P
PADRE: Proper title and form of address for a priest of the ArrianiLady of Love. It is also the common, though unofficial, way ofreferring to all military chaplains.
PAIVA, Subsector 1-H: No. systems: 78 Sector: Orion with 3 inhabited planets: 6 Ruled by: with 2 inhabited planets: 9 with 1 inhabited planet: 24
PALACE COMPLEX: Located at the foot of the Sentinel Mountains inAntarctica, this is a hundred-kilometer-diameter circle centered on theImperial Palace, protected from the elements by a modified defensescreen. The inner ten kilometers is parkland surrounding the Palace;the rest consists of air- and spaceports, residential andadministrative areas, and some commercial activity, but no majorindustry. It also has entertainment of almost every conceivable type,a wide variety of eating places, the central offices of most newsservices, and so on. (For reference, it is approximately half againthe size of the state of Delaware.)
PALACE, IMPERIAL: A building four kilometers square, situated in thecenter of the Palace Complex. It is roughly a quarter public areas,about a third (including the Empire's best medical facility)semi-public, and the remainder private for Palace residents and guests.
PALACE STANDARD TIME: Called Greenwich Mean Time prior to the Empire,this is the official time kept at the Imperial Palace and aboard allmilitary (and most other) craft in space. It is also used throughoutXanadu, the only world known to have only one time zone.
PALLAS, Subsector 18-B: No. systems: 149 Sector: Aries with 3 inhabited planets: 3 Ruled by: with 2 inhabited planets: 10 with 1 inhabited planet: 25
PAN, Subsector 8-D: No. systems: 80 Sector: Centaurus with 3 inhabited planets: 1 Ruled by: with 2 inhabited planets: 10 with 1 inhabited planet: 26
PATTERN RAPPORT: An involuntary and extremely rare aspect of Talent inwhich two minds are completely merged for a brief time. Irschchantheory is that it happens when the parties' underminds decide it isnecessary to resolve an impasse or conflict.
PEACELORD: Ranger Esteban Tarlac, once he has passed his Ordeal anddied. The last member of the Traiti Circle of Lords, his first act asLord Esteban was to make possible an immediate, honorable end to theTraiti War.
PEACELORD, Subsector 21-B: No. systems: 57 Sector: Traiti with 3 inhabited planets: 2 Ruled by: with 2 inhabited planets: 12 with 1 inhabited planet: 22
PEGASUS, Sector 5: Ruled by: No. systems: 386 Subsectors: 4 Inhabited planets: 215 A. Bayard C. Traveler B. Sleipnir D. Sandeman
PERIDOPICLES: Ducal family, Sector 14. Legend has it that this familywas cursed when the first Duke, Orion, defeated the "witch" Lilith anddestroyed the Blue Crystal from which she gained her powers. As shewas dying, she pronounced the curse that death would visit Orion'sheirs through their children. The line is, in fact, subject to agenetic defect which is fatal to seventy-five percent of the childrenand can, in a way that has not yet been determined, be passed on to thepregnant mother, with a twenty-five percent fatality rate.
Historians believe the Blue Crystal was a psionic amplifier, and thatin destroying it, the Duke received a nonfatal dose of some unknownradiation which caused a genetic mutation passed in the male line;females who survive are invariably sterile. Children have an unusuallyhigh body radiation count, certain proof of parentage. (Linda Gerhart)
PERIDOT: Sector: 20, Chameleon Year: Subsector: C, Dagda Day: System: Cuchulainn Gravity: Settled/established: Axial tilt: By: Oxygen: Satellites: % Water: Ident code prefix: PER Continents: Ruled by: General: Where Aleron Rourke and his daughter crashed after an inter-universe transition, as a result meeting Kiyoshi Owajima and Nevan DarLeras.
PHOENIX, Sector 14 Ruled by: Peridopicles family No. systems: 660 Subsectors: 6 Inhabited planets: 304 A. Fenris D. Excalibur B. Unicorn E. Siren C. Gryphon F. Shamu
Arms: On a black and red spiral field, a phoenix rising from flames,platinum.
PHOLUS, Subsector 8-B: No. systems: 44 Sector: Centaurus with 3 inhabited planets: 7 Ruled by: with 2 inhabited planets: 10 with 1 inhabited planet: 27
PIPER'S WORLD: Sector: 5, Pegasus Year: Subsector: B, Sleipnir Day: System: Valkyr Gravity: Settled/established: Axial tilt: By: Oxygen: Satellites: % Water: Ident code prefix: PIP Continents: Ruled by: General: Mostly-tropical world, among those conquered by Sandeman during the Eruption.
PLANETS: The smallest Imperial subdivision, ruled by barons. Thosewith only temporary or limited-purpose settlements are classified asuninhabited and subject to the rule of the settling planet's baron.
POLARIS, Subsector 9-A: No. systems: 146 Sector: Ursa with 3 inhabited planets: 2 Ruled by: with 2 inhabited planets: 11 with 1 inhabited planet: 26
POSEIDON, Subsector 17-C: No. systems: 183 Sector: Indus with 3 inhabited planets: 4 Ruled by: with 2 inhabited planets: 10 with 1 inhabited planet: 17
POWER ARMOR: Full-metal armor with force-field shielding, used ininitial assaults and intense firefights. The force-field is thearmor's primary defense; the armor itself serves mostly as a weaponsplatform, though if the force-field fails, it will sometimes provideenough protection for the operator to reach safety. In most cases,however, force-field failure is due to overload by enemy fire, and theensuing suit failure and powerpack disruption cause total destructionof armor and operator both.
The armor is so massive that the operator cannot move it withoutassistance. This is provided by internal sensors which amplify smalloperator motions and transmit them to fusion-powered servos; these movethe armor itself. Since delicacy of control is more important thansheer strength, which the armor provides, most power-armor specialistsare women.
PROMETHEUS, Subsector 18-E: No. systems: 119 Sector: Aries with 3 inhabited planets: 2 Ruled by: with 2 inhabited planets: 10 with 1 inhabited planet: 23
PSIRYNE: The hormone responsible for psionic Talent in humans. It ispresent even if the Talent is latent; even though this specificconnection was not discovered until 2572, the Narvonese used a specifictype of it as a "marker" of susceptibility to the pseudo-virus as earlyas 2276.
PURGATORY: Sector: 14, Phoenix Year: Subsector: A, Fenris Day: System: Origani Gravity: Settled/established: N/A Axial tilt: By: N/A Oxygen: Satellites: % Water: Ident code prefix: PUR Continents: Ruled by: Baron of Origani General: An average temperature of -40 F, almost constant snowfall, and ferocious native fauna have made permanent settlements impractical. Periodically, scientific and other teams make planetfall during the short (seven standard day) summer, but must leave before fall, when gale-force winds begin to blow. Only known source of the keisha plant. (Linda Gerhart)
Q
QUADRAMITE: An explosive used almost exclusively in mining. It isalmost impossible to detonate until primed, at which time it becomesviolently unstable.
QUIDINE: An analgesic drug. Its strength, non-addictiveness, andgeneral safety make it a natural choice in most cases where a powerfulpainkiller is needed.