| The command ship used by Servalan to travel from Space Command HQ to Exbar. It looked like a pursuit ship, and may have been the modified Mark I pursuit ship Avon and Cally saw leaving Goth. It had a safe maximum speed of Time Distort 9, and an absolute maximum of TD-10. | |
Senior officials on Auron, male and female respectively. CA 1 referred to a Council of which these two may or may not have been members. He also described Cally as "that young rebel" which shows he at least knew of her, possibly personally before her departure from Auron. Being of an older generation, CA 1 and CA 2 were probably not very or not at all psi-developed. Since Avon et al developed the disease introduced by Servalan, CA 1 and CA 2 probably did likewise. Servalan ordered them to be taken out and shot, after which no more was seen of them.
Doctor in the dome city - one of his/er patients was Payter Fen.
|
Flamboyant, archaically dressed lieutenant of the Thaarn, who welcomed the
crew of the Liberator to Crandor, describing himself as the chief
executive of the Thaarn, come to negotiate a price for the herculanium in
Liberator. He wielded a neuronic whip, which he used to question
Dayna and a recalcitrant Tarrant. He was last seen struggling with Groff in
the Thaarn's control room, and presumably died when Crandor was destroyed. The title "caliph" comes from the arabic Khalifah, a successor, and was originally bestowed on the successors of Mahomet. Quite why the Thaarn's lackey should choose such a title was not divulged. |  |
Planet to which the Liberator was headed before Avon altered course for Terminal. Avon later told the crew to go there if he lost contact with them from Terminal. The ship would head there automatically twelve hours after his teleporting down anyway unless he returned earlier.
Jenna was asked by Largo on Callisto to run a cargo of shadow to Earth. She refused and was arrested soon after. This suggests that the "near worlds" she mentions in The Way Back are those colonised planets and moons in close proximity to Earth.
Callisto is the outermost large (or "Galilean") moon of Jupiter, with a diameter of 4,800 Km (marginally smaller than Mercury), orbiting Jupiter at a distance of 1.88 million km. It was discovered by Marius and Galileo (within a few days of each other) in 1610. Callisto's heavily-cratered surface has altered little since its early formation.
|
Some confusion surrounds Cally's origins. In Time Squad she declared
that she was sent from Auron to help the people of Saurian Major. In Dawn
of the Gods, however, Tarrant asked her what she did to upset her people,
and she admitted to being an exile in Children of Auron. CA 1
described her as a "rebel".
|  In Seek-Locate-Destroy |
 |
She first appeared carrying a flimsy-looking rifle (which was never seen
again in future episodes), preparing for a suicide mission against the
Federation communications relay station on Saurian Major. Her guerilla
experience surfaced again in Duel, where she expressed approval of
Blake's tactics in stalking Travis.
|
Significant brawls: In unarmed combat she had a mixed record, losing to Blake in Time Squad, being knocked unconscious by the substitute Avalon in Project Avalon, by Gan in Breakdown, overpowered by Ensor Jr in Deliverance, and Mori's troopers in Volcano. She was overpowered by Sherm whilst grappling with Bayban. She had to be rescued by Tarrant from a link on Terminal. She also needed to be restrained by Blake in The Web. On the other hand, she incapacitated a trooper in Seek-Locate-Destroy and another in Bounty, Molok in Hostage, another trooper in Children of Auron, and one of Sula's rebels in Rumours of Death.
|
Bodycount: She seemed quite prepared to kill Travis in
Seek-Locate-Destroy, but was restrained from doing so by Blake. Her
first actual kill came as late as City at the Edge of the World, where
she shot two of Bayban's men, one of them being Sherm. She also offered to
kill Bayban. She later shot a link on Terminal. She also fired on and
destroyed a gunship from Freedom City in Shadow after issuing two
warnings.
|  In Shadow |
 In Shadow with Moon Discs |
Captured by: Travis in Seek-Locate-Destroy, by the Amagons (along with
the rest of the crew) in Bounty, by the Altas (again with everyone
else) in Redemption, by the Federation in Horizon, by Molok in
Hostage, by the Chengans in Powerplay, by Mori in
Volcano, the Thaarn in Dawn of the Gods, by Servalan in
Children of Auron, by the Ultra in Ultraworld, and by Servalan
again (along with everyone else) in Terminal. Only in Dawn of the
Gods did she manage to escape entirely unaided, though in Hostage
she and Jenna disposed of Molok and kept the Liberator out of Travis"
hands.
