Tarnus Glossary

© Dana W. Paxson 2007

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Obergamm
code name for Ogi‘s.
Oberon: Oberon, Oberonian
one of the five major moons of Uranus. Of the five it is the farthest from the planet, and is the second most massive and second largest next to Titania. Oberon serves as the site for the fabrication, assembly, and launching of several of the starships of what would later be termed the First Migration.
ochred
colored ochre; rock in some areas carried striations of dark yellow signifying the presence of uranium ores.
Oconar
brother of Leil.
oder
streetchild word for ‘other’.
Odrella Shev: Odrella, Odrella Shev, Shev
female advertising flack, displaying an oversexed persona, working for UniCorp on the sensi.
Officer with Missing Leg
one of the insurrection military officers serving as a communications coordinator after losing his leg to a beamshot during the fighting.
Ogi
an off-and-on entertainment and dance emporium on Stang Street not too far from Grazamar Crossing.
okijaZK
an andro name for a color in the five-octave andro color spectrum. okijaZK is in the human range (375-750 nm), and its name refers to the human color yellow-green. In relation to neighboring colors in a musical scale with red at A, this would be D. Pronunciation of sounds written as SR (*) or ZK (+) as spoken in anjive is described briefly in Andro Notes. From tabular data: okijaZK is the name of a color in the spectrum visible to andros. okijaZK is in the Human-Visible (375-750 nm). In the five ‘octaves’ of the andro color spectrum, okijaZK equates to a musical D, and is in the same place in the octave as Yellow-Green. More information is available in the reference table titled ANDRO COLOR NAMES. From tabular data for “okijaZK": okijaZK is the name of a color in the spectrum visible to andros. okijaZK is in the Human-Visible (375-750 nm). In the five ‘octaves’ of the andro color spectrum, okijaZK equates to a musical D, and is in the same place in the octave as Yellow-Green. More information is available in the reference table titled ANDRO COLOR NAMES.
olfactories
andros possess a highly-developed discriminatory capability in their sense of smell. They perceive a kind of ‘odor-space’, in which incoming smells find niches near objects or creatures representing molecules or chemical processes which can react with the sensed chemical or chemicals.
Ollirant
the killer of Siglin Farcross Seventeen. Another name for Derain.
Olmey
fighter for the insurrection.
Onnashak
Janny‘s name for Onnhasshakh.
Onnhashakh
an alien, one of the Zashinhalh, and the oldest one on Tarnus.
Onnhasshakh
an alien who has lived on the planet for over a million years, witnessing both the first and second human arrivals.
Oort Cloud: Oort, Oort Cloud, Oort cloud, Oort-Cloud, Oort-cloud
the cloud of cometary bodies and debris lying primarily in a toroidal zone roughly in the plane of the major-planet orbits of the Sun. The mean distance from an Oort Cloud body to the Sun is roughly one light-year, or a fourth of the distance to the nearest star.
Oortonel
Deen‘s alien guest and companion.
Ophelia
one of the small inner moons of Uranus, second nearest to the planet.
Opo Bira Lima: Opo, Opo Bira Lima
the one habitable planet in the Zeta Tucanae (Pué) star system, discovered in the late stages of the Stellar Viability Survey. The planet was later renamed Tarnus by its colonizers.
opticals
the optical communications lines that crossweb the entire City. See also lightpipe, infoconduit.
Orbaker
Howard Orbaker, U.S. Senator.
orchidectomy
surgical removal of the testicles.
orhghailhash: Orhghailhash
from partially-deciphered alien inscription, “FOR orhghailhash OF ALGOL 97844TH qaqanhialh WITH anhmharh OF DENEB 104326TH qaqanhialh PRODUCING mharhthail AND turhnushthenh AND fanhlhaothim AND drhoinhfigh " Considered by Arlen and others to be the detailing of attendees at a meeting. To get a better grip on the names, see pronunciation.
