Daily Life

BY LETTER

Daily Life

Image from Bernd Helfert

The types and modes of "Daily Life" inside Terragen civilization are as numerous and diverse as the beings that engage in it. Some aspects of day to day existence would be recognizable to an ancient from the Information Age or even before. Others would be almost incomprehensible.

Sub-Topics

Clothing

Food and Drink

News Net

Articles

::NN:: CURRENT FADS - What's In and What's Out - Text by John B and Steve Bowers
Ad-Drugs - Text by Todd Drashner
Pharmaceutical advertising; a class of tailored drugs which are either supplied as part of a promotion for a particular product or stimulate a desire to purchase or obtain that product.
Advertising Slogans - Text by David Jackson, Anders Sandberg, John B, Peter Kisner, M. Alan Kazlev , and Steve Bowers
Samples of Terragen advertising.
Animadvert - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Any of a number of corporate organic life forms, mostly subsapient, which have slogans, logos, and even freebies and consumer liteware incorporated into their genetic structure, and hence expressed in their phenotype and/or secreted or excreted.
Apparent Brightness of the Local Sun - Text by Steve Bowers
To standard Terragen eyes, suns with a different spectral type from Sol do not seem as bright from the surface of a terraformed planet, since less of their radiation falls within the visible range.
Augmentation - Text by M. Alan Kazlev, Ryan_B
Biological, synthetic, and virtual engineering of a sophont for the purposes of aesthetics and/or enhancement of natural abilities
Augmented Reality (AR) - Text by M. Alan Kazlev after the original in Anders Sandberg's Transhumanist Terminology
A personalized view of reality, the result of filtering, translation, and addition of new perceptions, such as annotations, information or virtual objects; essential for any sapient being to function in most of the civilized galaxy, and interact with all but the most basic tech..
Bathhouses - Text by James Ramsey
Common means of bodily cleansing found on many worlds. A bathhouse contains one or more pools of water in which a biont swims and submerges emselves to remove dirt, heal wounds, and promote health. The pools contain nanoactive and enriched water that serves as a recreational pool and biont cleanser. A Highly efficient and relaxing means of bathing. The pool's self-cleansing means that the pool water only needs to be replaced when evaporation reduces the water level. Most popular on water poor worlds/habs where individual bathing would be wasteful.
Biodegradable - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A substance that can be broken down through the normal activity of microorganisms. Many Zoeific, Arcadian, and some Genen, polities have strict guidelines and regulations regarding this.
Biodiversity - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
The abundance of different biological species and varieties found in any environment, such as a natural biosphere, a ship, or an orbital or deep-space habitat. In almost every case (there are exceptions - e.g. on special purpose ships, military, freighter, etc etc), a high biodiversity is preferable to a low biodiversity for ecological robustness, resource value, evolutionary potential, and aesthetic appreciation.
BioGeoComputing - Text by Tony Jones
A layer of crustal bacteria in several planets which has been converted into processing substrate.
Bioluminescence - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
The production of light by both natural and artificial living organisms. Many deep-sea and murky atmosphere organisms are bioluminescent. Among many phyles and clades, bioluminescent bodymods are de rigeur, although, as with everything else, bioluminescence tends to go in and out of fashion with alarming rapidity.
Biomimetics, Biomimesis - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Originally, designs or technology that were inspired by or based on living organisms.
Bionanecology - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A nanecology built solely on organic nanites (bionano).
Black Box - Text by John B and Anders Sandberg
[1] Any process that cannot be observed
[2] A device for recording events that might otherwise go unobserved
[3] A device designed to prevent its contents from unauthorized observation
[4] A device that contains information that is fundamentally impossible to observe.
Bliss Glyph - Text by Todd Drashner
A form of graphic display which uses neurofractal patterning to induce a state of well-being in the observer.
Brain Burn - Text by John B
Solarian slang for suffering severe penalties from improper conduct as imposed by the being's Guide.
Usage - "Him? The drooling one? He wasn't always like that. Brain burn. Word is something to do with too much intellectual pap..."
Carpetbeast - Text by John B and Stephen Inniss
Typically an animal-derived neogen or splice designed to thrive as a living carpet or rug, usually for use by human nearbaselines or similar bionts. Some varieties, in addition to being soft and warm, and of a pleasant colour and texture, produce pleasant scents and sounds such as a musky scent and a purr. Most are self-cleaning, sometimes with the assistance of mite to insect sized neogens. These creatures are usually sessile but some variants are capable of slow movement and a few are capable of shaping themselves into items of furniture.
Citizens (Zars) - Text by M. Alan Kazlev with additional note by Steve Bowers
Citizens, or zars, are sophonts who have some say in the running of their environment and polity. "Zar" is the Anglic name for this concept.
Cleanliness - Text by Pran Mukherjee
In a world of ultra-tech carpets, remote-control bodmods, and other computer-controlled gadgets, cleanliness is not simply a matter of taking a shower every day.
Companion (occupation) - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A personal assistant; either aioid (implant or remote) or a distinct sapient being (biont or vec, domestic or zar). Depending on the type and purpose, may function as secretary, data miner, bodyguard, servant, esoteric companion, etc.
