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Sevencyclopaedia - T

T-16 SPACE TRANSPORTEREdit

(C-11: MOLOCH)

Widely used as a troop carrier, the T-16 looked very similar to the London and may have been the military version. It carried no armament and no scanning devices (the latter seems a trifle strange). It was also poorly designed, with a useless cavity towards the rear. It may thus have been a makeshift military adaptation of a civil craft. The T-16 ferrying convicts from Kalkos to Sardos was the only remaining vessel of the Federation's Fifth Legion.

TACHYON FUNNELEdit

(D-11: ORBIT)

Powerful weapon developed by Egrorian, probably derived from his understanding of parallel matter. Egrorian claimed that the tachyon funnel could destroy anything, instantly, completely, and at any range. As a demonstration Egrorian destroyed Porphyrus, a lunar satellite 17 light years away.

No real technical details were given save that eight neutrons formed the core of the accelerator. Development of the tachyon funnel had apparently begun over ten years previously, but further funding had been blocked by the senior administrators at the Space Research Institute. It can be deduced that Egrorian's subsequent disappearance was assisted by Servalan, presumably to allow him to complete the tachyon funnel for her own use.

Egrorian attempted to give Avon the tachyon funnel in exchange for Orac, later intending to recover it when the overloaded shuttle crashed back on Malodar. He threatened to turn the weapon on Scorpio if Avon did not agree. Avon jettisoned the funnel in his attempt to lighten the shuttle, presumably destroying it. Servalan then left Egrorian and Pinder behind on Malodar, so it can be assumed there was no second tachyon funnel in any stage of construction.

TAKEdit

(B-7: KILLER)

A member of Tynus" staff at the Q-base on Fosforon. He died of the plague there.

TANDOEdit

(D-13: BLAKE)

A bounty hunter on Gauda Prime, and according to Deva "worse than the people he hunted". Tando and two other bounty hunters worked with Blake in capturing Arlen, but she later shot the other two whilst Blake killed Tando himself.

TANGRAM CODEEdit

(D-3: TRAITOR)

One of two keys found by Dayna on the sentry guarding the pylene-50 production plant on Helotrix. The first was bogus and activated nerve gas dispensers. TAPE CAMERA (A-1: THE WAY BACK)

Recording device used by Varon to gather evidence against Blake's conviction. Long and slender, with a pistol-like grip, it was held up to the eye with one hand supporting the "barrel". TARA (B-12: THE KEEPER)

Sister of Gola and Rod and present at the court of the Charl. She claimed to have knowledge of mysteries handed down from the "Lost Time", and Gola feared her predictive powers and use of mind-affecting drugs. She predicted (accurately) the arrival of Jenna and Vila, and also (inaccurately) that Rod would kill Gola. Jenna was temporarily transfixed by Tara's powers. Tara poisoned Gola after he had killed Rod, leaving her to take the throne. TARIAL CELL (A-13: ORAC)

Developed by Ensor at the age of 18, the tarial cell became an integral component of a new generation of computers. Orac was able to extract information from computers because of this. Egrorian noted that tarial cells were virtually indestructible.

Tarriel cell is a common variant spelling. TARL (D-12: WARLORD)

A frontier system, represented in Avon's alliance of local warlords by Boorva. Tarl was among those systems that felt itself threatened by Zukan's ambitions. Boorva Deeta TARRANT (C-12: DEATHWATCH)

Del Tarrant's brother, he left Earth somewhat earlier than Del and eventually came to be champion for the United Planets of Teal. He was Champion for about four years, apparently defeating many challengers. At some point his brother apparently learnt about this, since Del immediately set a course for the scene of the combat on hearing of war being declared. As a result of this declaration, Deeta went into combat against the Vandor champion, Vinni, and died when Vinni beat him on the draw. He had earlier passed up a chance to shoot Vinni in the back. Although his brother was in the vicinity, they never met (Deeta had intended to see Del after the combat), but Deeta managed to transmit a last dying message to Del through the sensornet implanted in his brain. Del TARRANT (26 episodes from C-1: AFTERMATH)

Tarrant was a graduate of the Federation Space Academy, and his first command as a lieutenant was of the kairopan shuttle under Captain Jarvik at the harvest 15 years prior to Liberator's visit. At some point he was promoted to Space Captain. Ten years prior to Orbit he attended courses at the Space Research Institute, shortly after Egrorian's disappearance. He was later, according to the Ultra, posted missing along with a stolen pursuit ship with which he ran contraband in the Outer Planets, and by his own account got himself "mixed up in other peoples wars": Vila in Moloch referred to him having an execution order placed on his head for deserting. At some point he encountered Bayban. Caught up in the fighting during the Intergalactic War, he stole an officer's uniform and boarded the Liberator, using his bogus rank to assume command of Klegg and his troopers. He was the first to find Avon and Dayna aboard the ship, quickly deduced who Avon was, and endeavoured to keep Klegg from finding out whilst he dealt with Klegg's men.

Known relatives: One brother, Deeta (see above). Deeta, as he died, called Del "little brother", suggesting that Del was the younger.

Notable brawls: Tarrant grappled with a number of people, including Jarvik on Kairos (when he lost); Doran in Moloch, a link on Terminal, a Federation trooper on Helotrix, Muller's android (where he was saved by Vila), "Cancer", a trooper on Mecron II, and a technician in Blake's headquarters on Gauda Prime. He would probably have lost this last struggle had Soolin not intervened.

Bodycount: He killed three of Klegg's men (including Harmon), shot one of the Thaarn's guards (his first shot with a Liberator handgun), "killed" two of the Ultra, shot Grose and Lector on Sardos, destroyed the android Vinni with a weapon developed by Dayna, shot a link on Terminal, killed two troopers in Games (shooting one, the other thrown into an electromagnetic crusher), killed Investigator Reeve on Virn, a guard on Zerok and another on the Space Princess, and a Federation trooper on Gauda Prime. He also threatened Vila with a gun on Sardos.


In Volcano

In Dawn of the Gods Captured by: Hower and later Mori on Obsidian, where he was released by Hower; by the Caliph of Crandor; by Shad's men from the Kairos shuttle; by Servalan on Auron, along with Avon and Cally where he was rescued by Franton; by the Ultra, who wanted himself and Dayna to demonstrate the human bonding ceremony for their records; by Grose's men on Sardos, when he escaped by himself with incidental help from Servalan; by Servalan on Terminal, along with the rest of the crew; by Dorian on Xenon, along with Avon, Dayna and Soolin; stranded with Vila on Scorpio after Muller's android closed down life support; by Belkov on Mecron II, along with Dayna, and again saved by Vila; held prisoner by the sand on Virn along with Servalan; trapped in Xenon base by Finn's sabotage along with Dayna and Vila, and "captured" by Blake on Gauda Prime, where he broke away before Blake could tell him the truth.

Injuries: Tarrant was shot in the leg in Volcano, contracted the disease introduced to Auron by Servalan, injured by the undead alien in Sarcophagus, almost succumbed to the mental power of the Ultra (Dayna distracted them), was dragged unconscious from the bunker on Terminal by Vila, later collapsed on the surface of Terminal, required medical treatment for frostbite in Headhunter, and suffered serious injuries in his crash-landing on Gauda Prime.


In Terminal Places visited: He set foot on Obsidian, Crandor, Kairos, Keezarn, Auron, Earth, Ultraworld, Sardos, UP-Death-Watch, Terminal, Xenon, Helotrix, Caspar, Bucol-2, Mecron II, Virn, Zerok, Beta-5, and Gauda Prime, a total of 19 planets.

His piloting skills defeated Servalan's strategists in The Harvest of Kairos when leaving UP-Sopron, and averted a collision into Sardos, but otherwise he displayed little of his flying ability. He managed to bring the crippled Scorpio in for a crash-landing on Gauda Prime, saying "it takes talent to fly a dead ship".

Almost from the start, Tarrant declared: "I don't trust anybody except myself - that's why I'm still alive". Several times he challenged Avon's leadership aboard the Liberator, and was seen to bully Vila in City at the Edge of the World and Moloch (though he did apologise later in the first instance). Either he had carried a past reputation along with him or acquired one very quickly, since Dastor in The Harvest of Kairos specifically mentioned Tarrant and no-one else with respect to the Liberator (although these remarks had their origins in Jarvik, who had known Tarrant previously). After his brother's death Tarrant noticeably mellowed and worked more easily alongside Avon, although he rarely backed down on a point of principle. He happily went along with Avon's use of Dayna and Vila as bait for the space rats on Caspar, and Tarrant alone was apparently taken into Avon's confidence when it came to double-crossing Egrorian.

He had three notable encounters with women in his time as a member of the crew, two of them disastrous. In Assassin he sprang to the defence of Piri, quite unaware that she was actually Cancer. In Sand he spent some time on Virn with Servalan and did not inform the others of her presence until Scorpio had left the planet. In Warlord his clandestine affair with Zukan's daughter Zeeona ended with her death in the freight bay on Xenon Base.

His last notable action was to tell Avon (rightfully as he believed) that Blake had betrayed them all. Soon after he was shot by a Federation trooper and apparently died in the tracking gallery, along with the rest of the crew. Dev TARRANT (A-1: THE WAY BACK)

An agent for the Federation security, usually working in the Outer Worlds. He followed Blake, Richie and Ravella to the secret meeting outside the dome city on Earth and was greeted there by Bran Foster. He later addressed the meeting, starting to detail ways in which food manufacturing could be disrupted.


He not unnaturally survived the massacre, and later discussed the affair with Ven Glynd. His appearance at Blake's trial gave Blake a vital clue to the level of corruption in the Administration. He was last seen watching the London leave Earth, having just overseen the killing of Maja and Tel Varon.

  • TARSIAN WARG-STRANGLER

(D-3: TRAITOR)

Presumably a creature of some sort, possibly from Tarsius and no doubt much given to the strangling of hapless wargs. Vila said that Tarrant had "about as much subtlety as a Tarsian Warg-strangler", which doesn't appear to be a lot. TARSIUS (D-3: TRAITOR)

One of the planets taken by the Federation under Commissioner Sleer's Pacification Programme, along with Luba, Porphyr Major and Helotrix. Mentioned by Leitz, who noted that industrial production there had risen 19% after adaptation, an example of the way in which pylene-50 could reinforce the work ethic. TARVIN (A-11: BOUNTY)

Leader of the Amagon pirates who captured the Liberator using a false distress call from the civilian cruiser Star Queen. He had previously known Jenna on Zolat-4, where they had hid in the mountains from three hundred customs guards. Jenna saved Tarvin's life in this incident, but how or why was never specified. He offered not to sell Jenna to the Federation, but put little trust in her. He was eventually shot dead by Sarkoff. TEAGUE (B-2: SPACE FALL)

Crewman of the London, and along with Wallace the first person to cross to the drifting Liberator. It is not quite clear which of the two was Teague, but he may have been the crewman who used the remote lock activator to open the hatch on Liberator and was later found dead on the flight deck. TEAL - see UNITED PLANETS OF TEAL TEAL STAR (C-12: DEATHWATCH)

A deep space passenger liner. Announcements made reference to "first class dining salons" so it probably carried more than one class of passenger (as one might expect). Deeta Tarrant was aboard when declaration of war between Teal and Vandor was declared. The observation gallery later appeared as the combat ground chosen for Tarrant's duel with Vinni. TEAL-VANDOR CONVENTION (C-12: DEATHWATCH)

The convention between the United Planets of Teal and the Vandor Confederacy by which war between the two systems was averted. Disputes were resolved by champions of each system in computer-selected environments, each champion having the same weapons and any necessary survival equipment. Combat was to the death, and the losing side was obliged by the Convention to surrender two thirds of their fleet and three planets.

