LSN (sph: 6/7/4)English version (20th century midwestern American, net-accessible, alphabetic with images, alphabetical order, perspective-set:moderate liberal) and all other versions ©2221 ARCADI.
Explanation of code used.
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LSN (sph: 6/7/4)
The
LSN, or League of Sovereign Nations, is the
modern-day governing power over both the Earth and the majority of humanity.
The LSN is the top-level ruling body in the vast majority of the Solar
System, as well as in the systems of Barnard's, Centauri, Escalante, Wolf,
Salvador and Mendoza.
The LSN is officially considered a federation or loose confederacy of separate member-states, or Clients, rather than a single governing body. However, in effect, it is a self-governing unit. The LSN's main structure is the unicameral Parliament, which is composed of a variable number (depending on population) of representatives from each Client. The number of representatives is determined by the Client Representation Formula, or simply the Formula, which takes into account population, productivity and efficiency in a very arcane fashion (indeed, most members of the LSN do not understand why exactly their nation has as many representatives as it does). This Parliament elects a President (who may or may not be a member of the Parliament, but must be a member of a Client), who may serve a maximum of two five-year terms. The President in turn appoints the key positions in the six Ministries: Defense, Finance, Communications, Science & Culture, Foreign Affairs, and Interior. Each appointment requires majority approval from the Parliament. The Ministries run the day-to-day affairs of the LSN government. The Interior is probably the largest Ministry, as it is in charge of colonial affairs. The definition of "colony" has changed greatly over time, but presently means any extrasolar settlement.
Becoming a Client is no small feat. In fact, rather than extending Clienthood to all nations of the Earth, the LSN restricts membership to those who meet specific requirements for economic, military and social well-being. This policy is naturally one of the most criticized aspects of LSN policy, and many efforts have been made to change this policy.
The current Clients of the LSN, along with their dates of membership,
are shown on the following table in chronological order.
Pre-2100 |
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| Boeing (2060) | General Motors (2060) | Hyundai (2060) | Mitsubishi (2060) |
| Pacific Mining Union (2060) | Procter and Gamble (2060) | Siemens (2060) | Sumitomo (2060) |
| Myanmar (2062) | Turkey (2063) | Bulgaria (2063) | Tunisia (2066) |
| Equador (2069) | Philips (2070) | Tazmania (2070) | Archer Daniels Midland (2071) |
| Sony (2073) | Ethiopia (2074) | Time-Warner (2075)1 | Citibank (2076) |
| Daiwa (2076) | New Zealand (2077) | Philippines (2078) | Australia (2085) |
| Taiwan (2091) | Korea (2092) | People's Republic of Mars (2094) | Saturn Republic (2095) |
| Japan (2099) | |||
2100-2150 |
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| Mongolia (2101) | Dali Republic (2101) | USA (2103) | Russia (2103) |
| Indonesia (2103) | Canada (2103) | Mexico (2103) | Germany (2103) |
| France (2103) | UK (2103) | Sweden (2103) | Spain (2103) |
| Portugal (2103) | Mindanao (2104) | Finland (2104) | Norway (2104) |
| Austria (2104) | Tibet (2104) | South Africa (2105) | Ukraine (2105) |
| Nigeria (2106) | Saturnian Democratic Republic (2108) | Atlantica (2115) | Pacifica (2115) |
| PanMedia (2116) | Syria (2118) | China (2120) | Alaska (2128) |
| Venezuela (2135) | Persia (2138) | Blancwald (2141) | Hansan (2141) |
| Nouveau Calais (2143) | Mali (2147) | Hosei (2148) | |
2150 to present |
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| Poland (2159) | Dravidia (2160) | Greece (2161) | Brazil (2162) |
| Amur and Sichote Republic (2158) | Provence (2162) | Bengal (2164) | West Africa (2175) |
| Songhay (2190) | El Sudd (2204) | Assam (2217) | |
Notes to the table:
1: Time-Warner's Clienthood was commuted
to PanMedia's in 2116.
The LSN began more-or-less as a statement of defiance against the UN, which was the LSN's major rival for the first half-century of its existence. The UN did not allow corporations to become members, even though the world of the late 21st century was increasingly showing that corps were at least as powerful as traditional nation-states. Several organizations arose in the 2040's and 2050's to protest this exclusion, and to give corps their own legitimacy as nations. One of the original organizations, the Council of Sovereign Nations (the direct forerunner of the LSN), was founded at Enterprise station to confound earthbound legalities. Several corporations and small nations joined, and the successful Council's name was changed to become the League (a reference to Wilson's original League of Nations, thus giving the LSN a patina of historicity) in 2060.
