warning for the student to connect the chromatic laser's POWER DAMPERS. The engineering oddity by which the same type of power connector is used from wall outlet to a CONSOLE and between a console and an LCAA chromatic laser is due to the nature of FIRE GEMS in the LCAA chromatic laser, which periodically need to be retuned by running absolute power through them. Compare with FULL POWER.
ACHROMATIC: (N) Without color: colorless. A lasegraphic composition not based on color DIALECTICs, equivalent to "atonal" music, which has no harmonic dialectics.
ACUTE: (N) Cute, sexy--a slang meaning returned to the full root.
ADAMINE: (I) Brand-name for drug which, when taken by a man, inhibits his female-producing gynosperm, allowing his male-producing androsperm the only chance to fertilize an ovum. Any resulting pregnancy would be for a male child. Compare EVELINE.
AD ASTRA: (N) Latin, literally "to the stars." Cluster of FREE-SPACE HABITATs, population 50 million, situated in the LaGrange Two orbit, behind Earth's moon. This strategic location, shielded against direct view from Earth by the moon, was primarily responsible for the habitats' victory in the WAR OF COLONIAL SECESSION.
ADOPTION: (N) The marriage of a senior ANDROMAN to a junior androman, who becomes the senior androman's WARD.
ALAMO CITY: (N) New name for San Antonio, Texas. Places named after saints have been renamed because of unpleasant connotations to the anti-Christian culture in the Federation.
A.M.: (A) Amplitude Modulation in LASEGRAPHY, by which projected forms are made larger or smaller. Usage derived from LASERIUM®.
ANDRECOLOGY: (I) Medical specialty dealing with the problems of ANDROMEN.
ANDRO: (N) From root for male: ANDROMAN, or relating to andromen.
ANDROID: (N) Relating to ANDROMEN.
ANDROMAN, ANDROMEN: (I) Literally, "male-man." A socio-political designation in the Federation referring to males whose sexual preference does not include women as partners and usually, but not necessarily, includes other males: a resolved celibate could choose to be classified as either androman or comman. Only andromen may stand for election to a LAVENDER Seat in the Upper Manor, or vote in elections for Lavender seats. Compare COMMAN.
ANKH: (A) An ancient Egyptian life symbol used as insigne for the rank of MISTRESS in the Federation Peace Corps.
ANTI-PRECIPITATION FIELD: (I) Weather-control barrier against rain, snow, sleet, hail, etc. Compare CLOUD FACTORY.
ANTITHESIST: (I) Musical instrumentalist in a ROGA band who plays the Antithesizer, which counters visual imagery with melody. See DIALECTIC.
ARTICLES OF FEDERATION: (N) The constitution of the WORLD FEDERATION, enacting a republican World State.
AURAGRAM: (I) One gram of gold, in coin or money substitute. The money of the WORLD FEDERATION.
AVOCADO PIT: (N) The geometric core of a zero-gravity CATHEDRAL, where the lasegrapher performs. Derives from TIGER PIT.
BASS FORTISSIMO: (I) See FORTISSIMO .
BELT: (A) A powered, individual FLYING BELT: a sky belt.
BELTANE: (A) May Day. A legal holiday in the Federation. Also, a WICCEN holiday celebrating the MAIDEN GODDESS' Coming of Age.
BELTER: (A) A person who flies a sky belt.
BETWEEN A METEOR AND THE MOON: (I) Slang equivalent to "between Scylla and Charybdis" or "between a rock and a hard place."
BIRTH-RECORD PRINTOUT: (N) Birth certificate.
BLUE: (N) Official designation, in Federation color-code, signifying a COMMAN or commen. Blue is included in the clothing design of commen to differentiate them from andromen, and is the color of the seats in the HOUSE OF COMMEN.
BLUE JAY: (N) Ragging term used by andromen referring to a COMMAN. Compares with "Lav," ragging term used by commen referring to an androman.
BOH: (I) Slang term for Bohemian in period following WAR OF COLONIAL SECESSION, comparible to beatnik, hippie, or punk.
BOOSTY: (N) Teenage slang in AD ASTRA, referring to a person who provides an ego-boost. Also, slang for high on COCA MOCHA. See also COKED TO THE MOKE.
BRAINPRINT: (I) A registered recording of a person's PRIMARY NE
URAL MODULATION, kept on file by the FEDERATION BUREAU OF IMMUNITY. See also SCANNING and NINTH AMENDMENT.
BRUSHFIRE WAR, THE: (I) A thirty-year-long period of limited wars, in the early Twenty-first Century, which led to the gender imbalance, great socio-political changes on Earth and, consequently, the Federation.
BUTCH: (A) Very masculine. Originally a term used by male homosexuals to denote the more-male role in a relationship, later in general use in the Federation as a generic term of approval.
CABINET: (A) The government of the WORLD FEDERATION, chaired by the PRIME MINISTER, and comprising the Ministers of each Federation Ministry.