|
|
Rescues: With help from the moon discs she saved the Liberator from
destruction in Shadow. She also attempted to rescue the rest of the
crew (bar Avon) in Horizon. She probably saved Vila's life in Dawn
of the Gods by telepathically telling him to run from the approaching
vehicle, and later allowed the entire crew to escape by persuading the Thaarn
to switch off the energy isolaters. She also rescued Avon and Vila in
Sarcophagus.
|  In Weapon |
|
Significant injuries: Cally sustained serious burns to her left hand in
The Web, was tortured by Travis in Seek-Locate-Destroy,
received a significant head injury from the android Avalon, knocked
unconscious by Gan in Breakdown, suffered facial burns escaping from
the stricken Liberator after the Intergalactic War, briefly contracted
the disease introduced to Auron by Servalan and had her mind emptied by the
Ultra (it later being restored by Tarrant).
|  |
 Gagged on Obsiion (Volcano) |
Places visited: Over the course of 37 episodes she set foot on Saurian Major,
Centero, UP-Bounty, Aristo, Space World, Zonda, Horizon,
UP-Gambit, Star One, Chenga, Obsidian, Crandor, Kairos, Keezarn,
Auron, Earth, Ultraworld and Terminal - a total of just 18 planets/space
stations. She remained aboard the Liberator in no less than 16
episodes.
|
|
Her first words ("Who are you") were telepathically transmitted to Blake, but
she used her talent rather infrequently. See TELEPATHY
for more details. Her last recorded spoken
words were "She's beginning to go", referring to Liberator's breaking
up above Terminal. Her final word was "Blake", telepathically screamed as
the underground complex on Terminal blew up.
|  In Dawn of the Gods |
 In The Harvest of Kairos |
She was subjected to mental take-over no less than five times, by the Lost in
The Web, by the Darkness in Shadow, by the Thaarn in Dawn of
the Gods, by an undead alien in Sarcophagus and by the Ultra in
Ultraworld. She also detected the malign nature of the alien
pathogens carried by Wanderer K47 in Killer. She suggested
that the Lost were able to take control of her because she was unprepared for
them, and the same is possibly true of the other occasions when malign
influences seized control of her mind.
|
She was on various occasions referred to as an alien and a human (see AURON). The loneliness of a single telepath was referred to in Time Squad, when she cursed Blake with "May you die alone and silent", and in Mission to Destiny when she telepathically cried "Alone!" when roused from the effects of the sono vapour. Much was also made of this by the Thaarn - who claimed to share this loneliness, and offered to make her "queen of a thousand worlds" - and the undead alien in Sarcophagus, who believed that Cally could have no true loyalties to any non-telepath (Avon proved her wrong).
|
Cally's loyalty to Blake was apparently unflinching, although she did
question his fanaticism in Star One and Blake accused her of colluding
with Avon in Voice from the Past. In Sarcophagus she was quick
to let go of Vila's hand having rescued him, but openly expressed delight at
seeing him return in City at the Edge of the World. Her initial
relationship with Jenna was rather bristly. Relations between Cally and Avon
were ambiguous (and the subject of considerable fan discussion): they worked
well as a team in City at the Edge of the World, but she lost no
opportunity in putting him down in Children of Auron (admittedly, this
was just after he had criticised Auron's isolationist policy). In
Sarcophagus Avon relied on Cally's loyalty to the rest of the crew and
himself in particular to defeat the undead alien.
|  In Moloch |
Cally also has the distinction of having the most drastic haircut ever undertaken by a member of the crew, at some point between Orac and Redemption.
Cameras appeared or were mentioned in thirteen episodes in the series:
|
The Way Back: One of the first things seen was a camera observing
people, including Blake, in the Federation dome. It was presumably a model
widely used by the Federataion, as its type would be seen in later
episodes. It was small and black, with a white light for a 'lens', and a
red light on top, the latter when activated presumably showing that the
camera was on.
|  |
 |
Another type of camera seen was a tape camera: a small hand-held
camera used by Tel Varon to record images of the massacre by Federation
security of those at a political meeting.
When not in use, the camera was carried in a small shoulder bag, which also
appeared to contain another device. Connected to the camera by a lead, it
may have been used to supply power to and store recorded images from the
former.
|
| Rumours of Death: A surveilance camera around Residence One, on Earth, in Section Six One Delta Zero, was shown, which was jammed by Anna Grant and her followers, enabling them to capture the building. |  |
| Death-Watch: Three floating remote comtrolled cameras were seen, used for a public viscast. The remote comtrol of these 'remotes' was also exercised via voice. |  |
Code name for the professional killer hired by Servalan to eliminate Avon and his crew. Cancer had a jet black ship emblazoned with a crab, and a man wearing a dark outfit sporting a similar motif was taken to be Cancer by Avon, Tarrant and Soolin. He was in fact an actor purchased by Servalan on Domo. See PIRI.
