Commontongue (capitalized) – language of the CORE.
Coop, or Colony 6 – as in chicken coop. They create raw textiles, metals, or plastics from materials created by the other colonies. Located southwest of Amarillo City in Dallastar Territory.
CORE Elite – wealthy people who lead the government of the CORE. These include the Director (overall ruler), Controller (over all enforcers), Administrator (finances and city affairs), Regulator (controls population and gives out birth orders) and all their highest advisors and underlings.
CORE Identification Unit, or CIU – an enforcer unit that specializes on discovering the identities of criminals. Serves all of Estlantic.
CORE, or Commonwealth Objective for Reform and Efficiency – name of the country and government of Estlantic and Dallastar territories, short for. Often used as an exclamation in sentences like “Thank CORE.”
Credits – money, method of exchange, normally transferred via iTeev or Teev feed.
Crew – gangs in the Coop.
Dallastar – smaller territory of the CORE, located in the mid-south of the continent and borders Fringer territory.
Data square – a tiny, thin, square, flash drive.
Desolation zones – areas affected by nuclear fallout during Breakdown.
Ditch digger – a person who does dirty work for someone powerful
Empty zones – rubble-filled areas destroyed during Breakdown and not yet inhabited or reclaimed.
Enforce weapons – weapons used by enforcers, pre-Breakdown tech that uses fingerprint identity to enable the weapons.
Enforcer – Police officer. Usually called enforcers. Besides their normal job hours, they must log three to six hours of physical efficiency training per week, depending on their location.
Enforcer divisions – like police precincts. There are ten in Estlantic and five in Dallastar, with subdivisions. Some important divisions are Amarillo Enforcer Division (AED), New York Enforcer Division (NYD), Headquarters Enforcer Division (HED).
Enhancement, or enhancing – a medical procedure where lasers are used on aggressive centers of the brain. Worse than a lobotomy.
Estlantic – largest territory of the CORE, located on the east coast of the continent.
Freedom Fountain, or the Fountain – a fountain erected in the plaza outside CORE buildings in Amarillo City to celebrate the CORE’s victory against fringers during the fight for Amarillo City. Famous in all of the CORE, and almost revered in Dallastar.
Fringers – people who separated from those who created the CORE after Breakdown. Viewed as crazy and dangerous rebels suffering from nuclear radiation, fringers still fight to undermine the CORE. There are different bands of fringers living in various empty zones. A large band of fringers, population unknown, inhabit Newcali on the west coast. People in the CORE often use fringer as a derogatory term, such as “half-witted fringer.”
Gathering limit – public and private gatherings are limited to twenty citizens, unless a permit is acquired from the city manager.
Handspeak (capitalized) – sign language
Holos – holographs; pre-Breakdown technology used by Teevs and iTeevs.
Hover, or hover car, or hovercraft – a small personal flying ship, a technology believed to have been lost after Breakdown.
Hypo – a small cylinder used to inject medications. A hypo can hold several doses and can be used on different people without fear of cross-contamination. Certain colors of hypos are often used to hold a specific medicine, so they can be found and used quickly. Common ones are blue for a painkiller, red for a stimulant, and white for a sedative.
Image receptors – a nearly indestructible, reusable screen the thickness of a paper. Receptors are pre-Breakdown tech that are now only available within the enforcer divisions or by CORE Elite. Images can be loaded into the receptors.
iTeev – a portable Teev (see Teev description below) that can be held in the hand or used over the eyes to communicate or view holo feeds anywhere, even outdoors, without the use of holo emitters. Normally activated and used by direct touch on the foldable screen, through hand signals, or verbal commands. Limited eye movement controls are also supported but rarely used by the general population. Has a mini earbud connected with a thin wire that can pull out of a compartment for more private communication when used over the eyes.
Juke – a recreational hallucinogen, an addictive drug that was originally discovered as a byproduct of viribus, the experimental drug used in Colony 6. Outlawed in all of the CORE. Provides thirty or more minutes of rush or high followed by exhaustion or unconsciousness unless a counter agent is used. Juke enhances the development of abilities found in Colony 6, and also speeds up onset of the madness. Often sold in a black hypo marked with a white J.
Jukehead – a juke addict. Sometimes also called a “cotton-headed juke addict” or a “warthog-faced jukehead,” which are mild curses.
Level – nursery or school grade that corresponds exactly with a child’s age. When a child graduates, they “level out.”
