Glossary

Assembly, The:

a. The governing body of Noyan, with elected representatives from across the planet.
b. Local institutions with full, direct participatory democracy and a universal franchise.

Autarchy of Gallask, The:

The Autarchy are the Commonwealth's main rivals. They are an openly imperial power, ruled by an Autarch and espousing self-sufficiency. They are less technologically advanced than the Commonwealth, and less powerful. The Autarchy has an interest in absorbing Noyan — if only to prevent it from joining the Commonwealth.

Auxiliary Court, The:

Subsidiary to, but separate from, the Family Court, the Auxiliary Court is responsible for policing criminal law — that is statutory laws created by the Assembly. They have no direct responsibility for murder, which is a breach of Custom and comes under the Family Court. They provide auxiliary manpower/resources to the Family Court as needed.

Bi-tech:

The advanced biological technology used by the Commonwealth.

Caliban:

An impoverished backwater planet, only recently admitted to full membership of the Commonwealth. Jodan Hyrom's home world.

Casab:

A native tree cultivated for its fruit.

Casabey:

A local liqueur derived from the fruit of the casab tree. It tastes rather like honeysuckle smells.

Choice of Life, The:

See the Choosing Ceremony

Choice of Death, The:

See the Choosing Ceremony

Choosing Ceremony, The:

A Noyan coming of age ceremony that takes place at age 20. Advocates speak on behalf on the Choice of Life and the Choice of Death. In the vast majority of cases, the event is a celebration of the bond between parent and child. If, however, the child chooses death, the parents must choose between assisted suicide, or sterilization and becoming an outcast.

Commonwealth, The:

A technologically sophisticated power with colonial ambitions, the Commonwealth comprises many worlds, and is growing rapidly. Notionally democratic, it is in fact an oligarchy with power centralized in a few old families on Homeworld, where the Commonwealth originated. It uses biological technology, but restricts what it makes available on less advanced planets for fear of damaging their economies/societies, and as a means of maintaining control.

Custom:

The immutable laws of Noyan — above mere civil or criminal law, because Custom cannot be changed by the Assembly. Custom is what gives the Assembly and the Family Court their authority, and is intimately linked to the Choosing ceremony.

Embargo, The:

A varying set of restrictions of the level of bi-tech that can be sold on a technologically backwards world.

Family Court, The:

The premiere institution on Noyan. The Family Court administers the Choosing ceremony. For historical reasons (deriving from parents killing their children in order to avoid the Choice of Death), they are also responsible for investigating murder and other crimes that are breaches of Custom, and not mere statutory law.

Homeworld:

The primary world in the Commonwealth, and center of political power. Homeworlders are a privileged caste within the Commonwealth, especially those from the powerful families who comprise what is effectively an oligarchy under a more democratic veneer.

League of Free Noyim, The:

A militant traditionalist group that is the real reason for New Beginning's existence. Every settler is a member of the League, though some are more active than others. The League engages in sabotage, primarily against bi-tech targets, and has many supporters outside New Beginning.

Militia, The:

The Family Court can call on Noyan citizens to serve temporarily in the militia — a kind of informal extension of the Auxiliary Court — when additional manpower or specialized knowledge is required. The militia has no structure or organization, and there are limits to the length of time any individual can be called upon to serve.

Movement for Tradition and Continuity, The:

Supposedly a non-violent traditionalist group run out of New Beginning. In reality, a fake organization used by the League of Free Noyim for propaganda purposes, and as cover for their illegal activities.

Medusas:

Fresh water animals, primarily insectivorous. Medusas are native to the Gwhanals' home world, Anapkir. They are unable to survive on Noyan outside of curated environments.

Nephrate:

The first world to which the Commonwealth introduced bi-tech. The result was social and economic devastation for a society that was not ready for such a sudden, radical change. The example of Nephrate is the primary driver behind the embargo on selling advanced bi-tech on technologically backwards worlds.

New Beginning:

A traditionalist settlement and home of the League of Free Noyim.

Noyan:

An independent world with limited technology and a singular culture revolving around the Choosing Ceremony. Noyan has only one major city — the capital, Spate. Most of the population lives in settlements. Noyan has a distinct culture deriving from its origins as a Nullist colony, and the institutions it holds in highest regard — the Choosing ceremony, and the Family Court that administers it — are widely despised by outsiders.

Nullism:

A radically anti-natalist philosophy/religion. The founders of Noyan were Nullists. The Noyim are heavily influenced by Nullist philosophy, but descend from apostates who chose to have children, and created the Choosing ceremony to resolve the contradiction between their Nullist moral outlook and the desire to have children.

Off-comers:

A widely used (and often pejorative) Noyan term for non-natives (i.e. people who have come from off-world). Applies to both Commonwealth and Gallaskian citizens.

Office of Regulation, The:

The Office of Regulation polices the embargo on sophisticated bi-tech, and has extensive extra-territorial jurisdiction. Each local planetary office is headed by a commissioner, and run by regulators, assisted by various ranks of bi-technician.

Outcast:

A condemned parent who has refused the Choice of Death, and hence has been tattooed and sterilized by the Family Court.

Spate:

The primary (and only) city on Noyan, and seat of its government. Named after the river Spate that flows through the city.

Tanglefield:

Gallaskian technology: a form of restraint, used by the Autarchy's security forces.

Traditionalists:

Also known (pejoratively) as 'trads'. Noyim who are resistant to outside influence, and fiercely defensive of traditional Noyan culture, especially the Choosing ceremony and the Family Court. A broad movement that ranges from opposition to bi-tech to hatred of all 'off-comers'. Most traditionalists operate though the political sphere, but some engage in terrorism, especially acts of sabotage against off-comer interests.