This Glossary covers terms introduced  in the chapter listed above.

You do not need to read any Glossary posts in order to enjoy the story. However, if you find it helpful to reference the Glossary to remind yourself of what a word means, I have provided this selection of terms used in the story for your convenience and enjoyment.

Please be aware that later Glossary posts will contain information relevant to later chapters, which may mean they will contain spoilers if you haven't read those chapters.

As you read the story, if you encounter a word you hoped to look up that is missing from the glossary, let me know in the comments, and I'll add it!

GLOSSARY

ACCORD: wait and see

ALCHEMY: chemistry

ALCHEMIST: chemist

ARCHIVIST: historian

BELBIRNEL: one of the 15 Families.

BLACK SEAS: outer space

BLEND: the process of receiving clivia spores to trigger changes in the mind and body that allow a person to adapt to Aquarius's natural environments

BREW: someone born via the Womb rather than naturally

BRIDGER: The oldest of the Four Sisters

CARRIAGE: a car on the maglev train

CHIRUGEON: medical professional

CIRCLE: a class of students

CLIVIA: one of two sentient Aquarian lifeforms. Also known as the First People. A flying creature with long fur-like filiments

DAUGHTER OF THE GENERATIONS: the USS Daughter of the Generations, an ancient intersteller generation ship

DESCENT: the first destruction of the Trellis, which destroyed half of the planet's settlements and killed 200 million people

EIGHTY-EIGHTH / EIGHTY-EIGHTH GENERATION: the eighty-eighth generation born on the Daughter of the Generations

ENDLESS JOURNEY: the journey of the USS Daughter of the Generations to its destination

ETERNAL RADIANCE: the ship that brought humanity to Aquarius. Formerly believed to be a god

FAMILY: an extended family of people with similar Legacies of Mind, with the exception of the Unemd Family

FIRST PEOPLE: one of two sentient Aquarian species. Also known as clivias

FLYERS: lander pilots

FOUR SISTERS: (wait and see)

GATES OF PERUDIIS: the central tower through which one enters the Perudiis luxury deck. Within the tower, there is only a lift leading to the deck. On the tower's surface, images of famous paintings and other works of art from Earth are displayed.

GENERATIONIST: one of the three main cultural groups on the Daughter of the Generations, along with Legacists and Renunciates. Like Legacists, Generationists are committed to preserving the Legacy of Earth: its historical heritage and Mission. However, they believe that they are part of that Legacy, not just its vessel, and so are open to innovation. They are sometimes blamed for damaging the Womb in an attempt to restore natural reproduction.

GILT: an individual's personal nanites, which can be used to clothe, cleanse, and provide medical aid to a person, among other things. Typically carried externally as "raiment"

GYRATORY: a rotating chamber in each home and some other buildings, used for personal reflection, conflict meditation, and anger management

HARBOR: the original destination of the Daughter of the Generations

HELM: the governing body of the Daughter of the Generations. Comprised of a Spoke, or spokesperson, chosen by each Family. Governs by consensus following principles outlined in its Axis constitution.

HOLY OVIDIANA: the Aquarian scriptures

HOURS: monetary system on the Daughter of the Generations. An Hour can be used to purchase time and services on the Perudiis luxury deck as well as purchase luxury goods

INJLIS: the ancient dead language in which the Daughter of the Generations was originally programmed

JOURNEY'S END: the arrival of the Daughter of the Generations at its destination

LEGACIST: one of the three main cultural groups on the Daughter of the Generations, along with Generationists and Renunciates. Legacists are committed to preserving the Legacy of Earth: its historical heritage and Mission. They try to live in ways that honor that heritage while ensuring the success of the Mission. Legacists resist innovation and are sometimes mocked for embracing ancient skillsets, like candlemaking, alongside the more recent skillsets of their technogically-advanced society.

LEGACY: refers both to genetic Legacies of Body, Mind, and Soul carried by people on the Daughter of the Generations as well as the heritage of Uld Irt.

