Glossary

A

Acceleration Drive

A drive based on the concept of maximum acceleration, not speed. Fairly rare among the Fen. All Hard Tech spacecraft drives are acceleration drives by necessity.

Ace

Extremely beneficial biomod, with no or relatively few negatives. Term originated with the Supers faction.

Action Girls

Syn., Senshi. Used by Crystal Millennium faction members who aren't anime fen.

AI

(Also True AI or Thinking AI (TAI).) A computer or software system that is sophont -- that is, a system that has reproduced human, or humanish intelligence. An AI's thought processes are not necessarily sane or understandable to most humans (see Dee for an example). Androids, gynoids, robots, brain tapes, pure software systems, various ships and other equipment have all been considered AIs. Whether or not AIs are people is matter of some debate among certain groups of Fen (see Colonials, Warsies). An AI may or may not be deliberately created; in fact, many of the first AIs awoke spontaneously.

AU

(Astronomical Unit) A unit of measure equal to the mean distance between Earth and Sol over one of Earth's orbits, roughly 149,597,871 km (92,955,807 miles). Also abbreviated as AU, au, a.u. or ua (to avoid conflict with au meaning atomic unit).

Awaken

The event, and the process where an AI becomes aware for the first time. Also known as sparking, or having sparked. Any piece or pieces of equipment that are or have an AI are said to be awake.

B

B-Arker

Derogatory term for someone who can't or won't consider the implications of a strongly-held position. From Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, spotted in Earthside academic usage before the discovery of handwavium.

Banzai Institute for Biomedical Research and Strategic Information

A non-profit organization that handles business concerns for the Blue Blazer Irregulars in the 'Danelaw.

BDH

Another name for the Whedonite SMOFs, either real or in their own minds. Short for "Big Damn Heroes."

Belters

Asteroid miners, primarily in the Main Belt. Named for the class of characters in Larry Niven's works. Sometimes applied to any fan of Larry Niven's works. (Syn.: Nivenite, Rockrat)

Biomod

(short for Biomodification)

1. n. The biological modification in anyone who has ingested enough handwavium to trigger a one-time mutagenic reaction. Quite indeterminant in outcome but not typically fatal or crippling.

2. n. The result of any such mutagenic reaction.

3. v.t. To cause a mutagenic change in a living creature using handwavium.

Black Hats

Heinleinian faction term for Boskonian/Reaver types.

Blazing

Slang term for "random acts of kindness and/or good deeds" amongst the current crop of teens and tweens. Many people are shocked at the accompanying massive increase in random acts of kindness from said age group; Buckaroo refuses to comment, only smiling like some sort of well-fed Buddha.

Blue Blazer Irregulars

Followers of the teachings of Buckaroo Banzai, as set down by Earl Mac Rauch in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the Eighth Dimension and by W.D. Richter in the movie of the same name.

Blue Hair Day

It has been said that the laws of drama seem to replace those of logic, and often physics, in the vicinity of handwavium and its products, and while things usually seem to make sense at the time frequently someone will think back over recent actions or events and see this phenomenon in themselves. Fenspace being what it is, this has become known as "having a blue hair day." Examples: the launch of the Ptichka, the events leading to Wave Convoy's mind transfer, the Professor impersonator captured by Mr. Morden. The Professor himself is occasionally said to have "the bluest hair in space," but the title is open to some dispute.

BNF

Big Name Fan. A fan who, as a result of his hard work and obsession, has developed his own fandom. In Fenspace, much the same, although Fenspace BNFs tend to have influence on matters of import and policy.

Boskonians

Pirates who don't display the general ethics expected of Fen. See also Black Hats, Pirates, Reavers. Term originated with Doc Smith/Lensman fandom.

Bowl, The

(Also called Bowl Lake and The Grover's Corners Memorial Strip Mine.) The 0.7-mile-wide hemispherical hole left behind by the launch of the SV Grover's Corners.

Brachistochrone Transfer

A minimum transit time, maximum delta-V transfer or orbit. Generally the fastest path from point A to point B if your ship has big enough engines. See also Hohmann Transfer

Broadleaf

Notional source of thionite, the exact nature and origin of which is not yet completely determined, although authorities are confident it comes from Venus. (During Operation Great Justice, it was discovered that "broadleaf" was not a plant, per se, but actually a collection of certain strains of Venusian terraforming bacteria.) Term originated with Doc Smith/Lensman fandom.

