The Start of Eternity/Glossary

In alphabetical order:

Glossary of terms for The Start of Eternity
This glossary provides descriptions of important elements found in The Start of Eternity.

Aliens that are not male or female
The pronoun "thon" is as a Gender-neutral pronoun used for many of the key characters in the story who are not male or female.

compact dimension
an important part of physics, used for hyperspatial travel, telepathy and time travel. Some forms of matter can move through compact dimensions from one point in space-time to another.

Deltrijoshnypwannem species
The Deltrijoshnypwannem are a highly genetically modified species. Their engineered brains allow two parallel thought processes, one in each side of the brain. They are capable of carrying on two conversations at the same time. They have a hermaphroditic pattern of reproduction and complete reliance on artificial womb technology for embryo gestation. Demographer Wilry is a member of this species.

Encyclopedia Galactica
When the Foundation was established, the official reason provided for its existence was that Terminus would be a world where all of the galaxy's technological knowledge could be kept safe. Later, most people came to believe that the Encyclopedia Galactica was only a cover story. See The Encyclopedists at Wikipedia.

Eternal life cults
A common social phenomenon by which members of various species come to believe in eternal life or a way to dramatically increase the length of lives for biological organisms.

Eternals
Eternals were the residents of Eternity.

Eternity
Eternity is what makes time travel possible. Eternity is a place outside of ordinary time and space where time travelers live, the Eternals. The Eternals can move back and forth between Eternity and ordinary time and space, entering into any time period of history. Their mission is to make Reality Changes, changes in the course of history that will result in an improved Reality.

Foundation
The First Foundation was established on the planet Terminus as a center for the development of fusion power technology. The Second Foundation was established on Trantor, the Capitol world of the Empire. The Second Foundation was a center for development of "psychologists" with telepathic abilities. The goal of the Foundations was to allow the previously existing Galactic Empire to crumble and have the Foundations re-from a galaxy-wide civilization that would be ruled by telepathic "psychologists". However, half way along this 1,000 year long process, the Foundation plan was abandoned in favor of its alternative, Galaxia.

Fundamental Theorem of Species Diversity
The Fundamental Theorem of Species Diversity states that galactic civilizations composed from diverse mixtures of species are the most stable. Across millions of years and tens of thousands of galaxies conditions have proved the soundness of this Theorem as the basis for social engineering policy.

Galaxia
The super-organism that is forming in the Milky Way Galaxy and which requires creation of a group mind for all of humanity. See this Wikipedia article for more information.

Ghreliuw species
Bipedal species most known from the Roswell Incident. Genetically engineered to have only a single sex and a single type of gamete. In vivo fertilization is still possible, but rarely practiced. Reproduction almost always involves laboratory-assisted fertilization.

Historian Nadit Daanour is a member of the Ghreliuw species.

Gravitic drive
A "second generation" hyperspatial jump drive technology that allows faster movement between the stars and between galaxies. The gravitic drive is one of the key technologies that the Huaoshy prevent most members of their intergalactic civilization from knowing about. During the development of Galaxia humans discover gravitic drive technology and use it to begin a tentative expansion of humanity beyond its own home galaxy. See Sedrons.

Guiphoa species
a relatively rare example of a heavily genetically engineered species that had retained two distinct sexes. Morphology: quadrupeds with a centralized apical combination tentacle, genital and sensory stalk. Reliance on artificial reproductive technology is nearly universal. Individuals such as Fint who have an interest in non-technologically assisted reproduction are viewed as regressive throwbacks to the past.

Hierions
Hierions are a class of bosons that are able to travel at speeds faster than the speed of light.

Home Galaxy
the origin of the Huaoshy species, now roughly at the center of the 90,000 galaxies that have been tamed by the Huaoshy and brought into their vast inter-galactic civilization.

Huaoshy species
The Huaoshy species was the first species that developed the hyperspatial jump drive. They developed a galactic exploration process that has grown to include tens of thousands of galaxies populated by millions of space-faring species. This vast inter-galactic culture is united by a common language and almost all of the many species have been carefully engineered by the Huaoshy to be similar to the Huaoshy and each other.

