Several computers were given names, these being Zen, Orac, Slave and Gambit. All were fitted with speech circuits and could communicate vocally, as could the judgement computer at Travis' court martial, the inboard computer on the ship to which Vila and Kerril were transported in City at the Edge of the World and Practor's "house computer" in Traitor and the LFS operated by Tarrant in Games. The Public Records Computer on Earth in The Way Back responded to verbal commands. Computers with an organic content included Ultraworld and Moloch. Many other computers appeared almost everywhere, even in the Hommik stronghold on Xenon (although apparently only Cato knew what they were and how to use them). The most powerful computer complex in the galaxy was Federation Central Control, originally on Earth but later moved to Star One.
Registered space flight within the Federation was handled by CFC through Star One. Durkim mentioned CFC breaking down on twenty different worlds, and gave Servalan a graphic example in the collision of the passenger liner Nova Queen with an unmanned ore carrier above the planet on which Keldon City was situated.
Mentioned by Avon, but with few details. What they did do was convert numbers into the written word, revealing to Avon that the "54124" scrawled by a dying Rafford was actually "SARA".
Several uses of the word "constellation" suggest a slightly different meaning to current usage. The word normally means a pattern of stars as seen in the night sky from Earth, the component stars themselves frequently being widely separated in space. In Blake's time, however, a constellation would appear to be a discrete group of stars in close proximity to each other. In Orbit, for example, Egrorian referred to Porphyrus being in the constellation adjacent to Malodar, some 17 light years away. This subtle change in meaning is what one might expect in a spacefaring, as opposed to Earthbound, culture.
When Cally mentioned the artificial telepathy transmission project on Auron, Avon asked "Controlled Beaming?", presumably to clarify his own understanding of the technology.
Property of the substance with which Largo laced the shadow he gave to addicts on Space City. The enforcer said it was "not exactly" radioactive. It was detectable "with the right equipment" and enabled the Liberator to be tracked on its way to Zonda, owing to Hanna's presence on board.
In Seek-Locate-Destroy Bercol and Rontane made mention of the growing criticism of Space Security by "the controllers of the Outer Planets".
In Rumours of Death Shrinker told Avon that he interrogated a controller from Central Security whilst working for the rebels.
There is no definite link between these two uses of the word and neither is adequately defined.
The living heart of Ultraworld, a vast brain-like organism that, in the words of Relf, "lives to expand and must expand to live". It expanded through the process of nucleoplasmic absorption, described the Ultra as a very complicated process but essentially boiling down to consuming anyone unfortunate enough to be fed to the Core. Cally and Avon narrowly escaped this fate. The power of the Core was considerable: as exerted by the Ultra it twice affected Tarrant, and was used to bring the Liberator into dock. The Core, however, could only comprehend logical thought, and it was distracted by Vila's illogical riddles and word puzzles while Orac reflected the Core's own wave emissions back at it, destabilising the Core and eventually destroying Ultraworld.
Beta grade technician who single-handedly developed IMIPAK at the
Federation's weapons development base. Realising that his superiors were
going to take all the credit for his invention, he destroyed all records of
his work and fled with IMIPAK and the slave woman Rashel to an unnamed
planet. He was killed by Servalan, using IMIPAK, shortly before Blake
arrived.
| Coser |
The demise of his spaceship | Coser was described by Carnell as a good pilot, and had a known admiration for Blake. He recognised Blake as soon as he saw him, not knowing that "Blake" was in fact a clone working for Servalan. |
Very few senior political figures appeared through the course of the series. Senator Bercol in Trial described himself as an ex officio member of the High Council (he had earlier been addressed as Councillor - see BERCOL). In Hostage Servalan had an interview with Councillor Joban, who had supported her appointment to the post of Supreme Commander. In Rumours of Death Councillor Chesku, a close advisor of Servalan, was shot dead by his wife, Sula.
See also HIGH COUNCIL.