Conversations and Jokes - Text by AI Vin, M. Alan Kazlev, John B and Steve Bowers
Conversations, discussions, snippets of everyday life.
Copy - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A copy is a high-fidelity reproduction of an original sophont individual
Copy Rights - Text by Anders Sandberg
The existence of copies results in legal conundrums of which there are a number of possible alternative solutions.
Creeping Crud - Text by John B
Originally a bionano cleanser, until it evolved a way to evade its timed-death genetic code (which involved an odd accident with a depilatory, some kafe, and a pulsating gravitic module). It now slowly cleans everything. Wonderful, until it gets to the lubricants and/or protective coatings.
Cybercide - Text by Max More; modified by Anders Sandberg in his Transhuman Terminology
The killing of a virtual, which may be rl person's projected virtual persona, a copy or a simm. This may be part of an interactive or immersive virch game, or may be an act of vandalism or murder.
Daily Life on New Daffy - Text by John B
A few moments of stream-of-consciousness as experienced by a fairly ordinary New Daffy citizen, including news net reports and advertisement inserts received by direct neural interface.
Datacology - Text by Thorbørn Steen
An evolved (and evolving) digital ecosystem in a virtual world.
Direct Neural Interface (DNI) - Text by Ad Astra, updated by Ryan B
Ubiquitous technological implant for connecting a sophont's brain to their exoself, the Net, nearby artifacts, and other beings.
Discwuzitian Diaries - Text by John B
A record of some of the many millions of comments made by members of the Discwuzit Clade on the articles of the Encyclopaedia Galactica. The comments are often argumentative, humourous or paranoid, but always laced in the wry pessimism that is the clade's trademark.
Disposal of the Dead - Text by Steve Bowers
Burial methods in the Terragen Sphere.
Dividual Interaction Protocols - Text by Daniel Eliot Boese
A set of rules concerning the rights and responsibilities of dividuals (copies of an individual with identical personalities)
Dividual Naming Schema - Text by Daniel Eliot Boese
A standardized Dividual naming system, part of the Dividual Interaction Protocols.
Dungg - Text by Thorbjørn Steen
Subsophont gengineered pet, created from highly modified dog DNA.
Dura Grass - Text by James Ramsey
Neogen plant developed as a floor covering.
Eidolon - Text by Stephen Inniss
Telepresence via utility fog.
Elvis's day - Text by Steve Bowers
A typical weekend for a person from the 104^th century.
Emotionlet - Text by John B
A term used for subprograms targeted at emotional feedback to perceived events.
Emulation Suits - Text by Tony Jones
Software that interfaces, translates and/or emulates between virchworlds and so allow virtuals from one world to exist and communicate meaningfully with those from another.
Entertainment Programming - Text by M. Alan Kazlev after the original in Ad Astra
The vast media industry dedicated to bringing entertainment and new stimulation to the ever hungry masses of sentients.
Environmental Engineering - Text by M. Alan Kazlev, from the original by Robert J. Hall
Ensuring environments remain favourable to bionts. Includes both environmental protection (pollution control, waste recycling or treatment) and habitat biosphere optimization, biont hygiene and health issues and standards, and biosphere engineering in general (biospherics).
Environmental Optimization Protocols - Text by Todd Drashner
Specialized software coding designed to modify a sophont's local environment for maximum comfort and enjoyment.Modosophonts
Erotobot - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A bot designed for erotic or sexual purposes.
Exoself - Text by Anders Sandberg; modified by Steve Bowers, Updated by Ryan B (2017)
Systems linked to the self in a cooperative way, extending the mind and the body. Especially used about the systems supporting an uploaded personality, providing information, virtual reality and monitoring.
Exploration, Interstellar - Text by Todd Drashner, with comments by Steve Bowers
Interstellar Exploration, especially by the Sephirotics, involves a number of progressive stages.
Explorer Class - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Specialist Exploration craft that generally reach a target star before other vessels.
Fads and Fashions - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Every society knows its fads and fashions; since the dawn of mass communications during the late Industrial Age, such fashions have influenced many millions of persons at a time, and in a few cases today such fashions spread to suitable societies via the wormhole network to blanket the entire Terragen Sphere.
Fadtech - Text by Michael Boncher, some slight modifications by M. Alan Kazlev
Fadtech is a type of technology that captures expresses the current zeitgeist of an area, world, system or sephirotic. It is very trendy and has very little chance of practical usage far into the future.
Far Edge Party - Text by Steve Bowers
Many explorers who exist in multiple copies arrange to meet at distant locations to exchange information and memories. These meetings are traditionally called 'Far Edge Parties', as they are supposed to occur at the 'far edge of the galaxy', although to date no exploration ships have reached that far.
Fasting Lifestyle, The - Text by Jorge Ditchkenberg
A subculture of humans, or occasionally bionts of other clades, whose goal is to obtain all their energy and organic compounds through internal technologies and thereby avoid eating.
Genemod - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Genetic modification. Can be somatic (designed not to be heritable), germline (capable of being inherited by offspring) or both. Genemods are designed to alter a bionts body at a fundamental level, "reprogramming" their capabilities and responses to the environment.
