Pacific (2933 Magyar B56878B-B): Pacific is
one of the very earthlike planets to which sentient Dolphins were
transplanted as partners in colonization by the Terrans. The native
life of Pacific was similar to Terra's; so few non-sentient
lifeforms were imported. The world's climate supported humans and
Dolphins with no modifications. However, large local predators have
presented problems for both species. Much of the effort of the
colonists has gone into taming land and sea in the inhabited areas.
Other parts of the world have been left wild.
It is not unusual to find Dolphins serving in
the subsector offices. When on land, the Dolphins use imported
waldo-equipped suits.
Pacific is one of the few planets where
Dolphins can be found so often on land, and where they hold key
positions in government and commercial institutions. -mag TD 14
Pacification Campaigns (76-120): A series of
economic, diplomatic, and military operations directed at forcing
membership in the Imperium upon those worlds which resisted the
initial efforts to annex them.
Although the campaigns were predominantly
economic and diplomatic in nature, the Imperium was not averse to
using force when peaceful methods failed. Imperial battlefleets and
ground forces rarely failed when brought to bear.
By 120, the pacification campaigns ended, and
the initial phase of the Imperium s growth came to a close.
Four specific Pacification Campaigns were
undertaken, each by an archduke of the Imperium. The Vilani
Pacification Campaign was targeted at portions of Dagudashaag and
Gushemege sectors. The llelish Pacification Campaign was aimed at
the Darmine region. The Antarean Pacification Campaign hit much of
Lishun sector. The Sylean Pacification Campaign operated in Delphi
and Fornast sectors. -ld IE
Paula II: Oldest issue of Tomutov I. Paula II
is perhaps best known for her steady hand at the helm during the
Psionic Suppressions of 800 to 826. Born in 752, proclaimed empress
by the Moot in 768, died in 836. -emp IE
Paulo I: Second issue of Zhakirov. Born in
684, proclaimed emperor in 736, died of natural causes in 767.
Built Paulo's Annex, a companion structure to the Imperial Palace,
in 740. -emp IE
Paulo III: Oldest issue of Gavin. Born in
981, proclaimed emperor by the Moot in 1031, died in 1071. -emp IE
PDPT-beta: Chemical compound discovered by
Seaharvester scientists in the corpse of a pre-productive phase
daghadasi specimen in 1103. The full name of the compound, Cis-1,
2 paradichlorotriethylaminoprocyclohepatrenyl-4-tricyclohexene-beta, is rarely used.
The chemical serves as the basis for a family
of experimental broad-spectrum antibiotics which can be selectively
"tuned" to wipe out specific types of of bacterial, viral, and
cancerous growths, while leaving adjacent benign growths untouched.
Thus far, no synthesis of the chemical has been produced, and no
source other than the daghadasi oguls has been discovered. -ld NWO
Peace of Ftahalr: The treaty that ended the
Aslan Border Wars (-1118 to 380) and created a 30-parsec-wide
buffer zone between the Aslan Hierate and the Third Imperium. This
zone indirectly fostered the growth of many smaller interstellar
governments and resulted in many independent systems within
Reavers' Deep. -rd TD 16
Peerage: The hierarchy of nobles within the
Imperium. -ld IE
Phoenix Project: Reported plot by Solomani
guerrillas on Terra to destroy Imperial forces occupying Terra.
Imperial intelligence reported penetration of the project command
in 1045, with subsequent compromise of its basic plans and
dismantling of its structure.
The Phoenix Project was supposedly born in
the final years of the Solomani Rim War (990 to 1002) as Solomani
leaders saw the possibility of their defeat and the loss of the
homeworld to the invading Imperials. The project was said to have
consisted of two distinct parts: prepositioned caches of military
goods to supply the coming uprising and a continuing program for
the training of guerrillas.
The caches were concealed in many different
places on Terra in areas calculated to preclude accidental
discovery over the years. Each cache contained large quantities of
munitions, weapons, vehicles, and medical supplies, all of varying
technological levels so as to be of use regardless of the technical
knowledge of the users. Each cache was hidden with its location
entrusted to a single local family. These families were to form the
core of the guerrilla forces when the rising was to take place.
A massive Imperial counter-guerrilla effort
in 1040 to 1045 was directed at the discovery and destruction of
the caches and the arrest of the families entrusted with their
secrets.
Persistent rumors of two additional aspects
of the project-Lambda (a codeword to trigger the uprising) and
Omega (the reinforcement of the uprising by offworld Solomani) -
have been dismissed as baseless by Imperial officials.
