CoSM:Glossary

This article serves as a glossary for the many smaller terms in the wiki that don't require a dedicated page, at least for the moment.

Astronomy

Estranged Mother Theory

The Estranged Mother Theory is a popular theory in xenobiology, especially among the SDO. It posits that life on Elm, Julee and Earth finds a common origin in an extraplanetary First Universal Common Ancestor. This FUCA entered through fragments of an initially single celestial body, probably an asteroid, which shattered at some point during its course. This object has been tentatively named several times, with the most popular term nowadays being the Ark of Sugar, sometimes shortened to simply the Ark. The "sugar" in its name is in reference to ribose, the sugar backbone of RNA. Several probable impact sites on Elm and Julee have been found, although recognising ones on Earth is by now impossible due to its destruction in 143 PE. Several triangulations have been made attempting to decipher where within the Milky Way the Ark of Sugar originated. The most popular theory posits that it was originally part of a planet, called Estranged Mother (Áonak: Šaqqüq ʼǘqü), located somewhere within VS Leo Albus.

Neighbour borrowing sugar axiom

The Neighbour borrowing sugar axiom states that universes that are close enough to each other will have similar rules. This means that matter from one universe will be essentially "translated" into an equivalent form pertaining to the other. For example, the dessian element aranine will fill a similar niche to that of oxygen when transported to the cosmos. Physically, they will present differences, but functionally, they are similar enough to take one another's place.

Populated cosmos

Populated cosmos refers to the portion of the universe that contains VS Leo Albus, VS Furittum and VS Helix Solaris, all of which contain inhabited celestial objects.

Vicus stellaris

A vicus stellaris (Latin for "star neighbourhood"), often shortened to VS, is a uranographic boundary originally created for census tracking, but also used in mapping stars. It's defined as a spherical area with a radius of 12,5 ly with a central star, called the capital, as its origin. There are three major vici stellares: VS Leo Albus, VS Furittum and VS Helix Solaris.

Biology

Balsam

Balsam, also known as erdyll balsam is a substance similar in nature to petroleum. It is a naturally occurring oily blackish violet liquid, usually found together with petroleum in geological formations. A type of fossil fuel, it forms as the bodies of dead erdylls become concentrated under a large amount of pressure and heat. This causes the dessian elements that compose them to mix and form balsamium solanate (Ⲃⲁ(ⲤⲗⲀⲣ)₂), along with other less significant byproducts.

Balsam has been historically extracted from the bodies of erdotes or, less commonly, erdyll-rich areas of cytotic bodies, such as the brain or digestive system. Nowadays, though, it is much more common to extract it by oil drilling. Once extracted, it is separated from petroleum by centrifuge and used as an efficient but relatively short-lasting fuel.

Biota

Biota is a taxonomic classification encompassing all life in a given biosphere at a planetary level, having different origins and biochemical characteristics. These are the main defining points that distinguish biota from one another.

CHONPS universal

The CHONPS universal states that all known biological units are, at their basest of elements, composed of primarily carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur.

Entity

An entity is any organism originating from the dess, and being entirely made of dessian elements.

Honeymilk

Honeymilk is a Kannoan animal byproduct produced by members of the class Melifera, comparable to milk in mammals. A major component of honeymilk is the trisaccharide sugar melezitose, also found in Earth animals, mostly insects in the form of honeydew. Honeymilk generally has a light cream colour and tends to be a little more viscous than mammalian milk, as is the case with urm and beecattle honeymilk.

Photodermal patch

The photodermal patch is a (usually) external organ found on the faces of phylum Photodermata on Elm. It is−as the name suggests−an area of exposed skin made of cells capable of sensing light to a limited degree. It accomplishes different tasks from one species to another. For example, on elmians it regulates the circadian rhythm and aids in emotional information, while on the benthic genus Anops of paons they are used for vision (mostly in the form of sensing changes in light at a short distance).

Politics

Misoxeny

Misoxeny is the prejudiced hatred of sophont species other than one's own. A person who acts upon misoxeny is a misoxenist. Misoxeny is a prolific problem during the initial stages of integration of other sophont species into the larger interstellar community, but it tends to attenuate with the passage of time. A good example of this were the initial reactions from urms towards the arrival of the SDO, often described as unwanted and invasive, especially by the more conservative clans. This prejudice was also reflected into the opinions of more isolationist people in places of (primarily) Elm, who frequently pushed for the abandonment of the urms due to their "unwieldy size" and lesser technological status.

Technology

Clone

A clone is a grown organism that traces its genealogy to a single imago, its genetic sample.

Moonbrain

The Moonbrain is a moon-sized quantum supercomputer in orbit around Nausicaä, built from 12x PE until 1Na PE by the Search and Discovery Organisation prior to the advent of the Nenenet. Its equatorial radius is of about 1415 kilometres (around ~300 km less than that of the Earthen moon).

Pratidhvani

A pratidhvani (from the extinct Earth language Sanskrit प्रतिध्वनि pratidhvani "echo, reverberation") is a synthetic organism made to replicate its organic counterpart in nearly all aspects. This includes tissue, organs, cognitive function, and everything else that constitutes a living being. This technology was pioneered by the elmians during the Early Noŋŋo eon, succesfully creating the first pratidhvani in 4250 ENE, a living replica of a female Earth cat which they subsequently named Prithvi after the Hindu goddess of the earth.

Pratidhvanayah (as they are referred to in the plural) are distinguished from clones in that they possess no imago, i.e. an organism whose genetic material is being sampled, and from yantra (mechanical being) in that their constituent parts are ultimately of organic origin.

Yantra

A yantra is a mechanical being with an artificial intelligence advanced enough for it to be indistinguishable or better than that of an organic being.

Moonsong

Æon

Æons are impersonal forces of nature. At their most mighty, they are invisible, imperceptible beings of such immense power that they incorporate themselves into the worldly flow of the æther, moving through it as boats down a river. They are emotionless, opinionless, mindless things, simplified down to their most basic essences. Their power may be harnessed by priests to infuse catalysts, or directed into performing massive acts of thaumaturgy.

Æons are broadly defined by their might: the more power an Æon holds, the more homogeneous it is with the æther it flows in. Extremely powerful Æons are not known by name, as they are imperceptible. However, lesser Æons take on varying levels of physicality, rendering them visible. By being lesser, they display behaviours which diverge with their kin's inability to need or want, such as the Spirit of the Glen's need to protect itself by raising a shell around its meek body.