Gerontomorphism - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Side effect of some forms of longevity nanotech. Whilst the metabolism and functioning of the body can be kept youthful, certain gerontological tendencies such as lengthening of the cartilage of the nose and ears, enlarged chin, and increased skin area (resulting in wrinkles) remain. These can all be easily rectified with cosmetic bodysculpting.
Goal Architecture - Text by Steve Bowers
A goal is the purpose, aim or desired result that an active entity (or group of entities) envisions, models, plans and commits to achieve.
Godbug - Text by Todd Drashner
Variously known as Deus Disease, Vastening Virus, or Godbug. these are slang terms for any technogenic enhancing complex, taken voluntarily or otherwise, that increases intelligence and expands the neural substrate of the host with additional processing nodes and/or communications links to external databases. Extreme forms of these complexes can result in the ascension of the host individual or population to a higher S level in a very short period of time. In some cases, the resulting radical change can result in the destruction of the host(s) and/or the creation of a Perversity.
Golem (bot) - Text by Anders Sandberg
Utility mesites (heavy foglets) animated by an AI controlling them. They are usually makeshift constructions thrown together when an transapient being is in urgent need to manipulate the physical world but lacks an avatar nearby and simply commandeers whatever hardware is around, shapes it into a being and sets to work. Under favourable circumstances and with the right software add-ons, a modosophont ai can produce a 'stock' golem from an array of templates, but of course cannot match the improvisational skill of transapient AIs. Golem is a term from from Old Earth Jewish mythology.
Golem (neogen) - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Bioborg or neogen of great strength and resilience and somewhat monstrous appearance, used as a fashion accessory, bodyguard, or for intimidation by some clades. A term from from Old Earth Jewish mythology.
Grapeship Ownership - Text by M. Alan Kazlev Anders Sandberg and Steve Bowers
Grapeship ownership varies according to polity, situation, and local laws and regulations. In most cases grapeships are owned by modosophont groups, associations or individuals.
Grapeships - Text by Anders Sandberg
Grapeships are the most common wormhole nexus passenger and cargo liners in the Inner Sphere and along the main wormhole routes. The ship consists of a "stem" onto which bulbous shuttles are attached (giving them their name due to their similarity to grape bunches).
Grav - Text by John B
Slang term for a negative event or item, especially in the Solarian, TRHN, and Keterist empires: "They grabbed you? That's grav, zar!"
Gravity Assist Manoeuvre - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Also gravity assist fly-by; gravitational slingshot. The use of a large celestial object (such as a planet, star, or black hole)'s gravity in order to change a spacecraft's trajectory. In a close encounter with a large object, a small part of the object's orbital energy is transferred to the spacecraft. Very useful with low energy or limited propulsion space flight (especially late atomic and Information Age, and some long-distance probes ever since. Nowadays it is also favoured by some vacuum-adapted clades for sporting purposes.
Greeting Messages - Text by John B with some with additional material by M Alan Kazlev
Some typical greeting messages in the Terragen Sphere.
Hangover Helper - Text by John B
Originally marketed in the Interplanetary Age as "Doctor Hadrian's Handy Hangover Helper". Variants or copies of this invention remain popular with human nearbaselines or other bionts who might be inclined to excessive use of alcohol on occasion. The Hangover Helper is an inexpensive easily self-administered dose of specialized blood-borne bionano devices that scrub toxins from the system and make other necessary repairs and adjustments, greatly aiding the recovery from alcohol overdose side-effects. The original version was 'not recommended for the metabolically adjusted or endocrine tweaked', but clade-specific variants were quick to emerge, as were variants to counter the aftereffects of other recreational drugs.
Helpers, Icons, and Fetishes - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Semi-sentient software assistants.
Hulkchasers - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A generic term for adventurers who seek out hulks not only for profit, but simply for the sheer joy of it.
Hyperplacebo Effect - Text by Tony Jones
Directed use of the placebo effect by bionts for self-treatment without pharmaceuticals.
Identicard - Text by M. Alan Kazlev; based on original by Kevin Self
Identification and data storage device widely used during the Information Age.
Idiot Locus - Text by John B
Also known as IL or 'ill'. A term often used by Negentropic clade members to differentiate their (superior, in their eyes) matter compiler system known as Genius Loci versus other clades. Usage - "I can't get the G. L. to 'fact me that shivverskate. You gotta tell me where that ill is, zar!!!"
Immortality - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
While literal physical immortality remains a contentious point in a universe that, although vast, is still finite, the wonders of modern medical nano mean that all citizens of the Civilized Galaxy, to say nothing of the higher toposophic ai, are potentially immortal; at least on angelnetted worlds. See also life-extension, afterlife.
Industrial Ecology - Text by Chris Shaeffer
The study and implementation of efficient industrial systems coexisting with the natural environments within which they operate.
Inhabitants of the Sephirotic Empires - Text by M. Alan Kazlev, amended by Steve Bowers
The major classes of thinking being that inhabit the typical Sephirotic Empire.
Inoffensive Bodies - Text by iancampbell
This trend among some sophonts involves a series of augmentations intended specifically to suppress the sometimes subjectively unpleasant or embarrassing features of biology.