Many historians believe that the extent of
the plot was great exaggerated by Imperial authorities, and hold
that it was little more than an extreme example of wishful thinking
on the part of the Solomani leadership. At any rate, the Phoenix
Project no longer threatens the security of the Imperium, if indeed
it ever did. -ld IE
Picard's Belt (2440 Gateway C000510-A): A
vast cloud of asteroids circles this F6 star in numbers so great
the star itself seems lost in a thick, smokey haze. Several hundred
asteroid colonies have been established in the outer fringes of the
system, which sustains itself by mining various ores for export,
primarily to the Viyard Concourse.
Of particular interest are the ruins,
artifacts, and anomalies discovered on numerous planetoids within
the belt. None can be identified, and the intelligence behind them
is unknown. Examples include a featureless 20-cm sphere of unknown
alloy and purpose, pyramidal buildings with no accessible
entrances, and a 50-km asteroid which has been cored by some
process which left only a ring of nickle iron with mirror-polished
inner walls. It has been suggested that the artifacts are the
product of an alien civilization inhabiting asteroids deeper within
the Belt, but the theory remains unproven and speculative. -gat MTJ 4
Piqashu: Tasty spirits with a well-rounded
flavor common in Vland sector. Usually a companion to malmok,
especially after a large meal. -cam MS
Plague of Duskir: Ravaging
worlds from the Solomani Rim to Vland during the Rule of Man,
the Plague of Duskir followed in the wake of conquering Solomani
troops.
The biological history of the Vilani settlers,
who evolved on a world of alien biology, ill-prepared them for contact
with other human races. Minor plagues had of course broken out in
many of their previous contacts, but the most serious of these outbreaks
stemmed from the Solomani, who carried germs that had attacked
humans for millenia.
Neither the Vilani immune systems nor their
pharmaceutical stocks were ready for what happened. The plague of
Duskir was no single disease, but rather a complex infection by several
organisms normally harmless to Solomani (or at least easily controlled).
The most common pattern of infection involved two varieties of yeast,
staphylococci, digestive bacteria, and venereal diseases.
Ironically, the plague is named for the Vilani
doctor who first analyzed its cause and treated it correctly, although
some wrongly believed that the Vilani started the plague. With the help
of Solomani medical texts and the facilities of Dishadshi University, Duskir
brought the diseases under control, first on his own planet and then on
many more.
Today, human stock has so intermixed and
travel is so widespread that such bacteriological disasters are rare.
The lessons learned from such epidemics have taught Imperials how
to contact minor human races without wiping the out unintentionally. -core
TD 10
Plan Lazarus: A hypothetical military plan of
conquest against the Aslan Hierate, commissioned by Emperor Martin III and the Archduke of Sol in 414. Even though the Aslan Border Wars had ended more than three decades earlier, senior Imperial
admirals believed the Aslan might try to resume their efforts of
expansion. This plan, drawing heavily on Imperial military
resources from throughout the Domains of Ilelish and Sol, would
only be implemented in the event the Aslan attacked. The plan was
in its final year of study when the llelish Revolts broke out in
418, and many of the formations assigned to the plan were used
during the Revolts. The Aslan never did attack, and when Martin
died in 456, Plan Lazarus died with him. -rd TD 16
Planck (0216 Magyar B101353-E): Settled
originally by scientists seeking a low-gravity world to set up
their particle physics experiments, Planck boasts one of the
highest average IQs in the Solomani Sphere. It has also become the
home of a unique genetic twist: about 85% of the inhabitants
possess an eidetic memory. Written information is virtually unused
here except to communicate with others off-planet. All data are
passed orally and remembered perfectly there after. Of course, it
is faster to enter numeric data by keying than by speaking, so
computers have kept internal literacy up.
Planck is so small that it keeps all its
water in an icy underground aquifer; all surface fluids and
volatiles are long gone. A sturdy, granite world, Plank is the
largest of a swarm of pieces that failed to coalesce because of the
pull of gas giants on both sides. -mag TD 14
Plavian League: A union of several smaller
states located primarily in the Castra and Windfleet subsectors of
Gateway, with a total of twenty-one systems. -gat MTJ 4
Plunge (2505 Corridor B2409CC-E): The name
Plunge was given not in honor of this world's oceans (it has none),
but because it stands at the head of the great Ushamla main that
spreads commerce coreward of the Great Rift. Many of the planet's
eight billion people live in tunnels hollowed into the planet's
crust. Trade has brought great wealth to Plunge, and the
businessman are the leaders of the government. Their powers are
dictatorial, but they have the respect of their underlings. -cor TD 3
Porfiria: Fourth in the reestablished Lentuli
Dynasty, Porfiria was the oldest issue of the grandnephew of Martin II. Born in 201, proclaimed empress by the Moot in 245, died in
326. Porfiria actively pursued the Vargr Campaigns, and it was
during her reign that they were essentially completed. -emp IE
Porozlo, Battle of (980):
The Zhodani thrust (in the Third Frontier War) through Vilis and Lanth subsectors
toward Rhylanor
(2716 Spinward Marches) met a not unexpected problem - Rhylanor has no
gas giant, although it does have
a strong naval base to defend it. Neighboring Porozlo (2715 Spinward Marches A867A74-B)
not only had a gas giant for quick refueling, but also possessed a naval base of potentially
great use to invading naval forces.