Candles were seen burning in the church on Cygnus Alpha. No indication given as to the source of the wax. The same applies to those seen burning in Meegat's underground bunker on Cephlon. Another candle was seen in the dungeons below the surface of Goth.
Mentioned by Vila as having occurred on isolated colonies. He considered Obsidian a viable contender for being populated by cannibals.
Rank within the Federation and elsewhere. Tarrant told Avon he trained as a Federation Space Captain, and introduced himself to Avon and Dayna as "Captain Del Tarrant". Servalan's aide on Bucol-2 was a Captain. Shad and Deral were accorded the rank of Captain. Civilians could also hold this rank, as on the Space Princess voyaging under Captain Kennedy. Sherm addressed Bayban as "captain", but this was probably not a formal rank.
|
Psychostrategist, modestly self-described as "brilliant", who worked with
Servalan in her attempts to secure IMIPAK. He mentioned discussing a fee,
suggesting he expected her to pay for his services. He carried a computer
chess game with him at all times, allegedly the best available, and said that
he had beaten it six times in a row. He later gave it to a young officer as:
"A small return for saving my life, but then it's all I own". Whether he
meant his life or the game... After realising that his scheme would fail,
due to him being misinformed, he fled into hiding, leaving a farewell message
for Servalan in which he called her "the sexiest officer I have ever
known".
|  |
Jenna asked Orac to inform Space Command of the approaching alien fleet because Orac's carrier beam was "the fastest way to contact Servalan". This may indicate that Orac could make contact directly, rather than through a series of relays, or that its communications signals did travel physically faster than the Liberator"s. In Shadow Orac's carrier waves became the bridge through which an alien force (calling itself the Darkness) planned to enter the universe from its own dimension. Orac's carrier waves/beam passed through this dimension, as did Cally's telepathy.
Presumably a planet where, according to Vila, a type of 'swamp fever' was located that killed 'millions'.
Mentioned by Durkim as one of the frontier worlds on which climate control had broken down. The brief clip of film shown by Durkim showed palm trees.
A planet in Sector 5, described as "Earth-type". Dr. Plaxton and her assistant, Napier, were in hiding there, developing the photonic drive for a group of space rats. Dayna and Vila teleported down, Avon, Tarrant and Soolin later landing in Scorpio. Caspar was one of the few planets on which Scorpio physically landed.
| Cassiona was marked on the star chart consulted by Blake and Jenna when searching for possible sources of treatment for Gan. The necessary surgery could have been performed there, but it was a Federation stronghold. |  |
Means by which Prell informed Travis of Blake's theft of the cypher machine on Centero. Prell presumably decided to use a courier (probably a form of small, fast space craft) so as not to alert Blake to the fact that the theft had been detected.
Gunn-Sar's advisor on Xenon. He had access to and understanding of the forgotten computer and surveillance equipment buried in the heart of the Hommik stronghold, knowledge which he kept secret from Gunn-Sar. He had managed to learn something of the history of Xenon, some or all of which may have been known to others. He was killed by a bolt telekinetically fired by Pella from a crossbow held by Avon.
| Leader of the rebels on Albian, who gathered a force of 150 resistance fighters from groups all over the planet. He then hired Del Grant to plan their attack on the Federation garrison. He elected to stay on Albian - even if the solium radiation device detonated - when offered a chance to leave by Blake. |  |
The cell in which Blake was held whilst awaiting trial on Earth.
| Pronounced "Kentero" Planet from which Blake stole a Federation cypher machine. The planet had a breathable atmosphere. Blake teleported down with Avon, Vila, Gan and Cally, and Blake returned to rescue Cally from Travis. The planet was within a few hours" journey of the space station where Servalan appointed Travis to hunt down Blake. |  |
Located on Earth, and probably central only to the dome city seen in the episode. The three children allegedly assaulted by Blake were treated there by Dr Havant on the date 52.6.8, and other admissions on that date included Seer, Aylmer, Bric, Wyle and Mora. The access code from the Public Records Computer was alpha-00288-alpha.
|
Possibly synonymous with Central Control, but references may be to the
central records etc. of particular departments. Travis told Keera that her identity was recorded in the "central computers"; Keera herself believed that such information was not recorded anywhere.