Bubba

Derogatory term used by other factions for male members of the Crystal Millennium who cross-dress as (female) Senshi. The stereotypical Bubba is 6 feet and 300 pounds of hairy male in an abbreviated seifuku.

Bughunt

To travel past the Limit in search of extraterrestrial life. (see bughunter)

Bughunter

A fan who's taken up searching interstellar space for life as a vocation. Very rare.

C

Cochrane Limit

The distance from a star, or other massive object where FTL travel becomes possible. For Sol the radius is about 40AU. More commonly called the C Limit, or just the Limit.

Colonials

Faction who are fans of Battlestar Galactica (both new and old).

Convention

The closest thing to a government possessed by the Fen. An annual gathering descended directly from WorldCon is held to modify, ratify and reassert what little law exists off-Earth. Furthermore, Conventions can be called by anyone in times of emergency.

Crystal Millennium

Formal name for the Senshi faction.

Cybers

Folks who use 'wavium for prosthetics/kludged cybernetics. Poorly designed 'wavetech cybernetics turn into biomods.

D

Dandelions

Syn., Filkers.

'Dane

See Mundane.

'Danecrat

1. (n) Government official of an Earthside or non-fannish nation.

2. (adj) Behaving in an authoritative and non-fun manner; ex.: "Quit being all 'danecrat, you're harshing my mellow." (syn. 'Danemagogue.)

'Danegeld

See Paying 'Danegeld.

'Danelaw

Short for "Mundane Law." Refers to regions subject to the laws of terrestrial governments. Usually means the Earth and all regions within the bounds of the Van Allen radiation belts although there are enclaves on either side. It is not by coincidence that it mirrors the name for the northern, central, and eastern region of Anglo-Saxon England colonized by invading Danish armies in the late 9th century.

'Danemagogue

Synonym for 'Danecrat, definition 2.

Dark Kingdom

Senshi term for Boskonians.

Death Eaters

Wizarding World name for Boskonians.

Death Star, The

Warsie nickname for the SV Grover's Corners. Never used within earshot of its crew after the unfortunate Tennis Ball Incident.

Deuce

Beneficial biomod, but not as powerful as an Ace mod, or else with one or more negative points to it. Term originated with the Supers faction.

Dilithium

Trekkie nickname for Solid Handwavium

Discordia Accords

see Principia Universalis.

Divot, The

Fen name for the hole in the ground where the Island used to be. It seems to annoy the 'danes for some reason.

F

Faction

(Also Fraction.) Any of the various organized fandoms that made it into space and operate as a semi-coherent group.

Fen

Notional plural of "fan", formed by analogy to "man/men". Standard usage within science fiction fandom for more than half a century. Since the early 2000s it also refers to the off-Earth culture that makes extensive use of handwavium.

Fendane

1. (normal) Someone not a Fan, not a Mundane but somewhere in between the two. Most fendanes are individuals with an interest in Fandom but no access to handwavium or Fenspace.

2. (derogatory) Term used to describe a Fan whose loyalties remain with 'Danelaw powers.

FenFic

Any truly outrageous story told by fen about other fen. Fenspace's equivalent to a sailors 'Sea Story'.

Fenkinder

Children of fen, or children who are fen, who have made it to Fenspace. Anyone above the atmosphere and under 18.

Fenspace

Virtually everything between the top of Earth's atmosphere and the Cochrane Limit. Known space. Home to the Fen.

Filkers

1. Wandering troubadours or other musical performers.

2. Members of the Musician's Aid Society.

Fivers

Term for faction based around Babylon 5 fandom.

Fraction

Variant Fen spelling convention for Faction, per "filk" and other Fen terms originating in typographic errors.

Freakshow

Derogatory term for Cybers, believed to have originated with the Supers faction.

G

Galactic Republic

Formal name for the Warsies faction.

Galactican

Syn., Colonial

Gearheads

General "Ain't-it-cool" Mecha fans. As a whole, undifferentiated giant robot fans. Inclusive term.

Generalists

As opposed to the specialist, single-fandom type, these are the jacks-of-all-trades of fandom. They do have favorites, sometimes a lot of them. They're just not as into any single one as a specialist fan might be, sacrificing depth for a wider range of scope.

Gondola

Colloquial for a Fenspace vessel intended primarily for passenger runs along scenic routes, like the Cloud Seas of Venus or Saturn's Rings, to name a couple.

Gondolier

General description for the sort of easy-going, likable Fen who are naturals at playing tour guides around the Solar System. Those with the best reputation and presence are known as Undines.