Eventually, the LSN's highly efficient governing and powerful clientele attracted other members.
By the late 21st century, the LSN was beyond doubt the major rival of
the UN. The UN's rather tired mechanisms had begun to fail, and as
the richer nations signed on to the LSN, the UN entered a downward spiral.
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LanguagesThe dominant language in Known Space is English. The most common form of it is called Mod English, which is a pidgin form of the original, with various grammatical, phonological and morphemic changes, mostly simplifications. However, Standard English is still widely spoken throughout Known Space. Many other languages enjoy widespread use. Mandarin Chinese is the main language of the Yan Empire, and Hindi, Spanish, Japanese, French, German and a host of other languages continue to thrive.
Some current phrases, slang and neologisms from English and Mod English
follow.
Term |
Explanation |
| Agent (n.) | A computer agent; a high-capability, near-AI (but still non-sentient) app |
| App (n.) | An application, a computer program |
| Aristo (n.) | Wrist-top info system; also, Rico, Resyst, Wisdom; An illustration of risysts is available. |
| Batshit (n.) | US Armed Forces name for BTST (biotipped slugthrower) weapons |
| Big Black (n.) | Outer space, the Vacuum; Also, the Qume, the Void and the 'Tween |
| Black (adj.) | Deep, difficult to fathom, obscure, intelligent |
| Blamir (n.) | Derived from Backward-Launched Anti-MIssile Rocket; Spaceship-based missiles designed to intercept hostile missiles well before they can intercept the target's course (rhymes with flamer) |
| Blamm (n.) | Backward-Launched Anti-Missile Missile; basically the same as a Blamir, above |
| Boomer (n.) | A military spaceship; Derivation -- military spaceships usually carry their laser weapons on long booms to allow greater arcs of fire along the axis of the ship; also, 20th-century military submarines were often called boomers |
| Christmas Tree (n.) | A type of space warfare maneuver frequently performed by fleets invading a system, trying to find weak spots in the enemy's defenses by actively scouting out all locations around the target system's Oort cloud; Derivation -- named for the pattern ships performing such a maneuver form on holodisplays; also called a Fabergé Egg |
| Deep (prep.) | The outer part of a star system, usually defined as the space between its farthest major planet and its Oort cloud; see Shallow |
| Deep end (n.) | The outer part of a system; see Shallow end |
| Dirt (n.) | One round of Destructive Radioactive Tachyons; note that this is a countable noun (example: "hit 'em with ten dirts") |
| Equivichord (n.) | A given point on a planet or planetoid, projected into space through a line extending from the planet's center of rotation; in other words, any coordinates effectively 'above' a given point on a planet |
| Fabergé Egg (n.) | See Christmas Tree. |
| Flamir (n.) | Forward-Launched Anti-MIssile Rocket; Missiles designed to intercept enemy missiles which have already taken a position in front of the friendly ship |
| Flamm (n.) | Forward-Launched Anti-Missile Missile; basically the same as Flamir, above |
| Form (adj.) | Out of fashion, out of date, fuddy-duddy |
| Furmm (n.) | FUll-Range Memory Metals; Metals which can be programmed to assume various forms; pronounced 'firm' |
| Hab (n.) | Any artificial habitation environment, such as a station, underground colony or spin section of a ship; differentiated from a settlement both by size (a hab is usually smaller) and by artificiality (a hab must be within an artificial environment, while a settlement may not be) |
| Info (n.) | Information; also, technology related to its use or processing; a frequent combining form |
| Infodrone (n.) | One who has little intercourse with others save through computer form; one whose life is primarily limited to infopro and infotainment; see also infoprotato |
| Infopro (n.) | Information processing; the process of making information useable by humans, as well as taking raw data and turning it into information |
| Infoprotato (n.) | A person whose income is derived purely from the consumption of information; a professional couch potato. Also called an infodrone. [Derogatory] |
| Infosystem (n.) | Information system; a computer. Also just system. |
| Infotage (n.) | Sabotage via information/computer control. Often accomplished via agents. |
| Infotech (n.) | Information technology. |
| Infotry (n.) | Information infantry; hacker soldiers. |
| Interface (v./n.) | The borderline between a gravity well and the microgravity environment around it; also the border between an atmosphere and the near-vacuum of space; also, spaceflight to or from such an environment; also, to have sex [Semi-derogatory] |
