trope-a-day
Pstandard Psychic Pstance: The psychokinetic kind exists, as does the one-handed gesture version when using techlepathy. In neither case does it have any actual power-related function whatsoever, and you can use either without doing the gesturing. The former (see: Magical Gesture), is done purely for the sake of flamboyance, or
trope-a-day
Proud Scholar Race Guy: The eldrae might well wear this hat among the Imperials – after all, they do love knowledge – had they not run into the galari, who, in the closest thing to a hat that I intend to appear, are entirely qualified as Proud Scholar Race… ah, Crystals. Subverted
humor
As recorded by Talentar Deep Space Tracking. : Hey, I just fell off the starship. Send lawyers, rescue ships, and oxygen. : No, seriously. : Because I had my terminal, not whatever fancy radio you think I have. And because I had your address. And because all the other functions on it say
trope-a-day
Proud Merchant Race Guy: This and the next couple of tropes are difficult, because, well, it’s just not all that hatty a universe. The Imperials are notorious for their pro-commerce attitudes (see: Blue and Orange Morality) and – especially on Seranth (Imperial Core), one of the Worlds’ largest tradeworlds (see
Places To Go
Olkómac Crater: An unusually large, multi-lobed crater on the moon of Bir-Liahs (Sea of Stars), the homeworld of the linobir. Olkómac is not an impact crater; rather, it was formed during a parlay between five competing linobir clan-heads, in which each of the parlayers chose to betray the others by
trope-a-day
Projected Man: A common representation-format for artificial intelligences (and other infomorphs) – although a majority of AIs do not use biosapience-shaped avatars, preferring more abstract neomorphic shapes – and telerepresentation users both. In some cases, may not be a simple trigraphic (hologram, to speakers of non-deeply-SFnal English who don’t realize the
Adjusted Sapience Index Test
“If there is one thing the universe is not short of, it is ways to measure the multifaceted, multidimensional phenomenon we call ‘intelligence’, or ‘sapience’. “Perhaps the best known of all of them is the ASIT – the Adjusted Sapience Index Test – as defined these days by the Eupraxic Collegium and
trope-a-day
Hard Light: Not strictly speaking. What there is is the ontotechnological extrapolation of photonic molecules, quantum wells, programmable matter, and various other cutting-edge concepts until they resemble something like the reality graphics (and, indeed, the Eldraeverse calls them reality graphics) seen in Vernor Vinge’s A Fire Upon the Deep
trope-a-day
Privately Owned Society: In what is now the Empire, long ago. Or now. Could go either way. In its purest form, in the years immediately following the Drowning of the People. After deciding that democracy amounted to substituting a parade of replaceable jackasses for the old permanent jackasses on the
Eldraeic Transcend
Academician LylvÃëve Lochran-ith-Lochran’s concept of ambition, despite her otherwise excellent presentation of the near-term possibilities of Information Physics, remains lacking. Recompiling the universe to remove its more irritating constraints is a project suitable for those of only moderate ambition. But consider: the implications of idestelté, of universe as processor,
trope-a-day
Privateer: Many star nations find potentially-disavowable and/or privately funded (i.e. Private Military Contractors) commerce raiders and other semi-official means of making war useful enough that letters of marque issued to shipborne mercenaries are still a standard part of the military toolbox in and near the Worlds.
trope-a-day
Private Military Contractors: Lots of them, especially since the Laws and Customs of War in the Eldraeverse recognize mercenaries as legitimate combatants (it should be noted that the Imperial sense of honor takes no issue with fighting for money as long as you stay bought; loyalty to one’s contract