CADENZA: (A) Italian for "cadence." Derived from classical music, lasegraphic term referring to a virtuoso passage in a composition--often composed by a performer--in which a performer gets to stretch instrumental technique to the limit. Compare with RIFF.
CADETTE: (N) Female cadet: Cadette Corporal in the Federation Peace Corps. See CORPORAL.
CADILLAC DE SADE: (I) A large, gaudy skymobile named for the Marquis de Sade (1740-1814), an author popular among Marnies in the Federation for his explication of the use of pain (hence the term "sadism") to increase sexual pleasure. They are invariably piloted by rich show-offs with rude manners. If a skymobile cuts you off, it's probably a Cadillac De Sade. Compare Cadillac De Ville, the equivalent automobile.
CAIR PARAVEL: (N) Capital city of ST. CLIVE habitat, named for the capital of Narnia in C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia.
CALDRON, THE: (N) Earth slang for Hell or Hellish place, derived from WICCEN usage.
CANAVERAL SKYPORT: (N) Space port at Cape Canaveral.
CANNABIS: (A) The female hemp plant and derivatives: marijuana. Completely legal in both the Federation and the habitats.
CANNABIST: (I) A person who sells or serves marijuana or hashish, particularly in a CANNABISTRO. Derives from CANNABIS.
CANNABISTRO: (I) Combination of CANNABIS + bistro. A bar where marijuana or hashish is sold or served.
CAPOTE: (A) Literally French for "hood," it refers to a hooded cloak. Lavender capotes are worn officially or formally by andromen in the Federation, in honor of a RENAISSANCE author they particularly admire. In the Federation the hood is optional and the term refers to any cloak. See CLOAK, CLOAKED.
CATHEDRAL: (A) Literally "DOME," refers not only to a place of worship but also to a MEDIA TEMPLE.
CENTIGRAM: (A) One-hundredth of a gram: in the Federation, one- hundredth AURAGRAM: cent.
CEREBRAL ABORTION: (I) Procedure performed on a premature fetus whereby only autonomic functions of the undeveloped brain are permitted to continue. In the procedure of cerebral abortion, an embryonic human has its cerebral cortex chemically inhibited to prevent even prenatal personality formation, and after induced parturition at sixth months of development, the forever-mindless infant has a RADICAL LOBOTOMY performed, so the body may be artificially grown to maturity without any personality formation whatever. When the fetus grows into an adult body, there will be "no one at home," leaving the body free to have a genetically- compatible, cryonically preserved adult brain transplanted into it, making a whole person once again. In the Federation, the term is also used as school slang for "stupidity."
CHACUN A SON GOUT: (A) French, literally "Each to his taste."
CHAIRISTIC HEURONOMY: (I) The study of problem-solving leadership, a subdiscipline of Motivational Studies (see QUADRIVIUM) at UAANP. Also slang for a cushy, but useless, figurehead position.
CHALDEAN: (N) Period of lasegraphic development which developed most of lasegraphic form, sometimes at the expense of spiritual freedom. Equivalent to baroque period in classical music. Derives from Chaldeans, ancient astronomer-priests who built the Tower of Babel, an attempt to open the gates of Heaven by the ritualistic forms of worship, rather than spiritual content of worship. Compare NASCENT PERIOD, SYMBOLIST PERIOD, IMPRESSIONIST.
CHAUVINISTS: (N) The Chauvinist Party in the Federation. Originally a party concerned with national, provincial rights, later a party indistinguishable from its opponent LIBERTARIAN Party.
CHRIST: (N) In Federation usage, a horned god or devil. Used as a mild exclamation.
CHROMATIC LASER: (I) A laser instrument capable of emitting a full visible spectrum, by extension: the lasegraphic instrument. Contrasted with monochromatic lasers.
CIVILIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS: (N) A commercial chain store in the Federation boasting that it sells "the contents of civilization on DISC" but, as a play on the title of Sigmund Freud's seminal essay of that title, conceding that all such contents are the unending bitchings of a bunch of malcontents.
CLASSICAL LASEGRAPHY: (I) LASEGRAPHY performed in silence, relying on internal themes rather than being choreographed to music. Compare with ROGA.
CLEAVAGE: (N) 1/10th of a DIVISION in the Peace Corps, comprising 4,500 women, segmented into 10 DICTERIA.
CLOAK, CLOAKED: (A) Formal or official dress in the Federation, one style of which is the CAPOTE worn by ANDROMEN. Formally, COMMEN wear BLUE cloaks, andromen wear LAVENDER cloaks, WOMEN wear PINK cloaks, judges wear black cloaks, and TOUCHABLES are legally required to be cloaked in RED while in public.