Grey Goo

Industrial nanomachines. Any nanomachines used for manufacture, building, or otherwise constructive activities. There are other kinds of goo, also named by colour:

• Blue goo: police nanomachines that keep other nanomachines in line. Also applied to medical nanites which help keep biological systems (people) in good health and repair.
• Black goo: weaponized nanomachines.
• Golden Goo: nanomachines used to filter specific substances out of common materials. The name comes from a theoretical plan to use nanomachines to filter gold from seawater.
• Green Goo: 1. Biological nanomachines (not microscopic robots, but engineered viruses) 2. Another term for Guacamole.
• Khaki Goo: specifically military (as opposed to simply weaponized) nanomachines.
• Paisley Goo, Plaid Goo: Alternate terms for handwavium.

Grey Goo Disaster

The ISO standard nightmare about nanotechnology. Essentially a kind of sorcerer's apprentice mode failure where industrial nanomachines escape control and convert the entire world into more of themselves, a big blob of grey goo. One of the reasons Handwavium is illegal in 'Danelaw is fear of this sort of disaster.

Groundbounder

Teenaged rebellion, fen-style. Rejection of the Fenspace lifestyle in favor of a desire to live on Earth.

Guacamole

Semi-solid, semi-organic strain of Handwavium accidentally formed by seeding a bowl of dip at a convention. The primary known agent for biomodding. Also called green goo.

H

Hacker Underspace

A very-loosely-knit group of Fen computer professionals and dedicated hobbyists who use their “l33t sk1lls” only for good.

Hand-Wash

Application of Handwavium by way of a power washer, spray hose or other pressurized delivery system. Frequently suggested as a method for the "drive-by handwaving" of objects and craft to which the perpetrators would not otherwise have easy access. The actual viability of this tactic has not yet been tested.

Handwavium

What lets everything interesting happen. A strange substance of indeterminate origin that when mixed with mundane technology can give it strange and useful properties. See also 'Wavetech.

Handwavium, Weapons-grade

(Also Handwavium, Military-grade.) Presumably mythical strain of handwavium whose products are not subject to the Slapstick Effect.

Hard Tech

Techonology that does not require Handwavium to work. Also called Solid State Tech. What the 'Danes insist on using.

Heinleinians

Faction based around the works of Robert A. Heinlein.

Herbert

Synonym for 'Danecrat used by the Trekkie faction.

Hidden Asteroid, Village of

See Village Hidden in the Asteroids.

Hohmann Transfer

A minimum energy orbit or transfer between two places in space. Following them tends to take a long time to get anywhere. NASA's probes tend to use them because of the difficulty they had in getting a powerful (heavy) engine, and reaction mass up into space.

Honey

(also Mnemnosyne's Honey.) Name given to a "memory" strain of handwavium created by the Jason. Takes its name from its appearance, that of a thin, dark honey. Used in enhancing/creating data storage devices. What effect it might have on biological memory has yet to be fully explored.

I

Independent Faction

Formal name for the Whedonite faction, rarely used outside the faction.

Interstellar Alliance

Formal name for the Fivers faction.

Island, The

Flying shopping mall, hotel, supply and refueling point, located between Earth and Mars.

Interwave

The fennish Internet. A vast collection of servers, routers and communications gear located throughout Fenspace. The Interwave started out following the original Internet RFCs, and is still cross-compatible with the 'Dane 'net. However, handwavium quirks, speed of light transmission across vast distances and the rising number of AIs have forced a number of pragmatic adaptations and Interwave-only RFCs.

J

Jerry's Kids

Mocking name for fans of Jerry Pournelle's works.

Joker

Non-beneficial biomod. Could be disfiguring, at least compared to human norm, or it causes other harmful effects. Term originated with the Supers faction.

Joker-Ace

Disfiguring biomod with beneficial effects (e.g., the "troll" -- superstrength coupled with ugliness). Term originated with the Supers faction.

Jossies

Alternate term for the Whedonite faction.

K

Kaboomite

Explosive of uncertain and unstable composition invented/produced by the android Kohran Li. Believed by some to be proof of the existence of Weapons-grade Handwavium.

Karasukage

(trans. "Black Shadow") The leader of the Village Hidden in Asteroids. As of 2012, the Shodaime Karasukage was Ivan "Maitovich" Solkin.

Kuni no Karasu

(trans. "Black Country") Hidden Asteroid nomenclature for parts of the Solar System distant from the actual planets.

