Wheels (44 page)

CERA SAN
-
San means sun in Circanthian. (
This tends to be confusing for all concerned in my opinion—much like fruit and froot!
)
Cera san is the smaller of the two largest sans in the Dolviciis solar system. (Ch. 11)

CHARON
- Loosely translated: the Circanthian word for soul. (Ch. 22)

CIR
- Circanthian slang for male. Cirs love Cirvs. (Ch. 5)

CIRCA SEPTIM
- The Circanthian civilization has never had rulers in the traditional sense; however, the Circa Septim (
or Circle of Seven
), consisting of the seven oldest and wisest Circanthians, acts as council mediating infrequent disputes when they occur within the individual Gatherings. Their primary duty is to deal with the planetary tremors that most frequently occur just prior and right after the loon. The Circa Septim sent B.R. Provost (
Whom I still think of as old Principal Round-Bottom
) to Earth to find the Corona-Soter. (Ch. 9)

CIRCANTHIAN
- One of two sentient species on the planet Circanthos. They’re sort of like us, except they have a sphere (
roticolar
) instead of legs. And they can particle-weave. (Ch. 5)

CIRCANTHOS
- Circanthos is home to two sentient species, the Circanthians and the Tsendi. (
Don’t ask me why they call it Circanthos rather than Tsendios. They just do.
) It exists at the heart of the Dolviciis Solar System, a triple binary star system consisting of six suns.

Dolviciis 1 (
D or Locent
) is a yellow G type star, (
like Earth’s sun, but approximately five times the size
). Dolviciis 2 (
D2 or Cera
) is also a G type star and is approximately 3.25 times the size of Earth’s sun. The two stars obits are relatively close together, such as that under normal circumstances, their gravitational pulls would send them crashing into each other; however, the existence of four other stars, two on either side of each san (each of them small, yellow stars less than one billion years old), create a uniquely balanced triple binary system.

If we were to lineup the stars they would appear in this order: S1, S2, D1, D2, S3 and S4. The gravitational pull from S1 and S2, and S3, and S4 on either side of D1 and D2 create enough counter gravitational pull to keep the two larger stars stable. This also creates a unique orbital path for D1 and D2, for instead of orbiting around each other, they share the same orbital path.

S1 and S2, in traditional binary fashion, orbit around each other, as do S3 and S4. In addition, the small, yellow, binary systems share an orbital path around D1 and D2.

When six suns are orbiting so closely together, and are so interconnected, the possibility of a planet finding a stable gravitational field is almost nonexistent. Circanthos exists at the only stable gravitational point in the entire Dolviciis system, the heart. With one large, G type star and two small, yellow stars on either side of it, Circanthos is pulled in both directions, accounting for its oblong, almost egg-like shape and frequent tremors (
called tremos
). Yet, it is far enough away from either star to maintain some structural integrity.

Circanthos rotates on its own axis every 23.25 hours. The gravitational pull from either side prevents Circanthos from rotating around either sun; the planet tilts following the rotational progression of the suns, while maintaining its position at the heart of the Dolviciis system. (Ch. 5)

CIRCOLAR
- An ancient book discovered in a cave on the Aisle of Iciis. The Circolar contains, among other things, instructions for building a cortext, a pinicolis, and a rather incomplete prophesy of what would result should someone build and use a cortext. Who or what created the Circolar is unknown. Last I heard from my sources on Circanthos, the Circa Septim has authorized a joint expedition of Circanthian and Earth scientists (
McKenzie’s father among them!
) to the Isle of Iciis in order to study this long unanswered and mysterious question. (Ch. 5)

CIRCOOMBRA
- Circanthians once feared their charon (
soul
) would become lost should they attempt long-range travel through particle-weaving. A circoombra is a spirit or soul that has lost its host. What we might call, a ghost. (Ch. 22)

CIRV
- Circanthian slang for female. Cirs love Cirvs. (Ch. 15)