Relatives of defeated champions could issue a challenge by right of blood feud, a right Tarrant exercised to avenge his brother and dispose of Vinni (use of a weapon of his own choice was not mentioned as a violation of the rules). A former blood feud was also mentioned regarding Racov, Vinni's predecessor. Victory by the challenger led to him (or, presumably, her) becoming the new champion of the system in question. Attempting to kill a Champion outside a period of declared hostilities invoked a Summons to Justification.

The process was overseen by three arbiters, one from each system and a neutral. Sensornet implants in the champions allowed distant observers to "participate" in the combat, a rare allusion in the series to virtual reality. Combats were a major event, widely televised and bedecked with ceremony and ritual. Vila described them as "the most fun you could have with your clothes on anywhere in the galaxy", and the fact that this turned out not to be the case suggests that use of the sensornet might have been a recent innovation. Any visitors were accorded the status of neutral observers and guaranteed diplomatic immunity, a status exploited by the crew of Liberator when they visited.

For the combat between Vinni and Deeta Tarrant, the neutral arbiter was Servalan. Colluding with a Vandor high councillor, she had introduced the Vinni android, a blatant violation of the rules of the Convention. By provoking real war between Teal and Vandor she hoped to annexe both systems, and had a battle fleet in close proximity. Dayna sensed that Vinni was not a natural fighter, Avon guessed "he" was an android, and Tarrant used Dayna's new weapon to dispose of the evidence. TECHNICIAN 241 (D-6: HEADHUNTER)

Employee of the robot development cartel on Pharos. He was knocked out by Tarrant as "Muller" was about to be taken aboard Scorpio. On reviving he discovered Muller's headless body. TECHNOLOGY (various episodes)

Very little detail was given to the level of technological development in Blake's time, and the following is little more than an outline.

Interstellar travel was, obviously, possible and routine, though intergalactic travel was theoretically possible but unrealised. The aliens from M31 had somehow overcome the technological difficulties involved. Wingless (possibly "antigrav") aircraft were seen in Blake, but all other vehicles seen in the series were wheeled.

Faster-than-light ("sub-beam") communications had been developed, but transmissions apparently needed to be relayed through booster stations. This was less important (perhaps even irrelevant) where Orac's carrier beam was concerned. The purpose of Central Control on Star One suggests that the Federation had access to such instant long- range communications technology.

Some computers at least were designed to respond to spoken commands, though others (e.g., that on the London) were not. Most computers were surprisingly large. Most, perhaps all computers (at least within the Federation) were fitted with the tarial cell developed by Ensor, though quite what this was and what it did were never detailed.

Numerous references to circuitry were made in the series: confirmation circuits in Mission to Destiny, neural circuits in Travis' arm, the trigger circuit for his lazeron destroyer, the germanium circuitry which Avon recognised on Ultraworld, and circuit influencers, as used by Ven Glynd in Voice From The Past and Muller's android in Headhunter. In Traitor Vila suggested that the only way to deal with the recalcitrant solid state circuitry in the teleport audio system was to "kick the living quartz out of it". Stardrive made reference to fibre-optic connections.

Force fields and force walls were extant but apparently rare, though they may have been a standard fitting on at least some ships. Force field technology would appear to have been developed on Keezarn at least 3000 years before City at the Edge of the World. Some technology appeared to utilise antimatter: antimatter shielding was posited as a defence for the entrance to Central Control on Earth, and an antimatter minefield defended the approach to Star One.

Jenna alluded to "stasis technology" in Duel. Traction beams were mentioned in Dawn of the Gods and Games. teleportation had been developed by the System or its precursor, and partially developed by the Federation. It had also been independently developed much earlier on Keezarn.

Little was said regarding medical technology, but decontaminant drugs could negate the effects of radiation sickness, and prosthetic devices would seem to have been not uncommon. The Federation could (and did) drug whole planetary populations into docility. More was revealed regarding the possibilities for psychiatric medicine, but exactly how memories could be implanted or suppressed, or (as with mutoids) whole personalities replaced, was not discussed in depth.

Restrictions on Biotechnology appeared to be legal rather than practical. Cloning was the province of the Clonemasters, who 'grew' a clone of Blake from his DNA profile. Such profiles might have been a routine part of an individuals medical record. Growth and maturation rates could be greatly accelerated. Some artificially created life forms were seen, such as the Decimas.

The level of technology clearly varied considerably across the galaxy. Some worlds were exceedingly primitive. The Federation was probably not the most technology advanced society in the galactic community, Auron for one appearing to be superior in at least some respects, and the System definitely so. Total mass/energy conversation was apparently unique to Sardos, though the very fine level of particle analysis required by the process might have been more widespread. In Breakdown the planet Overon was said to have only "third level technology", insufficient to repair Gan's limiter. A highly sophisticated civilisation on Keezarn had collapsed some three millennia earlier, and more advanced examples were occasionally encountered, often linked with psionic capabilities. Sinofar and Giroc may have been one such example, and at least some of the Undead Alien's powers in Sarcophagus resided in her ring. The Seska relied on an ingrafted dynamon crystal to make use of their telekinetic abilities.

See also ANDROIDS, ANTIMATTER, ARTIFICIAL TELEPATHY TRANSMITTER, CLONING, COMMUNICATIONS, COMPUTERS, CRIMINOTHERAPISTS, DETECTORS, GENETIC ENGINEERING, HOMING DEVICES, PROSTHETIC DEVICES, SPEED, TELEPORT, VEHICLES, WEAPONS.

TEENAGERS (D-4: STARDRIVE)

The word "teenager" appears to have been used only once, when Tarrant described space choppers as "a teenagers craze a couple of centuries back". TELECENTRY STATIONS (C-5: THE HARVEST OF KAIROS)

Mentioned by Dastor with regard to the monitoring of Liberator's journey to Kairos. TELE-ERGOTRON (D-2: POWER)

Described by Avon as a device for the controlled direction of pure energy, Pella tried to get Dorian to build one whilst convincing him it was actually a teleport system. She needed the tele-ergotron to turn the wheel inside the door of Scorpio's silo, thus bypassing the nuclear compression charge and allowing her access to the ship. TELEKINESIS (various episodes)

Assisted by the moon discs, Cally used telekinesis to deactivate the commandeered Orac and thus prevent the unnamed alien force in Shadow from effecting an entry into the universe from its own dimension. She later said that telekinesis was rare, but apparently not unknown, amongst her people.

When Liberator veered off course in Dawn of the Gods, Dayna asked Cally if telekinesis was extant on Auron, presumably to see if that might account for the course change. Cally did not get a chance to answer.

Telekinetic activity was manifest aboard the ship when the undead alien from the sarcophagus began to exert its power. A tray and a lyre-like musical instrument were seen to move through the air as a result.

Telekinesis was the special province of the Seska on Xenon, and Pella used it a number of times. She opened and later relocked the secondary hatchway to Xenon base, and later opened it again, threw back Vila, used it twice to force Avon away but failed on the third attempt, fired the crossbow held by Avon to kill Cato when he started to answer Avon's questions about the Seska, and telekinetically rendered Avon unconscious by dropping a computer terminal on his head. Together with Kate she assisted Dayna in killing Gunn-Sar. Pella also used her power on the manual override switch to the nuclear compression door behind the door to Scorpio's silo. Her power was not sufficient to turn the wheel inside Scorpio's silo, so she tried to get Dorian to build her a tele-ergotron to direct her power onto the wheel.

Tarrant considered telekinesis a myth, on the basis that the human brain could not generate enough energy. Orac replied that the brain did not need to, and only had to direct energy generated elsewhere in the body, with the aid of an ingrafted crystal: in the Seska's case, this crystal was dynamon. TELEMETRIC BAND SWEEP (C-4: DAWN OF THE GODS)

When Liberator began to veer off course, Tarrant told Cally to conduct a telemetric band sweep and jam all signals emanating from anywhere within 10 million spacials. TELEPATHY (various episodes)

Blake instantly realised that Cally was telepathic, suggesting that the ability was widely known, if rarely encountered. Cally used her telepathy irregularly, most significantly to interrogate Blake when she ambushed him on Saurian Major, to voice her loneliness when overcome by sono vapour on the Ortega, to warn Blake of approaching guards on UP-Bounty, to help Blake convince Largo that Liberator carried four shuttles, to communicate to the moon discs on Zonda, to warn Ro of the Kommissar on Horizon, to warn Avon not to enter the control complex on Star One, to tell Avon that Liberator had been boarded in Volcano, and later to direct Dayna and Tarrant to Mori's position on Obsidian, to tell Vila to run from an approaching vehicle on Crandor, to reassure Zelda of Liberator's coming to Auron, and to inform Tarrant of the combat environment chosen by the computer for his duel with Vinni.

In Shadow and Death-Watch she expressed doubts about her ability to contact people on the surface of a planet from orbit, and in Volcano she had trouble making contact with Avon even though they were both on the Liberator together, albeit in different places. Contact with Zelda was possible under far greater distances, however, presumably due to what Zelda described as "optimum telepathic affinity". In Death-Watch Cally implied that the ability to contact an individual might be related to the degree to which s/he was known by the telepath.

She was telepathically contacted by the Lost, the Darkness, the Thaarn, the undead alien in the sarcophagus, and the Ultra (apparently, using the power of the Core). She also detected the inimical nature of Wanderer K47. The undead alien described a telepath as "rare", and the Ultra catalogued her "humanoid vertebrate, subcategory telepath". Dorian referred to her death making it more difficult to integrate the crew into a gestalt creature to absorb his corruption, and specifically cited her telepathy.

Other possibly telepathic beings included Zil and Sopron. Zeeona was instantly aware of her father's death despite the distance between them, so she and perhaps others or even all of her people may have had some telepathic ability. Tara of Goth's powers might also have had a telepathic basis. TELEPORT (various episodes)

Orac in Power dismissed teleportation by mind power alone as impossible, since "unless directed by an outside agency, matter transmuted to energy will dissipate". This was apparently contradicted by the way Sinofar could bring Blake and Travis, and later Jenna and Keera, down to UP-Duel. The undead alien in Sarcophagus could also transport herself at will, at least over short distances.

Liberator, however, had such an outside agency, as did Scorpio, and the Federation had tried but failed to develop a matter transmission system of their own. Blake talked of such devices sending solid objects "like radio signals". Aquitar was an important element in the Federation's project, and Blake recognised this or something like it in the teleport bracelets on Liberator. Little was said about the technology itself, but in Dawn of the Gods the outer teleport transducers were damaged when the force wall collapsed, preventing use of teleport (they were presumably seen to by the auto-repair system soon afterwards). In Moloch the teleport's operating frequency was blocked by the inner energy field surrounding Sardos, which blocked all medium-wave emissions (from gamma rays to radio waves). Cally adjusted the teleport to operate on an omicron pulse frequency in order to by-pass this. That the Federation never developed a teleport system of their own, despite acquiring a number of bracelets, suggests that the vital elements of the technology resided in the apparatus aboard Liberator rather than in the bracelets themselves.

The following people used the teleport system (those who used it several or many times first did so in the named episodes): Blake, the first person seen to teleport, and later Vila and Gan in Cygnus Alpha; Vargas; Jenna and later Cally (Time Squad); Dr Kendall, Sonheim, Grovane, Pasco and Levett; the android Avalon and Chevner; the real Avalon; Professor Kayn and Renor; Sarkoff and Tyce; Ensor Jr.; Altas One and Two and three guards; two other Space World guards; Bek and Hanna; Molok; Del Grant; Ven Glynd, Travis (as Shivan), Nagu, Governor LeGrand and an uncertain number of aides (see BRACELETS); Dayna (Aftermath); Tarrant (Volcano); Mori and three troopers; Shad, Jarvik, two guards and Servalan (The Harvest of Kairos); Patar; Deral; Moloch; Kostos and two of Servalan's aides - a total of 51+ persons.

Tarvin and his henchmen may have teleported aboard or docked with Liberator. At least one did arrive by teleport.