L

Land Theft

Increasingly common term in the 'Danelaw for Unreal Estate, based on the argument that while land can be owned by individuals, removing it from the Earth is effectively stealing it from future generations -- and (more importantly, at least to governments) eternally depriving whatever jurisdiction it came from of any future tax revenue on it.

Lensmen

Faction based around E.E. "Doc" Smith fandom.

Limit, The

See Cochrane Limit.

Limit Break

Going FTL inside the Cochrane Limit. Considered the holy grail of engine research in Fenspace.

Lollipop Guild

(informal, SMOF jargon) Name of the group of Australian fen/fendanes who act on Fenspace's behalf within the mundane Australian government. Rumored to have some very impressive blackmail material.

M

Mundane

Not fen. Person or persons uninterested in science fiction, fantasy, anime, space travel or anything else much beyond working a 9-to-5 job and amassing money, status and power. Among fen it carries connotations of being hidebound and reactionary, willfully dull and unimaginative, and possessing a determination to make sure everyone else is that way, too, except when doing so interferes with making money and/or amassing power.

Mushytech

Somewhere between full out wavetech and hardtech, generally on the order of using handwavium for enhancements in capabilities of something that should work anyway. Tends to be looked down on in principle by people of both camps as it requires far more work than either other way.

N

Nargle

Wizarding name for unexpected-asteroid-in-an-inconvenient-place, since fallen into common usage.

Ninja

Fan of any martial-arts anime, especially Naruto.

Ninjaburger

Second-most profitable venture of the Village Hidden in Asteroids, and one of the few subculture references physically implemented in Fenspace that is properly licensed with its owners in the 'Danelaw.

O

Operation Great Justice

Fenspace's cross-fandom military force, created at SOS-Con in May 2012.

Overfan, the

Hypothetical inventor/distributor of Handwavium. A mythical figure to whom all manner of powers and intentions are attributed. Speculation as to the Overfan's identity runs rampant, with the Professor most frequently named -- he could have created the stuff and then completely forgotten having done so.

P

Paying 'Danegeld

1. (v) Submitting to taxation and/or regulation by a 'Danelaw entity.

2. (v) To openly espouse loyalty to an Earthside/Mundane government.

Pirate

Fen faction who play at being mean, nasty space pirates, but who are actually quite nice, honorable folks. They get very upset when people call Boskonians "pirates".

Pirates' Code

The informal standards of the Space Pirate fraction. Broadly: be one of the "white hats," stay true to yourself and defend your ideals, live free or die trying.

Potterites

Syn., Wizards

Pratchett's Law

"Million to one chances happen nine times out of ten." One of the leading explanations for the large amount of unique and useful Handwavium effects and the difficulty of reproducing them.

Prime Time Directive

"Put Things Back Where You Found Them."

Principia Universalis

In the same way that anyone can claim to be Discordian (hardliners disagree, and are summarily ignored), everyFan can claim the Principia Universalis and the Discordia Accords if they run across a situation they need some legalese or religious wiggle room to get out of. Within reason, of course (blatantly amoral acts, like, say ... holding the world for ransom with a kinetic weapon don't fall under the Accords, and neither does slave-trade, Reaver-ism, and so on). If the situation can't be resolved by the Accords' invoker, a friendly branch of Her Church is willing to send negotiators to aid those in need by ways of debate and legalese-nonsense-induced confusion. It's not just a faux-belief. It's a state of being ^_^.

PS 238

(Also Sky High.) Grover's Corners Elementary and/or High School. (Not yet in existence as of the SOS-Con.)

Pulpers

Faction based around Golden Age (and Golden Age-style) SF. Technically, the Lensmen are Pulpers, but they hold themselves mostly separate. Overlaps a bit with other factions/fandoms, including Warsies and Fivers.

R

Rangers

Militant sub-faction of the Fivers, formed in response to the call-to-arms issued by Operation Great Justice.

Reaction Mass

Syn. Remass. Stuff you throw out the back of your engine to make you go forward, via Newton's 3rd law. Not necessarily the same thing as fuel, as you don't have to burn your remass, just throw it way from you with some force. Just about anything can be used as remass, from water to waste to chunks of the ship. Fen tend to use the cheapest most available materials for remass, when they need it, for obvious reasons.

Reavers

Synonym for Boskonians, originating with the Whedonite faction.

Rockhound

An employee of the Rockhounds asteroid-mining company.

S

Scure

(n., from obscure) A fan who follows a particularly obscure fandom.