COBACA FROOT
- A very sweet, very addictive fruit (
Fortunately, addictive only to native Circanthians.
) that grows high in the cocombaca trees. The fruit ripens only once a loonocks during the loon. (Ch. 12)

COBRAIS
- Sounds like cobra doesn’t it? Well, get that image right out of your mind—except for the tongue. Cobrais have forked tongues, tipped with body-numbing venom, which they spray with deadly accuracy. Chameleons, they live primarily in the Cocombaca Forest and resemble whatever leaf their hundreds of microscopic suction-like feet propel them to host upon. Predators by nature, they hunt in packs using venom to incapacitate larger animals, which they then cover and devour live. (
’Nibble live’ would be more accurate
.) Luckily for their larger prey, cobrais are small, weighing no more than a few ounces, and can easily be shaken off once the victim has been revived. Once a cobrais has been shaken, it is unable to produce venom for another four to five epoks (
About two and a half days
). (Ch. 12)

COCOMBACA FOREST
-
A forest of tall, pale-blue trees with shiny, red leaves, found only on one side of Circanthos. While nothing grows beneath the canopy, which begins forty to fifty feet in the air, Tsendi, tsootbas, soboli and a host of other creatures live in the towering, congested canopy. One other note: the underdown feather of a gemdoola bird is the only known thing in the universe that can slice through cocombaca wood. (
See
Moscos
for more about the forest floor
) (Ch. 5)

CONCENTRIC
- Name of the Circanthian God who, I believe, but don’t quote me, lives in the Lapis Sea. (
A blue-pool-of-liquid-deity you won’t find me swimming in any time soon!)
(Ch. 2)

CORALTEA
-
An orange/bronze colored metal found deep in the Arelo mines, and at one time, mined by the Tsendi. Coraltea is soft, like gold, but when combined with sap from the Cocombaca tree it becomes as strong and light as titanium. (Ch. 22)

CORONA-SOTER
- Translated literally, Corona-Soter means Wheeled Warrior. Need I say more? McKenzie Wu is the toughest girl on wheels. Can you believe it took old Principal Round-Bottom so long to realize that? (Ch. 5)

CORTEXT
- A device that heightens one’s ability; or rather, a Circanthian’s ability to particle-weave, making it possible to travel long distances in a short period of time. (
Blah, blah, blah…in other words, if you’re human, forget about it, it won’t work. However, as I discovered, you can hitch a ride.
) (Ch. 5)

DORABACA BOOSH
-
A hardy variety of bush with red, holly-like leaves and bright, sweet, edible, yellow berries, which grows mainly on the Circanthian side of Circanthos. Dorabaca berries, a mainstay of the Circanthian diet, are valued (much like mood rings) for their ability to change their taste based upon a person’s mood. A bitter mood produces a bitter taste. Circanthians use them to train young ones to control their emotions. (Ch. 22)

EPOK
-
A period of one rotation from Locent san to Cera san, or Cera san to Locent san. One epok equals approximately twelve hours, while two epoks equal one very long day without a night. (
Talk about jetlag!)
(Ch. 11)

FLICKVIK
-
Fat, plum-colored creatures that have long, needle-like stingers and tiny, phosphorescent wings barely large enough to support bulbous, translucent bellies filled with sloshing, dark red liquid. Flickviks survive by sucking the blood out of corpses—the fresher the better. You can always find a flickvik hovering when death is near. (
As Mac would say, “uglier than your worst mosquito nightmare.”
) (Ch. 19)

FLOG -
1
. I’m thinking the Creator’s first failed attempt at, well…life! Flogs look like a combination of tiny, hairless, upside down Tsendi with spheres instead of arms. The effect being something like a circus clown roller-skating upside down with his butt in the air and his head between his spheres. Flogs travel in packs, constantly smiling and drooling as if in anticipation of a wonderful meal. (Ch. 12)
FLOG -
2.
Circanthians often use the word flog, singular, when referring to anything in excess. (
As in: “My, there appears to be a flog of stuck-up girls roaming the halls today.”
) (Ch. 11)