Lumper – a person who ventures into the empty zones or edges of the desolation zones and is stupid enough to get taken by fringers (or presumed taken). This has evolved into Terms like “I lumping hate you” or “I don’t give a lump.”
Magglue – glue for metals, contains magnetic nanites.
Marriage band – a wedding band that can’t be removed until the marriage is broken. Not mandated by the CORE but growing popular among the residents. Breaking a union isn’t against the law, unless you have a child under eighteen, but couples must receive permission. Affairs by those in valid unions are punishable by huge fines and even psychological reconditioning when minors are involved.
Nanobots – used to be common for fixing ailments pre-Breakdown. More rare now. A similar tech is used in Nuface therapy.
Nanoparticles – the less effective little brother of nanobots. Nanoparticles can fix internal wounds if injected near the damage, but it’s mostly hit and miss since the CORE has lost the technology to program them.
Newcali – A territory that is home to a large group of fringers who live outside CORE control. Located on the west coast of the continent. Little is known about the territory’s size or population, but the people are powerful enough to have resisted CORE attempts of takeover. They allow free study and invention. After leaving Colony 6, Dani Balak became associated with them and now considers them her people.
Newcali bread drops – small rolls that are very soft and lightly sweetened, cross between a doughnut and a roll.
Nuface therapy – nanite treatments to preserve youth.
Nyckelira – a sixteen-string fiddle-like instrument with dozens of keys intersecting the strings. Strings are played with a short bow and the keys are played with the fingers. A modified version of current day Swedish nyckelharpa. A current rage among the youth of the CORE, bought at local furniture shops, though no one seems to know exactly who is manufacturing them.
Pressure pad – pre-Breakdown tech now utilized only by Newcalians. A thin, clear pad with sensors connected wirelessly to a transmitter that signals whenever it senses pressure, such as the weight of a person stepping on it.
Punk – person who didn’t finish school, works on the underbelly of society.
Punk bucket – any job that sucks, related to the buckets of waste a punk had to carry away from the work settlements when the colonies were being built.
Pus bag – derogative term for a CORE Elite (leader).
Pus licker – derogative term for a person who does the bidding of a Core Elite.
Readymeal – a carton of mixed processed foods and synthesized food substitutes. Usually heated in a microwave. Often tasteless compared with fresh food but inexpensive and convenient. Primary sustenance for daily use throughout the CORE. Each carton contains immunizations and vitamins. Substandard readymeals are distributed in the colonies.
RealSkin – used as bandages over repaired wounds.
Reconditionin
g – psychological therapy for people who have disobeyed minor CORE laws.
Saca – a mild curse.
Sauce – a stiff alcoholic drink made of equal parts coarse alcohol and synthetic fillers. The drink of the poor. The taste is tart and the sour smell tends to linger on the breath.
Sauced or sauce-crazed – drunk.
Scramblers – enforcer motorcycles equipped with pre-Breakdown tech that uses fuel cells for power. Scramblers are fast, maneuverable, and can be used for a month without refueling. Mostly used in Estlantic (New York in particular).
Shuttle, or automated shuttle – a roughly tetrahedron-shaped car that is a Teev-driven taxi. All CORE residents outside the colonies have a limited monthly allotment of time they are permitted to use the public shuttle without cost. There are also automatic ambulance shuttles people can call for assistance. The doors on all shuttles slide back into built-in door pockets and the windows are normally darkened for privacy. Uses pre-Breakdown fuel cells for power. Enforcers have shuttles that are faster than normal shuttles and can be manually driven.
Sixers – newly coined word for those with abilities that are from Colony 6.
Skin – a collapsible membrane with a flip top that can hold water, sauce, juice or other liquids.
Skin sealant – a powdered substance used in emergency as a temporary fix to slow or stop bleeding.
Skin tag – a circular patch of indeterminate color that immediately takes on the skin color of the user. Once activated, a tag will distort the wearer’s face on any electronic recording. Activated with one long press of a finger. A two-fingered long press will distort both appearance and override any active CivIDs, including implanted ones. Three short taps with one finger turns it off. Wearer experiences a tingle as it is activated. Skin tags last up to two months and are nearly imperceptible to the naked eye.
Sky train – free, pre-Breakdown public transport that runs throughout the CORE. Runs on solar energy.
Smeg – a mildly addictive drug like marijuana that heats the entire body, giving the user a sexual reaction that emulates the flush of sex. Not outlawed in the CORE, but use is not viewed favorably.
Smegger – a person who often uses or is addicted to smeg.
Sonic cleansing – the no-water cleaning system used by most of the CORE.