Liberator's teleport malfunctioned three times: in Time Squad when Blake and Jenna were running out of air aboard the cryogenic capsule, in Aftermath when battle damage necessitated evacuation by life capsule, and in Sarcophagus the undead alien allowed Cally to teleport aboard whilst leaving Avon and Vila stranded on the sarcophagus vessel. The teleport console also blew up in The Web, but was not in use at the time. Blake and Cally could not be teleported up from the Control complex on Star One, Avon surmising it was "shielded", and teleport to Sardos was not available until Cally had adjusted the operating frequency. Teleport was also not an option on Crandor with the outer transducers damaged.

Kate told Avon that the Seska had worked on developing a teleport system "for generations", and Dorian with their help had tried four different approaches over a period of thirty years without success. Avon, assisted by Orac, installed a working teleport system with consoles on Scorpio and Xenon base, and it was used by the following people:

Avon, followed by Tarrant and Dayna and then Vila and Soolin in Power, Muller's android, Vena Muller, Gerren, Keiller and Zeeona. It failed to work properly when first used, leaving Vila behind on Xenon, and was deactivated on Orac's insistence in Headhunter, although Avon later ordered it restored.

All of the crew performed teleport operation duty at some time or another. This is summarised below. The "average" figure reflects the different number of seasons in which the characters were present: 4 for Avon and Vila, 3 (Cally and Orac), 2 (Blake, Jenna, Tarrant and Dayna), 1.5 (Gan) and 1 (Soolin).

SEASON 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total Average Cally 3 9 5 - 17 5.67 Vila 5 6 5 4 20 5 Avon 9 3 2 5 19 4.75 Soolin - - - 4 4 4 Orac - 5 4 2 11 3.67 Jenna 5 2 - - 7 3.5 Dayna - - 4 3 7 3.5 Blake 3 1 - - 4 2 Tarrant - - 2 1 3 1.5 Gan 1 - - - 1 0.67 TOTAL 26 26 22 19 93

(The precise accuracy of the above data is open to query. For instance, does putting someone down and then bringing them up again count as one teleport duty or two? However, the figures do indicate the relative frequency with which each member of the crew operated the teleport.

No teleportation took place in The Way Back and Space Fall: these episodes come before the discovery of the teleport system on Liberator. The only other teleport-free episode preceding Liberator's destruction was Dawn of the Gods. Teleportation did not feature in two 4th Season episodes, Rescue and Orbit.

The only episode in which the teleport was used between two points on the planetary surface, rather than between ship and surface, was Pressure Point.

One other civilisation was seen to have developed teleport, that of Keezarn some 3,000 years previously. The people there had developed the technology to transmit matter from terminal to terminal "over any distance". One terminal was in the City at the Edge of the World, another on a spaceship thousands of light years away by the time Vila and Kerril arrived. It was used by the people of Keezarn, and Kerril, to reach their new home. Liberator's teleport range was much less: at least 1,000 spacials, since this was a standard orbital distance. In Seek-Locate-Destroy Travis was told that Liberator was "a quarter of a million out", presumably 250,000 spacials, and he said that this was beyond teleport range (this may have been a guess, or he could have tortured the information from Cally). TELETEXT (C-3: VOLCANO)

Zen noted that the tests undertaken by the assessment team on Obsidian were "collated in Federation teletext". TELEVISION (D-4: STARDRIVE)

The space rats monitored activity within their territory on Caspar by means of television cameras, which Vila described as "ancient". TERLOC (A-9: PROJECT AVALON) By Murray Smith and Neil Faulkner

A Subterron / member of Avalon's resistance group, who betrayed her location to Travis and confirmed that she had contacted Blake. He did not benefit from this betrayal, being one of those who later died in the massacre of that group by Travis' mutoids in the caves beneath the surface of UP-Project Avalon. TERMINAL (C-13: TERMINAL / D-1: RESCUE)

An artificial planet (described by Dorian as "an artificially modified planet"), built by scientists of a consortium of united planets 411 years before Liberator's visit. Originally positioned out towards the orbit of Mars, it somehow came to be located on the edge of Sector 6. The planet was supposed to have broken up, but was quite intact when the crew arrived. Tarrant called it a "historical curiosity". Avon was lured there in the belief that Blake was on Terminal with an unspecified secret that could make them both invincible and rich. This turned out to be a trap carefully prepared by Servalan, and the crew of Liberator were stranded there by her. She left on the Liberator moments before its destruction. Cally was subsequently reported dead by Avon as a result of explosives planted by Servalan in the underground complex and abandoned space craft. The survivors were rescued by Dorian arriving in Scorpio, ostensibly to salvage equipment from the underground bunkers on the planet.

Terminal was ovoid rather than spherical, and its surface comprised of large land masses and oceans. Native life included the links and a large, apparently immobile, predatory creature that lay in wait for its prey. Vila described them as "snakes", but this was a rather loose application of the word. One of these was destroyed by Avon as it attacked Dayna, and two more were killed by Dorian before they could get to Dayna and Vila.

TERRAN (C-6: CITY AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD)

The recording heard by Vila and Kerril identified their language as "Terran", and Norl appeared to be fluent in it. It is convenient but not necessarily accurate to refer to the language used by the crew and everyone else in the series as Terran. Language barriers were rarely met: people who, even if of human origin, had been isolated for a long time spoke "Terran" with ease - the Lost, Sinofar and Giroc, Meegat, the Altas, the Goths, the Sarrans, the Sardoans, and the Hommiks might all have had their own languages, but apparently did not. The message heard by Vila and Kerril mentioned "translator units" and Tarrant referred to the "old tongue" of Keezarn.

Zil was initially incomprehensible, but soon came to speak to Blake in Terran. Zen uttered some phrases in an alien language before "dying".

See also FRENCH.

TERRAN AGUE (B-7: KILLER)

Also called the "three day sweat", the Terran Ague affected anyone who travelled in deep space, altering the body's nucleic structure. The virus introduced by Wanderer K47 only infected those who had suffered the Terran Ague and was conjectured by Blake to be intended to restrict the human race to Earth, but there were surely many people not born on Earth who had never travelled in space.

TERRA NOSTRA (B-2: SHADOW)

Criminal organisation present throughout the Federation. Their most lucrative field of operations was the addictive drug, shadow, and the source of shadow was the planet Zonda, apparently not very far from Space City. That Space City was run by the Terra Nostra was, according to Blake, "an open secret". On Earth, by contrast, they were more covert.


The chairman of the Terra Nostra The Terra Nostra were quite ruthless: Largo was planning to have Bek and Hanna killed as an example - any sign of weakness on his part would have put paid to his rising any higher in the organisation. When Largo failed to capture the Liberator he was killed by his own enforcer with the Chairman's approval. The Terra Nostra also had considerable access to resources: the Chairman offered Largo a heavy cruiser for the pursuit of the Liberator.


The President's personal security force Since the Moon Disc plantations on Zonda were guarded by the President's personal security force, the Federation and Terra Nostra were acting in tandem, allowing the Federation to control both sides of the law. It is not impossible, but unlikely, that the Chairman of the Terra Nostra was also President of the Federation. It was never made clear whether the Terra Nostra was a clandestine wing of the Federation, or a bona fide criminal organisation co-opted by the Federation. TESTING STATION (C-3: VOLCANO)

Vila claimed he bought his "Grade-4 Ignorant status" from "a friend at the testing station". THAARN (C-4: DAWN OF THE GODS)

Cally recited the legend of the Thaarn, the oldest story in the Book of Auron, thus:

   The story goes back to the mists of time, to the Dawn of the Gods. There were seven gods who discovered the planet Auron, and on it left the first man and woman. A million years went by. The gods returned. They were no older, even though a million years had passed. The gods returned and were pleased with what they saw, and they bestowed on the people of Auron great gifts - new types of crops which ended hunger, constant peace, and telepathy was promised. But one of the gods was very jealous - he didn't believe that the people of Auron deserved all this. He was frightened that they would one day become so powerful they would challenge the supremacy of the gods themselves, and in his rage he killed another god. The five remaining gods were so angry they built a chariot for him, and sent him beyond the threshold of space and time. The mad god swore a terrible vengeance. He said that he would return again. He said that he alone would discover the eternal secrets, and become the one great Master of the Universe.

Cally compared the Thaarn with Earth stories of dragons and unicorns, and added that on Auron the Thaarn was "a symbol of darkness and evil".

As encountered by the crew of the Liberator, the Thaarn was still pursuing his plans of conquest, having developed a gravity generator on the principle that "he who controls gravity controls everything". At least some of the people he had captured with this device had been promised planets of their own to govern, and he offered to make Cally "queen of a thousand worlds". His operations were based on Crandor, described by his chief executive the Caliph as "palace of the Lord Thaarn, Master of the Universe".

He took especial interest in Cally, detecting her presence soon after Liberator was pulled off course by the gravity generator. He told her he was "so alone" and claimed to have waited for her for "the time it takes light to cross a thousand galaxies". She persuaded him to turn off the energy isolaters, allowing Liberator to escape, and Crandor was destroyed soon afterwards. The Thaarn managed to get away. Cally saw the Thaarn, despite his insistence that she shouldn't, and found a withered diminutive humanoid with an enormous cranium. She later denied to the crew that she had in fact seen him. THANIA (B-6:TRIAL)

Federation officer with the rank of Major, and together with Arlen and Servalan, one of the very few female officers seen in the series. Assigned by Servalan to "defend" Travis at his court-martial, she in fact did her best to ensure he received a death sentence. She insisted that the tribunal hear details of every one of the 1,417 civilians Travis was accused of having massacred, claiming that she might wish to query some of the evidence. Rontane saw this for what it was: a means of prejudicing the tribunal against Travis. Travis replaced her defence statement with one of his own, which lost her favour with Servalan. As Travis told her, "Majors can die quite anonymously". She probably perished as a result of Blake's surprise attack on the space station where the court-martial was conducted. THEORY OF MOLECULAR REDUCTION - see STABILISED ATOMIC IMPLOSION THERAPY CHAMBER (D-11: ORBIT)

A medical facility, and apparently quite efficient since it healed Pinder's broken arm within a matter of hours. THERMAL SUITS (various episodes)

The crew wore thermal suits in several episodes, notably Project Avalon (Blake, Vila, Jenna), Hostage (Blake, Vila and Avon) and Countdown (Avon and Del Grant). Those in the latter two episodes were of a different design to those in the first, but all incorporated a temperature adjustment mechanism. In Hostage

In Countdown In Project Avalon this was set at 75% with a surface temperature of -120� (Celsius?), although Blake and Jenna teleported into caves below the surface where it may have been warmer. THREE-DAY SWEAT (B-7: KILLER)

Popular name for the Terran Ague, referred to by Bellfriar. THRUST COMPUTER (D-1: RESCUE)

Mentioned by Avon when taking Scorpio up from the surface of Terminal.

THRYLCE (B-11: GAMBIT)

Described by Toise and Krantor as "a trekker", he challenged the Klute at speed chess and died after being defeated in 28 moves. Like many people seen in Freedom City he dressed in period costume, in his case strongly based on 17th Century European fashion. TIME (various episodes)

Few references to time are given, some more meaningful than others. In The Way Back it was announced that the London's departure from Earth was advanced to "1700 Earth time", and Vila noted that this was only eight hours distant (ie: about 0900). It was night when the London left the dome city, despite it being summer (as evidenced by the leaves on the trees, and the implicit date - see below). This suggests that Earth time was applied to the whole planet, with no local time (at least as far as launchings were concerned). Keiller, In Gold, advised the Space Princess" passengers to "tune all chronometers to frequency seven for synchronisation with Federation Standard Time".

In Hostage Servalan's planetfall on Exbar was scheduled for "2159 standard". In The Harvest of Kairos the kairopan shuttled was scheduled to take off from the planet at 0815. Both of these times fall within the scope of a 24-hour clock.

