The Vorkosigan Companion (34 page)

Anti-gravity freight pallet:

A self-powered lift cart that can move freight, luggage, and other equipment a short distance. Often, the user will ride on the pallet along with the cargo. The pallet eliminates gravity, but not inertia, so the cart and cargo have to be stopped manually. (All)

Anti-gravity lift tubes:

Mechanical elevators have been replaced by anti-gravity lift tubes. The traveler rises or is lowered at a certain speed, depending on the tube's setting. Built-in safety programs provide for controlled lowering in case of power or equipment failure; however, they can also be overridden, as Mark found out while escaping from Baron Ryoval's laboratory. Emergency handholds/ladders are usually built into the tube walls as a safety backup. (All)

Anti-Vor pro-galactic faction:

One of the splinter political groups on Barrayar, they want a written constitution for the government. (VG)

Apmad:

No first name given. The vice president of GalacTech's Operations Department, she is at the high end of middle age and dumpy, with short, frizzy gray hair and serious eyes. She is inspecting Rodeo and the Cay Habitat when Claire and Tony try to escape, and oversees the hearing into the incident. She is prejudiced and appalled by the genetic experimentation that created the quaddies. As a young woman, she'd had four or five pregnancies that were all terminated due to genetic defects, then gave up trying to reproduce, got divorced, and went to work for GalacTech. She sends the order to shut the Cay Project down. (FF)

Apoptotic Prokaryote:

A bioengineered life-form, smaller and simpler than a bacterium, used by General Lucas Haroche to contaminate Simon's memory chip. Once ingested, it manufactures an enzyme that breaks down the chip's protein matrix, in effect eating the proteins to reproduce. After reproducing a certain number of times, it is supposed to self-destruct, leaving no physical evidence of its existence. The original lot was found in the Imperial Security Evidence Room in Aisle Five, Shelf Nine, Bin Twenty-Seven, and was mislabeled as a Komarran virus. It was originally supposed to be used on Simon in a plot created by the Komarran terrorist Ser Galen. (M)

Aragones:

No first name given. A senior partner and doctor at the Beauchene Life Center, he is a big, bluff man with bronze skin, a noble nose, and graying hair, who works in a very cluttered office. He briefs Miles and Elli on the Dendarii mercenaries injured during the Marilac operation. (MD)

Arata, Tav:

A security officer at Kline Station, he is a neurasthenic Eurasian with lank black hair, pale skin, and eyes like needles, who says little but listens a lot. His uniform is mostly black, with an orange collar and side stripe. Assigned to cleaning up the mess left by Quinn, he gets a date with her for his troubles, and no explanation about what happened. (EA)

Ariel
:

An Illyrican-made small warship, swift and powerful for its size, that Miles captures after taking Captain Auson and his boarding party prisoner. After taking over the ore refinery orbiting Tau Verde IV, Miles gives it to Bel Thorne as part of the hermaphrodite's brevet promotion. He uses it for the ordnance and scientist pickup at Jackson's Whole, and also in the prisoner escape on Dagoola IV. Posing as Miles, Mark takes the ship on his ill-fated clone rescue mission on Jackson's Whole. (BI, L, WA)

Armsman:

The social title of a Barrayaran retainer who has sworn the armsman's oath to the liege he serves. (All)

Armsman's oath:

The oath that Miles has Arde Mayhew and Baz Jesek swear to confirm their acceptance of him as their liege lord, serving him faithfully until either death of the armsman or his lord, or until the lord releases the armsman from his oath. This can pose problems, as Arde is a Betan and the first ever to swear the oath, and Baz is a deserter from the Barrayaran military, and already liege-sworn to Emperor Gregor. Mark also has Elena swear the oath to him before going to rescue Miles, breaking Barrayaran tradition as well, since a female had never sworn the armsman's oath until that moment. (WA, MD)

Armsmen's Shout:

A Barrayaran wedding tradition, where the twenty sworn armsmen of a lord cheer his marriage. Pym leads the one for Miles after he marries Ekaterin. (WG)

Arozzi:

No first name given. Miles interviews him about Radovas's death, as he has taken over the man's duties until a replacement is found, and is hoping to be permanently promoted into the position. He is involved in the plot to destroy the Barrayaran wormhole, and when he encounters Ekaterin on the jump point station, takes her and Madame Vorthys hostage to prevent discovery of the plan before it can be carried out. (K)