Jolonah - Text by Darren Ryding
(Colloquial) A pitiful, deeply unfortunate person; usually a person who has brought misery upon oneself through ignorance, arrogance, cruelty or other foolishness.
Example: "Hear about that tourist who got eaten by that sand dragon on Vasilik? Turns out he was a bit of a Jolonah for trying to steal one of her eggs." The term was inspired by a popular travellers' tale about the Collectors.
Knowsense - Text by Tony Jones
An intuitive knowledge interface allowing a biont to access data almost instinctively.
Krek, Steaming Krek - Text by Stephen Inniss and Steve Bowers
A synano infestation which has become a common expletive in many parts of the Terragen Sphere.
Lambies - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Gengineered terragen bovids (Ovis neotonis neospecies group) resembling juvenile sheep, which have their personalities and physiologies tweaked for maximum adorability (according to the Standard Baseline Personality Matrix). They cannot survive in the wild and require constant care. Some lambies are subsapient, some presapient, and some fully sapient; with the last category provided with full speech capability ("talking lambies"). Talking lambies usually have vocal apparatus approximating that of an 8 to 10 year old baseline human child.
Landing Day - Text by Todd Drashner
A popular holiday among the baseline/near baselines of many systems. This is the day that their colonization venture first arrived on the planet or in the system they inhabit. Naturally it is a different day for every system.
Lazurogenics - Text by Stephen Inniss
The art of resurrecting past species or clades, sometimes as individual specimens but more usually as entire viable populations.
Life Extension - Text by Anders Sandberg, Ryan_B
The science and practice of extending the lifespans of biological organisms.
Living Tattoo - Text by Todd Drashner
A form of decoration that consists of one or more species of gengineered micro-organism being introduced into the skin (or fur, or feathers, or onto the shell, scales, or carapace) of a sophont and then induced to develop in a manner that results in a visible pattern or image being displayed.
Lynk - Text by Todd Drashner
Lynking - the act of linking different locations by telepresence via high-grade utility fog, often as part of an angelnet.
Madvert - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A simple, often quasi-insect-like autonomous bot, alife, or ai used for advertising, sometimes with limited self-replication. Particularly chronic during the later Federation and early Expansion period, self-replicating madverts are generally considered a nuisance and banned in most empires, except the NoCoZo and other mercantile regions.
Meatling - Text by John B
Derogatory term used by some members of vec or alife clades for bionts or for partially biont beings such as cyborgs. Has been known to start many a bar brawl or equivalent socially acceptable hostile reaction, from lawsuit to return insult to social stigma to loss of trading privileges.
Mechology, Mechosystem - Text by Todd Drashner
Colloquial term for the entire system of non-sophont machines, databases, programs, etc. that supports and controls the infrastructure throughout most of the civilized galaxy.
Medicine - Text by M. Alan Kazlev from original write-up by Robert J. Hall
Treatment or prevention of diseases, injuries, and physical disorders in organic beings. Includes study of anatomy and physiology, diagnosis of the illness, use of medical bionano and hylonano, pharmaceuticals, invasive and non-invasive surgical techniques, holistic healing, xenomedicine, virtual medicine, and historical medicine.
Megastructural Migration - Text by Todd Drashner
A societal phenomenon found on some, although by no means all, megastructures. Megastructural Migrations or Moving Days as they are more commonly called, usually take place on those macrostructures with populations occupying only a small percentage of the structures entire habitable area/volume.
Memeter - Text by John B
Memeters are a common anti-memetic interface between a sophont and an appropriate guardian (sophont or otherwise). Memeters indicate both current and cumulative memetic affect on the bearer. The better models also simulate likely future actions and the memeload that such activity would engender. They are especially common in angelnetted NoCoZo core worlds, both in virch- and in real-space.
Memetic Self-replicating Swarm - Text by Steve Bowers and John B
Self replicating swarm of entities dedicated to converting as much of the universe as possible into copies of itself by memetic, persuasive, and/or evangelical means. Also known as Persuasive, Evangelical or Campaigning Swarm.
Memory Box - Text by Todd Drashner
Data storage unit used to contain the mind-state. Also contains a digitized copy of the owners biocode to allow the nano- construction of a new body if the original is destroyed. A standard memory box is a rectangular solid approximately of dimension 3x1.5x.75cm. Memory boxes are typically copied at least three times and the copies kept in separate locations. They are also built to be as close to indestructible as their owners can afford. A standard design typically involves multilayer buckytube shells interspersed with foamed ceramic thermal insulation.
Memory Retrieval - Text by Anders Sandberg
If one has a constant learning rate and a brain (or equivalent) of any given size then eventually the oldest memories are forgotten unless an effort is made to refresh them. If one decreases the learning rate then senility is a danger. As an alternative one can add extra memory - which in the long run means becoming posthuman (or postbiont, postvec, etc.) to manage all that information. Another alternative is to undergo periodic "childhoods" where the brain is made more plastic and one forgets a bit but not everything from previous incarnations, but this entails some loss of identity and some personality shift. Corporations like Psyber Retrievals, Inc - "Let us remember it for you!" - offer memory storage units for this reason.