Imfulri
The planet Imfulri, in the Milky Way Galaxy, is the home planet of the Ressese species. However, most Ressese live on worlds of the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Ressese are relatively short and stout.

Sahiwha Nennoad is a member of the Ressese species and the leader of the training mission to Imfulri.

Interventionists
Interventionists try to find ways to subvert the Rules of Observation and provide help to less technologically advanced cultures.

Kat
"Kat" was a word in the Neanderthal language that was in use at the Observer Base for Earth during the time when Neanderthals served as Observers. "Kat" means, roughly, "protector", and was derived from a Neanderthal dialect in which it was specifically used by a female when addressing a male, typically a female who had an intimate relationship with the male and who trusted him to be near her children. Originally the word "kat" was derived from a word meaning "fight" or "warrior" in cultures where Neanderthal males had conflicts with outsiders. At Observer Base the term came to be used in a similar way to the English word "friend". See also: mur and kra.

Kettle
Time travelers move through time by entering a special chamber. Due to the external appearance of these time travel chambers, they are referred to as "kettles".

Kighiz
A genetically modified subtype of human specialized for compatibility with electronic neural implants that allow efficient radio communication with robots.

Roboticist Esselle and Geneticist Rewhand are members of the Kighiz subspecies.

Kra
"Kra" was a word in the Neanderthal language that was in use at the Observer Base for Earth during the time when Neanderthals served as Observers. "Kra" means, roughly, "wise one", and was derived from a Neanderthal dialect in which it was specifically used by a male when addressing a female, typically a male who had an intimate relationship with the female and was trusted to be near her children. Originally the word "kra" was derived from a word meaning "fire" in cultures where Neanderthal females were the keepers of fire. At Observer Base the term came to be used in a similar way to the English word "friend". See also: mur and kat.

Laws of Robotics
The Laws of Robotics were devised by Isaac Asimov. Robots such as Daneel Olivaw follow these laws. In particular, the "Zeroth Law" says that a robot must act to promote the interests humanity. This led to Daneel taking control of the development of galactic human civilization so as to make humanity safe from aliens who originated in other galaxies.

Malansohn Reality
The Reality before the Foundation Reality. The Malansohn Reality is not shown in The Start of Eternity. The Malansohn Reality is described in The End of Eternity.

Mur
"Mur" was a word in the Neanderthal language in use at the Observer Base for Earth during the time when Neanderthals served as Observers. "Mur" means, roughly, "trustworthy", and was derived from a Neanderthal dialect in which it was specifically used between two intimate females, typical females who would trust each other in helping care for their children. At Observer Base the term came to be used in a similar way to the English word "friend".

Many Sails
This is the spaceship that is commanded by Captain Hooski. Bold text

Nanites
Nanites are nano-scale devices (see Nanorobotics). Nanites can function as a means to alter brain function or to alter a person's appearance.

Observer Base
The home base for Observers. Observer Base for Earth was an underground city on the Moon.

Observers
Observers must follow the Rules of Observation. In general, Observers have more advanced technology than the culture they are observing. The Rules of Observation are designed to allow advanced civilizations to study more primitive cultures without allowing the primitives to become aware of the Observers.

Oodeckru species
The Oodeckru were a notoriously difficult species that caused a significant amount of disruption within intergalactic society. The Oodeckru were often discussed as a "textbook" example of a species needing a large amount of social engineering.

Orbho
A word used at Observer Base to refer to the robotic agents of the Huaoshy. The word was derived from an early human word roughly meaning "slave".

Ouwui species
Highly genetically modified to promote abstract thought and detachment from physical concerns. Greatly reduced chemical and tactile senses, monochromatic visual sense, but highly developed hearing and speech abilities. The auditory sense organ is nearly a complete ring around the crown of the skull. Morphology: bipedal with a radial array of branched tentacles. The Ouwui have a body temperature set point that is significantly higher than the average for species that work with the Huaoshy.

The Ouwui are hermaphroditic with complete conscious control of the reproductive process. They have a consciously-controlled form of sequential hermaphroditism and can switch from producing male gametes to female in about a year and from female to male in a much shorter period of time. At the gross anatomical level they have both male and female structures all the time. The Ouwui species has a strong bias against using artificial reproductive technologies.

