The Vorkosigan Companion (37 page)

Cecil:

No first name given. A major in charge of determining the assignments of Barrayaran Imperial Service recruits. About fifty years old, he is an excellent teacher and scholar, lean, even-tempered, and watchful, with a rare, dry wit. Miles discusses his meteorological officer assignment with him, and learns it is a test to see if he is capable of serving on the
Prince Serg
. (VG)

Cee, Terrence:

The man sought by Colonel Millisor and Captain Rau on Kline Station. Blond-haired, blue-eyed, and in his early twenties. His official designation is L-X-10 Terran-C. The result of a Cetagandan experiment, he was genetically engineered to possess mental telepathy, and was to be used for covert government work. He tried to escape Cetaganda, along with other telepaths, including his lover Janine and four children, and Doctor Jahar, the founder of the project, but only he survived the attempt. He has kept samples of Janine's tissues, and is trying to raise money to remake her at Jackson's Whole. He spliced his genetic material, including the recessive gene that carries the telepathic ability, into the ovarian cultures that were supposed to be shipped to Athos.

After Millisor is killed, Terrence comes to Athos to be alternate parent to Ethan's children that he intends to father by the EQ-1 line, and earn enough parent credits himself to father his own offspring by Janine's ovarian material. During his first trip to the Cetagandan Empire, Miles overhears Millisor getting permission to pursue Terrence, and sends Elli Quinn to Kline Station to investigate. Doctor Hugh Canaba has a sample of Terrence's genetic material, including his telepathy complex. It is one of the samples that Miles has to get out of Taura on Jackson's Whole. (C, EA, L)

Celestial Garden:

The Imperial residence on Cetaganda, called Xanadu by the galactics. It is covered in a six-kilometer-wide force dome, surrounded by a kilometer-wide park, then a circular street, then another park, then an ordinary street, with eight boulevards radiating outward like wheel spokes, putting the garden right in the center of the city. There are more gardens inside, with white-jade paved paths for vehicles and guests. Pavilions are scattered throughout the grounds, with simple, tasteful furnishings, including live plants, flowers, and small fountains. The connecting halls are acoustically designed to be hushed overall, yet also carry occupants' voices clearly to each other. In the middle of the dome area are several elaborate towers. Its servants dress in gray and white. Miles, Ivan, and Vorob'yev attend several functions there during the Empress's funeral ceremonies, including the presenting of funeral gifts and the viewing of the body in state, where Miles sees the dead Ba Lura behind the display bier. (C)

Celestial Lady:

An alternate title for the Cetagandan Empress, used mainly by servants. (C)

Celestial Master:

An alternate title for the Cetagandan Emperor, used mainly by servants. (C)

Cenotaph:

A monument honoring the dead who are destroyed or buried elsewhere, often used to commemorate war deaths. Ky Tung suggests they will use one to remember him when he is pulverized to dust fighting the Cetagandans at Vervain. (VG)

Cetagandan Empire:

The Cetagandan Empire consists of eight developed planets, and an equal fringe of allied and puppet dependencies; its homeworld is Eta Ceta IV, with several other planets considered satrapies, which are ruled by governors. Cetagandans use face paint to denote their rank and clan, which is falling out of favor with the younger generations. They apparently have high artistic tastes, but consider biological childbirth distasteful. They have a complicated system of power involving the ghem and haut castes. The ghem and haut are biological engineers without peer, as evidenced by the otherworldly beauty of their women, but the haut only work in human genetics. Exceptional scientist/artists of the ghem caste are rewarded for their genengineering efforts by having their creations incorporated into the Celestial Garden.

During Piotr Vorkosigan's time, Cetaganda invaded Barrayar, and spent twenty years trying to subjugate the planet. Wanting to control a jump point to the Hegan Hub by conquering Vervain, they suborned Vervain's mercenary hireling Cavilo, who was going to let them in and plunder the planet during the invasion. Held off by the Dendarii and Vervani defense ships, and defeated by the arrival of the
Prince Serg
, they retreat back to their home space.

