To expand a little on the degree quantifiers mentioned in the previous post, these are a set of words which permit the Eldraeic speaker to quantify the degree to which a particular predicate applies with reference to its subject argument. Â There are six of these in common use: ulquor nonexistent,
El val telalĂ©lharn quor olmanár elĂ©n alĂrvelv. No, I have no idea why I translated that.  Just had a moment, I suppose. Word-by-word breakdown: el Simple descriptor; essentially an article. val “I”; or in this case “my”, because it follows the simple descriptor. telalĂ©lharn hovercraft – literally “wind-vehicle” from telalĂ©l (“wind”
From Merak Ikarakakt, greetings. My dear friend, having consulted with galactic rep networks and meta-networks, I believe you to be a sophont of the highest integrity and excellent reputation in the interstellar business community. I have the privilege therefore to request your assistance in a matter of the greatest confidentiality
…yeah, no. Seriously, I’m imagining thousands of years of technological development, here, and the parts which correspond to the technological development of Terrans is rather, ah, variant – starting with the early use of nuclear energy in place of fossil fuels, the substitution of ceramics and composites for plastics, and
Apocalypse How: Several worlds have been apocalypsed in the ongoing course of galactic events. Perhaps most notable are Laris (Tanion Wilds), whose former civilization wiped itself out with really dirty nuclear bombs; Ulijen (Cordai Gap), a planet that now has a distinct-looking bite in it where the power plant that
“Was that trochaic heptameter? It sounded like heptameter…” “I think so, yes.” “I don’t believe – what difference does it make what -?” “When you’ve known the Admiral for as long as we have, Excellency, you can predict her state of, ah, irritation quite well from her speech habits.
We are asked, quite regularly, why the bandal was chosen as the first candidate for uplift. The simple answer, of course, is that as a domesticated animal that had, unlike every other, been bred selectively for millennia for higher intelligence and more, which is profoundly social, the bandal was one
Omnicidal Maniac: Fortunately, very, very rare, and generally outnumbered by everyone else. The best-known canonical example is the seed AI of the Charnel Cluster, discovered by a scouting lugger, which upon activation set about destroying all life within the said cluster – leading to a half-dozen systems of fragmented habitats and
While I’m really running dreadfully behind with this series, #4 is off to my subscribers, giving a taste of what the mainstream belief systems among the eldrae with regard to, well, Cosmos and Ethos are all about. For anyone coming to me recently – and this is the first time
“Gentlesophs,” the silver figure at the front of the room said. “Congratulations on your transfer to KalcĂr Station. If you don’t know me, I am Istry 0xC89ABB62, Chief Security Officer, and I’m here to give you a personal reminder of the security regulations pertaining to KalcĂr.” “KalcĂr Station,
Ape Shall Never Kill Ape: For the most part, thoroughly averted. With some statistically insignificant exceptions, no fully-individual species is entirely united (and even those exceptions still have criminals and dissidents), and generally have no greater inhibitions against killing their own kind than against killing anyone else, given a reason
For those who didn’t catch the reference in the title of that last fic-a-day, the reference was to the chorus of the filk piece Home on Lagrange (The L5 Song), copyright 1978 by William S. Higgins and Barry D. Gehm. The lyrics are as follows: Oh, give me a