The Collar of the Order of the Holy Spirit
A command of the Federation's Justice Department, used to halt the execution of sentence on a sentenced prisoner. It could be used if a reasonable doubt was raised about the conduct of that prisoner's case, sufficient to amount to a possible miscarriage of justice. After it was made under those circumstances, an inquiry would usually be ordered to ascertain the truth.
In The Way Back, Varon implicitly stated that this order could be obtained fairly quickly when he told Blake that the latter would be taken from the transit cell back to the city detention area within a couple of hours.
From Ven Glynd's agreement to order an inquiry into Blake's case, it is possible that the Arbiter General's consent was necessary for the issuing of such an order.
See also ARBITER GENERAL, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT.
The Collar of the Order of the Holy Spirit |
A French order of knighthood, whose badge was part of the gold sash worn
around the waist of the Caliph of Crandor, the lieutenant of the Thaarn. The
order was instituted on 31 December 1578 by King Henry III of France, a monarch
who had a particular devotion to the Holy Spirit, as his birth and accession
to the Polish (1573) and French (1574) thrones all occurred on the day of
Pentecost (also called Whitsunday). It was on that day, the fiftieth after
Easter, that the Holy Spirit descended on the first Christians (Acts 2).
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The objects of the Order were to defend the Catholic faith and to uphold the
Catholic nobility. It had one class, and was limited to 100 members, all of
whom had to be noble and to profess the Catholic faith. The Badge of the
Order is a gold, ball-tipped Maltese Cross, enamelled in white and green,
with a gold fleur-de-lys between each arm. In the centre is a white
enamelled dove flying with the head downwards - the traditional repesentation
of the Holy Spirit. The centre of the reverse is occupied by St. Michael
slaying a dragon. The badge was suspended from a sky blue riband worn over
the right shoulder. A silver star, embroidered with the same cross and dove,
complemented the Badge.
|  The Collar design. |
 The Badge in detail |
The Order was abolished during the French Revolution, but King Louis XVIII
awarded it while in exile, and re-established it in 1814, after the
restoration of the Bourbons. It was again abolished in 1830 by the July
Monarchy of King Louis-Philippe; but awards of it have since been made by
pretenders to the French throne. The reason for the latter actions is that,
at present, the Order is regarded as a dynastic order, one that belongs to a
sovereign Royal House, regardless of the fact that it is not regnant. The Head
of the French Royal House and his legitimate successors continue to enjoy the
right to bestow it, as it is regarded as an order to reward personal services
to the Royal House or its Head.
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A term used for holy writings, in particular the Bible or Holy Scriptures. In Rumours of Death, when Section Leader Forres asked Major Grenlee if he should seal the perimeter, due to a surveilance malfunction, the latter refused. When Forres pointed out that this was standard procedure, Grenlee responded, 'I don't give a damn if it's Holy Writ'.
This reference, while an implicit one to Christianity, was presumably unwittingly used by Grenlee as a general one to an authoritative text; because the reference had become detached from its Christian origin, both by time and by the Federation's anti-religious policy.
See also CHRISTIANITY.
One of the names suggested by Kerril for the planet she and Vila were taken to from Keezarn. Vila preferred Vilaworld as a name, but offered to let it be called Homeworld when she stormed off back to the ship.
| A variety of different homing devices were seen during the course of the series. The homing beacon used by the rebels in Project Avalon was a relatively large structure, but the devices used by Kasabi in Pressure Point, carried by Blake in Trial and Sara's homing beam transmitter in Mission to Destiny were pocket-sized: the latter had an implicitly considerable range, since its signal was intended for an unnamed party arriving in a ship of their own. |  Sara's homing beam transmitter in Mission to Destiny |
Few details of homing beacon transmissions were given, although Kasabi's in Pressure Point was to be placed at grid reference 331-1101, emitting a 3-long/2-short pulse sequence.
Tribe descended from the Council of Survivors after the war that destroyed Xenon's civilisation. The Hommiks appeared to be almost entirely male, and relied on capturing the Seska to supply them with wives and hence sons: daughters were left on the hillsides, and some were found by the Seska. Those near Dorian's base were under the rule of Gunn-Sar. There may or may not have been others elsewhere on the planet. After Gunn-Sar's death, Nina vowed to lead the Hommiks away to a new home.
Pella told Avon that the Hommiks reverted to primitive tribalism "centuries ago". Cato referred to a council that could apparently challenge Gunn-Sar's authority.
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Federation code-name for the planet Silmareno, "on the edge of the spiral
rim" and the only habitable planet in Zone Nine. It was visited annually by
a Federation freighter to take back monopasium-239 mined by the natives.
Nominally ruled by Ro, a native trained at the Central Educational Complex,
the Federation's Colonial Service kept its own representatives and a small
garrison present at all times. The planet was protected by a magnetic
barrier, and only Liberator's force wall prevented the ship from being
atomised.
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 Ro |
Whilst under torture, Blake openly called Ro a human being, a statement which
Ro did not gainsay, so it might be inferred that the inhabitants of Horizon
were descended from Earth colonists. Their culture, although technologically
primitive, was ornate and intricate, reminiscent of early South American
civilisation. Once the Federation personnel had been eliminated, Ro
installed himself as the true ruler. The name Horizon was, however,
retained.
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The name by which Zil referred to the living planet on which it and its species lived. Most of the Host's southern hemisphere was ocean, and Zen reported gravitational anomalies on the surface.
The planet's "oceans" had a composition analogous to saliva, and could swamp the landmasses in a matter of hours to cleanse the surface of parasites such as Zil. The planet's "crust" was very thin in at least some places, and the underlying substance was a source of food for Zil and its kind. Areas of the surface could open up to swallow unwary parasites. Vegetation, or something extremely like vegetation, was abundant on the land, and surface water was also present. The Host represents a fascinating (if improbable) organism in its own right, raising many awkward questions with regard to reproduction, movement, nutrition and especially evolution.
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The First Citizen of Obsidian, and a former associate of Hal Mellanby at the
Federation's Central Science Complex. He had renounced all forms of
violence, as had all the people of Obsidian, and believed that "Homo
sapiens has reached a point where further technological development is
pointless". His son, Bershar, was less committed to such lofty principles
and secretly worked in league with Servalan. Hower administered a lethal
overdose of anesthetic and killed him, later dying himself when he activated
the nuclear device buried in the volcano, destroying the planet.
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One of the detector systems on Liberator, mentioned several times. They detected scanning beams by enemy ships in Project Avalon, and the gravitational field of UP-The Web. They also reported the presence of the fluid particles attached to the outer hull in Terminal before the fluid's enzyme activity impaired their functioning. These references suggest that the hull sensors were largely if not totally a "passive" detector system.