The Fanciers & Realizers MEGAPACK

by Phyllis Ann Karr

  Hofer, Brother von. Popular or notorious crusading religious evangelist.

  Holmes. A restricted final name for professional detectives.

  hologram. Holograms are popular for most of the uses earlier served by photographs: to carry in billfolds, wear in lockets and on other jewelry, etc.

  homekeeper. The favorite current term for homemaker, housewife, or househusband.

  hope to Hal. Expression.

  hype out, to. Verb. To figure out.

  I

  “Ik.” “Ugh” or “yuck.”

  Inindrucon. The International Independent Drugtraffic Controllers. A network of agents devoted to fighting the trade in illegal and controlled substances.

  instafilm. Instaprint film.

  instagraphed.

  instaprint film. Used by banks and businesses, but not by Names and Prints, q.v., nor by police. After air-setting, the instaprint images are covered with glassine.

  International Court Guidelines.

  International Languages Race, the. English and Russian seem to be losing out to Chinese and South American Spanish.

  J

  jellied. Slang for intoxicated.

  jennifer, sure as. Slang.

  jetstreamers. Personnel on jet airplanes.

  joggle. As in “to joggle it.” Children’s slang.

  joint procreational permit. See: procreational permit.

  K

  Kendorfoland. A country.

  kim. Originally, this was to be their short-speech form for kilometer. I learned to go with “klick” on learning that was the correct form in our culture; but in revising, I may have missed a few “kims.”

  kirk. Noun. A very good captain. (Not a restricted final name.)

  knee pillow. A pillow to support the knees, usually in bed.

  know the program, to. To know how to do something.

  Kodak’s Bazaar. A magazine, available in hardcopy.

  Kokomo Joe of the Fighting Broncs. Well-established sports figure.

  -kongish. Slang. Reminiscent of King Kong.

  krantzy. Slang. Fussy, fuddled, etc.

  kwaddled. Slang. Blasted, “addled,” etc.

  L

  Laplace-Rougier bolts. A patented style of door locks, oftener used on inside than on outside doors.

  Laurel Leaf, The. (Laurie’s)

  laserdye tattoos.

  League of Churches, World. See: World League of Churches.

  light-fountain.

  lights. The night lights of vehicular road traffic (autos, trucks, buses, etc.) is still predominantly white and red, but occasionally interspersed with yellow, blue, and green.

  Lightyears, The. A musical group, noted for crawlswing.

  Little Mack. Also spelled Mac. A popular fast-food chain, noted for rabbitburgers.

  Little Mac Rabbitburger empire. The conglomerate fortune built on Little Mac rabbitburgers.

  Liveright, Dr. A moralistic psychopreacher.

  lodging, authorized public. See: authorized public lodging.

  lollybrowsing.

  loneliness factor, the. Relevant to such things as the Space Venture.

  lookaround. As one word, a noun.

  low-light guidelines. Instituted first around astronomical observatories, gradually became popular in many other urban and rural residential areas. See also: minimum night illumination.

  M

  M. Stands equally for: Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms. Pronounced “em.” Plural written: M.’s. When in any doubt about what form of address to use, “M.” is almost universally acceptable, at least in the Reformed States of North America and other “Western” countries.

  Ma’am. For use as title of commanding officer, see under: Mister.

  Macumber, Mad Dr. Famous murderer of the 2030s. Originally a real felon, he became more widely known in fictional treatments which often exaggerated his activities. He used an early medical swish injector, q.v., in executing some of his experimental murders. When the first security hotel for homicidal fanciers was opened, Macumber transferred to it from a more traditional prison; since his fantasy perception was in doubt, this made for a controversial case at the time, though later, largely thanks to Macumber and his lawyers, the right of convicted realizers to transfer to any prison facility they could afford became legally recognized.

  Magruder buzz radar.

  marbeline, marbline. To avoid confusion as to pronunciation, the “el” spelling has become acceptable for this type of imitation marble substance.

  marbelized surface. As with marbeline, the “el” spelling has become acceptable.

  marbleplast.

  marblesim.

  marriage. The Reformed Constitution did away with marriage as a civil institution, replacing it with a system of procreational permits. It has, however, survived and flourished as a religious tradition and social custom, and fundamentalist groups agitate now and again for its restoration as a civil form. A married woman adopts the title “Mrs.” and/or her husband’s final name only if and when she wishes to—for instance, if she feels that it better fits her personal world, or if, although a realizer, she lives in some traditionally fundamentalist group. See also: procreational permit.

  Mass, Revived Ancient. See: Revived Ancient Mass.

  mathomshops. Dickens might have called them “curiosity shops.”

  measurements. The metric and centigrade systems and the 24-hour clock have become standard for realizers, but many fanciers still prefer the old-fashioned systems and speak in terms of non-metric weights and measures, degrees Fahrenheit, and a.m.-p.m. Because of the fancy-class influence on society in general, these older systems remain largely current and comprehensible to most people, existing alongside the metric, centigrade, and 24-hour systems. At the same time, some fanciers prefer the standard metric, etc., systems; and quite a few fanciers can use the systems interchangeably.

  medical swish injectors. Considered far more painless than oldfashioned hypodermic needles.

  meters. Spell “metres” only in European-oriented minds.

