Arfid's Rodent - Analog of thought experiment by Erwin Schrodinger (see footnote #1).

Ash-Kelti - The Patrons of the Ta-Kee race. Rendered extinct in the destruction of their home planet Kthlek 3,397 years BP

Assimilation, The - Pre-programmed genetic assimilation of Humanity into Sennal Genome. (AD 2067 - 2072)

Blood at Death - The Sennal epitome of a good death. To die with the blood of the one that killed you on your fangs. Also call the Blood of Night.

Dirhal - Derived from Northern Hemisphere wolf stock (Canis lupus). Bipedal. Consummate Military type. Usually short-tempered. Minimal sense of humor. Not all are Watcher, but all Watchers are Dirhal. Very religious - almost ''Islamic' (Wolfen Shiites!). Pack oriented. Dirhal authors tend to write on military subjects. The classic of which is Selikk of Sesaa's 'The defloration of Independence', a standard text on the control of planetary independence movements. The Ta-Kee maintained many worlds in their sphere of influence, many were a constant irritant to the Empire. Principal fighters in the war with the Feltah.

Feltah - Cephalopod in morphology. Ancient enemies of the Ta-Kee. Hive oriented. Propagate through the galaxy by establishing beach-heads on victim planet (HiveWorld), using all the resources of its solar system to build more ships to conquer more planets, etc. (see SeedShip)

FieldSurgeon - Semi-sentient medical device with "fractal manipulators" used to treat field injuries.

FoldSpace Portal - Quantum Mechanical construct used to short-circuit continuum between two distant locations through a lower-level dimension (dimension 0) in which all points are common to all other points in conventional 4-dimension space-time. Brought (observed) into existence by the effect of conscious Intent at the Quantum level.

Gashka - Ursine in morphology. Bipedal. Derived from Northern Hemisphere Grizzly Bear (Ursus horrabilis) stock Sometime short tempered. Introspective. Serve in bureaucratic and administrative functions in the Empire. Also as scientists. Tend to be more solitary in nature, and Frequently overly emotional.

Gendas III - Earth ( see Se'Gendas)

Glem - Sennal unit of distance measurement, Approximately equal to 2.003 miles.

Gravity Harp - Graviton generating device used as a form of musical instrument by modulating a pulsed, coherent graviton beam. Also uses graviton beam for self propulsion. Powered by vacuum well.

Gravity Imploder - Triggered by thermonuclear device, causing large virtual mass to be compressed to a singularity.

Gravity Lance - Mechanism used to move planetary bodies by reinforcing gravitic ties to its solar primary. Capable of moving planets from one orbit to another. Can also be used to crush a planet by simulating close proximity to another large mass (Roche's Limit).

He'K'senn - Capital city of the Sennal Empire. Named after the city of the same name that had been the Ta-Kee capital on Teehem.

Hymn Of Dawn - Sennal chant performed once, upon discovery of a new planet. All personnel participate in ceremony at the rising of the sun. Performed in the liturgical language of the Ta-Kee.

K'Aann - The genetically induced killing lust brought on by the onset of the Sennal Pattern.

Kul-Rhuu-Ta - First Order of The Oath of Blood and Pain. The marks of which are branded on the palm of the left hand. Originated with Suurran before that race attained star-travel. In earliest form a blade was used to carve oath scars.

Kul-Rhuu-Ur - Second Order of The Oath of Blood and Pain. The marks of which are branded about the orbit of the left eye, in two concentric arcs, in the manner of a Tahitian tattoo.

Kul-Rhuu-Se - Third Order of The Oath of Blood and Pain. The marks of which are branded about the orbits of both eyes and along the crest of the skull. Very rare.

Ker-Rruh - Chamber of Atonement. Found on All Sennal starships. Center of religious activity.

Ker-Rruh-T'ol - Grand Chamber of Atonement on Taahas.

Linguistic Processor - Implanted biological construct used to enhance linguistic ability. May also contain an optional Telepathic Amplifier. May also include general knowledge database.

Living Machines - Sentient machines left over from The Patrons. Present on all star-ships. Held in considerable awe by all Sennal because of their antiquity and seeming infallibility. (see T'Roannal, ShipSoul)

Llennel - The primary of the system in which Teff orbits. 110 light-years from Taahas.

Neutrino (particle) Graviton (wave) [two aspects of the same entity. One form reacts with NO matter, the other with ALL matter.]

NewDirhal - Dirhal resulting from a post-Assimilation Human.