Senshi

The Sailor Moon (and other Magical Girl/Action Girl) fandom. The cadre of the Venus Terraforming Project, their population is centred at Castle Magellan.

Shadows

Fiver term for Boskonians.

Sith

Warsie term for Boskonians (especially, but not exclusively, Boskonian Warsies).

Sky High

See PS 238.

SMOF

"Secret Master(s) of Fandom". Faction leaders, either formal or informal.

Solids

Also sometimes referred to as Solid State Handwavium (not to be confused with Solid State Tech). There is speculation that this is simply an odd strain of Handwavium that crystallized. Exhibits many of the behaviors of its non-solid 'cousin', as well as individual peculiarities such as, for example, having a power output. Solid State Handwavium can be dissolved in distilled water to produce "normal" goo-form Handwavium.

SOS-con

The emergency con called by the SOS-dan.

Space Patrol

Fenspace's cross-fandom police force, created in June 2013.

Space Rock

A space station or other craft built from a hollowed-out asteroid. Frequent final product of asteroid mining schemes. In the proper orbit with a bit of renovation, often worth a good fraction of the value of the mined metals. Brokerage of said metals, and the Space Rocks, is the primary business of Rockhounds, Inc.

Speed Drive

A ship's drive that works based the concept of absolute speed. Most ships in SF and space opera on TV and in movies -- not to mention Fenspace -- use speed drives.

Swede

Syn., Fendane. Punnishly coined based on the reasoning that the Swedish are between the 'Danish and Fennish.

T

Technomages

Subfaction of the Fivers, who take their inspiration from their namesake.

Tennis Ball Incident

We do not speak of the Tennis Ball Incident. See Death Star.

Thionite

A drug derived from a Venusian source notionally termed broadleaf (actually several varieties of Venusian terraforming bacteria) and including microscopic quantities of Handwavium (not enough for a biomod effect without lethal doses). Rare and extraordinarily expensive due to the risks inherent in harvesting on Venus. Like its namesake, it is overwhelmingly addictive and destructive. Term originated with Doc Smith/Lensman fandom.

Timelords

The fervent Doctor Who fen.

Transparent Carbon

Term invented by a Trekkie engineer who built a series of 'wavetech enhanced diamond deposition machines for the Venus Terraforming Project. Transparent carbon officially refers to large sheets and rods of artificial diamond used for construction purposes, but some ignore this distinction and use it to refer to all diamond. One of the Senshi's favorite building materials. When the Senshi talk about Crystal Cities, they mean crystal cities. The name was really just a play on "transparent aluminum" (from Star Trek IV), but common fen legend claims the name was chosen to prevent a certain powerful company on Earth from realizing what was being built until full scale production was in progress. Also known as "Venusian diamond" in places that do a large amount of business with the 'Danes.

Trekkies

Faction based around Star Trek fandom.

Trekkers

Alternate name for Trekkies. Usually used by factional leaders or BNFs who take themselves way too seriously than is healthy.

True Neutrals

People not tied to any one particular fandom, at all. They honestly don't have any favorites, but just enjoy it all.

TSAB

The Transrationality Scientific Analysis Bureau. The American government agency responsible for handwavium studies.

U

Undine

See Gondolier.

Universal Adapter

Handwaved roll of duct tape. 'Nuff said.

Unreal Estate

Fen term for stations (and ships) like the Island and Grover's Corners -- chunks of land that were boosted into space, and are still recognizable as Earth soil. See also Land Theft.

V

Venusian Diamond

See Transparent Carbon.

Village Hidden in the Asteroids

(also Hidden Asteroid, Village of).

1. The faction Village Hidden in Asteroids, also known as the Ninja. Hardcore Naruto and other martial-arts anime Fen, offering ninja services and fast food throughout Fenspace (although mostly in the Belt).

2. Home of the same faction. Exact location unknown.

W

Warsies

Faction based around Star Wars fandom.

'Wavetech

Technology made with, or improved by, the application of handwavium. It works, but is notoriously quirky. Used mostly by people who don't mind if their toaster starts conspiring with their microwave to get them to eat better.

Watch, The

Organized Discworld fen.

Whedonites

Faction based around fandom of Joss Whedon's Firefly/Serenity.

Whovians

Alternate name for Timelords.

Wizards

Harry Potter faction, possessing a disproportionately large number of fenkinder.

X

Xenites

Xena The Warrior Princess fandom, a distinct subfaction of the Senshi.

Z

Zwilnik

Dealers in narcotics, particularly thionite. Term originated with Doc Smith/Lensman fandom.