  Metterkranz system of filing fingerprints, the. This made possible the primary registration of citizens according to fingerprints, facilitating the ease of changing first and final names and the practice of “signing” with a thumbprint.

  middle college. It has become the fashion since about the 2070s to call elementary schools, middle colleges.

  mikebox. Admission tab. Give-message chime.

  mindset. State of mind, conviction about anything, general mood or temperament, etc.

  mindshut. Anything that helps, if not blank the mind, at least preoccupy it in order to get it away from other subjects.

  mishmatch. Oddly miss-matched, from a popular fashion.

  Mister. “Mister” and “Sir” are used as titles in addressing officers, as of ships, the military, etc., regardless of the officer’s gender. (“M.” may, however, be used instead, or, to a female officer, “Ma’am.”)

  Model Mushroom City. See: Soleri.

  moldfoam. A favorite stuffing for pillows and some kinds of furniture.

  Morality, the Age of. What the second half of the 21st century likes to consider itself, not completely without reason.

  morality-orientation scale. A tool for gauging the moral tone of a society, country, etc. E.g., the Universal Council of Churches Guideline Graph.

  multi-national corporations. See: corporations.

  Munchausen, Baron. Often considered one of the great proto-fanciers of world literature, even (some hold) of history.

  mushroom city. One type of the compact, self-contained cities brought into being by Soleri and other architects. See: Soleri.

  N

  nagahide.

  Name and Print Registry. Also popularly called “Names and Prints.”

  na
mes. Everyone has a first name, a family name, and a final name. The family name, worn in the middle, is unchangeable and, along with a full set of fingerprints, serves to identify the individual through life. A female inherits her father’s family name, a male inherits his mother’s. (This was a move by the Founding Reformers to remind everyone of the necessary equal interdependence of the two sexes.) First and final names may be changed officially as often as desired, for a more or less nominal re-registration (also spelled without the hyphen) fee at the Name and Print Registry. Inquiring about other people’s family names has become bad manners in fancy-class circles, because family names may not fit the wearers’ personal worlds. This piece of etiquette is filtering into currency among realizers as well. It is common, however, especially among realizers, simply to register the family name as the final name also; this is generally assumed to be the case when the middle initial and the first letter of the final name are the same.

  Most professions and other worklines have some restricted final names, which must be earned, either by remarkably high test scores or superior work performance records before a person in that workline may wear them; this applies even if the restricted final name happens to be the person’s inherited family name. Examples of restricted chosen final names: for detectives (either police or private investigators), “Holmes,” “Columbo.” for veterinarians, “Herriot,” “Farnon.” These officially restricted final names and some not officially restricted but otherwise comparable have come to be used as synonyms or nicknames (sometimes jocular, informal, or ironic) for excellent performers in various worklines; as, a columbo is a certain kind of detective, a herriot is a superior vet, etc. In this context, the name is usually lower-cased. Many of these final names retain their popular connotations even when the original historical or fictional characters are otherwise all but forgotten.

  Names and Prints. See: Name and Print Registry.

  nanosecond. “Two” or “three nanoseconds” is an expression meaning a very short time. (Cf. “Two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”)

  N-bombs. Little present fear of atomic and nuclear bombs remains by the last half of the 21st century, but the N-bomb is remembered as one of the worst fears of a few generations earlier.

  needle trains. A streamlined and very fast way to travel.

  New Acropolis, Ohio. Architected to order for Juno and Jove Olympian, fanciers living in a Classical Greek personal world, New Acropolis has become something of a tourist attraction.

  New Blackwood Magazine, The. A monthly with a large paper-print run, aimed primarily at fancy-class readers. It was established by 2063.

  New Helver asteroid colony, the.

  New Washington. Capital of the Reformed States of America.

  newscom.

  newscreen.

  nikaline. Material used, e.g., in floorsheets.

  Nightmare Alternate Histories, Hezerbody’s. See: Hezerbody.

  no-glare screen.

  noddy.

  noodles. Revived ancient slang for “brains.”

  notecom. A small computer, no larger than a pack of regular playing cards, used instead of the old-fashioned paper notebook or memorandum book.

  NTC. The Nostalgic Transport Corporation.

  numbers. Recognized usage of the late 21st century allows numbers to be written as digits in almost every context. Hence, “9 apples” is okay even in formal publications. Many purists, however, still follow older rules of when to write out the names of numbers in full. (2016 N.B. I have the devil of a time myself trying to be consistent in this area!)

  O

  odd’s plenty. An uncounted lot, usually of quirky things or people.

  Old Copenhagen chewing tobacco. Brand name.

  Old Disneylands. See: Disneylands, Old.

  old-fashioned. Often or generally written as one word, without the hyphen.

  Old Joe’s Bar-room. (Joe’s)

  Ontano, Shandra. One of the serendipitous developers of the codex reader.

  open sesame. The password, key to entry, etc.

  overview course. In formal education, a course giving a summary or “overview” of the subject in question.

  P

  packer. Another word for fan, enthusiast, or buff.

  pain producer, spontaneous. See: spontaneous pain producer.