Several date codes were seen in The Way Back. Study of the medical records of Renor Leesal et al show an apparent chronological progression from years 42 to 52, the day before Blake's alleged assault being 52.6.8. This might be taken to mean either June 8th or August 6th (it might mean something else entirely, of course). If so, it is more likely to be June 8th, since Renor Leesal was apparently born on 42.1.5 and vaccinated on 42.4.3 - these dates are more likely to be January 5th and April 3rd respectively than May 1st and March 4th. The year "52" can mean several things - see FEDERATION.

Other dates given were less meaningful. Travis" massacre of civilians on Zircaster is given the date code "beta 2001". The Federation's investigation of Obsidian is listed as having "date code 303" which Vila called "a long time ago". It could not have been that long ago, however, since Hower was on Obsidian at the time of the investigation, after having trained with Hal Mellanby at the Federation's Central Science Complex.

References were made to "Earth years" in Moloch, "Earth hours" in Power, and "standard days" in Gold.

See also TIME UNIT TIME DISTORT (various episodes)

The mechanism used by Federation and other ships to exceed light speed, though by how much was never made clear.

See also HYPERDRIVE, PHOTONIC DRIVE, SPEED, INTERGALACTIC DRIVE. The Mark X pursuit ships in The Harvest of Kairos were described as the newest and fastest at Servalan's command, yet Zen noted a modified fin that implied "primitive Time Distort facility". Pursuit ships in earlier episodes (eg Hostage) had been seen to travel at speeds of up to TD-10. No explanation for this apparent anomaly was given.


TIMELINE (various episodes)

The following timeline is based on the various (frequently vague or approximate) references given by various people in various episodes. Some of them are possibly contentious, and since there is little indication as to how much time each season represented (Ven Glynd mentions two years separating The Way Back and Voice from the Past), the relative placing of some of the more recent events is rather conjectural.

3,000 years before City at the Edge of the World, the people of Keezarn launch their ship to find them a new home. 700 years before Killer, Wanderer K47 disappears in 61 Cygni. 411 years before Avon's visit, Terminal is built. 200 years before Pressure Point, the Federation begins to expand. 200 years before Powerplay, Chenga is settled. 200 years before the crew reach Xenon, Dorian discovers the underground room on the planet. 125 years before Cygnus Alpha, the first prisoners are landed on the penal colony (approximate - might be 100 or 150 years). 100 or more years before Traitor, the old monorail tunnel on Helotrix is sealed. 100 years before Mission to Destiny, Destiny is settled. 50 years at least before Mission to Destiny, the Ortega is built. 40 years before Orac, Ensor goes into hiding (according to Blake - see ENSOR). 30 years or more before Children of Auron, disease is eliminated from Auron. 30 years before Pressure Point, Control is moved from Earth (according to Travis). 30 years before Rescue, Dorian begins work on developing a teleport system. 23 years before The Way Back, the Fletch expedition is massacred by the Waazis (inferred date). 20 years before Aftermath, Hal Mellanby leaves Earth with Dayna. This is before Servalan becomes a prominent political figure. 20 years before Power, Maravik defeats the Seska. 15 years before The Harvest of Kairos, Tarrant takes his first command on the kairopan shuttle. 12 years before Bounty, Sarkoff becomes President of Lindor. 12 years before Games, Belkov begins mining feldon on Mecron II. 7 years before Bounty, Sarkoff is voted out of office. 10 years before Assassin, pirates begin operations on Domo. 10 years before Orbit, Egrorian flees from the Space Research Institute with Pinder and several million credits. Tarrant studies at the SRI shortly afterwards. 4 years before The Way Back, Blake's first rebellion is defeated and Travis badly injured (Blake again met Ven Glynd two years later, or 6 years after his first trial, before going to Star One). 6 years before Star One, top secret experiments begin on Bucol-2. 5 years before Sand, the first expedition to Virn is wiped out. 4 years before Death-Watch, Deeta Tarrant becomes Champion of Teal. 3 years before Trial, Travis massacres 1,417 civilians on Zircaster. 3 years before Stardrive, Dr Plaxton begins working with space rats.

The date given for Dr Havant's treatment of the three children allegedly molested by Blake is 52.6.8 - see FEDERATION and TIME for further discussion on what this might mean. Although 20th Century and earlier events were mentioned on a number of occasions, no indication was given as to how far back such events might have been. TIME UNIT (B-4: HORIZON)

Unspecified period of time. Selma told Jenna that miners absorbed a lethal dose of radiation from monopasium-239 in 30 time units.

In Hostage Travis gave Blake 25 time units to reach Exbar before Inga would be killed. TINCTURE OF PYRHENNIC (D-3: TRAITOR)

A poison extracted from pamperanian fungi, used on Forbus by Commissioner Sleer to enslave him to her, manufacturing pylene-50 for her Pacification Programme. TOBER (B-7: KILLER)

Crewman of Wanderer K47, along with Kemp and Wardin. His body was not found when the ship was recovered by the salvager on Fosforon. TOISE (B-11: GAMBIT)

Krantor's assistant in Freedom City, and wearer of a rather suspect headdress. He informed Krantor of Travis" whereabouts, and surmised (correctly) that Kline was in fact Docholli. He berated Krantor for losing 10 million credits to Avon and Vila. His dealings with Krantor suggested a homosexual relationship between them. TOK (D-7: ASSASSIN)

A bidder at the slave auction on Domo, representing Valeria of Prim and Natratof of Gourimpest. TOOLBOX (various episodes) (Written by Murray Smith)

Four types of toolbox were shown in the series. The first was a small toolbox used by Dal Richie in 'The Way Back' to carry the equipment he used to open the dome's exit at Sub 43; the second was a black toolbox used in 'Space Fall' by a technician on the London who was checking the ship's computer when he was attacked and eventually knocked out by Avon.

The third type of toolbox was the most widely seen, in a total of six episodes. It should be mentioned that it might not have been the same toolbox that appeared in all the episodes. In appearance, it was red with a white top, separated by a black stripe, on the outside, white on the inside. Its lid was light grey with two thin red stripes on top, white underneath; and it was fastened to the top of the toolbox by fasteners on either side of the latter; and it had a handle for carrying on top. While this type of toolbox is particularly associated with Vila, it was used by other B7 crewmembers in half the episodes in which it appeared.

This type of toolbox first appeared in Time Squad, when bracelets and other equipment were loaded into it by Vila and Gan. Vila carried and used it during this episode; this was also the case in Seek-Locate-Destroy, the toolbox carrying the equipment used to break into the Federation base on Centero. In both these episodes, its interior was divided into a series of dark grey tubes, presumably used to facilitate the storage of objects.


In Mission to Destiny, Blake brought the toolbox over with him to the Ortega, when evacuating its crew. It contained the charge which he placed on that ship's entry hatch to be detonated by the ship coming to collect the neutrotope. In Project Avalon the toolbox was brought down and used by Vila, although Jenna carried it for a while. Its interior was shown without the tubes, containing the equipment Vila used to get into the Federation Centre.

This type of toolbox was again used by Blake in Bounty, it containing a rope and grappling hook used by him to gain access to Sarkoff's residence. Of interest was that Sarkoff was carrying the toolbox when teleported up to the Liberator. The last time this type of toolbox was seen was in Countdown, when carried down by Avon when he went down to Albian with Del Grant to disable the solium radiation device, it presumably contained the necessary equipment.

A fourth type of toolbox appeared in four episodes, used by Blake, Rashel, and Vila. It was roughly two thirds the size of the third type of toolbox, grey, with three ribs, a hinged lid, and a handle for carrying it on its side. Blake was seen with this type of toolbox in Sub-Control Room Four in Redemption; Rashel was seen with it in Weapon; and Vila was seen with it in The Keeper and City at the Edge of the World. While Vila was not seen using any of the equipment packed into it in The Keeper, it presumably contained the low energy probe he used to collapse the first forcefield in City. Rashel may have been using a toolbox as a suitcase in order not to attract the attention of security.

TOOLS (various episodes)

Sara used a club hammer to destroy the flight controls of the Ortega, a primitive instrument compared to the hand tools usually seen. Avon and Del Grant used an electric drill in Countdown. Less prosaic tools mentioned include an "extractor" and "separator" (in Countdown), a "probe" (in Mission to Destiny), insulated saw, laser knife, laser lance, laser probe, link clamp, and magnetic probe. In Power, Avon searched for dynamon crystals with the aid of a petroscope. TOOTHPICK (A-3: CYGNUS ALPHA)

Avon described the handguns on Liberator as "too elaborate for a toothpick". TOREADOR (B-11: GAMBIT)

Of the various people in costume in Freedom City, one was dressed as a stylised toreador. TORON (C-13: TERMINAL)

An assistant of Servalan on Terminal, who with Reeval monitored Avon as he made his way to the underground complex. Toron was killed by a link soon afterwards. Like Reeval and two other of Servalan's assistants, he appeared to be of an unnamed, blonde humanoid species. TORTURE (various episodes)

Torture by various means appeared from time to time.

Blake was seen to be tortured (in a flashback) in The Way Back. Blake was tortured on the command of Vargas in Cygnus Alpha, the implements seen owing much in design to their mediaeval forerunners. Avon was also questioned by force by Geela in The Web. Cally was tortured by the Interrogation Division on Centero in Seek-Locate-Destroy. In Project Avalon, Avalon was tortured by Travis: she said she new "enough about these machines to realise that I will tell you everything".

Cygnus Alpha Blake was tortured by the Altas in Redemption. Blake, Jenna and Cally were tortured by a disorienter on Horizon, the effects of which were potentially lethal. Selma was tortured with another device, which inflicted no organic damage but could kill through the level of pain experienced. Kasabi was subjected to interrogation drugs in Pressure Point, eventually dying of a lethal overdose. The head of the psychomanipulation team who conditioned the technicians left behind on Star One died under interrogation, as reported by Durkim by Servalan.

Avon endured five days of brutal interrogation prior to Shrinker's arrival in Rumours of Death. Avon was tortured by Grose and Lector in Moloch, and his wrist was damaged, but apparently not seriously, as a result.

Dayna was tortured by Servalan in Animals: the chair in which she was confined functioned as a lie detector and could inflict pain if desired (Servalan desired). The troopers in Warlord who captured Avon on Betafarl appeared to be about to torture Avon before Soolin intervened.

TOURISM (D-10: GOLD)

Perhaps not surprisingly, there appeared to be little tourism within the Federation, but references were made to pleasure planets on a number of occasions, one such being Gardenos. The passengers of the Space Princess were issued with a star map and ostensibly passed a number of interesting phenomena on their way to Earth, and can thus be considered the most likely tourists in the entire series. This was some time after the Intergalactic War and the removal of Servalan, and so might indicate a less repressive attitude from what remained of the Federation (the activities of Commissioner Sleer, however, suggest otherwise). The Space Princess TP CRYSTAL (B-7: KILLER)

An essential component of an A-line converter, without which pulse coded messages were unbreakable. It ran the spectrum bands from L to Y, up to 30,000 Megahertz. Two were normally issued to converter stations, one as a spare. In Avon's hand TRACER (C-6: CITY AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD)

A transmitting device, in the shape of a small green disk, that was to be swallowed by Vila in City, in order that Orac, using the locator, could tell the Liberator's crew exactly where he was on the planet Kezarn. Avon told Vila that the tracer was 'perfectly harmless', and would 'dissolve eventually'. Despite this, Vila was so 'scared witless' by Tarrant, in the latter's words, that he palmed the tracer and left it aboard the Liberator.

In Traitor, a similar device was used by the Federation on Helotrix in a similar manner, but for a different purpose. Igin, attached to the Fourth Column of freedom fighters under Hunda, was captured and 'adapted' using Pylene-50. After being given 'a tracer to swallow', he was sent back to report to his column. When it was believed that he had got back to base, a neutron strike was ordered against his position.