PackEye - Autonomous, self-levitating recording device used for providing public video feed of events such as Challenges and various entertainments. A sphere about six centimeters in diameter, totally reflective on the outside. Transmits both audio and holographic video signal.

Patrons, The - (Ta-Kee) Master race that gene engineered Gashka, Dirhal and other Sennal races. Very long-lived, slow, patient. Capable of very long-term projects such as terraforming planets. Bipedal Reptilian in morphology and small in stature, (one meter), they required client races to fight their interstellar wars with belligerent neighbors as they were psychologically unsuited to warfare.

Progenitors, The - Those mammals of Earth stock which were used as genetic source for all Sennal Races.

Redaction Transit - Instantaneous transportation between two points achieved by editing the quantum state of an object so that its probability of existing only at the target location is enhanced to the point that quantum superposition sets in.

Relativistic Cannon - Used to launch small amount of mass,(50 kilograms) accelerating it to velocities as high as 99 x 10¹⁷ percent of light-speed. Accomplished by shunting projectile mass into a high energy-density dimension and out again.

Ringless Operatives - Dirhal special agents who operate covertly and would be otherwise revealed by the ring-holes in their ears.

S'Challh - The One (Chosen) Howard F. Ripley, The final product of Ta-Kee guided Human genetic alteration. Able to cross-breed true with any Sennal species.

Se'Gendas - Name given to Earth by Howard Ripley upon its gifting to the Sennal Empire.

S'trriff - Mating compulsion. Thought to have originated with terrestrial bears as a way to attract mates over distances greater that obtainable by pheromones alone. Included in Gashka genome for unknown reasons.

Sasskal - Bipedal Feline created by the Ta-Kee. Genetic material derived from Saber-tooth cat. Stands approximately 285 centimeters tall. Many deployed in fighting another fierce Feline race (possibly Kzin). Some also serve as Portal Priests and in other scientific and religious functions. Not as highly engineered. Has a digitigrade stance for improved balance, but makes stair-climbing difficult. Extremely acute sense of smell. Very aggressive at all times. As an unintentional result of certain genetic twiddling they are natural teleports.

Scholar's Blade - 1.5 meter long, Scimitar-like sword used by Sasskal during formal academic arguments (discourse).

Seeds of Bitter Regret - Traditional name for Feltah SeedShip.

SeedShip - Feltah conquest probe used to plant initial colony on subject world by impacting at high velocity with seed population in stasis.

Senn - Primary of the Taahas system (51 Pegasi) 42.1 light-years from earth, type G4 sun

Sennal - Collective name of all Ta-Kee created species, including T'Roannal.

Sennal Pattern - (see also K'Aann) The Sennal genetic predisposition toward blind killing rage followed by remorse. This behavior pattern leaves little room for less drastic actions as it is automatic and unavoidable.

ShipSoul - Translation of Sennal word referring to a Living Machine which is the intelligence of a starship. Communicate with each other through some sort of quantum singularity network which connects all of space-time. Because they are self-repairing, they are practically immortal.

Ssuuran - Reptilian. Mercenary species contracted by Ta-Kee after the Fall of Teehem to develop Sennal species.

T'Roannal - T'Roann (singular). Species name of the Living Machines. Literal translation = First Born (of the Ta-Kee), as they were their first creation. Perhaps the real power behind the throne. Considered one of the Sennal races. (see Living Machines, ShipSoul, Sennal).

Taahas = 51 Pegasi (IV). Terraformed Home world of the Sennal races.

Ta-Kee - Name the Patrons used for themselves as a species. (see Patrons, The)

Teehem - Name changed to mean Sacred Memory. Lost Home planet of The Patrons. Infested by Feltah 14,200 years BP. The name is always proceeded by an Adjective of Adoration. All Sennal history dated from the Fall of Teehem. Before its Loss, the name meant Sacred Home. In its current orbit, it appears from earth to be of Jovian size due to the continued Senn / Teehem tidal interlock of the Gravity Lance.

Teff - (see Llennel) An asteroid 379 kilometers in diameter in the Llennel system. Location of the Imperial Monastery for the Study of Portal Physics and the religious aspects of quantum physics. 151 light-years from earth.

Toccal - Engineered creature, originated from North American otter stock. Used as servants and in 'blue collar' occupations.

T'Saarll Priesthood - Official name of the Portal Priesthood, headquartered at the monastery on Teff.

Vacuum Well - Device for extracting energy from a quantum vacuum (single-point energy).