Abbreviation for anno Domini. The most common
calendar used by the people on
Earth. Unlike the AI calendar, that is widely
used today, the old AD system did not have a year zero or negative years. Years earlier than 1 AD were written as
positive numbers with a BC suffix (with 1 BC being
the year directly before 1 AD). The AD calendar was abandoned after
colonisation due to the length of day and year being based on the
orbit of Earth.
[Source: A Short History of Mankind]
Abbreviation for after impact. The standard
calendar used since
wormhole technology made interstellar commerce
common. After colonisation the old AD calendar (with its days and years based on the
orbit of Earth) was abandoned by most colonies, who instead created their own
local calendars. Interstellar commerce has meant a need to
return to a common time system. The AI year is identical to the length of year on
Earth and is divided into 12 months, however the year that
The Asteroid hit Earth (2216
AD) is taken as the year zero. As the local year of a colony is different to that of
Earth the seasons are not fixed to quarters of the year, as they were on
Earth, and over time occur in different months. Variations in the lengths of
local days mean planets sometimes adjust the number of days in a month to keep in line with the rest of civilisation.
This is similar to the old leap-year system used on Earth except planets do not
necessarily wait until February to make adjustments. On average, planets with longer days have less days in a month than
planets with shorter days. Note that unlike the old AD system, which did not have a
year zero or negative years, the AI calendar has both a year zero and
negative years (with 0 AI being the year directly before 1 AI, and -1 AI being the year directly before 0 AI).
An advanced technology company set up on Earth but now based on
Ea (51 Pegasi) system.
Anderson Nano Tech was set up to develop affordable nano-technology that would help countries on
Earth dispose of toxic waste. A number of pressure groups opposed
ANT on religious or safety grounds and laws were passed against nano-technology in
many countries. By -60 AI (2156 AD) Anderson Nano Tech was facing bankrupcy, and was
forced to lay off most of its workers on Earth and concentrate on its profitable
operations into space. The space side of ANT had developed waste disposal nano bugs
lowered recycling costs on The Moon and
Mars by 50 percent, and the company moved as many of their scientists into space,
as they could afford to retain. In -56 AI (2160 AD) Anderson Nano Tech developed
cryogenic nano bugs that made long term
cold-sleep in starships
much safer, and opened up new stars as colonisation targets. Peter Anderson, founder of the company, agreed to give
access to the technology to any group that agreed to give former ANT workers places
on their ships. In -54 AI (2162 AD) a group of businessmen calling themselves the
"Enlightened Self Interest Group"
agreed to fund a starship to take most of Anderson Nano Tech's employees to
the world of their choice in return for an exchange of technology and scientists. ANT
completed their starship, the
SS Hormiga, in -46 AI (2170 AD) and
left for 51 Pegasi. They arrived in 156
AI (2370 AD) and set up a successful colony that they called
Ea.
[Source: InfoDump Database: Anderson Nano Tech]
Calendar system formerly used on
Earth, but abandoned after
colonisation due to the length of day and year being based on the
orbit of Earth. Anno Domini is Latin (The English translation is "in the
year of our Lord").
See AD.
Type of forcefield that protects one person from the harmful effects of
exposure to vacuum. It prevents the atmosphere around the wearer from escaping and keeps out cosmic rays and other high
speed particles. A separate device combined within the unit recycles the air inside the
forcefield (so it provides the same protection as both an
anti-gas and an anti-NBC). Like
all other personal forcefields it can not be worn at the same
time as a second forcefield and must be calibrated to fit around the
wearer before it can be used. Because an anti-vac forcefield can not be used at the same time as a
standard 6-hit a
duel purpose version, the
anti-vac 6-hit, was developed.
See also anti-gas 6-hit,
anti-NBC 6-hit &
stealth 6-hit.
[Source: A Layman's Guide to Wormhole Technology]
Asteroid that hit Earth in 2216 AD. The Asteroid is always capitalised (often in
quotation marks) when written and the word 'The' stressed when it is spoken to differentiate it from any other
asteroid. It is not known which actual
asteroid hit Earth.
See The Impact.
[Source: A Short History of Mankind]
Minor planet. A small star system body in an independent orbit around
the star (or one star in the case of a binary or multiple star system). Because of differentiation, larger asteroids
usually have metallic cores surrounded by lighter rocky materials and are economic to mine. Many of the
starships used during
colonisation were built from asteroids from The
Solar System.
See also The Asteroid and
Trojan asteroid.