|  This person, reluctantly, obtains the information, from the central computer for Varon, Blake's advocate, regarding the three children who brought allegations against Blake in episode one, The Way Back. He is not referred to by name. |
Several references were made in Orbit to "Central Records". Egrorian's file was noted as 15/9/834, and Tarrant discovered from Central Records that Pinder was only twenty-eight years old. This was some time after the destruction of Star One and so could not refer to Central Control, unless the central Federation computer complex had been rebuilt in the meantime.
|
Also known as Federation Central Control. First mentions appeared to be in
Weapon, where Cally guessed that Blake was planning an attack on
Earth, and in Horizon, where the Assistant Kommissar requested
permission to inform Central Control of Blake's presence. Central Control
was out of communication range with Horizon, and also beyond the range of
Flotilla 13, which came to the planet at the Kommissar's request.
|  Star One |
Space Major Provine had at one time worked for Central Control and it was he who told Blake that the computer complex had been moved to Star One. Of those involved in its reconstruction, all had been killed, or rendered amnesiac by the cybersurgeon Docholli, except for fellow cybersurgeon Lurgen. See also STAR ONE.
Presumably a training centre for natives chosen to rule their planets on behalf of the Federation. The CEC was probably under the auspices of the Colonial Service. Ro trained at the CEC before returning to Horizon, and Movo, Selma and perhaps Porah probably also attended courses there.
|
Borr was an Intelligence Commander at Central Intelligence Control. Details
were few, but CIC may be the intelligence network established after the
Intergalactic War to replace Federation Central Control. However, CIC may
also be the Bureau of which Ardus was a former officer, and the Bureau was a
pre-War department. It may, of course, have been integrated into a new
Central Intelligence organ after the War.
|  Borr |
Hal Mellanby and Hower both trained at the Federation Central Science Complex, which was probably but not necessarily on Earth.
Hal Mellanby was awarded a graduation medallion which Dayna took with her when she left Sarran. She continued to wear it around her neck until she reached Xenon after which no more was seen of it. Hower admitted to having had a similar medallion. The device on the medallion might be variously interpreted as mb or m6 or possibly something else entirely.
Federation department, based on Earth. It was an early target for the rebels in the uprising after the Intergalactic War, and many of those not killed there were captured. Shrinker, whilst working with the rebels, questioned a "controller" from Central Security. Central's best agent was Bartolomew, otherwise known as Anna Grant.
Register from which Blake, via Orac, obtained details of Wanderer K47"s disappearance, implying that at least some of its records went back 700 years or more.
Planet with a breathable atmosphere but very high radiation levels, the residue of a war that had almost wiped out the population. Ensor Jr. referred to it as once being "the trading and cultural centre for this entire star system". Gravity was 1.25g. It was inhabited by a very primitive and aggressive people which Meegat referred to as "scavengers". They wore skins, indicating some form of animal life on the planet. Meegat was one of another, dwindling, group of people (less than a hundred in number, by her own account) waiting for someone to arrive and fulfil the prophecies of Kashel the Wise. Avon, Jenna, Vila and Gan all teleported down, hunting for survivors from Ensor Jr's ship, and contracted severe radiation sickness as a result. The systems status reports on the chemical rocket in Meegat's bunker were spoken in Terran.
Zen referred to Asteroid P-K118 being removed from what sounded like "Ceron" orbit, suggesting a planet or system by the name of Ceros.
| Described by Chenie as "Krantor's professional killer", he managed to bring Travis to Krantor but, despite intimidating Chenie, failed to locate Docholli. He eventually died in a shoot-out with Travis near the docking bays. His name was pronounced variously as Chevedik by Chenie, Chevedeet by Krantor, Sevedik by Cally, Shevedik by Toise and Shevedish by Travis. |  |
Institution in which Vila was held as a boy. He described it to Pella as an "academy", and she believed him until he mentioned he was chosen as technical advisor for the escape. CF-1 may or may not have been connected with the penal colony he mentioned in Stardrive.
