The Dark Imbalance

by Sean Williams

  outrigger: a unique Caste of miner/explorer found in sparsely populated systems; living within all-suits that double as mobile homes, outriggers typically scout uncharted dark body halos and asteroid belts, looking for viable mineral sources, which they then either mine or report to a centralized authority (if any) for a modest fee. Outriggers are notoriously self-sufficient, avoiding even other outriggers as much as possible, and have been known to exist for years out of contact with another being. Spending much of their lives drifting in hibernation between dark and cometary bodies, some live longer than three centuries. Few outriggers have family names, coming as they do from such small communities that single given names usually suffice.

  outsweep migrations: brief, outward surges by expansionist empires. These usually occur in the crowded environment of the core or Middle Reaches, in the direction of the Outer Arms.

  Pacecca: an overseer of the docks of Perdue Habitat.

  Palasian System: a system of the COE quarantined by the COE Armada as a result of an enemy outbreak, then destroyed by an ancient Kesh device (see Solar Envelope).

  Paraselene, COEA: a COE cruiser stationed near Perdue Habitat.

  Paz: an educative device once owned by Morgan Roche.

  Perdue Habitat: a habitat populated by approximately 11,000 people, predominantly Vax Caste, stationed to Sol System during the crisis. Its administer, Inderdeep Jans, is known to have been reluctant to commit her resources to solving the crisis.

  Phlegethon, SHCV: a Skehan Heterodox consistory vessel from the far side of the galaxy.

  Pompili: a founding nation of the IEPC.

  Primordial Castes: precede the earliest confirmed records, half a million years ago. Little is known about them, except that they exist; ruins of several unique types are to be found throughout the galaxy. They are called Castes A, B, C, and D, for even their names are unknown. (See Appendix.)

  Pristine Caste: the form of Humanity which most closely resembles the original race that evolved an unknown time ago on an unknown planet somewhere in the galaxy. The Pristine Human Genome, handed down from antiquity and regarded with near-veneration, is stored in innumerable places among the civilized worlds. Pristines themselves, however, are accorded no special status.

  Quare, Oren: assistant to Overseer Pacecca, Perdue Habitat.

  Random Valence: a habitat stationed close to Perdue Habitat.

  reave: see epsense.

  Rebuli: a Caste antagonistic to the cause of the IEPC.

  Rench: dockmaster of Perdue Habitat.

  Reshima System: a system in which Ameidio Haid once worked.

  Roche, Morgan: former commander, COE Intelligence.

  Rond-Spellor Outlook: home of Hue Vischilglin.

  Rufo, Linegar: renowned xenoarchaeologist

  Saa-hurod: a Caste maintaining an outpost in Sol System during the crisis.

  Sciacca’s World: the only habitable world of the Hutton-Luu System; once an agricultural planet of the Dominion, now a desert penal colony of the COE (Sciacca Penal Colony). Its ring of moonlets—the Soul—is owned and mined by DAOC Inc.

  scutter: a small, swift spacegoing vessel with many uses, both military and civilian; also known as a singleship.

  Sebettu, SRF: Kesh destroyer.

  Second Expansion: an ancient outsweep known to have led from the Exordium Worlds into the greater galaxy.

  Siriote: a government antagonistic to the IEPC.

  Skehan Heterodox: a tolerant theocracy on the far side of the galaxy, significantly more advanced than the COE.

  slow-jump: a common alternative to the anchor drive that utilizes similar technology. Most ships with an anchor drive can slow-jump if necessary. It is essentially a jump through hyperspace from any point in real space. A certain degree of kinetic energy is required before translation can be achieved, so ships must accelerate for some time beforehand. Even then, the hyperspace jump is short-lived, and the vessel emerges soon after (typically less than a light-year away from its departure point) with significantly less kinetic energy. The process must be repeated from scratch if another slow-jump is required. As a means of crossing interstellar space, it is inefficient and time-consuming, hence its name. Slow-jumping becomes increasingly nonviable closer to a gravity-well, but more efficient as mass (of the traveling object) decreases.