See LOCATOR. TRACTION BEAMS (C-4: DAWN OF THE GODS / D-8: GAMES)

When Liberator moved off course in Dawn of the Gods, Tarrant speculated on traction beams being responsible, and ordered Cally to conduct a "telemetric band sweep" as a result. Avon noted that "no known power in the universe" could operate a traction beam over a range of 20 million spacials. Cally stated that the traction beam had not yet been developed on Auron. It was later noted that traction beams produced "straight line movement".

In Games Belkov threatened to hold Scorpio in place with a series of force fields, which Avon analysed as a reference to "multiple traction beams". Tarrant expressed incredulity that traction beams could be powerful enough to pull a ship out of orbit. TRANQUILLISER PAD (B-10: VOICE FROM THE PAST)

Part of the medical equipment aboard Liberator, tranquilliser pads were used to subdue Gan in Breakdown. Two were placed on his arms. Another kind was seen in Voice from the Past, somewhat thicker and attached to the forehead, which was used on Blake. Both types were discoid in shape. TRANSFERENCE (C-10: ULTRAWORLD)

Term used by the Ultra to refer to the process by which they extracted the memory of intelligent beings they captured. Avon and Cally were subjected to transference (said to be "quite painless"), although their memories were later restored by Tarrant. TRANSIT CELL (A-1: THE WAY BACK) A prison cell, where a sentenced Federation prisoner was held for the period between the pronunciation of his sentence and its execution. It was described by the arbiter in Blake's trial in 'The Way Back' as 'an area of close confinement'; and, as seen in that episode, it could hold a number of prisoners awarded the same sentence: transportation for life to Cygnus Alpha.

TRANSFER TUBE (A-2: SPACE FALL)

A flexible tube-like walkway that allowed one ship to connect with another. Used by the London to establish access to Liberator, and used by Wallace, Teague, Krell, Blake, Jenna, Avon and Raiker. A second tube was sent from the Space Princess to link with Scorpio's freight bay 2. Unlike that from the London, this was a solid structure. It was used by all of the crew (except Vila) as well as Keiller and a hapless guard. TRANSLATOR UNITS (various episodes)

Zen was fitted with translator units, enabling it to speak to the crew. They broke down in Terminal and Zen uttered something indecipherable in another language. Translator units were also fitted to the starship to which Vila and Kerril were taken in City at the Edge of the World: the onboard translator units identified their language as Terran. TRANSPORTER (various episodes)

Generic term for a variety of spacecraft. References include the transporter that brought Governor LeGrand to the Liberator in Voice from the Past, and the transport for kairopan (which was unmanned and computer controlled, the Federation not trusting anyone with so valuable a cargo). The kairopan transport TRANTINIANS (B-11: GAMBIT)

Chenie arranged for Docholli to leave Freedom City on a Trantinian planet hopper. It was never specified exactly what "trantinian" meant, and the pilot of the craft looked human enough. Trantinians might have been inhabitants of an unnamed planet, possibly called Trantinius or something similar. TRAVIS (13 episodes from A-6: SEEK-LOCATE-DESTROY)

Federation officer with rank of Space Commander, number given in Trial as "Alpha 15105". Orac noted in Voice from the Past that he was of similar size and weight to the rebel leader Shivan. Travis himself stated in Trial that he had "been in the service all my adult life".


In Seek-Locate-Destroy

In Duel The earliest reference to Travis dates to Blake's earlier period of dissidence four years prior to his deportation to Cygnus Alpha. Travis discovered the location of a rebel meeting and hid there two days beforehand. When all the dissidents were gathered he and his men appeared, butchering most of those present. Blake shot Travis and thought he had killed him, but Travis survived, albeit without his left arm and eye. His life was saved by Maryatt, probably in relation to this incident, although Travis merely said that his face was seen to by "a field medic"; by the time of Deliverance Maryatt was a senior figure in the Federation medical corps, something of a heady promotion. Travis later expressed some regret on learning of Maryatt's death.

Shortly before his first appearance in the series Travis had been suspended from duty for the massacre of civilians on the planet Auros, and three years later was court-martialled under Section 3 of the War Crimes Statute Code for the massacre of 1,417 civilians on the planet Zircaster - it seems unlikely but is not not impossible that he was responsible for two quite separate massacres. In Seek-Locate-Destroy his rank was restored and Servalan appointed him senior executive officer of Space Headquarters.

His left arm was fitted with a lazeron destroyer, though few of the people he killed died by this weapon. See LAZERON DESTROYER for more details of its use.

His over-riding obsession was to kill Blake, and he almost succeeded in Seek-Locate-Destroy, Orac, Pressure Point, Hostage, and Star One, where Blake was severely wounded after a direct hit from Travis. He also wounded Avon in the arm in Hostage.

Known relatives: None. Blake also noted in Duel: "How do you illustrate the death of a friend to a man who hasn't got any?".

Bodycount: Travis' kills include a Phibian on Aristo, a clone of Blake, Olag Gan (with a strontium grenade), a trooper at his court-martial (shot with a handgun), Nagu (with a knife), Ven Glynd, and Cevedic and henchman (with a Federation pistol).


In Weapon Captured by: Blake and Ushton in Hostage, and Krantor in Gambit. He was also held by Sinofar and Giroc in Duel, and trapped in Central Control in Pressure Point.

Notable brawls: Travis fought Blake hand-to-hand on UP-Duel, but lost. In Freedom City he was quickly overpowered by Cevedic's men.

Places visited: He was seen to set foot on Centero, UP-Duel, UP-Project Avalon, Aristo, UP-Clonemaster, UP-Weapon, Earth, Exbar, Asteroid P-K118, Atlay, UP-Gambit, Goth and Star One - a total of 13 planets.

After the failure of Project Avalon he was suspended from duty again. With Servalan he set out to collect Orac on Aristo, but was beaten by Blake. After this defeat he apparently needed drastic psychotherapy, and Rontane later described him as "a psychotic". After the debacle at the Control bunker on Earth he became an embarrassment to Servalan and was court-martialled in order to dispose of him before he could testify against her in an official enquiry. He escaped and became a renegade, later working unofficially for Servalan. Waiting his court martial in Trial

In Trial,She promised to have him listed as dead if he helped her eliminate Blake. At some point, probably after his court-martial, he discovered or was contacted by infiltrators from M31, and raced against Blake and Servalan to find the location of Star One. He discovered the brain print left by Lurgen on Goth, and came to Star One intending to deactivate the antimatter minefield keeping the alien fleet at bay. He seemed to be aware of the aliens" intent to eradicate humanity, and actively sought some responsibility for the inevitable carnage. He was shot in the back by Blake after switching off one sector of the defence zone, and died after being shot again by Avon moments later, falling spectacularly into a circular well of unknown purpose.

TREATMENT TIMER (C-13: TERMINAL)

Mentioned by "Blake" on Terminal, a part of his life-support system that sounded an alarm when treatment was due. TREATMENT UNIT (B-1: REDEMPTION) By Murray Smith

In Redemption, Jenna told Blake that Gan was there after a servo link he was trying to repair burned his hand. No indication is given as to whether this treatment unit is another name for the medical unit or a different unit entirely.

See also MEDICAL UNIT. TREES (various episodes)

Trees of various species can be identified on a number of planets, although their presence ought not perhaps be taken too literally most of the time. Oaks and Holly are visible on UP-Duel, Beech, Yew and Scots Pine on UP-Bounty, Cedar of Lebanon in the grounds of Residence-1 and Buddleia on (amongst others) Exbar, Sardos and Xenon.


UP-Duel

Buddleia on Exbar It could be conjectured that these species were brought from Earth by early colonists. It could equally well be conjectured that they are not worth dwelling on at length. See also BIRDS. TREKKER (B-11: GAMBIT)

Krantor and Toise both described Thrylce as a "trekker", presumably some form of habitual spacefarer. TRIAL PROCEEDINGS (FEDERATION) (A-1: THE WAY BACK/B-5: TRIAL) By Chris Jones and Murray Smith

The following were the proceedings in the trials of Blake in The Way Back and Travis in Trial:

1. Blake's trial: The clerk of court brought the tribunal to order and the arbiter entered. The clerk then announced that the arbiter would allow submissions and Tel Varon and Alta Morag, the legal representatives for the accused (Blake) and the Federation, submitted their cases.

The advocates had prepared their cases in advance of the hearing and their submissions were stored in clear spheres containing electronic components, one for the defence and one for the prosecution. One of those spheres is illustrated and labeled here as a 'Submission Sphere', although the name was not revealed in the episode. The spheres were presented to the tribunal in sealed, pink, semi-transparent boxes or cases, one of which is illustrated and labelled here as a 'Submission Case'.

The arbiter then asked for the accused to be brought forward and enquired as to whether he, Blake, had been made aware of the charges against him and that he understood the nature and gravity of the charges. The arbiter then established who was acting for Blake and for the Federation. The arbiter ascertained that each advocate was satisfied that the evidence was fairly obtained and that all statements were certified as true and correct by lie detector.

At this point, the arbiter turned to Blake to establish that he was satisfied that his defence was fully and fairly prepared. Blake stated that the charges against him were totally false and therefore offered no defence. The clerk presented a 'Submission Case' to each advocate and they were requested by the arbiter to see that the evidence for the prosecution was sealed and approved by the defence and vice versa. The advocates removed the 'Submission Spheres' from their cases; and the spheres were placed into a plinth that might have been part of what the arbiter later described as the judgement machine.

This machine then evaluated each of the submissions by interrogating them, each sphere illuminating as it was interrogated. After the assessment was made, the machine stopped and only one sphere was seen to be illuminated. The clerk removed what could be best described as a 'Verdict Sphere' from the top of the plinth. He placed it on a stand, similar to that on the top of the plinth, to the left of the arbiter's desk. This has been illustrated here as the 'Verdict Stand'. The verdict was then displayed on a large screen behind the arbiter and Blake was found guilty on all charges by the judgement machine. Sentence was then decided in the case, also by the judgement machine, not the arbiter.

2. Travis's trial: The charges against Travis were brought under Section 3 of the War Crimes Statute Code. In this case, the computer was programmed with judgement programme one oblique three. As in The Way Back, a tribunal of three, with Fleet Warden General Samor presiding as temporary arbiter, ran the court proceedings. The defendant reported for judgement and was asked to identify himself. Once recognised by the court, the defendant asked if he accepted the authority of the arbiter, the balance of the judgement programme, and the competence of the defending officer. Travis accepted; and the computer read out the formal indictment, to which he was asked to formally answer.

Travis pleaded not guilty; and the defence was given the opportunity to make an opening declaration, to which they declined but reserved the right to respond later. It is at this point that the prosecution's data was entered into the computer. Note that the defence's data was not entered, unlike the judgement machine in The Way Back, which had both sets of evidence entered in at the same time. The defence, via the arbiter, could challenge the evidence as the computer processed it. Again, this was in complete contrast to the judgement machine, which underwent its evaluation without interruption.

After the prosecution's evidence was complete, the computer awaited further instructions or data input. The defence then asked for their data to be entered; but in this case, Major Thania, the defending officer, requested permission to make her opening declaration, for which permission was granted. However, an argument broke out between Travis and Thania, the result of which the former was allowed to make the declaration, During this declaration, he alleged that his actions were instinctive, reacting under battle conditions, just as he was trained to and that if he was guilty, so were his superiors. Thania was then asked once again if the defence data was ready, to which she responded positively and it was entered into the computer. The arbiter instructed the computer to run judgement, after which it judged Travis to be guilty as charged.

The tribunal then retired to consider sentence. Again, this was in complete contrast to Blake's trial, in which the judgement machine decided the sentence. Samor advised Travis that they could not accept his contention that his actions were a result of his training and that he would be stripped of all rank and privileges, dishonourably dismissed the service and executed. The trial was brought to an abrupt conclusion as Blake attacked Servalan's headquarters, where the trial was being held; and Travis escaped justice.