  Pavlok, Thomasina. A famous illustrator of the works of, among others, Edgar Allan Poe.

  pebblex.

  penphone.

  pensory. Adjective. Pertaining to thought and thinking.

  People’s Republic, the. Though China isn’t the only People’s Republic, it is the one usually meant and understood by the term “People’s Republic” when used without further qualifier.

  perceptionary. Adjective. Relating to perception, usually in fancier/realizer context.

  perceptive persuasion. Also, perceptional persuasion. I.e.: realizer or fancier.

  personal memoscreens. These pocket computers have largely replaced notepads, at least among realizers and fanciers with post-1980 and science-fictional worlds.

  personal phone. Usually a wristphone. See: phone.

  petersdick. As in the expression, “What the petersdick?!”

  petrojel. Petroleum jelly. Not a trademark name.

  phobe. Noun. Fear, a particular fear.

  phobic. A person with a phobe or phobia; a fearful or timorous person.

  phone. “Telephones now come in many miniature portable forms, as, penphones, wristphones, etc. At the same time, the increased value put on personal privacy has modified telephone etiquette, so that people can turn off their phones if and when they wish. Some people choose not to wear or carry them at all, or not all the time. The usual phone signal is a soft chime. For emergency phone uses, some units may have a buzz. The answering machine is almost entirely a thing of the past; people tired of it.” (2016 N.B. I worked out the fanciers/realizers milieu back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth and personal cell phones were only just on the horizon.)

  phonecode. The equivalent of “phone number.” Almost everyone has a personal phonecode.

  phonecom, to.

  phonewave.

  piffle-poffle. Angela G. Garvey has been known to use the expletive, “Oh, piffle-poffle!”

  plastifilm. Brown plastifilm bags are in common use.

  plastifoam. Used, e.g., in plastifoam knee pillows. A soft, springing plastifoam floor tile is also popular, and can be expensive.

  plastifold.

  plastiform. Used, e.g., in molded plastiform chairs.

  plastisand. Artificial sand made of fine grains of plastic. Used, e.g., at the bottom of bathtubs.

  plastimesh. Used, e.g., on airchairs.

  plastisteel; plastisteel netting.

  point-four, point-eight. As for fireplaces, etc.

  polcar. A police car.

  police. A blue and silver badge of office worn between the left shoulder and the chest has replaced the police uniform for most purposes. In effect, all police are “plainclothes” now. This is probably largely due to the fancy-class influence on society, since fanciers will see police in uniform whether they are or not.

  Regional Police, MW (or, Midwest)

  Regional Police, Corporal Crimes Division.

  Police Control.

  polly. plural, pollies. This slang for police has almost totally replaced “cop.”

  polysil. A synthetic fabric.

  poorbore. A corruption of “pourboire,” the French for “tip.”

  poorbore profits. The profits made from slotpay devices, whether “honor system” or strictly mechanical.

  pretersensitive. This word may be a Corwin Poe coinage.

  Private Affairs Branch of the Trilateral Supreme Court.

  Privcom Rule of 1999.

  procreational permits. Sometimes, procreatio
n permits, without the “-al.” These have replaced marriage licenses as instruments to mark the legitimate status of children. They are also a method of population control. There are various kinds of procreational permits. For instance, a woman may apply for one to have X number of children by any father or fathers; a man may apply for one to sire X number of children on any mother or mothers; or a couple may apply for a joint procreational permit to have X number of children together. (A joint procreational permit, which is the next thing to a civil marriage, may carry the right to unlimited offspring, but only by the two parties named in the permit working together.) A woman accidentally pregnant may, under certain circumstances, obtain an emergency procreational permit to cover the one birth only.

  proto-fancier. A person guessed or presumed to have been a fantasy perceiver before the condition gained official recognition and fanciers were granted virtually equal rights with reality perceivers under the law. (Subject only to certain public safety concerns, e.g., in the licensing of automobile drivers.)

  psychodoc. A psychiatrist, “headshrinker.”

  psychomystique. As, a person’s “psychomystique.” The person’s total mental, emotional, psychological makeup. Sometimes used as a near synonym for “soul.” (2016 N.B. This term carried through royally into the re-imagined R.S.A. world; it has even crept into my own everyday usage.)

  psychopreacher. One who combines religion and psychology.

  public lodging. See: authorized public lodging.

  pufferbelly. Some old-fashioned “pufferbelly” trains have been resurrected or copied, usually for recreational travel. One of the most famous is NTC’s Brown County Pufferbelly.

  pulpcloth.

  pureblood. See: ethnic pureblood.

  Q

  quidproko. Quid pro quo. One good turn deserves another. Often accented on the second syllable.

  Quixote, Don. Considered one of the great proto-fanciers of classical world fiction.

  R

  R.S.A. or R.S.N.A. The Reformed States of (North) America. Also often written, like almost any abbreviation in the latter part of the 21st century, without the periods.

  rabbitburgers. With the increased use of rabbits as a common food, rabbitburgers have become sufficiently popular to form the foundation of the Little Mac Rabbitburger empire.

  radiophonic bulletin.