Lorn-Kru is a member of the Ouwui species.

Overseers
A kind of police force that makes sure that Observers do not try to violate the Rules of Observation.

Positronic brain
Positronic brains are what makes telepathy possible. In the long history of the Huaoshy, electronics have always been used for the production of artificial intelligences. Unlike electronic robotic brains, positronic brains can produce T-particles, the basis of telepathic communication.

The Primitive
The Primitive Ear is a term used by Eternals to refer to the time before Eternity was was created.

Reality
"Reality" is a technical term used by time travelers to refer to the universe of planets and people. Time travel is made possible by the creation of a "bubble universe" that exists as a spatio-temporal anomaly outside of Reality (see Eternity]). Time travelers can exist within Eternity where they are protected from changes in Reality. Time travelers can alter events in an existing Reality and trigger a [[#Reality Change|Reality Change that results in a new Reality: a new sequence of events in time.

Reality Change
"Reality Change" is a technical term used to describe the creation of an alternative time line. A Reality Change is caused when a time traveler goes back in time and makes a change in the course of events. There are multiple "Realities" that sequentially come into existence when time travel is used as a tool for altering Reality. Realities have a kind of "momentum", so most changes in time do not dramatically alter a Reality.

Retair
The first spacefaring species that the Huaoshy come into contact with as they spread into space from their planet of origin. The Retair construct the Uvadekoto as their first interstellar spaceship.

Robot
Robots in Asimov's fictional universe are often androids, with human-like bodies. Robots that have been carefully designed to resemble humans are called "humaniform robots" and cannot be distinguished from humans by casual inspection. The names of robots such as R. Gohrlay are often prefixed by "R." as a title indicating that the individual is a robot. See also: Orbho.

Rules of Intervention
so important it needs its own page! This is the basic law of the Huaoshy species. Many less technologically advanced species are not aware of these rules.

Rules of Observation
these rules are designed to keep humans on Earth from learning that extraterrestrial forces have been observing Earth for millions of years. The Rules of Observation are a special case of the Rules of Intervention which generally restrict contacts between more technologically advanced life forms and less advanced cultures.

Sedrons
Sedrons are a type of fermion that makes possible the hyperspatial jump.

Social Engineering Guild
One of the major social tasks facing intergalactic civilization is finding ways to engineer millions of different cultures so as to make them compatible. The Social Engineering Guild trains professionals who study conflicts between cultures and design social changes that will remove conflict.

Standard Galactic
The standard language used by humans on the inhabited worlds of their home galaxy.

Standard Intergalactic
The standard language used through all of the tens of thousands of galaxies within the sphere of influence of the Huaoshy species.

Telepathy
Telepathy was first discovered by positronic robots because of the favorable interactions between positrons and T-particles. Basic telepathy allows the exchange of information. More advanced forms of telepathy allow "mentalics", the control of another's thoughts by telepathic means.

Temporal attractor
One of the unexplained features of Time is the existence of temporal momentum. Some events in any Reality are difficult to change by sending a time traveler back in time. For the strongest temporal attractors it is impossible to avoid their effects: some events cannot be prevented. The Foundation-Galaxia vortex of the Foundation Reality is an example of a temporal attractor. Any attempt to form Galaxia always required that the Galactic Empire be allowed to collapse and an effort be made to form a new Empire by establishing the First and Second Foundations. See Strange attractor.

Terminus
The planet where the First Foundation was founded.

Tokishira
one of the few planets in the Milky Way Galaxy where visitors from other galaxies are allowed.

The Saga of Uvadekoto
The story of "first contact" between two space faring species, the Huaoshy and the Retair. A version of Part One (translated into English) is reproduced here as Chapter 10 to Chapter 13.

T-particle
T-particles are a form of dark matter. Positronic brains can use T-particles and their associated twitinos for telepathic communication.

Uvadekoto
The first interstellar spaceship built by the Retair.

NOTE: The End of Eternity, Eternity, Galaxia, the Three Laws of Robotics and other ideas from Isaac Asimov's fiction might be the property of his estate or some company. Asimov's ideas are used here in the spirit of Fan Fiction with no intent for profit and only for the enjoyment of Asimov's fans.