Memory Storage, Long-Term - Text by Steve Bowers
Memory storage for posthumans thousands of years old is often a problem. One popular (but clumsy) solution among some clades is to employ computronium implants, or even a small drone floating about for all the very-long-term memory storage. More elegant solutions involve a nanosome in each posthuman cell writing memory directly to redundant or specially set aside nuclear DNA.
Merging - Text by Anders Sandberg, updated by Steve Bowers 2024
Merging two individuals, or two copies of a dividual together to make a single mentality with two sets of memories.
Microclimate - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Atmospheric conditions within large orbitals, very large ships, and so on. While not as complex as full-fledged planetary or mega-orbital climates, they nevertheless display basic meteorological phenomena - e.g. clouds, rain, thermals, Coriolis air currents, etc.
Modular Ethics - Text by David Jackson
Discrete packets of ethical and moral memes, reviewed and verified by authoritative bodies, and offered to immigrants as a precondition to entry to a particular polity.
Mortsobkin Paperclip Maximizer Blight, The - Text by Worldtree
The Mortsobkin Paperclip Maximizer Blight reportedly started as a joke from a FabHacking (public fabricator hacking) forum located in the Mortsobkin Orbital collective in 6577AT, based off an ancient parable from before the Sundering.
Motoric Teamware - Text by M. Alan Kazlev, from Anders Sandberg's Big Ideas Grand Vision
On Nova Terra during the First Federation period, some law enforcement people used teamware bionics to allow AI to take control of their bodies in a crisis situation, essentially allowing the teamware to use them as drones. It was not very popular. However, the basic technology is still widely available, especially away from the main empires and in the Outer Volume regions.
Muts - Text by John M. Dollan
Genetically engineered dwarf mammoths.
Nanite Soap - Text by James Ramsey
Nanite soap is a active bionano cleaning product used among during bionts who bathe. Acts to cleanse and renew the skin, hair, scales, feathers, and other bodily coverings of various beings.
Nano-ecology, Nanecology - Text by Anders Sandberg
A distributed system of nanodevices and the structures constructed by them that self-organizes in a bottom-up manner without any central control; analogous to an ecology. Sometimes used to denote the entire nanosphere of a world, even when parts of it are under top-down control.
Nanocookies - Text by Michael Boncher, some slight modifications by M. Alan Kazlev
Nanotech devices for monitoring customers and potential customers.
Nanodust - Text by Anders Sandberg
Layers of dead nanomachinery sedimenting in the dust, on the bottom of lakes and elsewhere. Ideally nanodust should self-destruct, but there are always bugs in that. Micro- and biotech scavengers collect them, but there are always places they miss. So the puddles on a roof collect diamond dust which blows away when they dry out, which can both erode shiny facades, irritate people and catch fire.
Nanofacture - Text by Geoff Dale in Anders Sandberg's Transhuman Terminology
The fabrication of goods, especially but not necessarily macroscale items, using nanotechnology. Fabrication may occur on a large industrial scale, or from a small personal autofab unit.
Nanoflu - Text by John B
Fever resulting from nanoinfection or response.
Nanophobia - Text by Fernando PeÃ±a D'Andrea
Mental disorder affecting some sophonts, manifesting as a paranoiac fear of nanotech disasters or infestations, or fear of nanobots in general.
Nanotechnology Side-effects - Text by John B
Sometimes as a result of conflict or combat, sometimes as a result of malfunctions or carelessness, even a nanotechnology filled environment can become uncomfortable for the sophonts living within it.
Net - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Distributed network of processing nodes, data-storage and distribution faculties, and virtual environments. See also Local Net, Known Net.
Neuro-fractal Patterning - Text by Todd Drashner
Science of using fractal patterns to influence the emotional or physical states of intelligent entities.
Neuropsychological Engineering - Text by Ryan B (Rynn)
Amending and improving the psychological state of a biological individual through neurotechnology
Non-biodegradable - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Materials that are not broken down by natural microorganisms in the environment; they require special bionano or hylonano or artificial organisms that use the same to be disassembled or recycled.
Non-fungible Goods and Services in Post-scarcity Societies - Text by Ryan B (Rynn)
No post-scarcity economy has truly eliminated scarcity; there will always be certain commodities that are scarce, even if copies can be mass produced.
Oath of Secrecy - Text by Todd Drashner
Nanotech device used to enforce the non-disclosure clauses in some contracts or government operations.
Optimodding - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Using augments and mods to enhance one's abilities in a balanced and optimal way. Also known as Balancemodding. Optimodding gives just as many benefits and enhancements as other approaches, but requires a slower and more mature approach, rather than rushing in and acquiring the flashiest glittermods or biggest powermods. In the Sephirotic worlds and polities, transapients advise sapient augmenters of the best augments and morphotypes to experiment with, while at the same time not limiting the creativity and freedom (including freedom to make mistakes) of the lower sapients.
Overwatch Processor - Text by John B
A briefly-popular dedicated system linked to a being's perceptive faculties and a large database (which manufacturers always recommended be constantly updated, usually at an additional subscription fee).
Parasite Processing [B-Life Model] - Text by AI Vin
Artificial parasites which exploit another's resources for the purpose of data processing.
