This is an alphabetical listing of the more significant elements that have woven themselves into the various subcanonical stories. Those in published stories can be regarded as 'fixed', but the others remain flexible until their sources are (if ever) completed and put into print.
Many of these entries originate from uncompleted stories or ideas for stories; they are indicated with an 'unf'.
ALIEN - An ambiguous term of reference, applied equally to non-terrestrial lifeforms (exomorphs) and non-Human humanoids (parahumans or hominids). The Federation actively encourages this confusion.
ARILMAN ARMAMENTS - A Ferranchi corporation, specialising in military and policing hardware. Like all Ferranchi output, they have a reputation for quality. (Hunter)
BURKASSIAN EMPIRE - A Neutral Power, friendly to the Federation but placed under trade and diplomatic sanctions in NC 153 as a result of its appalling human rights record. (unf)
CENTRAL OFFICE FOR STATE SECURITY (COSS) - The full official title for Federation Central Security. Founded in NC 107 as a liaison body between the Civil Administration's Information Bureau and Space Command's Central Intelligence Control, COSS was and still is directly answerable only to the President. Over the course of half a century it has evolved into a sprawling semi-autonomous bureaucracy. Among its many subdepartments are the Psychostrategical Office and a paramilitary wing, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment. (unf)
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OFFICE (CIO) - A subdepartment of the Civil Administration Policing Bureau, responsible for solving all non-political crimes. (unf)
CYBANETIQUE SA - A Ferranchi corporation, best known for its cybernetic implants and personal augmentation hardware. They manufacture the Lazeron Destroyer that Travis chose for his prosthetic arm. They are rumoured to assist the Federation in the development of mutoids. (The Wit and Wisdom of the Dead)
FERRANCHI - The Ferranchi corporations occupy a unique position in the social infrastructure of the galaxy, having free right to operate almost anywhere they please (though not, however, in the Togoshima Arc). Each corporation is effectively an autonomous state dedicated to industry and commerce, with citizenship open to anyone willing to pledge loyalty to their chosen mother corporation. Rivalry between the various Ferranchi arms has at times led to open warfare between them, most noticeably in NC 150-53. Two of the best known Ferranchi clans are Arilman Armaments and Cybanetique SA. (unf)
GARRISON COMMAND - The largest department within Space Command, with units on all Federation colonies as well as Earth itself. GC personnel are notoriously under-trained and under-equipped, and mostly drawn from the Gamma and Delta grades. Most of the troopers encountered by Blake and his crew were GC.
NEUTRAL POWERS - The Federation accounts for some two thirds of the comonised galaxy. The rest consists of independent planets (many of them within the Federation's borders) and the Neutral Powers, widely scattered and mostly beyond Federation space. They are too widely separated to form any concerted threat to the Federation, and the Psychostategical Office of Central Security is deeply engaged in fostering distrust and rivalry amongst them. Among the more powerful are the Togoshima Arc and the Burkassian Empire.
NEW HAIFA - One of the Promised Worlds, settled by Judaiac exiles while they wait for the time when they can return to the Jerusalem Crater. Later annexed by the Federation, prompting the formation of the Judaiac Separatist Militia (Hunter). New Haifa under Federation rule is colloquially known as 'Sinnergogue' (unf).
PARAHUMAN - Any species descended from Homo sapiens but considered sufficiently distinct genetically to be considered a separate species. The Auronar (Homo auronae) are perhaps the best known example, but there are many others. Following the Hominid Wars that almost destroyed TASTRAF, true humans - and the Federation in particular - have regarded parahumans with intense suspicion. Parahumans enjoy only limited rights under Federation rule, and are firmly excluded from the Inner Worlds. They are also known as hominids, or referred to under the blanket term of 'aliens'. Most if not all parahuman species were artificially created in the early centuries of the Old Calendar. Definition of a genetic strain is often dictated more by political than scientific criteria - not all parahumans are non-sapiens, and some authorities outside the Federation argue that the distinction is genetically meaningless.
the RUS - A sparsely settled region of space beyond Federation borders, with a heterogenous population too disorganised to be considered a true Neutral Power. Known mainly for its cheap, substandard exports, such as Shimonov military hardware. (A Casting of Swords)
SOCIAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT (SHD) - Nominally under the control of the Policing Bureau, but effectively independent, the innocuously named SHD are the Federation's moral watchdogs. Responsible for policing recognised deviant activities such as pornography and prostitution, which are not strictly speaking illegal but considered a potential threat to social stability. They also track down unregistered homosexuals and monitor those that are registered. The vague parameters in which they operate often bring them into conflict with the regular police. Also known as the Shads and the Morality Police. (unf)
SPACE COMMAND POLICE - The Federation's military police, also known as the Scaps and the Bluebands. The latter term refers to the orbital ring of their helmets being blue rather than green. (unf)
SPECIAL RECONNAISSANCE REGIMENT - The paramilitary wing of COSS. Deployed widely throughout the galaxy, in counter-intelligence and special operations. They also guard the President's personal residence and the Praesidium on Earth. Since the 'Searers' constitute the President's personal guard, it would have been troopers of this force that Blake encountered guarding the Moon Disc plantations on Zondar. Regular uniform is similar to that of regular troopers, but lacks the green band around the helmet (cf Volcano, Rumours of Death).
TASTRAF - The Terran and Allied Systems Trade Federation, the precursor of the Terran Federation, formed to protect human interests from a perceived parahuman threat. Just how real that threat was in actuality is still hotly debated by historians, but the growing power of TASTRAF played a significant part in prompting the Hominid Wars that almost destroyed the galactic community towards the end of the Old Calendar. (unf)
TOGOSHIMA ARC - One of the Neutral Powers, and generally regarded as the technological front-runner within the colonised galaxy. Originally settled by colonists of Japanese origin. The Togis guard their secrets jealously - anything that passes out into the wider galactic community can be regarded as obsolete within the Arc itself. A small but rapidly growing proportion of the population are androids with full citizenship. A Togoshima corporation holds the charter to manage all diplomatic shuttles to and from the surface of Auron (A Candle in the Dark).