CLONE: (A) A sociological, as well as biological, designation in the Federation. A human deriving from a single cell from one parent only, so that the resulting child is an identical genetic twin of that parent. The process is used by ANDROMEN to reproduce themselves, implanting such cells into a HOST MOTHER for the pregnancy. Compare with PARTHENOGENESIS and TWIN.
CLONE-FATHER: (N) The single parent of a CLONE child.
CLONING, TO CLONE: (A) Not only to produce a CLONE, but to reproduce a replacement part of a body by cloning in vitro.
CLONERAPER: (I) An ANDROMAN who rapes his CLONE. Also an emphatic insult equivalent to current usage of "MOTHERFUCKER."
CLONERAPING: (I) Emphatic verbal intensifier, in the Federation, indicating the displeasure of the user.
CLOUD FACTORY: (I) Weather control device which produces precipitation. See also ANTI-PRECIPITATION FIELD.
COCA DRINKER: (N) A drinker of COCA MOCHA, also implying a BOH or ROGA aficianado. See MOCHA HOUSE.
COCA MOCHA: (I) A hot beverage comprising coffee, cocoa, and cocaine. The caffeine and cocaine are in small enough amounts to provide an equivalent boost to coffee or tea, beverages which it has largely supplanted. Its ritualistic properties associated with bohemian culture are all out of proportion to its actual biochemical effects.
COKED TO THE MOKE: (I) Slang used by ROGA players and aficianados. High on COCA MOCHA--feeling good. BOOSTY.
COLONIAL WAR: (I) THE WAR OF COLONIAL SECESSION. Used largely on Earth to avoid having to remind themselves that they lost.
COLONIES: (N) The FREE-SPACE HABITATS. Used in the Federation only, since its usage is inflamatory in the habitats.
COLORATURA: (N) Derived from opera: coloration. In LASEGRAPHY, a LEITMOTIF based on color DIALECTICs.
COLOR-BLIND: (N) With regard to LASEGRAPHY, equivalent to being tone deaf to music.
COMIC DISC: (I) A DISC containing cartoon material, equivalent to comic book.
COMMAN: (I) Common Man. Socio-political designation in Federation for a male whose sexual partners include women. The term does not exclude ambisexual males who choose other male sexual partners as well. A legal prerequisite to standing for the HOUSE OF COMMEN, voting in elections for the House of Commen, or visiting the DICTERIA. See ANDROMAN and WOMEN.
COMMEN: (I) More than one COMMAN. Also the Federation Lower Manor, the HOUSE OF COMMEN.
CONCORD: (N) The NORTH AMERICAN CONCORD.
CONFUCIUS: (N) A FREE-SPACE HABITAT built by the Chinese.
CONGLOMERATE: (N) The largest segment of the Peace Corps, comprising 450,000 women. 1/10th of Corps, divided into 10 CORPORATIONS.
CONSCRIPTION: (A) Compulsory national service, usually but not always in the military. It might have been forbidden in the U.S. Constitution if it hadn't first been put into common use in France six years after t
he U.S. Constitution was drawn up; it might have been later interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court as forbidden by the Sixteenth Amendment ban on "involuntary servitude" if conscription hadn't first been used in the United States during the Civil War, a war which we're told was fought to abolish slavery.
CONSOLE: (N) A lasegraphic keyboard and, by extension, the CHROMATIC LASER instrument itself.
CONTROLLED HYPOTHERMIA: (A) Medical procedure used for preparing a patient for CRYONIC SUSPENSION by reducing body temperature without freezing damage.
COPYRIGHT: (N) No longer referring just to rights protection of writing, music, maps, etc., but refers primarily to laws relating to CLONING and PARTHENOGENESIS.
CORPORAL: (N) Ranks in Peace Corps, starting with Cadette Corporal, equivalent to buck private in the military (insigne Virgo); then to Second Corporal, equivalent to private in the military (insigne gold YONI); then to First Corporal (insigne silver yoni), with ranks ranging (by number of yoni) between corporal in the military to sergeant. The term literally classifies the women in the DICTERIA as "bodies"--and bodies which are in no sense "private."
CORPORAL JOAN-OF-ARC: (N) Dr. Blaine refers to Joan Darris this way, comparing her to the French heroine Saint Jeanne d'Arc (circa 1412-1431) known for her unyielding fortitude. However, since the French term for rainbow is arc-en-ciel--arc in the sky--his name for Joan is truer than he imagines. Joan later becomes a "Jeanne-d'Arc-en-ciel" when she one-ups Jaeger's RAINBOW CADENZA.
CORPORATION: (N) In Peace Corps, 1/10th of a CONGLOMERATE comprising 45,000 women segmented into 10 DIVISIONs.
CORPS, THE: (N) The WORLD FEDERATION PEACE CORPS.
COURT-VENEREAL: (I) A trial for, or to try, a member of the Peace Corps. Literally "Court of Venus," the Goddess of Love. Derives from court-martial: "Court of Mars," the God of War.
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