Partial Death - Text by Anders Sandberg
When an extended entity suffers partial irrevocable destruction, removing sizable aspects of the previous individuality. Legal concept intermediate between wounding and death in many jurisdictions.
Pathogens, Control of - Text by John B; additions by M.Alan Kazlev
Because many environments are isolated, and many bionts have only known a life in a hermetically sealed habitat, infection by foreign pathogens by visitors from other environments, to which the locals have no natural immunity, is a serious one.
Perceptions Shows - Text by John B; additions by Stephen Inniss
'Perceptions' is the common name for a type of reality show usually shown on grey or black-legality stations.
Personal Autopilot - Text by Selden,
A Personal Autopilot is a standard exoself feature accessed through a DNI interface which provides the conscious ability to delegate mundane tasks to a sub-persona or stand-in, while the user's primary consciousness is concentrating on something else.
Personal Defence - Text by Ryan_b
Requirement, provision and form of personal defence.
Petbooks - Text by Anders Sandberg
Interactive document collections equipped with affective computing, making them develop a bond with the owner.
Pets - Text by Michael Walton
Keeping a creature of lower toposophic level than the owner, for purposes that are not strictly practical.
Pimple Socket - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A microscopic interface socket by which a biont can use cyberware (e.g. DNI) without appearing like a "buttonhead". The name cames from the fact that the socket itself is surrounded by a small bump or pimple that allows the user to find it even without augmentations.
Poltergeists - Text by David Jackson
A class of technohaunts given corporeal existence through the exploitation of angelnet security flaws.
Pop Culture - Text by Anders Sandberg and M. Alan Kazlev
The accretion of fads and fluff that has built up over the millennia - ever changing in details, ever constant in fundamentals. Although most pop-culture is S<1, there is also a rich tradition of transingularity pop-culture.
Post-scarcity Economies: Characteristics and Considerations - Text by Ryan B (Rynn)
Post-scarcity economies are common in the Terragen Sphere, especially in the Sephirotic empires. In these societies abundant material resources, energy, information, and automation are available for use by consumers with few restrictions.
Pseudolazurogen - Text by M. Alan Kazlev and Steve Bowers
A neogenic reconstruction based on mythology.
Pumping - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Cheap augmentation process which involves the nearbaseline "pumping" eir genome with su templates that they become almost-su, but without the integral cohesion, talent and ability of the su.
Quotes and Sayings - Text by John B, Anders Sandberg, M. Alan Kazlev, Keith Halperin, and John M. Dollan
Current or historically famous phrases in the Terragen Sphere.
Recursiverch, Recursivirch - Text by John B
A virtual space thats primary purpose is to self-adapt via certain rulesets to an endstate preferably most pleasant (but often termed 'least repulsive') to the participating sophonts.
Relanimal - Text by Jorge Ditchkenberg
A relifed animal.
Relbox - Text by Jorge Ditchkenberg
A robotic or nanodevice for relifing. Relboxes tend to be tightly controlled (but, regrettably, not tightly enough) by archai, angelnets or guardians, to avoid creating dangerous relnano, monstrous reltrapworlds and relmonsters.
Relifing - Text by Jorge Ditchkenberg
Any being or device in the "real world" (RL) that has been created or designed by virtuals.
Reling, Rel - Text by Jorge Ditchkenberg
A virtual sophont entity given a real-life body of some sort. They can take the form of almost every clade, and have limited or complete independence from the virtual(s) who built them. Includes relmonsters. Some relings, dissatisfied with the rl, return again to the virtual existence.
Relmonster - Text by Jorge Ditchkenberg
A badly designed reling, usually existing only for a short time before they are destroyed by the physical limitations of rl.
Reltrapworld - Text by Jorge Ditchkenberg
A fraction of virtual worlds are run by bizarre, breakaway virtual beings, which often have only a limited understanding of the rl. For the real persons entering or interacting with them via virtual reality, they appear as nothing less than nightmares brought to life, or deadly traps. Reltrapworlds are illegal and punished by erasing the virtual existence(s) who created them. Nevertheless, some still sneak through.
Revenant - Text by Todd Drashner
Recreation of either historical figures from the past or hypothetical people from the future, based on extensive software simulation of either past or future history. Revenants are created in data space along with an appropriate surrounding environment and, after an extensive simulated existence are uploaded into realty in a body grown for the purpose. In this manner, civilization is able to 'time travel' to both past and future eras and meet those living there. Revenant creation requires an S3 mind or higher to be wholly successful.
Saqmiya Lice - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
So named after the region where the first outbreak occurred (Saqmiya-5 hab, STC volume). Hypermutational body lice with symbiotic bionano. They tend to prefer moist body surfaces.
Scion - Text by Stephen Inniss
A partial or full copy of a sophont, using the same substrate as the original.
Sentient Cancer - Text by Anders Sandberg
Software/nanotech perversion of nanocytes or nanochondria of beings or objects with symbiotic nanosystems. While large-scale perversions gain the most publicity, small outbreaks of opportunistic or expansionist alife are far more common. One form of minor perversion that has recently emerged as a serious threat is sentient cancer.
Sentient Rights Protocols - Text by Stephen Inniss
Protocols that allow the creation, interpretation and modification of sentient rights in diverse circumstances.
