by Tony Attwood
ROJ BLAKE - Native of Earth. An Alpha Grade engineer, he became leader of the Freedom Party and saw most of his friends murdered by Travis. After brainwashing he renounced his old beliefs at his trial. However after breaking through the mind blocks he was tried again and found guilty of various crimes against young children. After his escape from custody he used Liberator to continue his fight against the Federation, risking his own life and sometimes the lives of others for the cause. Hewas seriously injured by Travis on Star One but was reported uninjured by Zen after the Intergalactic War. He finally appeared on Gauda Prime, where he was killed by Avon. At least two Blake clones were made, and one remained alive with a slave girl on an unnamed planet after the Imipak affair.
CALLY - Native of Auron who was exiled because of her involvement in the fight against the Federation. She met Blake whilst planning a solo attack on Saurian Major. Despite the fact that the Auron do not normally have paranormal abilities beyond telepathy, her long association with the crew of Liberator led her to develop abilities of mindreading, precognition and telekinesis. She remained with Liberator in order to fight the Federation, and died on Terminal following the explosion set by Servalan.
EARTH - Base of the Terran Federation and home planet of all the crew of Scorpio and Liberator except Gan, Cally and Soolin. The inhabitants were kept inside giant domes, and attempts to go outside were considered serious offences. The water and air supplies within the domes were drugged in order to ensure the passive obedience of the populace. Space travellers had set out some 700 years before Blake to explore the galaxy, but Earth remained the most populated planet in the Federation.
ENSOR - Developer Of the Tarriel Cell, which all computers on the known planets contained. He also developed a number of new concepts in computer technology and taught some brilliant students, including Muller, before disappearing to Aristo in order to continue his work unhampered. His final achievement was the development of Orac. His son died on board Liberator whilst attempting to force Blake to take the ship to Aristo.
FEDERATION - Abbreviated name for the Terran Federation. A fascist dictatorship set up in the aftermath of the galaxy-wide Atomic Wars, it controlled thousands of planets (divided into the Inner and Outer Worlds) and was governed by the President and the High Council. An uneasy balance existed between the President and the military wing, Space Command, until Supreme Commander Servalan overthrew the President and set up a military dictatorship. During Servalan's absence on Terminal however, she was in turn overthrown and her supporters killed. There were constant attempts by Federation planets to rebel, but suppression was rigorously enforced. The Federation's greatest problem was a surfeit of human beings below the privileged Alpha Class. Where possible (as on Earth), these people were kept docile through drugs in their ah and water supplies. Personal freedom was non-existent under the Federation, and all religions banned. All citizens were required to register their residence and could not move without reregistering. Private transport was prohibited and interplanetary movement was forbidden without a permit. Worlds which were settled by people from Earth but were still outside the Federation were known as the Outer Planets. Once absorbed into the Federation, they became part of the Outer Worlds.
GAN - Native of Zephron. When he saw a Federation guard rape his girlfriend, Gan killed him, was certified insane and had a Limiter placed in his head to stop hint killing again. Gan showed great courage and was always willing to use his great physical strength to help others. He also had a strong streak of common sense, although by his own admission he was not particularly bright. He died on Earth during the attempt to destroy Control - the first member of the '7' to be lost.
GAUDA PRIME - Frontier planet, commonly known as GP. Home of Soolin, where her parents were murdered. It was an agricultural world declared an open planet in order to speed up the mining of resources.
ANNA GRANT - Girlfriend of Avon who, working under the name Bartolomew, betrayed him. She also used the name Sula and was married to High Councillor Chesku. Avon finally killed her on Earth.juice of the plant Asclepias acida. It formed a constituent part of the liquid 'adrenalin and soma' much favoured by Vila on board Liberator.
SOOLIN - Two stories exist concerning Soolin's origins. According to one, she was a native of Earth who moved to Darlon IV with her family, who were murdered 6 years later. Aged 17, she killed her parents' murderers and left the planet to wander the galaxy, linking up with Dorian before becoming a member of Scorpio's crew. In the other version, the events just described were said to have taken place on Gauda Prime, and there she was apparently killed along with Tarrant, Vila and Dayna.
TARRIEL CELL - Development by Ensor at the age of 18 which led to a completely new generation of computers, all of which contained one such cell. It was this unification of development that allowed Orac to tap any computer in the galaxy.
TELEPORT - System of dismantling organic molecules, transporting them across space and then reassembling them. Non-organic molecules that were closely associated with organic molecules (eg, items of clothing) were also automatically teleported. The teleport system on Liberator worked on medium frequencies, but it was possible to adjust the teleport to work on omicron pulse length when there was interference on the medium band. Bracelets had to be worn to make the system work. On Liberator these were very fragile indeed and had clearly been designed for use by the Alta of the System. They included sensors which warned of the presence of poison gas or radiation. Scorpio's bracelets were much sturdier and became the personal property of each crew member. They were made of titanium and had chips set in a rack with a keyboard so that the landing site could be programmed into the bracelet.
TERMINAL - Artificial planet built by a consortium of scientists 411 years before the Liberator was destroyed within its vicinity. According to official records, Terminal was supposed to have broken up many years prior to that. Terminal was sprayed with organic materials in the hope that it would naturalise and eventually create and sustain life. Originally positioned in solar orbit near Mars, it was somehow moved to a totally new location. Despite apparently being egg-shaped, the planet retained a breathable atmosphere and Earth-type gravity level. The question of how much of Terminal was colonised remains unresolved. Servalan merely occupied what appeared to be a few rooms underground, although there were further signs of habitation and building elsewhere on the planet. These may, of course, have been built by the Links before they evolved into the aggressive creatures that were met by the crew of Liberator.
VILA RESTELL - Native of Earth, and brilliant picker of locks. He met Blake whilst waiting for transportation to Cygnus Alpha and promptly stole his watch. Despite the fact that he acted like a fool, Vila had a very high IQ and claimed to have bought his Delta grading in order to avoid becoming a Space Captain and hence killed. He was first sent to a penal colony at the age of fourteen, but the transportation ship was hit by a meteoroid and he escaped. Although Vila, was in many respects a coward, he would not leave another member of the crew to die unless the action was out of sight, the odds against him high, and the bottle close to hand. Hence he risked his own life rescuing Tarrant on Terminal, but failed to help Cally on Obsidian. The nearest he ever came to having a true friend after he became connected with Blake was in Gan, whose straightforward bravery and strength he trusted. However, despite the contempt with which Avon and Vila regarded each other's characters, they subsequently became the closest of all crew members, each recognising the other's exceptional skills and abilities. This was seen as its clearest in episodes such as 'Killer' and 'Gambit' in Series B.
Terry Nation's
BLAKE's 7:
AFTERLIFE
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