|
Leader of the Terra Nostra, who turned a heavy cruiser over to Largo to take
on Blake. He later appointed Largo's enforcer to take Largo's place. He was
seen feeding a large spider or spider-like creature in a cage. There is no evidence to support or deny the theory that the Chairman was also the President of the Terran Federation. |  |
CHARL(B-12: THE KEEPER)Ruler of Goth, full title Charl of the Tents of Goth. The Charl at the time of Blake's visit was Gola, but the position was contested by his brother Rod. They had both conspired to have their father dethroned and imprisoned. He later died in the dungeons. Gola defeated Rod in single combat, but was then poisoned by his sister Tara, who became Charl. Since Tara appeared to be somewhat older than Gola, it would seem that the position was inherited through the male line whenever possible. CHASGO(D-9: SAND)Servalan's pilot on the second expedition to Virn, remaining in the ship until Servalan returned alone. He threw out the sand which entered the ship because he "didn't like the look of it". CHEL(C-1: AFTERMATH)
CHEMICAL ROCKET(A-12: DELIVERANCE)Type of space craft by which Kashel the Wise intended to send genetic banks and brood units from Cephlon to a new home. It was presumably shielded from the high radiation levels prevalent on the planet's surface. Flight time to Maclin Alpha was five hundred years. Referred to by Meegat as "Deliverance" and launched by Avon. See also Rocket CHENEY(A-11: BOUNTY)Subcommander, in charge of security forces around Sarkoff's residence. Cheney was the first trooper to be seen wearing a helmet with the visor raised. He apparently survived Blake's visit. CHENGA(C-2: POWERPLAY)
CHENIE(B-11: GAMBIT)
CHESIL(C-11: MOLOCH)
CHESKU(C-8: RUMOURS OF DEATH)
CHESS(various episodes)
CHEVNER(A-9: PROJECT AVALON)One of the rebels working with Avalon and probably a Subterron. He was the only survivor of the massacre conducted by Travis" mutoids. Initially suspicious of Blake and Jenna, he played a crucial part in their "rescue" of Avalon, shooting at least three troopers with an M16 assault rifle, but was killed by the android Avalon on the Liberator.
CHOPPER(D-10: GOLD)
CHRISTIANITY(various episodes) By Murray SmithWith Islam, it was one of the two religions of late twentieth century Earth referred to in the series. Explicit references:
CHRONICLE DISCS(D-2: POWER)Data storage medium consulted by Dayna and Tarrant on Xenon to discover the history of the war between Hommiks and Seska. Nina, then a Seska, was seen reading a battle report until she was interrupted by the arrival of a large axe. CHRONOMETER(various episodes) Written by Murray Smith and Ellie Baskerville.A timepiece originally designed to be accurate in all conditions of a ship's motion, temperature, pressure, and gravity, allowing accurate timekeeping - and therefore accurate navigation - to take place at sea. The first properly accurate Earth chronometers were designed and made by the British clockmaker John Harrison (1693-1776). In the Blake's 7 universe, it was used to refer to a timepiece worn around the wrist, known to many inhabitants of late twentieth century Earth as a 'wristwatch'. In 'Gold', Keiller advised the passangers of the Space Princess to 'please tune all chronometers to frequency seven for syncronization with Federation Standard Time'. Chronometers were worn by 17 of the characters in the series - most notably in the first season - in the following episodes:
Other chronometers shown were, in late twentieth-century terms, more conventional looking. Blake, in 'Orac', wore a chronometer that, while black, had a round face with hands. Overall, external chronometer design in the Blake's 7 universe appeared to be quite achronistic, relying on late twentieth-century wristwatch models. Also of interest was the lax attitude of the Federation authorities to the wearing of chronometers by prisoners, despite the security risks. Blake's chronometer was taken from him before his trial in 'The Way Back', but restored to him after he was sentenced; he was later seen using it to co-ordinate the attempted takeover of the London in 'Space Fall'. From what was seen in 'Hostage', Ushton was also presumably allowed to bring his chronometer with him to Exbar.
CHURCHES(various episodes)
Sir Winston CHURCHILL(A-11: BOUNTY)A portrait of Churchill is visible in Sarkoff's collection. CIRCUIT INTEGRATORS(A-1: THE WAY BACK)
CITIES(various episodes)Very few urban locations were visited by the crew. Blake was originally seen to live in an enclosed dome city on Earth (sources outside the series refer to "West Europ Dome" - no mention of this was made in the episode as broadcast). Space City was an artificial space environment, run by the Terra Nostra. Fen referred to a city on UP-Clonemaster, much of it alive and made of a mood-responsive vegetable life form. The conference centre on Atlay was presumably within a city. Freedom City was located on an unnamed planet. Keldon City was struck by the neutron drive unit of the destroyed Nova Queen. There was at least one city on Auron. At least some of the events in Death-Watch probably took place within a city. The magnetrix terminal on Helotrix was within an unnamed city, and some large pyramidal buildings were discernible in the background on occasion. In Warlord, Avon presented a videocast of pacified citizens on the planet Zondawl, this film having been taken in a distinctly urban environment. CITY AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD(C-6: CITY AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD)Translated name of the city-like structure on Keezarn to which Vila was taken to open the vault door for Bayban. Vila deduced that the structure was not a city at all but a "travel terminus". It was destroyed by Bayban's use of a laser cannon in attempting to reopen the door. CIVIL ADMINISTRATION- see ADMINISTRATIONCIVIL LIST(D-2: TRAITOR)Practor was noted by the General on Helotrix as having been on the Federation's Civil List for years, and his loyalty was beyond question. The Civil List may have been a catalogue of reliable individuals who could be entrusted to handle affairs for the Federation on their home worlds. Alternatively, it may refer to a noble or equivalent class native to Helotrix. CIVILIAN CITATION(B-4: PRESSURE POINT) By Murray Smith.The description of a Federation award for bravery, which possibly originated from a mention in an official Federation dispatch. Travis told Veron in _Pressure Point_ that she might receive the award because she trapped Blake and most of his crew in a building without their teleport bracelets, suggesting that it was at least conferred on civilians who risked their lives to prevent crime. No further details were given of the award in terms of where it stood in any Federation order of precedence, or if its recipients were allowed to wear any emblem or ribbon.