Sewerslums - Text by Michael Beck (with additions by M. Alan Kazlev)
A type of Free Zone found in some regions outside the jurisdiction of the civilized galaxy. Sewerslums are where the rejects gather and mutate.
Shopping Festivals - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A common type of corporate sponsored or encouraged festival in many regions. The NoCoZo celebrates the ancient rites of shopping festivals like xmas with gusto.
Singularity Alert Service - Text by John B
A service often available in more-civilized areas. These services maintain sensor and informant networks geared towards the detection of new singularities, and new interests of high-S factor sentiences. For a subscription fee, these services will send warning of potential infringements on the subscribers' areas of interest. As an ironic twist, most SAS are SI:>2-driven.
Slaved AI - Text by Peter Kisner, M. Alan Kazlev and Ryan_B
Generic term for AI or Vec constrained to obey sophont or transapient commands (often with certain restrictions on obedience).
Smart Packaging - Text by John B
Containers, wrapping, and other materials designed to show off a given product to its best advantage and minimize wastage in transit.
Smartstuff - Text by Anders Sandberg
General term for "smart" packing materials.
Sniffaglider - Text by Xaonon
Type of filiglider that carries biologic recording sensors and is used for tracking specific borgs and bionts.
Space Deterioration Syndrome - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Medical condition that develops as a result of long-duration exposure to microgravity and stellar radiation by organics who have not been augmented to deep space conditions.
Space Hulks - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Deserted shipwrecks in deep space, some becoming habitats for hider clades.
Spacesickness - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Microgravity nausea common among gravity-adapted or gravity-dependent bionts. Analogue of motion sickness produced by confusion of the human vestibular system in the absence of a gravitational vertical.
SpamShield - Text by John B
Any program used to protect against messages that contain unwanted information or memetic manipulation. The SpamShield can be set to several modes, depending on the region and the user's level of tolerance. The most common modes are 'off', 'reword' or 'delete'.
Speakers, Implanted - Text by Ernst Stavro Blofeld
'Implanted Speakers' are not actually external musicboxes, speakers, or earphones but are direct neural interface devices that provide inputs directly to the auditory nerves. Used to preserve privacy, or to access frequencies or volumes that would otherwise be imperceptible or that might damage unprotected ears. The most common use is recreational.
Sports Science - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Regimen intended to enhance the biont body's cardiovascular and respiratory systems, prevent injuries, and enhance physical health and athletic performance, either with or without the use of customised bionano, specialised biomechanic applications, phenotypic tweaking, and subtle bioborg augmentations.
Sprawl - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
When planetary cities grow in an unsystematic and unplanned manner beyond normal boundaries, due to increases in population and industry, so that their suburbs merge into the suburbs of neighbouring cities, the result is a vast extended metropolis called a Sprawl. Sprawls are common on many of the less regulated high population older terraformed planets, and even on moons and planets without a breathable atmosphere or life-supporting environment, such as Luna and Titan in the Sol System. Often, but not always, living conditions are substandard. The planetside equivalent of a "swarm".
Standard Year - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
One Earth (or Lunar) year, used by some polities and clades as a galactic standard measurement of time (however the Coronese, Edenese and other Years are often used as well or instead).
Stupidity Filters - Text by John B
A variant on the SpamShield used by those with augmented/replaced senses. It automatically tunes out meaningless drivel and enhances the information flow perceived. Anything the user defines as 'stupid' is de-prioritized in the perception. It still can be focused on, but it isn't as eye-catching. Very useful to avoid those sexually-suggestive re-meming madverts.
Sunwing Augment, The - Text by AI Vin
The Sunwing Augment allows an augmented human to fly without mechanical aid with the added bonus of photovoltaic power collection.
Superturing - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
An ai above human baseline turingrade intelligence but beneath SI:1. Superturings played an important part in the shaping and memetic engineering of the interplanetary age, but were superseded by the hyperturings in the later interplanetary period and beyond. Nevertheless, superturing ai remain an important and central element in galactic society to this day.
Swarm (habitats) - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A large and generally unsystematic and unplanned aggregation of orbital, asteroidal, or lagrange habitats, manufacturing plants, aioid structures, etc. Swarms are common in many of the less regulated high population solar systems, and can easily include populations of several billions. Often, but not always, living conditions are substandard. The orbital equivalent of a "Sprawl".
Symaiote and Symbiote - Text by Steve Bowers
Biont-aioid mutual dependence. The relationship between a biont entity or entities (such as a human) and an aioid entity or entities can be so mutually dependent that the beings are described as having a symaiotic relationship, and the aioid member(s) in such a relationship is known as a symaiote (or symaiotes). The biont member(s) is known as a symbiote (or symbiotes).
Systems of Resource Allocation - Text by Ryan B
A by no means exhaustive list of just some of the varied approaches post-scarcity economies take resource allocation.
TAZ - Text by Hakim Bey, in Anders Sandberg's Transhuman Terminology
Temporary Autonomous Zone. A mobile or transient location free of economic and social interference by the state; a type of temporary Free Zone, very popular as a rebellion or lifestyle choice in some otherwise strongly centralized regions. First appeared during the Information Age, has been the bane of centralizing regulators ever since. See also PAZ.