The battle began with the appearance of a single large Zhodani
task force off Porozlo's primary; it proceded directly to the larger of two gas giants in the
system. The local naval base reacted immediately, even admirably, considering that there
was no warning of Zhodani approaches this far from the front lines. However, as the first
Zhodani task force refuelled, portions of it engaged the local defenses, preoccupying them
as a second task force appeared and drove straight for Porozlo. The threat of action against
the planetary defenses and facilities prompted the world organization to declare Porozlo an
open world. Naval forces either surrendered or jumped to safety at Rhylanor.
The fall of Porozlo provided the Zhodani with a supporting base for
their seige of Rhylanor. Ships could easily refuel at the gas giant, jump-1 to Rhylanor for raids,
attacks, or blockade patrols, and still have enough fuel for jump-1 back to Porozlo, where a
class A starport and the captured naval base stood ready to repair any damage
immediately.
The naval defenses of Porozlo have been increased considerably
since 986. -ld TP
Postal Union: A Group of political units
associated to a greater or lesser degree for the purpose of
communication among citizens, businesses, and governmental units.
Nearly all star systems are members of one
postal union or another. Governments cooperate along their borders
in order to allow the efficient flow of communications between them
Members of a postal union forward mail through their territories
(subject, of course, to local security needs, acts of war, and so
on) to the proper addresses. On the average, communication is at
the speed of the fastest available transportation, which means
about three or four parsecs per week. -ld IE
Prevarren (2010 Gateway C555555-A): Sole
Plavian world in the Denkard Subsector, it is important primarily
as a black market trade station with both the the Akeena Union and
the Hochiken People's Assembly. Recent war with the Assembly over
the Heptad Worlds made trade with Hochiken illegal, but a large
number of independent merchants and smugglers continue a brisk
underground trade via Duris (1807 Gateway). -gat MTJ 4
Prison Hulk: The former Imperial battle
cruiser Gaesh has been paid off and converted to penal
rehabilitation at an orbital site above Pixie (1903 Spinward Marches). Modern reform and rehabilitation methods are used on a
variety of Imperial offenders in a setting removed from normal
pressure and routine; the Ministry of Justice reports excellent
results in its programs, with a recidivism rate approaching zero.
The orbiting prison is an interesting study
in economy, converting an otherwise useless starship to an
important social institution. The two upper decks have been
retained for guard crew quarter and essential administration, while
the three lower decks have been turned over to the inmates for
quarter and recreation. -ld Kin
Protalus (0128 Core B559463-B):
Protalus was the homeworld and powerbase of Baron Rolf
von Toerbach, the famous rebel leader of the Interstellar
Confederacy Civil War.
Today Protalus is a vassal state to
Marsus (0127 Core), one parsec away. There is little of
Importance in the system except for an Imperial Naval Base.
Protalus is rarely visited and is considered by many to be an
unimportant backwater. -core TD 9
Protectorate of Cthonia: Member state of the
Solomani Confederation. A mutual defense and trading coalition, the
Protectorate worries about its uneasy position on the Imperial
border. It maintains a large, sophisticated fleet against this
threat, independent of Confederation control. Although legally
entitled to such a navy by the Charter, the Cthonian armada has
given cause for concern to Confederation officials.
The Confederation might well intervene, if it
were not for the Cthonian Navy's unique training methods. The
Cthonians employ an innovative technique - "electro-psychoanalysis"
to the popular media - which combines psychological testing with
intense study of neural activity. Using this technique, the
Cthonians can single out future leaders at a very young age and
recruit them into military schools. As the Protectorate has
recently opened the program to other Solomani worlds, the
Confederation stands more to gain by leaving the Cthonians in
peace. -sta S&A
Psionic Suppressions (800 to 826): Between
772 and 798, a series of financial, ethical, and moral scandals
within the Psionic Institutes of the Imperium shifted public
opinion against the Institutes. At the same time, it became clear
that a good number of the Institutes were under the control of the
Zhodani Consulate. In 800, the Imperium moved against the
institutes by canceling their charters, jailing their leaders, and
passing laws restricting the teaching or practice of psionics. Many
institute figures went underground to espouse their cause in a type
of guerrilla war.