FOCOOS
-
(
Tsendi word
) A feast celebrated by Tsendi families ten epoks before and right after the loon. Traditionally, the Feast of Focoos was a way to keep young ones home and safe with their elders during the tremos. (n/a)

GEMDOOLA
-
Translated roughly: diamond bird. The underdown feather of the gemdoola is the only thing in the universe that can cut through cocombaca wood. You don’t want to stuff your pillows with them! (Ch. 14)

GEMMEOS MONS
–
The Gemmeos Mons are home to some of the most beautiful gemmeos (
gemstones
) on Circanthos. Before the Veni Commotos, Circanthians used particle-weaving to mine the mons (
mountains
) for gemmeos, which they used as barter material with the Tsendi. (Ch. 19)

GOOT
-
The yellow, red-ringed spots of a sparsotorp. (Ch. 13)

ISLE OF ICIIS
–
The Isle of Iciis is one of two major landmasses on the planet Circanthos. It is located directly in the path of the Loonock (
dark moon
), frozen and, previously believed, uninhabitable. I say “previously,” in that it was in a cave on the Isle of Iciis that Circanthian explorers discovered the first portal and an ancient book called the Circolar. Information concerning the former inhabitants of the cave and the creator of the Circolar is the subject of ongoing research for a team of Circanthian and Earth scientists. (Ch. 5)

LAPIS GATHERING
-
By the time Mac and I arrived on Circanthos, the Lapis Gathering was referred to as the Last Gathering. A gathering is like a village or a town. The Lapis Gathering, built into the side of a small mountain, was the last gathering for the hundred or so remaining Circanthians. (Ch. 11)

LAPIS SEA
-
The only body of water on Circanthos. There are inlets and rivers that run from it, but that’s it. You’ve never seen water so thick or so blue, and never tasted water so sweet. A bit shocking at first, but once you get used to it, it’s like drinking Jell-O. One note (
should you ever travel to Circanthos
):
Circanthians do not drink directly from the ocean part, as they believe the Creator lives in the Lapis Sea (
or maybe it’s more like vacations there).
Anyway, drinking and bathing water is taken from inlets or Circanthian-made streams.
One more note: Tsendi hold similar beliefs, but take it one step further and do not bathe in water of any kind. (
Which explains a lot about their smell.
) (Ch. 11)

LAPISERAIN TROGSITTER
-
A mud-colored, tri-sphered, reptilian-type creature that hides beneath piles of pebbles by the Lapis Sea. A trogsitter can remain still for hours, blending so perfectly with the pebbles it hides beneath that by the time its prey realizes it’s not pebbles beneath it which are sinking; but rather, a trogsitter’s mouth—a mouth that is slowly swallowing its prey whole—it’s too late. If you want to describe someone as lazy or underhanded, call him/her a trogsitter. (Ch. 19)

LOCENT SAN
-
Locent san is the larger of the two largest sans (
san meaning sun in Circanthian
) in the Dolviciis solar system. It dominates the sky when it turns into view, giving everything and everyone a rosy tint. (Ch. 12)

LOON
- A three to four week period of violent storms, which occur approximately every 365 rotations. (
One rotation = one Circanthian day or two epoks)
A loon is essential for the ripening of almost all the froot (
fruit
) on Circanthos. (Ch. 11)

LOONOCK
-
Name of the dead, dark moon that orbits Circanthos. Little is known of this dark disk in the skies over Circanthos, except that it maintains an orbit around the axis point of the planet and does not follow the planet as it tilts towards its suns. Approximately every 365 days (
loonocks
in Circanthian
) it eclipses D1 and D2 for several hours, for a period lasting slightly longer than three (
Earth
) weeks. Filled with high winds and torrential storms, Circanthians and Tsendi refer to this dark moon period as The Loon. Loonock is closest to Circanthos at this time due to the planet’s oblong shape. (Ch. 11)

LOONOCKS
–
A loonocks is a period that spans the start of one loon to the next, or approx. 365 planet rotations. (Ch. 5)