See also ADVOCATE, ARBITER, BLAKE, CLERK OF COURT, COURTS (FEDERATION), LAWYERS, Alta MORAG, SAMOR, THANIA, TRAVIS, Tel VARON. TRIPLE OMEGA (A-9: PROJECT AVALON)

A model of android, used as a basis for the substitute Avalon put aboard the Liberator. TRIUMVIRATE (B-10: VOICE FROM THE PAST)

The term used by Governor LeGrand to refer to the alliance of herself, Blake and Shivan. TRONOS (B-9: COUNTDOWN)

Federation officer, rank unspecified but superior to Sergeant Selson and subordinate to Space Major Provine. Based with the Federation Space Assault Force detachment on Albian, he remained behind in the control room after Provine and Selson left for the rocket silo, waiting four minutes before activating the solium radiation device. He was shot and fatally wounded in the process, but managed to start the countdown before he died. TROOPERS (various episodes)

Federation troopers appeared frequently, and quite a few ended up dead on the floor. They were seen in The Way Back, Time Squad, Seek-Locate-Destroy, Project Avalon, Bounty, Shadow, Weapon, Horizon, Trial, Killer, Countdown, Voice from the Past, Star One, Aftermath, Powerplay, Volcano, The Harvest of Kairos, Children of Auron, Rumours of Death, Moloch, Traitor, Games, Warlord and Blake.


Uniform consisted of black overalls with crossbelt. Some personnel wore a leather triangle over the chest, including Base Commander Escon, Subcommander Chenie, Trooper Par, Sergeant Selson, Tronos (rank unspecified), and Space Major Provine.

The helmet was black with a hinged visor. A green band ran around the upper rim in most cases, but this was missing from the troopers in Volcano and Children of Auron and some of those in Rumours of Death. This may indicate a particular kind of unit (such as marines) but there is no evidence for or against this.

Normal weaponry was a standard issue carbine, referred to by Avon in Volcano simply as a "handgun". Fan lore sometimes refers to this weapon as a 'paragun', a term not used in any episode. A pistol version was also seen on various occasions, wielders including Del Tarrant in Powerplay and Sula in Rumours of Death. The stock of the handgun was extendable, as demonstrated by Avon in Cygnus Alpha, and also removable, effectively making the weapon a heavy pistol - this was seen in Games. Various marks of each weapon may have existed, as a number of different sound signatures were heard at various times. Troopers were seen carrying different weapons in Moloch, Traitor, Warlord and Blake.

Ranks mentioned included Trooper, Squad Leader, Sergeant, Sergeant-Major, Section Leader, Captain, Major, Space Major, Subcommander, Space Commander, Colonel and General. Others, such as Base Commander, Brigade Commander, Deputy Commander, Guard Commander, Intelligence Commander and Security Commander may have been ranks in their own right, but were more likely positions of responsibility held by officers of varying rank. Tarrant trained as a Space Captain, but this might be a space fleet rather than an army rank. Trooper as a rank is probably equivalent to Private, Par being addressed as "Trooper Par" by Thania.

Troopers were frequently seen in groups of six: six troopers rode on each of the electric cars seen in The Way Back, patrols of six were seen around Sarkoff's residence in Bounty, and at Residence-1 on Earth in Rumours of Death. This might indicate the size of a squad. The only other bodies mentioned were the section, with no indication of its strength, and the brigade, again with no details.

Several units were referred to. The Interrogation Division took charge of Cally in Seek-Locate-Destroy. Maryatt was a Space Surgeon in the Medical Corps. Both of these may have been blanket terms for a number of more discrete units. The President's personal security force may have been a Space Command unit, as may Governor LeGrand's forces, but this seems unlikely, particularly in the case of the latter. The Space Assault Force were described as "crack troops". Klegg and his troopers belonged to the Federation Death Squad. Survivors of the Fifth Legion were encountered on Sardos, which rather implies at least four other legions - their equipment included a T-16 troop transporter, suggesting that legions were a combined arms force. The President was, amongst other things, Lord General of the Six Armies, but such a title may not have meant much as far as practical military organisation was concerned.

In Project Avalon Blake said that Federation troopers were very highly trained, but little indication of their combat expertise was evident.

See also DEATH SQUAD, FIFTH LEGION, RANK, WEAPONS.

  • TUKKA

(C-1: AFTERMATH)

A Sarran, called to by Chel whilst looking for War survivors. TURBULENCE (various episodes)

Occasionally encountered in space: Artix broadcast a turbulence alert to the crew of the London when spectrum shock waves began hitting the ship. Zen pointed out that flying through the fluid cloud encountered en route to Terminal could result in turbulence, and Cally made a reference to having passed through it before. Cally had previously mentioned turbulence in Breakdown. Turbulence was encountered by Scorpio on returning from Pharos: Dayna suggested a freak magnetic storm as the cause, but Muller's android had more than a passing hand in it. Mark TWAIN (C-8: RUMOURS OF DEATH)

Quoted by Avon and Tarrant as Avon returned to the Liberator after nearly being killed by Servalan (Avon: "The rumours of my death..."; Tarrant: "...have been much exaggerated").

Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910) is often attributed with having said this. His actual words were, in a cable from Europe to the Associated Press, "The report of my death was an exaggeration". TWELVE WONDERS (OF THE GALAXY?) (D-10: GOLD)

The Space Princess, en route from Zerok to Earth, passed the ferocious star (?) of Pyrrus, which Keiller described as "the twelfth wonder of...". Perhaps a reference to "twelve wonders of the galaxy", but no real elaboration given. TYCE (A-11: BOUNTY)

Assistant to and later revealed to be daughter of President Sarkoff on UP-Bounty, where she was seen to drive Sarkoff's automobile. Tyce initially held Blake at gunpoint with a pair of flintlock pistols whilst she disarmed him, but was later persuaded to leave with Blake and Cally whether her father agreed to come with them or not. On the Liberator she was held prisoner by Tarvin, tried to kill him with a concealed weapon, and was nearly killed herself until Sarkoff shot Tarvin. She left Liberator with Sarkoff, presumably to Lindor. TYNUS (B-7: KILLER)

Sevencyclopaedia - F FARREN (A-10: BREAKDOWN)

Administrator on research station XK-72. He was willing to let Avon join the station's personnel incognito, and criticised Kayn for informing the Federation of Liberator's presence. Kayn then strangled Farren to death in a fit of rage moments before the station was destroyed.


FASHION (various episodes)

To catalogue every item of clothing seen in the series would be somewhat impractical, but certain particular styles appeared more than once, particularly in the 1st Season. Most of the people on Earth in The Way Back wore sleeveless, collarless, "tabard"-like garments in a variety of colours. Many jackets in later episodes had elbow-length or shorter sleeves, as did some of Servalan's gowns in, for example, Seek-Locate-Destroy. Both Jenna and Cally were seen wearing outfits with "petalled" shoulders. Shirts were either stud or button-fastened with a variety of collar types - Federation personnel exhibited some preference for tight vertical collars. Tarrant, in the 3rd Season, showed a liking for short-sleeved quilted hauberks. Knee-length boots were worn by virtually every regular character at some time or other, though this probably reflects practicality as much as anything else. Hats were a rarity, worn only by Servalan in Pressure Point, Travis and Docholli in Gambit. Servalan and Travis wore simple wide-brimmed pieces, white and black respectively, Docholli's was more "Western" in style. Each member of the 1st Season crew had his/her own two-tone surface parka.

The origin of Liberator's capacious wardrobe (it supplied more than a hundred different outfits over 38 episodes) was never discussed, nor how closely the contents correlated with everyday styles of dress. The series does, however, apparently offer hope to those who believe that flares really will make a comeback someday.

See the Costumes Index for detailed info about all of the clothing worn by the crew.

FAST GROUND SURVEY (A-6: Seek - Locate - Destroy)

The term is said in the conversation between Travis and the base commander. The Liberator raced in and then raced out. The base commander assumed that Blake had scanned the terrain for reconnaissance and/or surveillance before making the real assault. FATIGUE SHOCK (B-4: HORIZON)

Diagnosed by Cally as affecting the crew of Liberator, citing Blake's headaches, Vila's stomach cramps and Avon's back pains as arising from the condition, caused by "too many crises...too many calls on our physical and mental reserves". She prescribed complete rest, so Blake promptly started following a Federation freighter. FEDERATED WORLDS (A-2: SPACE FALL/B-2: SHADOW) By Murray Smith

The description and possible title of the worlds under the direct control of the Federation. In Space Fall, Vila said that when it came to computers, Avon was 'the number two man in all the Federated worlds'; and in Shadow, Blake said that the Terra Nostra worked in secret on 'Earth and the Federated worlds'.

See also FEDERATION.

FEDERATION (various episodes)

An oppressive dictatorial regime with varying control over an unspecified portion of the colonised galaxy. Fan lore often refers to the events in the series taking place in "the third century of the Second Calendar", but there is no canonical support for this. In Pressure Point Blake referred to the Federation starting to expand 200 years before his attack on Control. In the same episode he told Gan of the Federation destroying all churches at the start of the New Calendar. Reference to an "Old Calendar" was made in Countdown. It is tempting to place the Federation's origins with the early years of the New Calendar, but there is no conclusive evidence to support this, and the two probably do not coincide - the date before which Blake allegedly molested Carl Deca, Renor Leesal and Payter Fen is shown in The Way Back as 52.6.8, suggesting that the New Calendar year is probably either 152 or 252. If the New Calendar was introduced by the Federation after its expansion from Earth, it is 52 or 152, if before then 252 (or even 352, 452 etc). This of course assumes that the dates given in The Way Back are conventional ones and not in some notation peculiar to Blake's era.

Generally referred to simply as "the Federation", but called the "Terran Federation" on a number of occasions: in The Way Back Blake's trial was held by the authority of the Terran Federation; in Duel Travis described himself to Sinofar and Giroc as a representative of the Earth Federation; and in Voice from the Past Ven Glynd claimed he had enough information to convict the Terran Federation and Space Command. Servalan referred to herself as "President and Supreme Commander of the Terran Federation in Powerplay, The Harvest of Kairos and Moloch.

The population on Earth was shown to be dosed with suppressants, but such measures were not seen again until Commissioner Sleer initiated her Pacification Programme in the 4th Season. Various sanctioned atrocities were referred to: Hal Mellanby's supporters were wiped out after their surrender, half the population of Saurian Major was butchered, and the same fate may well have befallen the people of Agrava if a series of accidental explosions had not occurred. The dissidents at Bran Foster's meeting in The Way Back were massacred despite offering no resistance to the security forces, and dissidents from Blake's earlier revolutionary period were executed. Slavery was referred to a number of times, with Rashel being a "bond-slave", mention made of Maryatt's family becoming slaves after his "desertion" and Servalan's threat to send Travis to "the slave pits of Ursa Prime". Non-Terran peoples were used as slave labour on UP-Project Avalon and Horizon. Annexation of new colonies was shown to be by dubious means in Blake's description of the Lindor Strategy. Once annexed, planets could be retained by outright terrorism, as with the solium radiation device on Albian. Corruption within the judicial system ran to the highest level, as witnessed in Blake's second trial, supposedly for indecently assaulting children (although Arbiter General Ven Glynd later hinted he was planning his defection at or before this time). The President himself supervised the production and distribution of the fatally addictive drug shadow.

This should not be confused with the actions of individuals: Travis was responsible for at least one massacre of unarmed civilians, but this was a recognised war crime for which he eventually came to be sentenced to death, albeit for Servalan's convenience. Many of Servalan's actions were more those of an ambitious power-seeker rather than an instrument of a ruthless establishment.