Artificial gravity:

Spacecraft and space habitats use artificial gravity for human health and to compensate for acceleration. The technology behind the system is not explained. Initial prototype systems required heavy power use, but by the time of the Vorkosigan Saga, there's no mention of the power cost. Shuttles and small spacecraft do not have artificial gravity systems. (All except FF)

Arvin:

No first name given. A ghem-lady with blond hair who seduces Ivan at Lord Yenaro's party. She and Lady Benello find Miles and Ivan at the bioestheties exhibition, and take both men over to Lady Veda's exhibit, where Yenaro was unwittingly set up to kill all of them with an asterzine-impregnated carpet. (C)

Aslund:

A cul-de-sac planet like Barrayar, the Hegen Hub is its sole gate to the greater galactic web. They hired the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet for protection when the Cetagandans began making preliminary moves to capture the Hegen Hub. After the brief war with Cetaganda, it cements an alliance with Barrayar, Vervain, and Pol. (VG)

Athos:

A cloistered planet with three moons in a remote sector of space that is inhabited solely by men. Even the word "woman" is an obscenity in their culture. Humans have been living there for approximately two centuries, using uterine replicators and ovarian banks to create future male generations. The men live in communes and everyone pitches in to help with maintaining their society, as that is the only way to earn social duty credits toward having a child. They grow facial hair as a symbol of fatherhood after saving enough credits for a reproduction permit. Life for the planet's inhabitants is peaceful, if fairly rigidly controlled by the government. When their genetic lines begin to die out, they send a representative into the galaxy to procure new ones, and foil a major Cetagandan plot as well. (EA)

Aura detector:

Used in crime scene investigations, it detects the afterimages of human movement for some time afterward. The auras fade over a number of hours. Miles laments that it is too late to use one during his investigation of the murder at Silvy Vale. (MM)

Auson:

No first name given, he is the captain of the
Ariel
who boards Miles's freighter at Tau Verde to inspect their cargo. A decent soldier, but sloppy after eighteen months of blockade duty. When he tries to take Elena as his hostage, Miles and the rest of his crew capture his boarding party, then take his ship. Auson gets both arms and his nose broken by Elena, then endures a General Ship Inspection by Miles and his crew. He signs the contracts of his men over to Miles, and joins the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet. He is promoted to captain of the
Triumph
after the capture of the ore refinery.

Four years later, he still commands the
Triumph
under Admiral Oser, but has put on a few pounds. Dismayed to find he must follow Miles's orders again during the Vervain conflict, he demands an apology from Ky Tung before agreeing to help protect the wormhole to Vervain. (VG, WA)

"Autumn Leaves":

The multimedia sculpture that Lord Yanaro creates for the Marilacan embassy welcoming party, it is a fountain that resembles a small mountain, complete with footpaths. Colored flakes swirl in the air around the base, making tunnels that change color, signifying the passing of the seasons. The sculpture is large enough to walk through, and when Miles is led inside by Lord Yenaro, the electromagnetic field powering the sculpture heats up his leg braces enough to burn him, embarrassing him in front of the other guests. (C)

Avakli:

No first name given. A rear admiral in the Barrayaran Imperial Service and a biocyberneticist, he is balding, lean, tall, and intense. He normally does surgery on jump pilots and their implants, and has been called in to consult on Simon's eidetic memory chip failure. (M)

Aziz:

No first name given. One of the injured Dendarii mercenaries at the Beauchene Life Center, he suffered brain damage from the cryogenic preservation process, and has lost his personality and all motor and vocal skills. He will need long-term physical and mental therapy and care to be self-sufficient. During his visit, Miles sets up a trust fund to cover his rehabilitation. (MD)

Ba:

The caste name for the mostly hairless, neuter Cetagandan Imperial slaves. They are of the haut genome, but are not cloned; each one is created individually, as a test subject for potential genetic traits that a haut-lady may wish to introduce into future offspring. Each serves its master for life. (C)

Baba:

A Barrayaran social position held by elderly ladies. They serve as arbitrators between the familes of two people that wish to get married, to ensure that the match is a suitable one for the involved parties. Miles pretends to be one to facilitate Elena Bothari's and Bazik Jesek's marriage. Aly Vorpartril serves as Emperor Gregor's Baba during his wooing of Laisa Toscane, and Alexi Vormoncrief sends one to ask for Ekaterin's hand, with much less positive results. (CC, WA)

