CHIPS: #scifi A general term for information storage devices. They may be used for anything from image storage to operating a spaceship’s navigation system.
Category: Homecoming (Fictional)
CHIP BALANCING: #scifi No information storage device is perfect, and the spare chips for jump-ship control must periodically be checked against the main chips to be sure the information is identical. This procedure is known as “balancing” and must be performed regularly during a multi-jump journey.
SYNTHESIZER: #scifi A device that breaks down unwanted materials and then uses the atoms to make needed products. These products may include anything from food or clothing to furniture, but the atomic composition of the products made must match that of the waste material used. (Surplus atoms can be stored, but the input material must contain all the needed atoms.) Luckily most organic materials have a composition overwhelmingly dominated by hydrogen, carbon, oxygen and nitrogen, and it is relatively easy to add small amount of any missing atoms. The synthesizer breakdown on the Bounceabout in Homecoming is a life-threatening emergency.
CHECK-IN BUTTON: A device, usually a button to be pushed, sending confirmation that a signal has been received by the person for whom it is intended. Starships use them for individual check-ins after an emergency.
ISOLATION SATELLITE: # scifi A satellite designed for complete biological isolation and used for study of potentially dangerous diseases. Part of the Riyan medical system.
INTERFACE LOUNGE: #scifi A lounge with a built-in mental computer interface. They are designed to keep the body as comfortable as possible while working with a computer, especially for long periods.
FLAGGING: #scifi Placing a FTL beacon at a jump point. Transportation between flagged jump points is relatively easy and jumps of up to fifty light years are not uncommon. Finding an unflagged jump point, necessary for exploration, is a slow, difficult process.
BIG’UN: #scifi Nickname for the main Confederation computer.
COMPUTER INTERFACE: #scifi An electronic device which allows direct mental communication with a computer. In theory usable by non-telepaths, but generally telepathic ability makes use of such an interface much easier. A good telepath can communicate with a computer for light-duty tasks without an interface.
JUMP POINT: A point in space from when a mechanical teleport is possible to another such point.
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