Stunner, or stun – a weapon similar to a taser.
T-link – fringer version of the Teev. Also has holo capabilities and a portable wearable version that is nearly indistinguishable from an iTeev, except for the wireless earbud.
Cleaner – a boxy cleaning machine with gently rounded edges. Roughly a square meter wide and several meters tall.
Teev (capitalized) – television, Internet, and phone hardware/software combo. You can view, search, call, or read on the Teev. Teevs provide holographic feed indoors through holograph emitters embedded in the walls and are found in every household. Hand motions are used to activate or deactivate. Guests can normally access a certain feed on any Teev, but to access all the abilities, a password can be required.
Teev Aided Dispatch Alert System, or TAD-Alert – an enforcer system that tracks callers, prioritizes calls, and suggests names of enforcers to respond to any emergency. It can link to most home or work Teevs to have immediate eyes on any situation where enforcers might be called.
Teev feed – the connection between all Teevs and iTeevs, owned and controlled exclusively by the CORE.
Temper laser – mood altering laser that will calm most people. Effects last about fifteen minutes. However, 1% of people in the CORE are immune.
Ultratemp – larger, more powerful temper laser.
Underground, or the underground (not capitalized) – black market organization that skirts CORE law.
Undergrounders (not capitalized) – people who live underground in old metro tunnels. They usually work for the underground leader and trade on the black market.
Viribus (not capitalized) – the experimental drug placed secretly in the water at Colony 6 over a period of fifty-two years, about twenty-two to seventy-four years after Breakdown. Viribus enhances inborn psychic and physical abilities. The hope was to create stronger, more resilient humans, but if a person with abilities is exposed and left untreated, the universal side effect is madness and violence.
Voice modulator – a device worn at the throat to disguise your voice.
Whore wrangler – someone who visits a prostitute, which is illegal in the CORE.
X-Fang – a popular band in the CORE.
About the Author
TEYLA BRANTON grew up avidly reading science fiction and fantasy and watching Star Trek reruns with her large family. They lived on a little farm where she loved to visit the solitary cow and collect (and juggle) the eggs, usually making it back to the house with most of them intact. On that same farm she once owned thirty-three gerbils and eighteen cats, not a good mix, as it turns out. Teyla always had her nose in a book and daydreamed about someday creating her own worlds.
Teyla is now married, mostly grown up, and has seven kids, so life at her house can be very interesting (and loud), but writing keeps her sane. She thrives on the energy and daily amusement offered by her family, the semi-ordered chaos giving her a constant source of writing material. She grabs any snatch of free time from her hectic life to write. She’s been known to wear pajamas all day when working on a deadline, and is often distracted enough to burn dinner. (Okay, pretty much 90% of the time.) A sign on her office door reads: DANGER. WRITER AT WORK. ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.
She loves writing fiction and traveling, and she hopes to write and travel a lot more. She also loves shooting guns, martial arts, and belly dancing. She has worked in the publishing business for over twenty years. Teyla also writes romance and suspense under the name Rachel Branton. For more information or to sign up for my newsletter, free books, and subscriber exclusives, please visit TeylaRachelBranton.com.
You can also write to Teyla at [email protected].
BOOKS BY TEYLA BRANTON
Unbounded Series
The Change
The Cure
The Escape
The Reckoning
The Takeover
Unbounded Novellas
Ava’s Revenge
Mortal Brother
Lethal Engagement
Set Ablaze
Colony Six
Sketches
Visions
Imprints
First Touch (Imprint Series Prequel)
Touch of Rain
On the Hunt
Upstaged
Under Fire
Blinded
Short Stories
Times Nine
UNDER THE NAME RACHEL BRANTON
Lily’s House Series
House Without Lies
Tell Me No Lies
Your Eyes Don’t Lie
Hearts Never Lie
Broken Lies
No Secrets or Lies
Cowboys Can’t Lie
Finding Home Series
Take Me Home
All That I Love
Then I Found You
Nobles of Beaumont novellas
Royal Kiss (coming soon)
Royal Quest (subscriber exclusive)
Royal Dance (coming soon)
Royal Time (coming soon)
Lisbon's Misadventures (Picture Books)
I Don't Want To Eat Bugs
I Don’t Want to Have Hot Toes
Table of Contents
Copyright
Title Page
Book Description
Dedication
Map
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Ch
apter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Bonus! Preview of First Touch
Glossary of Terms
About the Author
Books by Teyla Branton
Under the name Rachel Branton
Visions Page 32
