Glossary

Advanced Police

The elite counter-terrorism and anti-boomer metropolitan police force in Japan. Mostly based in Tokyo, although it has small branch offices in the rest of Japan's major cities. The Tokyo units cover the entire Mega-Tokyo area.

Antarctica

A UN administered territory since the end of the Polar War. It is ruled by a UN appointed governor and dominated by corporate interests. (The lunar settlements are expected to develop along similar lines.)

Boomer

Term used outside of Japanese speaking areas for Genom Buma and all Buma-like models of its competition. So far, all of the competition has had to make use of various Genom patents, making the distinction minor.

Boomeroid

A human with at least 70% cybernetics. In criminal cases, boomeroids are handled in Japan by the Advanced Police.

Buma

Genom brand name for a series of robots driven by pseudo-organic synthetic neural networks. They have varying degrees of other organic and pseudo-organic parts depending on how human-like they're supposed to seem. Virtually all of the pseudo-organic components are suitable for use as cybernetics.

Eosphorus and Hesperus

A pair of space craft under construction by North American and European organizations (including some support from the western remnants of the Soviet Commonwealth). When complete, they will be capable of making round trips between Earth and Venus. In contrast to the Hashi Maru, these craft are entirely non-nuclear and rely on electro-magnetic shielding instead of mass to protect against interplanetary radiation.

European Space Agency

Multi-national space agency that manages space traffic from European countries and tracks European owned satellites. It's generally subject to direction from the ISA.

European Union

The second most populous “nation” on Earth with the third largest economy. The EU is still overshadowed by its member states politically, although the Union as a whole has taken the place of its member states in the UN, much to their annoyance.

Genom

Heavily diversified multi-national and largest corporation on Earth. Genom made its initial fortune in solar and fusion power construction as demand for electricity far outstripped the capacity growth of other sources. After a series of disasters in the early 2030's, including destruction of many Genom towers by laser satellite strikes, most of the Earth's governments found Genom responsible and fined it nearly into oblivion as well as splitting off many branches into their own companies. By the late 2030's Genom is beginning to regain some of its former influence, but it still has to tread very carefully.

Hashi Maru

First (and so far only) spaceship capable of manned interplanetary travel. It has made one trip each to Mars and Venus. The Hashi Maru (Infinity; literally “Endless Circle”) is an international project, with Japan as the senior partner and SDPC as the senior investor. The Hashi Maru is the flagship of the developing ISA spacefleet.

International Space Authority

A UN program that has de facto supreme authority over everything outside of Earth's atmosphere. The ISA typically delegates authority to regional space agencies (such as NASA) or commercial space organizations (such as SDPC).

Japan

Although neither the largest, most populous or economically strongest nation on Earth, Japan is the most politically coherent of the great powers and has risen to the position of “leader of the free world.” It has assumed much of the role previously taken by Cold War era America. The Japanese national government is heavily dominated by corporate interests.

Knight Sabers

Urban mercenary outfit based and mostly active within the Mega-Tokyo area. They are noted for their unusally light-weight powered hard-suits.

Mars

An unincorporated UN territory, Mars currently has a scattering of boomer only research outposts busily cataloging the native Martian bacteria-like life and environment. Other boomers on Mars are also constructing various terraforming facilities and laying the groundwork for colonization, which is banned until the Mars ecology researchers deliver their final report to the UN (expected by 2050). Manned expeditions to Mars remain in orbit and tele-operate robots on the surface.

Mega-Tokyo

Popular nickname for Tokyo and the surrounding metropolitan area. Also sometimes still referred to as the Greater Tokyo Area. As of 2038, Mega-Tokyo's population is about 45 million, making it the largest metropolitan area on Earth.

The Moon

Unincorporated UN territory with about the same surface area as Africa. Incorporation is supposed to take effect in 2040, at which point it will be ruled by a UN appointed governor. There are currently three permanent settlements: Shackelton (originally a research site at the south pole), Sinus Medii (primary shipping site) and Triangle City (largest settlement and the home of lunar mining and other industry, including tourism). In spite of tremendous recent colonization efforts, the total lunar population is still smaller than Antarctica.

North American Space Agency

Joint program run by America, Canada and Mexico. Similar to the now defunct American NASA, but with little to do with aeronautics.

Polar War

A series of battles over territory in Antarctica and naval skirmishes over control of the Arctic Ocean that ended when most of the major combatants dropped out due to internal difficulties (which led directly into the Sino-Soviet Wars).

Priss and the Replicants

Semi-famous club band in Japan, noted for distinct anti-corporate lyrics. The band's line-up has changed over the years, but with the exception of the lead singer, Priss, the members always take stage names based on the names of friends and family lost in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 2025. The core of the band is always Priss, Roy, Zhora and Leon. In the early 2030's the band attempted to land a recording contract and break into the international market, but abandoned the effort after their lead singer Priss was injured and ended up with a different voice after her reconstructive surgery. The band vanished during 2034 and 2035 but reassembled with a modified line-up in 2036 and has been working the clubs of the Tokyo area and occasionally touring Japan since then.

Sailor Warriors (Sera Senshi)

Urban myth of 1990's Tokyo, although spotty evidence exists that there was some basis for the stories told about them. Described as a band of girls in sailor style school uniforms, each was reputed to have unique powers, and the band as a whole was supposed to fight “monsters.”

Sino-Soviet Wars

A series of civil wars and regional battles that swept across China and the Soviet Commonwealth in the mid to late 2030's. The conflicts resulted in each breaking up into dozens of small nations.

Sinus Medii

The location of a small base on the Moon (at the center of the side visible from Earth). It is the base point of a space elevator that runs to the Earth-Moon L1 point. The other end of the space elevator has the Sinus Medii Space Dock; a major transit point in travel between Earth and the Moon and the home port of the Hashi Maru. The Sinus Medii Space Dock is expected to eclipse construction at the Space Dock in Earth orbit by 2050.

Space Development Public Corporation

A company closely tied with Genom (and apparently dominated by it) that runs many off Earth commercial projects. It owns the Genaros space station, and is a major partner in the Triangle Moon Base.

Space Elevator

A structure for moving cargo between synchronous orbit and a planet or moon. With the materials available in the 2030's, these can be constructed for the Moon and Mars.

United Nations

After a series of reorganizations in the 21st century, the UN is well on its way to becoming an oppressive world government, with the only mitigating factor being that it is dominated by a soulless bureaucracy. Every nation has a representative in the General Assembly (which effectively forms a world legislature). Twelve nations sit on the Security Council (essentially the executive branch), with America, Europe, India and Japan having “permanent” seats after the latest reorganization and the rest rotating periodically. Unlike the original setup, no single nation has veto power, although any three together can veto. Most member nations are economically dominated by corporate interests, leaving the UN indirectly run by them, of which the most influential is Genom.

United States of America

Second largest and third most populous nation on Earth—as of the late 2030's—with Earth's second largest economy (after India). With the erosion of federal power following the scandals of the 2030's (mostly involving ties to organized crime), American political influence outside its own borders has diminished precipitously, and the rest of the world widely regards it as almost a “second world” nation politically (although not economically).

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