Vast, city-sized maker machines, now in the wild, used to lay out entire urban sprawls in the uninhabited parts of the globe. Colloquially known as Wild Geece, they now emerge at random, still in isolated spots, and for a brief but intense spell produce an entire, and entirely empty, city out of any and all available matter. The Wild Geece lay down streets and parks, erect skyscrapers (with complete, furnished apartments) and are noted for the sometimes bizarre public statues they choose to erect throughout their unnamed, unlived-in urban wilderness.

Some people spend their lives chasing the Hongyan, hoping to be the first to discover and lay metaphorical claim to the empty city, with the right of naming that comes with it. But the Hongyan are few and may spend decades or whole centuries between periods of activity, and few living humans have ever seen one.

I

Inner System

Colloquial term for the three inhabited planets closest to the sun (Venus, Earth and Mars), including Earth’s moon but excluding Mercury. The BELT is often included but more usually considered a separate polity from either INNER or OUTER systems.

J

Jettisoned

The last human outpost in the solar system lies on Triton. It is a lawless society where the only thing wilder than the people is their technology. Jettisoned got its name as the solar system’s last chance saloon from the EXODUS SHIPS who jettison those passengers unwilling to go farther into galactic space for whatever reason—or who have been ejected from the ships.

Jettisoned is the source of most of the system’s WILDTECH.

Johnny Novum

Fictional character in the CHAINS OF ASSEMBLY soap. Brooding and mysterious.

K

Kibbutzim (Martian)

A form of pioneer communes popular on Mars.

Kunming Toads

The Kunming Toads started out as just another small-time outfit on the Golden Triangle based out of Yunnan. They’ve since upgraded meth to Plateau and Crucifixation, turned from people smuggling to organlegging, and finally veered into the lucrative market of extreme gene modification.

Famously, members are genetically modified to resemble poisonous toads, hence the name.

L

Long Crossing, the

Colloquial name for the long journey between the INNER and OUTER SYSTEMS, more specifically between Mars and Jupiter, or Jupiter and the Belt. The subsequent journey out to Saturn is sometimes referred to as the Second Long Crossing.

Lottery of Yiwu, the

See YIWU

Lunar Port

The main and oldest settlement on Earth’s moon.

M

“Mad” Rucker

Terrorartist, though little is known of him for sure. Generally believed to have seeded the BOPPERS on Titan. Less generally believed (and only by those who know of it at all) as the possible progenitor of the QUIETUDE.

Martian Re-Born