CLERK OF COURT(A-1: THE WAY BACK/ B-10: TRIAL) By Murray Smith.
CLIP GUN(D-1: RESCUE ff)Multi-purpose sidearm developed by Dorian on Xenon. The weapon could fire a variety of ordnance depending on which colour-coded clip was inserted. Dayna listed "laser, plasma bullet, percussion shell, micro grenade, stun, drug" as among those available, and described the weapon as "the best I've ever seen". Stun clips were coloured red. Dorian made at least five of these clip guns, and the gun locker on Scorpio could hold up to six clip guns and nine ammunition clips. Two clip guns were destroyed by Muller's android, using its ability to influence circuitry over a distance. CLONEMASTERS(B-3: WEAPON)
CLONING(B-3: WEAPON / C-7: CHILDREN OF AURON)
In Animals Servalan asked Justin how soon Og could be ready for cloning. COFFEE(C-11: MOLOCH)Shortly after Servalan arrived on Sardos, Grose offered her "coffee, from beans". This might imply the existence of synthetic or ersatz coffee. COLONIAL SERVICE(B-4: HORIZON)The Kommissar and Assistant Kommissar were representatives of the Federation's Colonial Service on Horizon. Few details were given, but the Central Educational Complex was probably within the Service's sphere of responsibility. COLOUR BLINDNESS(A-13:ORAC) written by Murray SmithIt is highly likely that Ensor was colour blind; for he was unable to distinguish between the red and green buttons on the device used to administer electronic anaesthesia to him. See also ELECTRONIC ANAESTHESIA. COMBAT GROUNDS(C-12: DEATHWATCH)
COMMANDER TECHNICIAN(B-7: KILLER)Tynus described his position on the Q-base on Fosforon as Commander Technician, subordinate to Federation Security. COMMERCE(various episodes)The commercial infrastructure of the galaxy was rarely alluded to in any detail, but a few references include the following.
COMMUNICATIONS(various episodes)
It was noted in Weapon that a Federation "priority-1 communication" was automatically relayed to the senior officer present at the receiving end. Short-range hand-held communicators of various designs were seen in many episodes. More unusual was Krantor's dressing table mirror, which also doubled when required as an audio-visual link. Orac had what it called in Hostage a unique ability to intercept transmissions. See also CYPHER MACHINES, HYPERSPACE SUB-BEAM, ORAC COMPUTERS(various episodes)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.
COMPUTER FLIGHT COORDINATION(B-13: 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.
CONFIRMATION CIRCUITS(A-7: MISSION TO DESTINY)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".
CONSTELLATION(various episodes)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.
CONTROLLED BEAMING(B-10: VOICE FROM THE PAST)When Cally mentioned the artificial telepathy transmission project on Auron, Avon asked "Controlled Beaming?", presumably to clarify his own understanding of the technology.
CONTROLLED PARTICLE EMISSION(B-2: SHADOW)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. CONTROLLER(A-6: SEEK-LOCATE-DESTROY / C-8: RUMOURS OF DEATH)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. CORE(C-10: ULTRAWORLD)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. COSER(B-3: WEAPON)
COUNCILLORS(various episodes)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. COUNCIL OF SURVIVORS(D-2: POWER)Referred to by Cato. After the war that had destroyed 10,000 years of progress on Xenon, the Council of Survivors had decreed that civilisation should start again from the beginning with "wooden tools, flint arrowheads, the wheel", and didn't appear to have progressed very far by the time Avon arrived. The Hommik council referred to by Cato may have had its origins in this council.
