Gubernaviti ranking system
• Do’ is the lowest rank for a kuboderan officer aboard a sectilian ship. All Gubernaviti start at this rank, typically on smaller trading ships.
• Ei’ is the intermediate rank for a kuboderan officer. Graduating to this rank means more responsibility and a commission on a larger ship.
• Kai’ is the highest rank a kuboderan officer can hope to achieve. Rarely given. Indicates centuries of service without a black mark.
Holloway, Jane
• Linguist and member of the original Providence mission. Quasador Dux of the Speroancora.
Kubodera
• A sentient, telepathic squidlike species originating on a world dominated by water. Since its discovery by the Sectilius, the location of this home world has been kept secret. A sectilian cabal called the mind masters harvests paralarvae (newborn life-stage of the kuboderans) and trains them to serve as Gubernaviti.
kuboderan
• Of or relating to the people called the Kubodera. Analogous to the word human.
Mensententia
• The common language of the Milky Way galaxy. This language was coded into the genetics of every sentient species by the Cunabula to facilitate interstellar communication and cooperation between far-flung species. The language normally manifests at puberty, and humans are the only known sentient species that does not speak it naturally, though it has greatly influenced language on Earth through the collective unconscious—expressing itself most strongly through Latin.
mind master
• A member of a sectilian secret society with greater-than-normal telepathic acuity. Induction into this cabal means intense mental training, honing telepathic skills, and a lifetime of service training kuboderans to serve aboard sectilian ships.
nepatrox
• An apex predator species with an unusual life cycle. Their microscopic spawn are difficult to eradicate and have evolved resistance to chemical methods of control. Under favorable conditions the spawn transmute to the larval stage, which resembles a slug and secretes a caustic substance that hydrolyzes any substrate it lingers on, allowing the larva to absorb nutrition through its skin. It grows slowly at this stage unless conditions are optimal.
Under significant atmospheric concentrations of xenon, this larval stage pupates and the final form, a lizardlike creature, emerges. Its growth is only kept in check by its ability to find adequate food.
The adult of the species is characterized by a thick trunk with no narrowing of the neck, powerful limbs terminating in sharp claws, a venomous stinger in its tail, and brilliantly colored hinged mouth flaps that it opens and flares to intimidate prey. The nepatrox stinger contains a paralytic that incapacitates its victim. Its saliva contains anticoagulants which allow it to keep its food source alive and fresh while it feeds over time. It travels and hunts in packs, targeting all types of prey, and is cannibalistic. It is the scourge of Atielle, and has laid waste to that planet’s ecosystem.
Olonus Septua
• The sectilian colony where the first squillae plague originated, created by the infamous Engineering Master Tarn Elocus Hator.
penna
• This class of sectilian shuttle is smaller and meant for cargo transfer on planet, between Atielle and Sectilia, and ship to ship.
Providence
• A capsule built by NASA to travel to and dock with what they called the Target (the Speroancora), drifting in the Greater Asteroid Belt. Commanded by Mark Walsh. Piloted by Tom Compton, with Ajaya Varma, Ronald Gibbs, Jane Holloway, and Alan Bergen as crew.
Quasador Dux
• The elected leader of a sectilian ship community. Often shortened to Qua’dux. Loosely translated, the title means admiral or general, but there is emphasis on a scientific component. Chief investigator/scientist.
Quorum
• A council of leadership aboard a sectilian ship. Members include the Quasador Dux, the Gubernaviti, and all department heads.
Rageth Elia Hator
• The Quasador Dux of the Speroancora at the time of the squillae plague. A distinguished leader with many years of service. When the potential coordinates of Terra were discovered in an ancient Cunabalistic text, it was Rageth and Ei’Brai whom the Unified Sentient Races sent to investigate.
sanalabrium
• (noun) Medical equipment consisting of a large basin filled with a clear therapeutic gel. The patient is submersed and treated with threadlike component devices that perform surgery, restrain the patient, and deliver medications intravenously. (adjective) sanalabrius
scaluuti
• A greeting in Mensententia.
Sectilia
• The planet of origin of the Sectilius, with a mass 8.7 times greater than Earth and a gravity of 1.43 gs. The star in this system is a yellow-dwarf, main-sequence star, but slightly larger than Sol. Sectilia is also in a closer orbit around this star, resulting in a brighter, larger sun shining on this planet and its habitable moon Atielle. Sectilia has an Earthlike atmosphere and green flora. This planet is also overrun with the predator species called the nepatrox, but the inhabitants have more resources to cope with the infestation and the ecosystem is not in the same dire condition as Atielle’s.
sectilian
• A broad term describing the people who evolved both on Atielle and Sectilia. Analogous to the word human.
Sectilius
• Can be used to refer to the entire star system, the planet/moon combination, or the people residing on the sibling worlds of Sectilia and Atielle. “The Divided.” The people originating from this system are humanoid in nature with two main body types. The type originating on the planet is compact and muscular; the type originating on the moon is taller and more slender. Both races have sharp, angular bone structures, giving their features a geometric quality. Science, logic, and cooperation are highly valued in sectilian culture.
Sentients
• An abbreviated term for the Unified Sentient Races, or a reference to them before they unified.