| Memoplastic (n.) | Memory plastic. |
| Memometal (n.) | Memory metal. |
| Milservice (n.) | Military services, including space navies, infotry, interface fighters, etc., when done on a professional, contractual basis |
| Net (v.) | To gain, to steal, to gain through illegal means |
| Ped (n.) | General form of address, akin to "guy" or "man"; apparently derived from Pedro or pedestrian; see also Rev, Trev and Trevor |
| Pedro (n.) | General form of address, akin to "guy" or "man"; see also Ped |
| Pubterm (n.) | Public terminal; a public interface to the infonet; usually requires coins or credit to operate |
| Qume, the (pn.) | The space between the stars, outer space; see Big Black |
| Rev (n.) | General form of address, akin to "guy" or "man"; Derived from "governor" or "reverend," or possibly Trevor |
| Rico (n.) | Wrist-mounted infosystem; derived from WRIst COmputer. An illustration of ricos is available; see also Aristo, Risyst and Wisdom. |
| Risyst (n.) | Wrist-mounted infosystem; derived from WRIst SYSTem; homephonous with "resist." An illustration of risysts is available; see also Aristo, Rico and Wisdom. |
| Settlement (n.) | A generic term which can be applied to any localized group of sentients; thus, a station, city, nation, shipstate or other such body. Generally, an entire planet is not considered to be a settlement, but usage varies. Differentiated from a hab both by size (a settlement is usually larger) and by artificiality (a hab must be within an artificial environment, while a settlement may not be, and settlements must permanently habitable, while habs are not). |
| Shallow (prep./adj.) | The inner part of a stellar system; something in the inner part of a system; usually anything within the Oort cloud of a system; see Deep |
| Shallow end (n.) | The inner part of a stellar system; see Deep end |
| Slam (adj.) | Cool, popular, current, trendy |
| Spaceship (n.) | A ship designed to travel only within a small area of space; incapable of faster-than-light travel; also called a systemship |
| Starship (n.) | Any ship designed to travel between the stars; almost always equipped for some form of faster-than-light travel |
| Steel (adj.) | Cool, extremely fashionable, cruel, hard-hearted |
| Stout Ship (n.) | Descriptive term for a military ship, due to their frequently wide, short appearance |
| Systemship (n.) | Any spaceship designed to travel only within a given system; almost never capable of faster-than-light travel; also called a spaceship |
| Trev (n.) | General form of address, akin to "guy" or "man"; see also Ped |
| Trevor (n.) | General form of address, akin to "guy" or "man"; see also Ped |
| Tween, the (pn.) | Outer space, the space between the stars; see Big Black |
| Vacc (v.) | To kill through venting out an airlock; to expunge from a social group or settlement; to betray or malign; to fuck [Derogatory] |
| Void, the (pn.) | Outer space, the space between the stars; see Big Black |
| Warm (adj.) | Cool, hip, completely at ease in its surroundings |
| Wisdom (n.) | Wrist-mounted Info System, Doctor and Messager; An illustration of wisdoms is available; see also Aristo, Rico and Risyst. |
A common gesture of affront is to make a fist with one hand, usually the right, and place the index finger of the opposite hand within the 'cylinder' so formed. At this point, the index finger is rapidly jerked out of the other hand. This is derived from the sign language word 'to vent', which is also a common curse (see vacc, above), equivalent to indicating that one wishes the person so gestured to will die a horrible, lonely death.
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League of Sovereign NationsBack to ARCADIA page - Back to L listings in ARCADIA - Back to top of this file - Back to Rachel's main page
LuytenLuyten was one of the systems settled in the rush of resettlement which
occurred in the late 21st century. As such, many of its original
settlers were poor people who were given rather meager means with which
to make their ways. As such, even though it is one of the most important
systems in Known Space, it still
has something of a rustic style, and those from Luyten often have strongly
individualist attitudes. Several of the settlements in the system
maintain independence from any and all other governmental organizations,
including the ICA. These include a number of piratical groups in
the outer areas of the system, particularly circling Luyten A. This
was particularly exacerbated by the extensive granting of privateering
licenses which occurred specifically in Luyten during the Tripod
War, as well as at other times in the past.
| Common name | Luyten |
| Main scientific name | UV Ceti A & B |
| Other scientific names | Luyten 726-8 |
| Sphere | ICA |
| Number of stars | 2 |
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