COURSE COMMANDS(various episodes)A number of course commands were given in the series, in a variety of formats. As examples: In Mission to Destiny the Ortega's last course before Rafford's death was "delta red two". In Children of Auron the Liberator is following course 82804 to Earth. Course was later changed to 0310 for Auron and later still to 03K20 for Kahn. In Moloch Servalan was shadowed by Liberator along "course 6453 nil curvature". In Headhunter, Scorpio was following course 850 by 281 to Pharos, and returned to Xenon on course 152 by 005. COURSE INTERCEPTOR(B-10: VOICE FROM THE PAST)Mentioned by Avon as a project conducted (unsuccessfully) by Space Command. The device was intended to attune itself to the circuitry of ships" computers, presumably to control them. Ven Glynd referred to the artificial telepathy transmitter as a "course interceptor", but any control it exerted appeared to be restricted to Blake. COURT OF INQUIRY(A-12: DELIVERANCE)A tribunal of commissioned military officers, appointed to investigate and report on matters connected with the military, including the conduct of military personnel. If the latter is the case, all the tribunal's members should be senior to the person whose conduct is being investigated. If the appointing authority directs, the tribunal will offer opinions and recommendations on the matters investigated. Despite its title, it is not A "court" in the conventional, judicial sense. Those appointed to carry out the inquiry are temporary appointees, not judges, and exercise no judicial functions. While such a tribunal has established formal procedures, including the power to subpoena witnesses and to administer oaths or affirmations, its report to the appointing authority is not binding, and may be disregarded by the latter. This may explain a couple of remarks made by Servalan to Travis in /Deliverance/. She first said that she was afraid that his suspension and "the court of inquiry into your [Travis's] mishandling of the Blake affair might have broken his spirit. She then said that he was "expected to resign the service". This presumably refers to the fact that the court of inquiry mentioned severely censured Travis's conduct in its report, and may have made recommendations; but it itself had no authority to discipline him. This severe censure on top of his suspension had, however, made many presume that the resulting humiliation would have led Travis to resign from the military.
COURTS (FEDERATION)(A-1: THE WAY BACK/ B-10: TRIAL) By Murray SmithTwo Federation courts were shown in the series: the civil court that tried and convicted Blake for at least 8 offences against 3 children (The Way Back); and the court martial that tried and convicted Travis for the murder of 1,417 unarmed civilians (Trial). Both trials suggest a Federation courts system, particularly a criminal courts system, that while similar in places to Earth courts systems of the late twentieth century AD, is different in others. Differences also exist between the two trials, presumably as Travis's was for a more serious offence and before a military court. See Very Expanded Notes about Courts.
CRANDOR(C-4: DAWN OF THE GODS)
One of the strange vehicles being used for rounding up runaway slaves CREDIT(various episodes)Unit of currency throughout much of the galaxy. References include the following:
CRIMINOTHERAPISTS(A-1: THE WAY BACK / B-10: VOICE FROM THE PAST)Employed by the Federation, they practised hypnotic illusion to revise or suppress memory. The term "criminotherapist" was not used in The Way Back, but Dr Havant described to Ven Glynd and Alta Morag how sealed off areas of memory were normally impenetrable, although mental trauma or nervous breakdown could render them accessible. Havant later went on to say that creating an illusion of reality was "quite simple". Varon deduced that this process had been performed on Carl Deca, Renor Leesal and Payter Fen, to make them believe that Blake had assaulted them, and he told Maja that the technique had been perfected "years ago" but banned by the medical profession. The criminotherapists referred to in Voice from the Past used drugs, hypnotic signals and audio support in their work, after a time the signals alone being sufficient to bring about the desired response in a patient. Blake had presumably been treated by criminotherapists, something which Ven Glynd exploited by transmitting, with the Auron artificial telepathy device, the hypnotic signal with which he had been formerly treated. Blake's voiced renunciations of the Freedom Party were a side effect of this transmission, its primary purpose being to tell Blake to head for Asteroid P-K118, which he did. In the same episode, Servalan mused over the idea of turning Governor LeGrand over to criminotherapists.