Speroancora
• A sectilian science and diplomatic vessel sent to verify the existence of Terra (Earth).
squillae
• Sectilian nanites originally designed by Tarn Elocus Hator. “Shrimp.”
suesupus
• A large, ungulate, herbivorous species originating on Atielle. Its thick skin protects it from the venomous stinger of the nepatrox, making it the only species the nepatrox avoid, though they do attack and consume suesupus weakened by age and disease. Due to this advantage the atellans have domesticated this species as a beast of burden, resulting in a smaller, more docile version of the specimens seen in the wild.
Swarm
• See entry for Confluos giganus.
Target
• The term used by NASA to describe the alien ship discovered in the Greater Asteroid Belt and later revealed to be named the Speroancora.
Tech Deck
• The engineering deck on the Speroancora.
Terac
• The planet where ambassadorial assemblies are held for the Unified Sentient Races.
Terra
• The term the Cunabula used for Earth in their ancient texts.
terran
• Humanoid species originating on Terra (Earth). Analogous to the word human.
Unified Sentient Races
• A galactic coalition of planets in opposition to the Swarm.
Varma, Ajaya
• The flight surgeon on the original Providence mission. A medical doctor.
vastuumet
• Measure of enormous distance in space.
Walsh, Mark
• The commander of the original Providence mission.
yoke
• A multicomponent system that includes squillae, cybernetic implants, software, and hardware imbedded throughout a sectilian ship with the purpose of controlling the behavior of a kuboderan and preventing him or her from usurping too much power or facilitat
ing any form of sedition.
Acknowledgments
I would be remiss if I didn’t take the time to acknowledge the people who have helped me in my journey to complete this book (and the one before it). The first round of thanks has to go to my critique group, Working Title, and to three individuals in that group in particular.
Brandon Stenger and Wendy Hammer, both extremely talented writers in their own right (they’ll be rising to your notice in the coming years) have been both supportive and encouraging as well as providing invaluable critique on early drafts of all of my work. The third member of Working Title I’d like to mention is Jeff Seymour, also a gifted author, who is more than just my critique partner, he’s also my developmental editor and line editor. This guy has a deep understanding of story and he makes me look good. I’m pleased that his work is starting to get some attention.
It would be negligent to omit my family. My children are my most enthusiastic cheerleaders and my ex-husband has been incredibly supportive of my career and continues to be. I couldn’t have done all this if they didn’t want me to succeed. My parents, Jack and Betty, fostered an environment when I was growing up that made books, reading, and the love of science fiction a part of my world.
In addition, this novel includes a lot of technical information. When FLUENCY became popular, I was gratified to find that many prominent scientists contacted me to tell me that they enjoyed the novel. I took down a list of names at that time and leaned on a few of those people to read an early draft of REMANENCE to make sure that I was getting the science right. I’ve earned a degree in biology and actively seek out scientific information all the time, but I wanted to be sure that the physics and planetary science I describe was accurate.
To that end, I frequently had discussions with Andrew Schnell, an aeronautic engineer at NASA/JPL who guided me on several important topics related to space flight and space elevators. He also read and commented on an early draft of this work.
Other important early readers/technical information contributors included: Gary Tenison, who works at Kaman Aerospace; Joseph Hucks, a retired theoretical physicist; Robert Brown, a retired nuclear physicist; Tim Cox, an avid SciFi reader who keeps current on aviation and space technology; and Tom Nordheim, a Norwegian planetary scientist working for NASA/JPL. All of these gentleman provided patient and indispensible instruction on their respective fields of expertise.
I’d also like to thank my proofreader, Bryon Quertermous, for an excellent job in the final hours before publication. Autum Kalquist has been instrumental in helping me navigate the world of independent publishing and one of my favorite writers to read. Samuel Peralta’s excellent The Future Chronicles series of anthologies has afforded me abundant exposure to new readers. My agent, Danny Baror, sold FLUENCY to traditional publishers in Germany, Russia and Japan, helping me gain worldwide exposure.
The following authors have provided immeasurable personal and authorial support over the last year or more: Susan Kaye Quinn, Annie Bellet, Ann Christy, Patrice Fitzgerald, Blair Babylon, Rysa Walker, Theresa Kay, Sara Reine, Elle Casey, and Mimi Tpaulin. Thank you, ladies!
Last but not least is one of my favorite writing buddies, R. Alexander Williams, who I thoroughly enjoy bouncing ideas off of and was a great help in both developing the plot of REMANENCE as well as providing excellent critical notes on the early stages of the novel, helping me shape and grow the narrative. Mr. Williams is a successful screenwriter.
Finally, thank you to my large Twitter following for support, encouragement and never ending demands for this sequel! I enjoy you so much.
Read on!
About the Author
Jennifer Foehner lives an alternately chaotic and fairly bucolic existence in Indiana with two boisterous little boys and two semi-crazed cats. You can find her on Twitter, extolling science and scifi fandoms, as @Jenthulhu. To find out more about Jen, visit: www.jenthulhu.com.
If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review on your favorite online site. That’s the best way to help other readers find it and support the authors that you want to see more from.
For more Jen-fo:
@Jenthulhu
Jennifer Foehner Wells
www.jenthulhu.com
[email protected]
Also Jennifer Foehner Wells
Novels
Fluency (Confluence Book 1)
Short Fiction
The Grove
Symbiont Seeking Symbiont
Anthologies
Dark Beyond the Stars (Contains my short story “Carindi.”)
The Z Chronicles (The Future Chronicles) (Contains my short story “The Fall of the Percedus.”
Confluence 2: Remanence Page 35