During his first visit to Eta Ceta IV, Miles stops a plot to create a war between Barrayar and Cetaganda, and saves the Empire from being taken over by Governor Ilsum Kety, who is holding a copy of the haut gene-bank hostage. He visits the Empire again after being infected with deadly parasites by the renegade ba that had stolen a haut-lord gene bank. (BI, C, DI, VG)

Cetagandan ghem-warriors:

Two dozen mercenaries from that planet are recruited by Bel Thorne, Baz Jesek, and Arde Mayhew for the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet. Desperate to get off Tau Verde IV after their contract fell apart, they agree to put aside their differences with any Barrayarans for the duration of the trip. (WA)

Chalopin:

No first name given. The shuttleport administrator on Rodeo, she is well dressed with a swept-back hairstyle. She is displeased about the security incident with Claire and Tony and the additional scrutiny it brings from Vice President Apmad. (FF)

Charles:

No surname given. Chalmys DuBauer's servant. (DD)

Chaste Brotherhoods:

An organization on Athos that abstains from sexual activity of any kind. Ethan Urquhart doubts that his brother Janos will think Terrence Cee is a candidate for membership. (EA)

Chenko:

No first name given. A colonel in the Barrayaran military, he is a neurologist assigned to treat Miles's seizures. A fit and energetic middle-aged man, he and Doctor D'Guise come up with the diagnosis and treatment, although not a cure, to Miles's condition. (M)

Chilian:

No first name given. A ghem-general to Governor Ilsum Kety. His wife is Vio d'Chilian. Chilian is not involved in Kety's plot to take the throne, although his wife is. She and her lover Kety had planned to kill him at their first opportunity. (C)

Chodak, Clive:

A sergeant in the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet, he has black, almond-shaped eyes, dark skin, and a square jaw. During Miles's first mercenary run he is a corporal and one of Ky Tung's commandos, and was promoted to his current rank with the renamed Dendarii/Oseran mercenaries. Recognizing Miles on Pol Station Six, he meets with him privately to fill him in on what has happened during the four years he has been away. Under orders from Elena, he saves Miles and Gregor from being spaced by Admiral Oser. For his actions during the battle against the Cetagandans at Vervain, he is taken on a personal tour of the
Prince Serg
, followed by lunch with Aral Vorkosigan. (VG)

Christof:

No first name given. A lieutenant in the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet who is excellent at scouting terrain. (BA)

Civilian Defenders of Garson Transfer Station:

Captured Marilacan civilians held in the prisoner camp on Dagoola IV until being rescued by Miles and the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet. (BI)

Claire:

No surname given. A quaddie on the Cay Habitat Station, she is slim and elfin-looking, with short, dark hair that frames her face. She has had a baby, Andy, with another quaddie named Tony, and is the first of five quaddie girls to give birth. She was a welder joiner, but was transferred to housekeeping–nutrition tech and hydroponics since giving birth. When she is told she will not be able to stay in a monogamous relationship with Tony, they both try to escape the Habitat with Andy, resulting in Tony's injury, and Claire being separated from them. When Doctor Curry tries to sedate and sterilize her, she overpowers him and injects him with the sedative instead. She pretends to consider sterilizing him, but leaves him intact. She escapes with Leo and the rest of the quaddies through the wormhole. (FF)

Climbing rose:

A bioengineered, ambulatory rose bush that uses its vines to climb stationary objects, as Ivan finds out at the bioestheties exhibit on Cetaganda. (C)

Clogston, Chris:

A captain in the Barrayaran military, he is the senior fleet surgeon for the military escort of the Komarran trade convoy detained at Graf Station. He confirms that Ker Dubauer is a Cetagandan by analyzing his blood, and also jury-rigs a blood filter to remove the bioengineered parasites from Bel Thorne and Miles, although he eventually has to put both of them into cold stasis to prevent the parasites from killing them. (DI)

Clone:

A perfect copy of a person can be created from the smallest   tissue sample of the progenitor, creating an exact physical duplicate. On Jackson's Whole, House Bharaputra runs a thriving business providing cloned bodies for rich, elderly people, who then have their brains transplanted into the new body. The clone created to replace Miles, later named Mark, had to be surgically altered to resemble his progenitor, as the damage done to Miles's body was teratogenic, which meant a clone of him would have developed to its normal height, and with normal bone strength. (L, BA, MD)

Clone crèche:

A facility owned and run by House Bharaputra on Jackson's Whole where clones are created and raised until they are the proper age for a brain transplant. Mark commandeers the
Ariel
to raid this facility, which also created him, and rescue the fifty clone children there from becoming new bodies for rich clients. He is trapped on the site, and has to be rescued by Miles and the Dendarii, inadvertently causing Miles's death during the operation. (MD)

Cloned organs/tissues:

Replacements for worn or injured organs and tissues may be grown from samples taken from the individual that needs them, assuring rejection-free transplants. It takes an undefined amount of time to grow a cloned organ, and the patient may need artificial life-support or, in extreme cases, cryofreezing to survive until the replacement organ is ready. (All)

Clubhouse:

A hidden meeting area on Cay Habitat created by the quaddies, where they watch forbidden vid dramas and read nonregulation book-discs. (FF)

Collins:

No first name given. A sergeant in the Dendarii Mercenaries, he serves under Bel Thorne and is killed by Stanis Metzov while escorting Miles to the
Triumph
. (VG)

Comconsole:

A multipurpose communication device that provides telephone/videophone communication, as well as data entry, retrieval,   transmission, and storage. Consoles range from low-cost versions to high-end commercial models to secured military versions, each with appropriate degrees of security. Comconsoles also provide access to worldwide sources of information, transfer of documents, and delivery of electronic mail in both printed and video-recording modes. They are able to read and create data cubes or chips, and many also contain a printer allowing the user to make hard copies of documents on flimsies. Programs may be run on the consoles, including image manipulation, computer-assisted design, or entertainment such as designing and viewing a virtual garden. (All)

Comm link:

A small, personal communication device designed to be worn on the wrist or carried in a pocket. Capable of audio transmissions only, one is often keyed to a matching unit as a secured pair. The range varies from a few kilometers to more powerful models capable of surface-to-orbit transmission. With some units, users verbally request the contact number of the person they wish to reach, and calls are readily transferred and can be made into conference calls among multiple participants. (All)

Commodore Vorhalas
:

An Imperial Cruiser that one of Miles's classmates gets assigned to as a junior weaponry officer. (VG)

Communication:

There is no faster-than-light communication. Communication within a solar system travels by light-speed signal. Interstellar communication must be carried by a ship through a wormhole, either as a physical object or recorded message. The message is then either physically carried by ship to the next jump point or transmitted at light-speed across the system. In high-traffic areas, jump ships may be maintained at jump points to accumulate signals and, at appropriate intervals, jump through the wormhole, then beam or ship the messages to the next jump point. (All)

Constellation:

Cetagandan term for family or clan. (C)

Contingency Blue:

The full retreat orders Aral issues to the Barrayaran fleet after Prince Serg Vorbarra is killed during the war with Escobar. (SH)

Corbeau, Dmitri:

An ensign and jump pilot in the Barrayaran military, he is tall, with an olive complexion, dark hair, and dark eyes. He is at the center of the initial incident that caused the lockdown of the Komarran fleet at Graf Station. Having fallen in love with a quaddie dancer named Garnet Five, he risks a charge of desertion by asking for asylum there. He is a Sergyaran worm plague survivor, as his parents emigrated there when he was five years old. He volunteers to pilot the
Idris
out of the Union of Free Habitats space, and sends information about Dubauer back to the quaddies on Graf Station. After Corbeau risks his life to stop the renegade Ba, Miles assigns him as the permanent Barrayaran diplomatic consulate officer at Graf Station. (DI)

Couer:

No first name given. A commodore in the Barrayaran military, he is on Aral's second ship during the war with Escobar. (SH)

Council of Counts:

A ruling party on Barrayar similar to a parliament, they are part of the military aristocracy, and wear scarlet and silver robes while in session. With one representative for each District, they have certain gubernatorial powers, such as voting the approval of new counts, or electing a regent. They vote to confirm Aral as Regent of Barrayar. Miles is brought up on charges in front of them more than once, facing a treason charge after he forms the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet, and also before Gregor's wedding, when a group of right-wing counts, spearheaded by Lord Richars, tries to charge him with the murder of Etienne Vorsoisson. All charges are dismissed in both cases. (B, CC, SH, WA)