The Psionic Suppressions had a profound
influence on Imperial opinion. Over the course of 26 years, the
Suppressions equated psionics with the Zhodani and established in
the average Imperial citizen a distaste for both that continues to
the present day. The average citizen will admit to a general
dislike of psionics, and if pressed, will usually state that
psionics violates a person's right of mental privacy. -ld IE
Psionics: The criminal use of mental powers
for the manipulation of matter and energy and for communication. It
has been demonstrated that minds (human or nonhuman, conscious or
unconscious, intelligent or unintelligent) contain some capacity to
operate without apparent use of physical facilities. For an
individual to seek out such training is a criminal act.
Until circa -1000, psionics was little
studied in most regions except on a disorganized level
(parapsychology, the occult, spiritualism, and so on). It was known
and practiced among the Zhodani and by some minor races, but it was
by no means widespread.
However, during the Long Night, many races,
(human and others) turned introspective. As a result, many finally
began to engage in serious research in psionics, which revealed
much about the empirical nature of the phenomenon, although the
principles involved were, and remain, little understood.
However, even though it assumed scientific
validity, psionics remained a backwater science until about 650,
when it underwent a tremendous burst of popularity. Psionics within
the Imperium reached its peak in the latter half of the 700s. In
the 790s, however, the crest of popular opinion broke with the
revelation of scandals within the Psionics Institutes; the result
was the psionics suppressions (800 to 826), which shifted public
opinion away from support of psionics. -ld IE
Psionics Institute: Any clandestine
organization devoted to the illegal training of individuals in the
use of psionics talents. Active Imperial campaigns to eradicate the
Institute have been pursued for over 200 years.
Organizations of this nature have existed
since before the advent of space travel, but they attained
prominence only during the Long Night, when reproducible scientific
discoveries made psionics a teachable, learnable science.
In the Imperial antebellum period, psionics
institutes were rare, and they were formed only on a few scattered
worlds which, for one reason or another, had an unusually high rate
of psionic talents appearing, or which encouraged psionics for
social, political, or commercial reasons. In the years after the
Civil War, institutes were organized on most high population worlds
within the Imperium.
Psionics institute is a generic name; each
such institution was independently organized and maintained.
Institutes were generally supported by that portion of the
population which had psionic talents; since that portion was small,
they were viable only on high population worlds (approximately one
billion or more).
During the psionics suppressions, the
institutes' charters were revoked, and talented individuals were
persecuted. In some cases, the individuals fled to assume new
identities on other worlds; in others, whole families emigrated to
the Zhodani Consulate or to other places beyond the frontiers of
the Imperium.
Following the psionics suppressions, there
were theoretically no psionics institutes remaining. In practice,
however, illegal underground institutes are rumored to still remain
on many worlds. -ld IE
Psychohistory: The science of historical
prediction and macrosocial manipulation. The main thesis of
psychohistory is that the actions of trillions of individuals take
on a fluidity and predictability which can be compared to that of
molecules in a gas. The very size of the population being dealt
with factors out individual peculiarities and allows the prediction
of its behavior. With the ability to predict the reaction of a
population to a particular stimulus comes the ability to manipulate
that population, psychohistorians reason.
Psychohistory began as a combination of
public relations/advertising techniques and behaviorial science,
and although its techniques have been put on a more rigorous
footing, the basic principles are still not well understood. A
number of minor experiments have confirmed the general validity of
the science, but it was also shown to be too expensive to be of any
practical utility. Research continues at a small number of Imperial
universities. -ld IE
Puarguai: Martial art common in the Domain of
Deneb area. Puarguai's origin is not known for sure, but it is
believed to stem from an old style of combat favoured by Solomani
soldiers in the Rule of Man. During the Long Night this style
developed in many different directions on isolated planets, and one
style evolved as Puarguai.
Puarguai is not as flashy as many other
martial arts shown in holovids. Instead, it focuses on hitting the
opponent in sensitive areas. One manueuver consists of squeezing
the opponent's neck between the thumb and the other fingers. This
is called the Vulcan Nervepinch, although the origin of this name
is unknown. -cam MS
Puluriman: Alcoholic beverage common in Deneb
and Corridor sectors. A new puluriman is almost undrinkable, but
the taste gets better as the beverage matures en great wooden
casks. Good pulurimans are 24 standard years old, with exceptionally fine bottles being 48 years of age. The beverage is
rather expensive. -cam MS
Pyramid: Traditional construction form for
developing cultures; considered to be the simplest form of large
scale architecture because of its load-bearing strength and ease of
assembly. TL 1.
Pyramid structures of all sizes have been
believed to serve as focuses for psionic (or cosmic) power, and are
claimed to sharpen dulled edges, cure diseases, and generally work
miracles.
Pyramids have been constructed on most worlds
where the local culture has passed through TL 1. Many examples
remain due to the massive strength of the structure. -ld AN