  Sol Apotheosis Movement: a quasi-religious organization devoted to the pursuit of Transcendence via genetic manipulation and biomodification that reached its peak and was destroyed in the 37th millennium. Its fanatical followers were a source of unrest for decades, until an alliance was formed among their neighbors dedicated to putting a stop to them. In ‘577 EN, at the climax of the Scion War, a flotilla of allied forces encircled their base, which the Movement destroyed in order to prevent its capture. The resulting explosion annihilated them as well, of course, but also decimated the flotilla. Of the four stations involved in the battle, only one survived, and that was severely damaged. So embarrassed was the alliance that the leaders of the day ordered the event stricken from history. They even closed the anchor point leading to the system to prevent anyone learning what occurred there. Nothing survived of the base, and the rest of the system is an unsalvageable ruin.

  Sol System: an uninhabited system in a nonaligned region near the Dato Bloc, one known for its antiquity and a possible contender for birthplace of the Human race. Former home of the Sol Apotheosis Movement and many other such sects. (See Appendix.)

  Sol Wunderkind: genetically modified clone warriors designed and bred by the Sol Apotheosis Movement.

  Solar Envelope: a device intended to provide a jump shield large enough to enclose an entire solar system. Two prototypes were built by an early Kesh Government. “Asha’s Gauntlet” was used on one system, with disastrous results: the system’s primary sun, modified to power the Envelope, was exhausted within two months; the entire system collapsed shortly thereafter. Useless as a defensive weapon, and forbidden by the Convention on Extraordinary Weapons, the second Gauntlet remained in the hands of the Kesh until it was used in Palasian System.

  Soul, the: the local name for the orbiting ring of mineral-rich moonlets girdling Sciacca’s World.

  spine: the collective noun used to describe a loosely linked group of outriggers; from their means of traveling between systems, on the back of a naked real-space drive known as “the spine.”

  squt: a Surin word for someone who is both foolish and closed-minded.

  Stryki: an epsense adept from Taborca.

  Surin: a relatively minor Caste found in the regions surrounding the COE. They exist in isolated clumps overseen by a governing body that guides rather than rules. They are social beings yet fond of isolation, giving them a reputation for occasional aloofness. They are technically accomplished, especially in the biological sciences. In stature, they tend to be slight and have hair covering much of their bodies. It is occasionally speculated that they have re-evolved from Low Caste status.

  Surin Agora: the ruling body of the loosely knit Surin nation.

  Taborca: a region in the Middle Reaches.

  Tade, Rejuben: 238th Provost of the Guild of Xenoarchaeologists (see Appendix).

  TBC-14: see Kindling.

  Teh, Sylvester: transportee, Sciacca Penal Colony.

  Tocharia 13: a habitat maintained by members of the Zissis Caste.

  Transcend: to break free of the constraints of mundane Humanity. A being or Caste that has Transcended typically has an extremely long life span and spreads its consciousness across a number of primary containers—such as neural nets, quantum data vats, and the like. Transcended entities, singular or collective, are referred to as High Human and accorded the highest status.

  Transcendence: the state of being Transcended. Usually achieved when consciousness research and computer technology overlap, allowing an organic mind to be downloaded into an electronic vessel, thereby gaining the potential for unlimited growth.

  Trezise, Salton: senior aide to Auberon Chase and envoy to the
IEPC.

  Trinity: the world on which AIs are made in the region dominated by the COE. The AI factory was founded and is overseen by the High Human known as the Crescend.

  turcite: a type of high explosive.

  Ulterior: a covert organization operating within—but not without the official disapproval of—the IEPC.

  Ustinik, Alwen: a representative of the Commerce Artel.

  Vacishnou: homeworld of the Vax Caste.

  Vax: a Caste renowned for its peculiar breeding customs.

  Veden, Makil: an Eckandar Trade Axis citizen and Commerce Artel ex-delegate. Deceased.

  Vischilglin, Hue: co-adjutant sent by the Rond-Spellor Outlook to assist the IEPC.

  Vri: a Surin soldier, who has forgone his family name and taken the tide “Defender-of-Harmony.”

  Wamel: a Hurn pilot employed by the Disciples of Evergence.

  Warfare Protocol: the code by which war is conducted within and between those nations that trade with the Commerce Artel.

  Wehr, Vani: earned an Honorable Mention in ancient times for quick thinking on the Clarke Cylinder.

  Weryn: deity of the Skehan Heterodox.

  Xarodine: an epsense-inhibiting drug.

  Xumai, Jancin: a Surin soldier who has taken the title “Fighter-For-Peace.”

  Yemena: a Caste not native to the COE region.

  Yugen, Frane: leader of Random Valence.

  Zissis: a Caste not indigenous to the COE region.