4                          Inhabited planets: 226
    A. Oghma                  C. Dagda
    B. Thoth                  D. Ukko

CHANG, Cheong: (2050-2149) First Sovereign of the Terran Empire. Retired from the USMC as a Major General in 2097. Became acquainted with Reinhard Nannstein, an acquaintanceship that became a close friendship. At Nannstein's urging, Chang entered Solar Federation politics, rapidly earning a reputation for outstanding statesmanship and unyielding integrity. Elected President of the Federation in 2124, he was aware that his friend's work on gravitics (and the high probability that faster-than-light travel would soon follow) would require some drastic changes, and he began laying the groundwork for them. In 2125, Nannstein invented hyperdrive; as humanity exploded away from Terra, Chang and Nannstein acted. Democratic government, even as loose as the Federation's, had become so obviously impractical--and Chang was so highly regarded--that they were able to persuade the Federation Congress to pass a constitutional amendment dissolving the Federation and establishing the Terran Empire--on the condition that Chang agree to be Emperor. One of his first acts on assuming the Throne was to create the Rangers and nobility; another was to direct the regularization of English. His alphabet and some of his other linguistic changes caught on; some did not. He died seconds after midnight, 1 January 2149.

CHIEF'S BENCH: (Sandeman) A judicial-style bench in the clanhome's main hall, used by the clan-chief on formal occasions.

CHIEF'S RIGHT: (Sandeman) A clan-chief's right to impose punishment on one who has committed a serious offense against a member of his clan.

CHIRON, Subsector 8-A:

CIRCLE OF LORDS: The Traiti deities, three females and nine males--one of whom, Lord Esteban the Peacelord, is a human. All were planned for and then influenced, to a greater or lesser degree, by the psionic computer called Godhome--which had been left behind for that task when the Others departed to continue their development on another plane of existence. Once those who were to become Lords agreed to serve, Godhome forced them into full intellectual and emotional maturity; although they have powers generally thought of as godlike, they think of themselves as parents. Their aim, over millennia, is to bring all intelligence to their level; their philosophy is that self-responsibility is essential to natural maturation, so they intervene only when, and only as much as, absolutely unavoidable for racial survival.

CLAN NAMES, TRAITI: Naming convention is one or two letters, an apostrophe, and one or two syllables to form something pronounceable. Clan names probably had meaning when the clans were originally established, but those meanings have become lost over the millennia. (Some clan-names established in the series so far: Ch'geasht, Ch'kara, D'gameh, K'horan, N'chark, St'nar.)

CLANS, SANDEMAN: The basic unit of Sandeman society, the extended "family". While the clan-chief is in charge and has the last word, he is not--cannot be--a dictator. Until Overthrow, clans were established by the Shapers and restricted in size to 200-500 members; since then, some have gotten larger, and a new clan is formed by agreement between two or more "parent" clans who contribute members and resources.

Some established clans (those with asterisks formed by the Shapers), with their specialties and brief notes if applicable; there may be a more detailed entry as well, under the clan name, if available information justifies it.

Alanna*: edged weapons; the First Clan.
     Cid
     Datha