The few references to law and punishment indicated a harsh attitude. Churches were destroyed at the start of the New Calendar, strongly implying but not explicitly stating an ongoing suppression of all religious practice. Going outside the dome city on Earth was a Category-4 crime (the Arbiter at Blake's trial described his offences as Category-9 and "most grave"), and contact with "outsiders" was illegal. Failure to register a change of address resulted in a fine, if only a small one, as noted by Servalan in Aftermath. Vila mentioned the banning of leisure transport in Stardrive - this may have been at the same time as the banning of space choppers "a couple of centuries back". The prisoners deported to Cygnus Alpha were convicted of child molesting (Blake, falsely), embezzlement (Avon), murder (Gan), smuggling (Jenna) and irremediable compulsive stealing (Vila).

The extent of the Federation is hard to gauge. Many planets were neutral, as were larger systems (such as Teal and Vandor), but no major power blocks on a par with the Federation in size were ever referred to. Servalan observed that the destruction of Star One left "half the civilised worlds" to their fate, a possible indication of the Federation's pre-war size. The President was, amongst other things, "Lord of the Inner and Outer Worlds", but little elaboration was given to these titles.

Rule was by a President and High Council, though a senate apparently also played some part in the Federation's power structure. Before the Intergalactic War an uneasy balance of power appeared to lay between the Administration and Space Command, the military wing. In theory the former controlled the latter, but Par asserted that "Space Command runs the Federation". Servalan was several times seen to be pressured by civilian political figures, particularly Secretary Rontane and Councillor Bercol in Seek-Locate-Destroy and Councillor Joban in Hostage - such instances call Par's claim into question.

Immediately prior to the War, Servalan seized control in what appeared to be a relatively effortless coup and became President and Supreme Commander of the Terran Federation. Practor later referred to her as "the Supreme Empress": this may have been facetiousness on his part, but Practor did not come across as a facetious person. If, as one of the stranded troopers on Sarran said, 80% of the Federation's space fleet had been destroyed, then Servalan's power must have been tenuous in the beginning, and as late as Moloch Grose said her reconstituted Federation wasn't "worth a light". In Rumours of Death Chesku talked of "Earth and the Inner Planets" being reunited, but there is no indication as to how much of the pre-War Federation this represented.

In the early aftermath of the War the Federation may have effectively ceased to exist. "There isn't a Federation anymore" said Tarrant in The Harvest of Kairos, and as late as Children of Auron Servalan could still point to "general disunity and anarchy". In Traitor, Practor mentioned "a great deal of confusion when the High Council was restored to power", adding that most of "the old guard" stayed loyal to Servalan to the end. This is almost certainly a reference to the time when she was deposed from the Presidency, probably during her absence on Terminal. Over time, however, the Federation clearly recovered and regained much if not all of its lost territory, most notably through Commissioner Sleer's Pacification Programme. Avon noted as late as Warlord that the Federation still lacked the military strength for conventional armed conquest.

Kasabi said that "the Federation is degenerate, run by creatures like her [Servalan]", and there was no indication of things improving in this respect after the War.

The Federation's slogan appeared to be "From Strength to Unity", since Servalan signed off from her conversation with LeGrand with these words.

See also ADMINISTRATION, HIGH COUNCIL, PRESIDENT, SPACE COMMAND. FEDERATION MEDICAL COUNCIL (B-7: KILLER)

An institution which Tynus threatened to report Dr. Bellfriar to, over the latter's failure to deal with the epidemic-causing alien virus on Fosforon. The title and threat suggest that the institution is similar to the United Kingdom's General Medical Council.

The latter licences doctors to practice medicine in the UK, and is given four main powers by law. First, to keep up to date registers of qualified doctors; second, to foster good medical practice; third, to promote high standards of medical education; and fourth, to deal with doctors whose fitness to practice is in doubt. Presumably, the Federation Medical Council had similar powers regarding doctors in the Terran Federation as Tynus threatened to invoke its investigative and disciplinary power.

FEDERATION SPACE ACADEMY (C-10: ULTRAWORLD / C-11: MOLOCH)

In Ultraworld, the Ultra noted that Tarrant was a graduate of the Federation Space Academy.

In Moloch, Servalan told Grose and Lector that a graduate of the "Space Academy" needed five years before he (sic) could "even begin to acquire the basic skills and experience necessary to pilot an advanced star cruiser."

FEDERATION STANDARD TIME - see TIME

FELDON (D-8: GAMES)

An energy-focussing crystal, its action analogous to a burning glass, but "infinitely" more efficient. Exactly how feldon worked, however, was (perhaps wisely) not entered into at length. The "hardest known substance in the universe", it was extremely rare, Orac mentioning traces in the asteroid belt (presumably of the Solar System) and "a few insignificant planets". The Federation was prepared to start major mining operations on planets previously considered uninhabitable to get it. Mining operations had been in progress on Mecron II for twelve years, but this apparently began before the Federation appreciated the true potential of feldon: a series of uncontrolled accidental explosions on Agrava, killing thousands of people, prompted full-scale investment. On Mecron II at least, extraction of feldon was by electromagnetic crusher: everything but the feldon was reduced to a fine dust, leaving the crystals readily removable.

Feldon was of course not only rare and useful but valuable as well, and the consignment Belkov had supposedly stored away over his twelve years on Mecron II had an estimated value of between 900 million and a billion credits. The Mecronian priests considered feldon to be a symbol of power, and one priest died whilst wearing a necklace of crystals during a lightning storm. Belkov exploited this incident to prove he had been sent by the gods to mine the crystals. His ship Orbiter was fitted with feldon panels, which could harness the energy of distant stars to control its movements.

See also JEWELS FEN (B-3: WEAPON)

One of the Clonemasters, and herself a clone. She created at least two clones of Blake for Servalan. Payter FEN (A-1: THE WAY BACK)

Along with Carl Deca and Renor Leesal, one of three children treated to believe he (or possibly she) had been assaulted by Blake. Fen's date of birth was given as 43.2.1, a patient of Dr Wen Caen, and s/he attended school ZL 3 Level 417. Kathleen FERRIER (CBE) (A-11: BOUNTY)

Sarkoff played a (very scratchy) recording of her Blow the Wind Southerly in his residence. Blake destroyed it to persuade Sarkoff to leave the planet with him.

Born in 1912, Kathleen Ferrier first established her reputation as a contralto in the Second World War, singing for factories and the forces. She remained popular after the war, until illness forced her early retirement in 1953, in which year she later died. FIBRE OPTICS (D-4: STARDRIVE)

Fibre optics were mentioned just once: when Dr Plaxton offered to install her Mark II photonic drive in Scorpio, she checked with Tarrant that the current plasma drive was linked to the ship's controls by standard fibre-optic connections. FIELD DRAG (A-5: THE WEB / A-7: MISSION TO DESTINY)

Phenomenon twice mentioned by Jenna and apparently related to gravitational influences on a space craft. In The Web the gravitational attraction of UP-The Web on the Liberator had a "field strength" of 3.5, which Jenna said was too big for field drag. In Mission to Destiny she stated that field drag whilst passing through a meteor storm was forcing her to use more power to maintain speed.

FIFTH LEGION (C-11: MOLOCH)

Federation unit, all but wiped out in the Intergalactic War. The survivors under Colonel Astrid accidentally landed on Sardos, and took command of the population there. Grose later deposed Astrid and assumed personal control. Servalan noted that the Fifth Legion was renowned for "women, food and inflicting pain - in no particular order". FILTRATION PLANT (A-7: MISSION TO DESTINY)

Fitted to the Ortega and no doubt most if not all other space craft. The filtration, or filter, plant handled the recycling of air aboard the ship and controlled oxygen levels. Sara put the crew of the Ortega to sleep with a canister of sono vapour, rigged to bypass the filter mechanism. FINAL FRONTIER (C-12: DEATHWATCH) by Murray Smith

Name used to refer to space, according to a public viscast, presumably by the inhabitants of a world before deep space travel became commonplace. It may have originally become popular on Earth due to its use in Star Trek, a science-fiction television series of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries AD.

FINGERPRINT LOCK - see LOCKS FINN (D-12: WARLORD)

A lieutenant of Zukan, who journeyed with him to Xenon. He assisted Zukan by planting explosives around the base, sealing off all the exits, and informed Zukan that Zeeona was present on the base. He noticed the bomb that Servalan had planted on Zukan's ship, and was ejected into space by Zukan whilst trying to remove it. FIRST LAW (A-3: CYGNUS ALPHA)

Prayer of the religion founded on Cygnus Alpha. It runs:

Only from His hand comes life And from His hand comes death We obey Him and give thanks for His mercy. He is the giver of salvation His power drives out the ravening beast that is death It is He who must be obeyed.

Recited by Vargas, and echoed by Kara who ended with the words "We thank You". FLAG (D-4: STARDRIVE)

Possible expletive, used by a Space Rat: "We're only moving the flagging shield." FLEET COMMAND (C-1: AFTERMATH)

Servalan addressed her distress calls from Sarran to Fleet Command. FLEET CO-ORDINATION SUITE (B-13: STAR ONE)

Mentioned by Servalan when news of the alien attack force reached her headquarters. She told Durkim to "patch this office into the fleet co-ordination suite". FLETCH EXPEDITION (D-3: TRAITOR)

The General on Helotrix told Colonel Quute about the ill-fated Fletch expedition of "29, who used gas against the Waazis without realising their capacity to lay dormant for days. The whole expedition was wiped out over dinner.

Fletch was presumably the commander of this force, and was probably a Federation officer. FLIGHT PREDICTOR (C-4: DAWN OF THE GODS)

Part of the Liberator's battle computers, it apparently predicted the flight of Liberator itself rather than potential targets, although it may have been able to do both.

Several references in The Web to "theoretical navigation" might be taken as further indication of the flight predictor's function. FLUID PARTICLES (C-13: TERMINAL) by Murray Smith

During its journey to Terminal, the Liberator encountered a large number of minute fluid particles grouped in what was variously called a broad spread, a band, a cloud, and a matter belt. These particles had a high level of energy, and Zen later suggested that they contained an unidentified enzyme.

Due to an uncountermandable order of Avon's, the Liberator went through the fluid particles, which adhered to the hull, after knocking out the latter's sensors. There followed unidentified enzyme activity resulting in molecular metamorphosis. A substance was produced that, in Vila's words, was '...eating into everything! Metal, plastics, fibres, just rotting away'.


This damage far exceeded the rectification capability of the auto-repair circuits, causing a massive power drain from the ship's energy banks, the latters' regenerative capacity proving inadequate. The continuing malfunction of the hull sensors limited the data for analysis.

By the time that Vila ordered the closedown of the auto-repair systems and Zen to make an all out investigation, dangerous structural weaknesses had developed in many areas. The dysfunction of at least five of Zen's computer banks led to loss of power and computing ability. The Liberator was finally destroyed after Servalan captured it, when she ordered the activation of the main drive, the stress of propulsion proving too much for its dangerously weak structure.

In the context of the series, the fluid particles are of particular interest due to their destruction of the Liberator, allied to their mysterious nature.

See LIBERATOR.

FLUTONIC POWER CELLS (A-5: THE WEB)

Form of power cell (presumably flutonic). The Lost used them to power Saymon's life support system, and hence maintain Geela and Novara. They summoned Liberator to their planet, using Cally as their agent, when power began to run low, and requested new cells from Blake. He replied that Liberator might not have exactly the same type of cell (he recognised them for what they were) but might have something that could be adapted - despite the fact that the Lost had been in exile for an unspecified but long period of time (Cally referred to them as a "legend"). Of course, the Lost might have acquired their old cells relatively recently from an unspecified source. FLYER (D-4: BLAKE)

The light aircraft used by Blake (amongst others) on Gauda Prime. See VEHICLES for further details. FOCUSSING COIL (D-4: STARDRIVE)

Part of Scorpio's main drive, damaged on collision with an asteroid whilst trying to enter the Altern system.

