The Ringworld Throne

GLOSSARY

ARM: once the Amalgamated Regional Militia, now the United Nations armed forces.

antispin: direction opposite the Ringworld’s direction of spin.

collier: 1. A ship used to carry coal. 2. A merchant who transports or sells coal.

cziltang brone: alleged to be a device to allow solid objects to penetrate scrith.

cruiser: a Machine People vehicle.

elbow root: ubiquitous Ringworld plant, a kind of natural fence.

daywalk: varies by species, but usually means a serious effort consistent with foraging and health. One daywalk for Machine People is about ten miles; for a Grass Giant, less, but they can keep it up forever. Gleaners can do one and a half Machine People daywalks for a couple of hours.

Fleet of Worlds: the homeworld of the Pierson’s puppeteers, and four worlds sequestered for farming.

flup: seabottom ooze.

Outsider hyperdrive or hyperdrive: a means of faster-than-light travel, common in known space.

Patriarchy: the kzinti empire.

Repair Center: ancient center of Ringworld maintenance and control housed beneath the Map of Mars.

payload shell: the locked iron housing on a Machine People cruiser.

rishathra (reshtra): sexual practice outside one’s own species but within the intelligent hominids. Not a useful term beyond the Ringworld.

scrith: Ringworld structural material. Scrith underlies all of the terraformed and contoured inner surface of the Ringworld. The rim walls are also of scrith. Very dense, with a tensile strength on the order of the force that holds an atomic nucleus together.

spill mountains: mountains standing against the rim wall, the outflow of the rim spillpipes. One stage in the circulation of flup. The spill mountains have their own ecology.

spin or spinward: in the direction of rotation of the Ringworld (against the rotation of the sky).

star or starboard: to the right as one faces spinward.

stet: leave it alone, no change, that’s exactly right.

tanj: an expletive. Initial slang for “There Ain’t No Justice.”

thruster: reactionless drive. In known space, thrusters have generally replaced fusion rockets on all spacecraft save warcraft.

vishnishtee / vashnesht: wizard or protector.

weenie plant: ubiquitous Ringworld plant. Edible. Grows in damp areas.

webeye: puppeteer technology, a multisensory probe.

30 hours = 1 Ringworld “day.”

1 turn = 7.5 thirty-hour days = 1 Ringworld rotation.

1 falan = 10 turns = 75 days

Mass = 2 x 10^30 grams

Radius = 0.95 x 10^8 miles

Circumference = 5.97 x 10^8 miles

Width = 997,000 miles

Surface area = 6 x 10^14 square miles = 3 x 10^6 times the surface area of the Earth (approx)

Surface gravity = 31.7 feet/second/second = .992 gee

Rim walls rise inward, 1,000 miles

Repair Center = 40 miles high by 0.56 x 10^8 square miles area = 2.24 x 10^9 cubic miles

Near Great Ocean = 600x surface area of Earth

Star: G1 or G2, barely smaller and cooler than Sol

Valavirgillin (Vala, “Boss”) — hired the caravan. Represents Farsight Trading

Foranayeedli (Forn) — Barok’s daughter. Kaywerbrimmis’s crew

Sabarokaresh (Barok) — biggest male. Kaywerbrimmis’s crew

Kaywerbrimmis (Kay) — Valavirgillin’s Wagonmaster

Anthrantillin (Anth) — wagonmaster

Taratarafasht (Tarfa) — female, Anth’s crew

Whandernothtee (Whand) — wagonmaster

Chitakumishad (Chit) — Whandernothtee’s crew

Sopashintay (Spash) — Whand’s crew

Himapertharee (Himp) — Anthrantillin’s crew

High Rangers Trading Group-died but for Valavirgillin, forty-three falans ago

Tarablilliast (Tarb) — Valavirgillin’s mate, taking care of their children, far to starboard

Paroom-male sentry

Thurl-alpha male, the Bull

Moonwa-female, the Thurl’s primary wife

Beedj-male, the Thurl’s probable heir

Tarun-male

Wemb-female

Makee-male, Wemb’s son

Heerst-male

Twuk-small Grass Giant female

Perilack-female

Silack-beta male

Manack-alpha male, hairier

Coriack-female

Tegger hooki-Thandarthal-ambassador

Warvia hooki-Murf Thandarthal-ambassador

Anakrin hooki-Whanhurhur-messenger

Chaychind hooki-Karashk-messenger

Wurblychoog-female

Borubble-male

Rooballabl-speaks trade language

Fudghabladl-old one, remembers

Louis Wu

The Hindmost (the Web Dweller)

Chmeee

Parald

Strill

Sawur

Kidada

Shans Serpentstrangler

Hishthare Rockdiver

Wheek

Kazarp

Tunesmith

Harpster

Grieving Tube

Acolyte-Chmeee’s eldest son

Kathakt-a lord of the Map of Kzin

Saron-older woman

Deb-middle-aged woman

Skreepu-bird, belongs to Deb

Harreed-Deb’s younger son

Barraye-Deb’s older son

Jennawil-younger woman mated to Barraye

Cronus

Bram

Anne

Lovecraft

Collier

King

…and others, nameless.