LEGACY OF MIND: a genetically-encoded special skill set or area of knowledge that manifests shortly after a person turns 14.

LIFE-WEB: the network of spore and spore-based lifeforms from which the Four Sisters' sentience arises

LOLLIGINES: one of two sentient Aquarian lifeforms. Also known as the Second People. A sea creature with long filiments

MISSION: (wait and see)

MOVER: one of the Four Sisters

NATURALS: people born via normal sexual reproduction

NIGHT-SIDE: the side of the planet Aquarius that faces away from the sun and so dwells in perpetual night

PATRON: (wait and see)

PEDAGOGUE: teacher

PEOPLE OF THE FOUR SISTERS: (wait and see)

PERUDIIS: luxury deck on the Daughter of the Generations, where Hours earned through work or study can be spent on entertainment or luxury goods and services.

PLUTO: storage deck located at the bottom of the ship. Contains cargo units, frozen plant and animal embryos, and the morgue.

RAIMENT: clothing made of gilt

REMINDERS: quotes written in ornate calligraphy on the ceilings of gyratories

RENUNCIATE: one of the three main cultural groups on the Daughter of the Generations, along with Legacists and Generationists. Like Generationists, Renunciates are open to innovation. Unlike both Generationists and Legacists, Renunciates have rejected the Legacy of Earth and are believe humanity should chart its own future rather than remaining beholden to the past.

REX: the highest-ranking government official on Aquarius. Soon to be an elected position.

SEER: One of the Four Sisters

SHIPWRIGHT: engineers on the Daughter of the Generations responsible for the overall design and functioning of the ship

SPEAKER: someone able to speak Injlis, the ancient language in which the Daughter of the Generations was originally programmed. Usually refers to a person with the Speaker Legacy of Mind, although it can refer to anyone who has learned to speak Injlis

STARCHILDREN: the Four Sisters' name for humans

TASK KEY: a verbal code used to access restricted privileges on the ship in order to perform specific kinds of work. For example, a chirugeon can use a Chirugeon Task Key to access restricted medications for a medical procedure.

THINKER: the youngest of the Four Sisters

TRELLIS: a nanotech paraterraformation device once placed in Aquarius's upper atmosphere, responsible for improving the range and strength of nanite-use and maintaining favorable environmental conditions. Destroyed

TREPISKUN: the star around which the Four Sisters orbit

ULD IRT: Earth

UNEMD: the Family to which all Brews are assigned. The word means "unnamed" and honors the legacies of the countless people, many of them women, who made contributions to humanity's pursuit of the stars but were forgotten or never acknowledged. Bru is currently the only member of the Unemd Family.

VILLAGE: a habitat sector on the Irt deck. Each of the 53 villages features a central commons and apartment buildings. 38 of the villages have been sealed for 315 years due to underpopation. Each Family lives in its own village.

VOICE: the voice of the ship's computer. Programmed in Injlis, an ancient dead language, although its routine announcements have long since been translated by Speakers

VOID: outer space

VOID DANCERS: (wait and see)

WALK/WALK INTO ADULTHOOD: the rite of passage of a child entering adulthood. Celebrated when a child reaches the age of 14 because that's when their Legacy of Mind manifests, making them capable of contributing to life on the ship.

WASIJTUN: a village on the Irt Deck. Sealed.

WINDSWEPT VOID: outer space

WOMB: the artificial womb on the Daughter of the Generations, which genetically-engineers children with Legacies of Body, Mind, and Soul programmed into the ship before its departure from Uld Irt

WOMB-BORN: Brews; people born via the Womb rather than naturally

WORLDHOLDER: an Aquarian nanite-user who specializes in nanite-use that influences the land and air and who can make and destroy promenia. One of the 5 lineages of "sorcerers"

YEOMAN: a worker on the Pluto deck responsible for overseeing cargo stowage