Originals: Originals, Originals Coll
a coll which sprang up during the First Dynasty, claiming that humans had originated on the planet, and were not descendants of the Colonists. Responsible for the destruction of many records of the Colonization during the inter-dynastic wars. Many Originals still live in a triad of small cities on the Jagged Ring, far out in the Great Eastern Sea.
orney: orney, orneys
migratory flying creatures indigenous to the planet. Their wingspan ranges from about three to about ten feet. Their body and wing covering is a translucent, iridescent form of extremely thin, tough, light scales resembling fans of mica in color and iridescence. They migrate between the narrow tropic zone on the Lower Continent (winter) and the northern mountains on the Upper Continent (summer).
orphin: orphin, orphins
endorphin drugs, including both synthetics and those naturally produced in the body. These induce euphoria and pain relief in varying combinations and levels of intensity.
Orrivar
Marra‘s first attempt at pronouncing ‘Aoriver'. Both Aoriver and Oortonel quickly gave up trying to get Deen and Marra to use accurate pronunciations of their names.
osmiridium
the weighty metal alloy used for coinage.
Otanou
the name, in CLang, of the thirteenth month of the Lulith Calendar. From tabular data: Otanou is month number 13 in the 14-month Moon Calendar. You can find all the month names in the reference table titled MOON CALENDAR MONTH NAMES. From tabular data for “Otanou": Otanou is month number 13 in the 14-month Moon Calendar. You can find all the month names in the reference table titled MOON CALENDAR MONTH NAMES.
Other
ou: ou, oua
streetchild word for ‘where’, like our French term.
oujin
an andro name for a color in the five-octave andro color spectrum. oujin is in the near ultraviolet range (187-375 nm), and its name refers to a multiple of the human color blue. In relation to neighboring colors in a musical scale with red at A, this would be F. From tabular data: oujin is the name of a color in the spectrum visible to andros. oujin is in the Near Ultraviolet (187-375 nm). In the five ‘octaves’ of the andro color spectrum, oujin equates to a musical F, and is in the same place in the octave as Blue. More information is available in the reference table titled ANDRO COLOR NAMES. From tabular data for “oujin": oujin is the name of a color in the spectrum visible to andros. oujin is in the Near Ultraviolet (187-375 nm). In the five ‘octaves’ of the andro color spectrum, oujin equates to a musical F, and is in the same place in the octave as Blue. More information is available in the reference table titled ANDRO COLOR NAMES.
ourhobhorhos
a Zashinhalh term for a recurving of a dimensional manifold back to rejoin itself seamlessly. The Mobius strip and Klein bottle are trivial examples of this phenomenon; the Zashinhalh experience such closures with respect to time and other dimensions of hirh-space.
outgassing
a starship contains many kilometers of plumbing for the fluids it uses. Steering fuels require a great deal of storage space and a distribution network of pipes. On cryosleep ships like the Tompuso, though, the refrigeration and life-support fluids require even more connections among the parts of the ship carrying passengers and repair personnel. If the ship strikes metallic rubble that penetrates its heavy shells, and pipes are ruptured, some of the liquids turn instantly to gases and boil off. This is outgassing. Repair droids are usually sent quickly to shut off the pipes, reroute the fluids, and stop the losses.
outland
the lands extending to the west of the City and the mines at Transellas. Wide plains generally poor in natural resources; many families of Sinantro Coll live nomadically in this area.
outlier
the City burrows to a diameter of fifty miles horizontally, its farther reaches no more than two hundred feet beneath the surface. Many who work in the countryside live in these outlying areas.
ouz
an andro name for a color in the five-octave andro color spectrum. ouz is in the far ultraviolet range (95-187 nm), and its name refers to a multiple of the human color blue. In relation to neighboring colors in a musical scale with red at A, this would be F. From tabular data: ouz is the name of a color in the spectrum visible to andros. ouz is in the Far Ultraviolet (95-187 nm). In the five ‘octaves’ of the andro color spectrum, ouz equates to a musical F, and is in the same place in the octave as Blue. More information is available in the reference table titled ANDRO COLOR NAMES. From tabular data for “ouz": ouz is the name of a color in the spectrum visible to andros. ouz is in the Far Ultraviolet (95-187 nm). In the five ‘octaves’ of the andro color spectrum, ouz equates to a musical F, and is in the same place in the octave as Blue. More information is available in the reference table titled ANDRO COLOR NAMES.
Overgroup
the highest tier of rank in the city zones of the regional military forces. Frintar‘s rank of Overgroup Manager places her in a command position answerable only to Tren Tarz. In civil matters, however, she answers to the City administration, headed by Talizirin.