CRIMO(B-8: HOSTAGE)
CROSSBOWS(B-12: THE KEEPER / D-1: POWER)Crossbows were used as weapons on Goth and by the Hommiks of Xenon. The former fired bolts which exploded on impact. CRUISER(various episodes)Type of vessel. References included the following: "Planet listing" K-14 was noted as a repair and supply base for Federation deep space cruisers; the Ortega was described as a Mark III Galaxy Class cruiser; Servalan came to UP-Project Avalon aboard a "command cruiser"; the Amagons boarded the Liberator from the civilian cruiser Star Queen; the Chairman of the Terra Nostra gave Largo a heavy cruiser to pursue the Liberator; in Volcano the Liberator was attacked by eight Federation cruisers, of which 4-5 were destroyed; in Children of Auron Servalan's ship was described by Patar as an "ex-Federation cruiser" (and in Moloch by Servalan as a Mark II Star Cruiser); Karla told Deeta Tarrant that he would probably be transferred to a military cruiser now that war had been declared; Slave reported the launch of three B-19 cruisers from the surface of Helotrix; Servalan flew to Malodar in an L-Type Cruiser CRYOGENIC CAPSULE(A-4: TIME SQUAD)
C-TYPE PATROLLER(C-7: CHILDREN OF AURON)Space craft of Auron manufacture. The C-type patroller flown by Pilot 4-0 was crippled by an ionic beam and brought aboard Servalan's star cruiser, where the pilot was infected with an alien pathogen before returning to Auron on manual. Despite its ungainly appearance, the craft could make surface landings.
CURSE OF CYGNUS(A-3: CYGNUS ALPHA)Illness contracted by all those who set foot on Cygnus Alpha. Vargas convinced new arrivals that there was no cure, but that the symptoms could be suppressed by daily doses of a drug. The drug, however, was nothing more than "a simple compound", the illness passing naturally after a few hours. It was contracted by Vila, Gan, Arco, Selman and the other prisoners who landed on Cygnus Alpha, and also presumably by Blake. The first symptoms appeared about two hours after arriving on Cygnus Alpha. CUSTOMS GUARDS(A-11: BOUNTY)Tarvin and Jenna remembered the time when they hid in the mountains on Zolat-4 from 300 customs guards. Jenna saved Tarvin's life during this period, but no further details were given.
CYBERSURGERY(B-12: GAMBIT)Cally referred to Docholli as "the Federation's top cybersurgeon", although the exact nature of his work was unclear. He operated on the technicians who built Star One's computer complex, removing all knowledge of its location from their memories (though he arranged to fake the operation on Lurgen, a fellow cybersurgeon). On the trip to Freedom City, he rebuilt Zee's lost leg "out of pieces". He carried a small case of instruments with him, some of which he used to reconnect Travis" arm. This might have been a simple operation, however, since Jarriere disconnected it himself. On the other hand, Jarriere might also have been a cybersurgeon. Lurgen was also a cybersurgeon, one of the 30 technicians who built Star One. He apparently used his skill on Goth to heal Gola. See also PROSTHETIC DEVICES.
61 CYGNI(B-7: KILLER) By Murray SmithA binary star system, consisting of two orange dwarf stars, 11.1 light years from Earth. While one of the closest star systems to the latter, it was still uncharted by the time of Blake's 7, and popularly called the Darkling Zone as a result. This was due to the disappearance of a large number of space ships there over a number of centuries, including Wanderer Class One K47. The events shown in Killer led to Blake's presumption that the star system was inhabited by 'an alien civilization, highly advanced, deeply distrustful of mankind, avoiding all contact'. This alien civilization returned K47 loaded with a virus that, according to Dr. Bellfriar, was devised to 'confine him [man] to his own planet [Earth]'. See DARKLING ZONE. CYGNUS ALPHA(A-3: CYGNUS ALPHA)
The star Alpha Cygni, also known as Deneb, is some 1,600 light years from Earth. It is catalogued as an A2 star, and as such is unlikely to have a planetary system. CYGNUS XL(D-8: GAMES)A black hole, and the final star in the sequence that revealed the location of Belkov's missing feldon crystals. Locking the panels of Orbiter onto Cygnus XL pulled the ship towards the black hole. Cygnus X-1, a powerful X-ray source with a supergiant companion, is a possible black hole in the constellation of Cygnus. CYNRA(A-13: ORAC)Seen on the same star chart as Aristo on the Liberator's flight deck. CYPHER MACHINES(various episodes)
The trouble with capturing cypher machines was that they became useless once the codes had been changed. Travis could have had the codes altered within hours of Blake's attack on Centero, but held back to lure Blake back with news of Cally's capture. Blake told Sarkoff that the codes were changed after he learned of the Lindor Strategy. In Voice from the Past he used the changing of codes and the sense of futility it generated to reinforce his commitment to LeGrand's bloodless coup. It is also worth noting that Orac could intercept and decode transmissions, as it did with Travis" message to Blake. This implies unspecified limits to Orac's capabilities: if it really could access any information Blake required, there would have been no need to take risks capturing cypher machines.
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