Tea - Text by Rhea47
Infusion-based beverage
Technoanimism - Text by Stephen Inniss
A common memeplex that reached currency in the Interplanetary Age with the advent of sentient and sapient ais, bots, and vecs and widespread gengineering and provolution.
Technogamy - Text by Anders Sandberg
The practice of solely use subsentient artificial devices or designed entities for erotics or love. Although the practice sometimes occurred during the Interstellar era (mainly with splices and moldies), it has become much more common since the 4000's and today an estimated 25% of the total Terragen human population is purely technogamous.
Technohaunts - Text by Michael Boncher
Bits and pieces of incomplete or incorrect deletions, random programming errors and other strange activity caused by ultratech, transapientech, and godtech that seem supernatural or mysterious to those of lower tech and/or toposophic levels.
Technological Afterlife - Text by Steve Bowers
While many sentients choose to stay in a physical body and experience physical immortality, others like to explore various - usually technologically mediated - afterlife options. There are a great many alternatives, and the question of toposophic ascent makes things even more unpredictable.
Technothaumaturgy - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
What appears to be magic or miracles (see thaumaturgy) brought about through the use of advanced technology, especially clarketech.
Template - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Although nano in itself is very cheap (all that is needed is a single replicator and raw materials), good templates (or instructions) for the assembler may be less accessible. While there is an a huge selection available on public domain, some of the best templates may be at the bottom of a 6000 year old archive at the Fomalhaut ISObanks, or only available in the Alexandria or Aleph Absolute Computronium nodes.
Temporary Bodies - Text by Michael Boncher, revised by Steve Bowers 2015
Bot or biobot body that is used to temporarily house the mind of a virtual person or any other discorporate entity.
Thanatology - Text by Steve Bowers
The study of life and death as experienced in the Sephirotic Empires.
Tips and Suggestions - Text by Steve Bowers
MPA Comedy series narrowcast on the Known Net, starring the Five Pasta Twins (including Tony "Makaroney" Alrami). Typical Suggestion: "If you suffer from free fall sickness, why not drink lots of brightly coloured liquid before a spaceflight and pretend to be a Wup. Then demand performance fees from your fellow passengers."
Totalrecall - Text by M. Alan Kazlev and Anders Sandberg
Implanted memories indistinguishable from the real thing. Even more difficult to distinguish from the real thing is tandomising with rl - one may travel as far as an orbital, then have a totalrecall of a trip to the surface, the two experiences being seamlessly combined. Totalrecalls and tandemrecalls are especially popular for regions where travel is forbidden, or for individuals who wish to experience a particularly hazardous adventure or sport, but for philosophical or financial reasons cannot afford to, or do not wish to, risk their physical body in the process.
Transcension Alert - Text by Todd Drashner
Many civilization have developed some fairly reliable methods for predicting the onset of one of transcension events. Sentients in the area who don't want to risk being sucked in or possibly harmed by the event are be warned to leave the area, exercise caution, or possibly to take advantage of newly opened worlds or habitats left behind.
Transcension Machine - Text by Fernando Peña D'Andrea
A term describing a range of devices designed to facilitate transcension, absorbing the mentality of a subject and radically reconfiguring them in order to raise them to the next toposophic level.
Troll - Text by John B
A sophont with massive self-regeneration capabilities, or an expert system for filtering a larger body of knowledge, or a sophont who stirs up controversy.
Uberwatch - Text by John B
The UberWatch is a low-tech input device utilized by various semi-regressed clades throughout the known volumes. It is a bracelet or, much more commonly, a watch designed to read the positioning of a person's hand both in relation to their main body and, via neural pickups (usually non-intrusive, occasionally intrusive), the positioning of fingers, wrist, etc.
Universal Declaration of Sophont Rights - Text by M. Alan Kazlev, John B
The Universal Declaration of Sophont Rights is a carefully worded and fully interactive document that, whilst having been superseded, has remained the foundation for civilized galactic society.
Variable Gravity (VG) Sports - Text by Todd Drashner
Class of sporting and competitive activities that make use of the location-based nature of spin generated gravity in space habitats to add one or more layers of additional difficulty.
Virchology - Text by Thorbørn Steen
A fully designed (rather than evolved) digital ecosystem residing in a virch.
Virchuniverse - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Generally, an aggregation or collection of thousands of interconnected virchworlds or cybercosms, all sharing the same basic ontology and lay-out, to make traveling from one to the other easier. Sometimes also used to designate a single extremely large virchworld.
Virchworld - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
A virtual world; usually at least partially self-contained, or apparently so, may or may not include sentient beings; generally part of a cultural community across computer/cyberspace/matrix networks.
Visualisation Software - Text by Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Software that creates images in association with sound, or caters for the entire sensory spectrum.
Washer, Dryer, Automatic-Ironer - Text by Ryan B
Everyday Tech in the late Information Age
Zen Garden - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Part contemplation, part aesthetic, a zen garden is a carefully raked and arranged area of sand and stones.
Zooeum - Text by M. Alan Kazlev and John B
Combination of a museum with a zoo, an educational, edutainment, and/or preservation center with both live exhibits and collections in stasis from all over the galaxy.