Baba of Lairouba:

The hereditary head of state of the planet Lairouba, he has traveled to Earth to discuss right-of-passage through the Western Orion Arm group of planets. Miles is assigned to diplomatic escort duty for one of his four wives during a reception and dinner in his honor, made difficult due to the translator earbugs not arriving in time for the event. (BA)

Baneri:

No first name or rank given. A Marilacan military officer killed during the siege of Fallow Core. (BI)

Bannerji, George:

A captain, he works for GalacTech company security in Shuttleport Three. Alerted by Van Atta about an unspecified threat, he carries an unauthorized weapon during his search, and shoots Tony out of fear. He is officially reprimanded and suspended for two weeks without pay. He redeems himself by not firing on the quaddies' escaping jump ship without the properly signed waste disposal order. (FF)

Barca:

An area on Athos that has both junior and senior representatives on the Population Council, one of whom proposes the idea that the Council bring female fetuses to near-term and harvest new genetic material from them to revitalize the ovarian cultures, eliciting a horrified reaction from the rest of the council. (EA)

Barinth:

A city on Tau Verde IV that Major Daum and Fehun are trying to free from the Pelians. (WA)

Barrayar:

One of the major planets in the Vorkosigan Saga. It is a lush, verdant planet with at least two continents, several mountain ranges, and large areas of deciduous forest. Its standard day is 26.7 hours long. Settled several hundred years before Miles's birth, its population suffered a return to near medieval-technology status when its sole wormhole suddenly closed, leading to what the Barrayarans call the Time of Isolation. It is ruled as an Imperial Empire, with an Emperor as its head, and an aristocratic-military class known as the Vor, which spend as much time jockeying for power with each other as they do ruling the planet.

Barrayar was the target of a failed twenty-year conquest attempt by Cetaganda, which led Barrayar's leaders to conquer Komarr, the planet at the outlet of its wormhole route to human-settled space, for protection. It also launched an ill-fated attempt to conquer Escobar, and settled the planet Sergyar, where Aral Vorkosgian and Cordelia first meet. After the Hegen Hub conflict, it enters into an alliance with Aslund, Pol, and Vervain. (All except FF)

Barrayaran Imperial Embassy:

A Class III embassy located in London, England, on Earth. Miles takes Quinn there to check in with Imperial Security headquarters and get needed money for the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet. As Lieutenant Vorkosigan, he is assigned to data analysis and escort duty as needed by the false orders sent by the subverted courier, meant to keep him in place until Ser Galen can kidnap Miles and install Mark in his place. (BA)

Barth:

No first name given. A sergeant at the Barrayaran Embassy on Earth, he escorts Miles and Elli to their first meeting with Captain Galen. Prejudiced against women in the military, he dismisses Elli Quinn as a soldier. While he is escorting Miles to the Dendarii at the spaceport, the two are almost killed by hired assassins, and are saved when Quinn takes out the lift-truck with a rocket launcher. (BA)

Baruch, Cynthia Jane:

A doctor hired to create Athos's ovarian cultures, and who used her own genetic material to help start the planet's all-male   population. Children created from her genetic material tend to be excellent doctors. Ethan Urquhart is a CJB-8. (EA)

Base doctor:

No name given. He checks Cordelia out after her journey with Gregor through the Dendarii Mountains, and suggests an exercise program for her, which Cordelia finds grimly ironic. (B)

Base One:

Where Cordelia's survey team had established camp on Sergyar while they were surveying it. It was attacked by the Barrayarans and most of the tents and equipment were destroyed. (SH)

Batman:

A Barrayaran term for a personal servant or valet. For Vor lords, this person is usually an armsman. (All except FF)

Battle armor:

A self-powered, environmentally sealed, personal armor suit that can be used in space or on the surface of planets with no atmosphere. The suit increases the user's strength proportionately, and provides complete protection against stunners and nerve disruptors, most poisons and biological agents, and some protection against plasma arcs and radioactivity. It contains a communications suite and tactical computer, enabling the wearer to be in constant communication with the rest of their unit. Battle armor can also be slaved to a central control computer, enabling the suit to be controlled by an outside person in the event of the wearer's injury or death. (WA, M, MD)