FOOD (various episodes)

Numerous references throughout the series. They include:

   * The Way Back: reference was made to food and drink in the dome city being heavily laced with suppressants. As Maja and Tel Varon left Ven Glynd's office, the public address system reported that supplies of protein culture from Ganymede were now available in the gourmet section of the food dispensing units. Dev Tarrant at the illegal meeting, began to discuss disruption of food supplies and alluded to rationing being in force.
   * Cygnus Alpha: Laran was seen roasting an animal of some kind on a spit over a fire.
   * Horizon: Vila drank a glass of vitamin solution, though he expressed a desire for something stronger. The mineworkers on Horizon ate an unappetising-looking gruel from a communal bowl. Zen informed Avon that Liberator held enough food stores for one person for a thousand years.
   * Trial: senator Bercol passed an adverse comment on Space Command cuisine, and lamented not bringing his own chef to Servalan's headquarters.
   * Killer: Vila claimed (probably facetiously) to be a vegetarian.Avon made a passing remark about sandwiches. Blake described a voyage in an old Wanderer class spacecraft as like "living in a pickle barrel for thirty years".
   * Hostage: the tower from which Travis conducted his operations was stated by Inga to contain enough concentrates to feed everyone on Exbar.
   * Gambit: Krantor offered Servalan a pataki cake (qv). Avon spat out something unidentifiable when he heard that Vila had agree to a game of Speed Chess. Fan lore identifies this as ice cream and a sundae glass is briefly visible in one shot.
   * The Keeper: Servalan was seen eating grapes on Goth. Fruit, bread and poultry were visible on Gola's feasting table.
   * Star One: Durkim noted that the planet Palmero was the Federation's leading producer of tropical fruit.
   * City at the Edge of the World: Bayban offered Vila a bowl of something best left undiscussed.
   * Ultraworld: Vila recited a limerick about gherkins.
   * Moloch: Grose offered Servalan coffee, "from beans", and wine from grapes. Avon created an apple in the energy/mass transformer on Sardos, and took a bite out of it to no ill effect.
   * Death-Watch: bowls of small, nibbly things adorned the table on Liberator's flight deck, as well as numerous drinks.
   * Power: Tarrant told Vila that food supplies on Xenon base were sufficient for three weeks only, after which the crew would be forced to live on nuts and berries. Vila added rodents to the list. Pella stated that the Seska had a hydroponic dome in which to grow food. Dorian supplied them with nutrients from Onus-2.
   * Traitor: Colonel Quute and the General were seen finishing a meal, though none of the contents were identifiable.
   * Stardrive: a space rat was seen eating what looked like a raw, perhaps even live, lizard.
   * Assassin: the slavers on Domo fed their captives on an unappetising stew called mangon made from fungus.
   * Sand: the base on Virn supplied a complete meal several minutes after Tarrant had programmed in a request for food. Exactly how this food processor worked and what its limits may have been, was never discussed.
   * Orbit: Egrorian offered Avon an Vila reconstituted refreshments (Avon declined).
   * Blake: Blake was seen roasting a small animal over an open fire. 

Drinks featured in many episodes, though were rarely named. Most were coloured, usually green but sometimes blue, white or even yellow, and some were definitely alcoholic. In Mission to Destiny

Travis and Par Par offered Travis a flask of liquor which he described as "good stuff". Travis ordered a Vitazade in Freedom City, and adrenalin and soma was mentioned in Horizon, Volcano and Animals. Wine was certainly available on Goth and Sardos and Dorian kept a locker full of quality wine. Vila suggested breaking out the booze and mentioned wine in Death-watch. More precise details are, however, lacking. The FOOL (B-12: THE KEEPER)

An attendant at the court of the Charl of Goth. Gola's Fool had been hypnotically given the coordinates of Star One, and released them on hearing the trigger phrase "A Fool knows everything and nothing". Sent to the dungeons by Gola, he remained there with his master, Gola's deposed father, when Blake left.

The position of Fool was temporarily filled by Vila. FORBIDDEN ZONE (B-5: PRESSURE POINT)

Defence area around the entrance to Central Control on Earth, with hidden surveillance cameras and a lethal, high intensity radiation grid covering an area about 50 yards around the bunker entrance. The grid could apparently root people to the spot, preventing their escape, and was self-repairing in eight seconds. Avon supposed that the bunker might also be fitted with antimatter screening. Arle and Berg died in the Forbidden Zone after stepping on the grid; Blake, Avon, Vila and Gan blasted a way through. Servalan used her authority to have the grid deactivated, allowing Travis and two mutoids access to the bunker. She later followed herself, held at gunpoint by Jenna and Veron. FORBUS (D-3: TRAITOR)

Inventor of Pylene-50, and keeper of the formula. Servalan kept him working for her by poisoning him with tincture of pyrhennic, an extract of pamperanian fungi, but eventually killed him after he tried to kill himself and her with his "primitive nitroglycerine". Forbus also developed an antidote to Pylene-50, which he gave to Tarrant and Dayna, and it was he who led them to realise that Leitz was a traitor.

Like a number of people encountered by the crew, Forbus had heard of the Liberator and also knew of Dayna and Tarrant by name. FORCE BARRIER See FORCE FIELD

FORCE FIELDS (various episodes) by Murray Smith

A number of force fields - called by various names - were encountered in seventeen episodes. They consisted of two types: those that protected planets or planetary installations, and those that protected spaceships. Those of the former type appeared in the following six episodes:

In Orac, Ensor's hideaway was protacted by a 'surface force barrier' (Servalan), which forced Servalan and Travis to go under it to get there, via the tunnels under the old city. Once disconnected, the 'force barrier' (Blake) took five hours to dissipate. Also, signal transmissions through the 'energy screen' (Orac) were not possible.

In Voice from the Past, 'security force walls' were present around Atlay as part of the security arrangements for the governors' conference.

In Star One, the computer complex was 'shielded', making it impossible for Vila to teleport Blake and Cally once they were inside.

In City at the Edge of the World, two of the most sophisticated force fields in the series were encountered. The first protected a vault in a city on Kezarn. It was designed to refract light, giving the appearance of a door. This afforded the vault extra protection, as those before Vila incorrectly assumed that it was a solid object. He found that the force field's energy threshold was 002; so he set up a low energy probe to push a probe into the force field at a maximum energy of 001, correctly predicting that this would cause the latter's collapse.

Vila and Kerril encountered the second force field aboard a starship, protecting an exit. While designed by the same person, it was slightly different, refracting light at the same frequency as the wall, rendering it invisible, ensuring that those on board the ship did nothing rash, like attacking the weakest point in the wall.

This episode is of interest due to the remarks made by Vila to Kerril about the nature of force fields in general. First, he explained that all force fields feel solid; the designer in the case of the first force field simply used the refraction of light to also give the appearance of a solid object.

Second, he explained why the methods previously used to break through failed, because 'like all force fields, whatever energy you push into it, it chucks right back at you. For all energy input, there has to be an equal and opposite energy output. Result - an indestructible block'. Lastly, he was able to figure out that some kind of exit from the starship existed, protected by a force field, as 'Air can bleed through a force field'.

In Headhunter, Muller told Tarrant that direct teleportation into his laboratory was possible, as it was not 'shielded'.

In Games, Belkov claimed that by using the Feldon crystals on Orbiter and reflectors on the moon, he could set up 'a series of force fields' to keep Scorpio from leaving Mecron 2's orbit; but this described what Avon correctly identified as 'Multiple traction beams'.

Of the force fields used to protect spaceships, the one most frequently used in the series was that which protected the Liberator - called the 'force wall' - used in nine episodes. Notable uses were as follows:

Mission to Destiny: The force wall was first mentioned in this episode, when a meteorite storm was encountered. Questioned as to whether the force wall would hold, Zen replied that the storm was within the 'maximum design tolerance' but with 'no safety margin', being unable to say if there was sufficient reserve power to maintain the wall. At about halfway through the storm, Gan remarked that the force wall was eating into the ship's power reserves. Zen them warned that in 1.03 minutes it would be impossible to operate the force wall and main drive simultaneously, Blake then deciding to deactivate the former.

Duel: The forcewall was first used in combat in this episode. When the first Federation plasma bolt was launched, Jenna ordered the force wall's activation; but Blake countermanded this, saying that it was 'too much of an energy drain'; and he ordered its activation only a short time before the bolt struck. After it hit, he ordered the wall's deactivation. This went on for eight more bolts, till Blake decided to ram Travis's ship. Gan wondered if the force wall could withstand a salvo of four plasma bolts, which were fired; but the question was rendered academic due to the intervention of Sinofar and Giroc.

Horizon: The force wall ensured that the Liberator was not destroyed by the Federation's magnetic barrier protecting Horizon.

Hostage: When facing a surprise second Federation attack, by twenty ships, Blake ordered 'Activate force wall 360'. He also asked if the power reserves were switched in, Jenna confirming that they were.

Dawn of the Gods: Avon ordered Zen to activate the force wall when the latter identified a dust cloud of intensity 6 in the ship's flight path, Tarrant remarking that they couldn't afford a drain on the energy banks. Later, Zen predicted that the force wall's collapse was imminent, as the Liberator's velocity was 'in excess of design limitations', which soon happened, damaging the outer teleport transducers.

The Harvest of Kairos: In this episode, two interesting properties of the Liberator's force wall were revealed. First, the ship could attack through its force wall, Servalan's remark that this was 'absurd' revealing that other spaceship force fields didn't have this ability. Also, the force wall could be brought to 'maximum deflection' on either 'interlock' or 'overlap'. Dayna's inability to do 'overlap' ensured that the Liberator's keel section was damaged.

A few conclusions can be suggested about this particular force wall. First, it only reduced the amount of damage inflicted on the Liberator, which , as particularly shown in Hostage and Volcano, could be considerable. It therefore must have operated on a different principle to the force fields described by Vila in City. Second, its use was a heavy drain on the ship's energy banks; so only sections must have been activated to conserve power, as the full force wall seemed to only be activated against all out attacks, like in Hostage. Third, it could be activated and deactivated either by Zen or by members of the crew, although it would have presumably been more efficient to use the former.

At least some other ships, particularly Federation, also had force fields for protection. The pursuit ships in Duel had such a force field, a mutoid commenting that if Pursuit Three continued firing, 'it won't have enough reserve to put up its defence shield'. Like the Liberator's force wall, such a force fleld appeared to be a heavy drain on the ship's energy banks. In Children of Auron, Pilot 4-0 was told by Servalan that her ship had also hit a 'random ionic reef' but with its 'force shields up'.

In Stardrive, Scorpio collided with an asteroid, resulting in the need to repair the main drive's focusing core; but the main drive chamber was not pressurised, and the repair too delicate to perform in spacesuits. Vila said that when he was first sent to a penal colony at 14, his ship was hit in the main drive by a meteoroid; and the repair was effected by activating the ship's force wall, and generating an atmosphere inside, so the repair team could work in a vacuun without spacesuits. Slave was able to manage a 'small force wall', a 'blister force wall', around the damaged part of Scorpio's hull, enabling the repair to be carried out.

FORCE WALL (various episodes)

See FORCE FIELDS.

FORRES (C-8: RUMOURS OF DEATH)

Section Leader working with Major Grenlee in seeing to security around Residence 1 on Earth. A popular saying from where he came from (possibly another planet) was "Some days are better than others", and he claimed that his mother cried the day he left home because he "owed her money". He was killed by Sula's rebels when they broke into the residence. FORWARD DETECTOR LINK (A-5: THE WEB)

Severed by Cally whilst under the influence of the Lost, leaving Liberator blind and forcing Zen to turn to theoretical projection for navigation. Cally's sabotage was carried out in the teleport area. FOSFORON (B-7: KILLER)

The Federation maintained a Q-base on Fosforon, and Blake visited the planet to acquire a TP crystal. Blake's comments about Wanderer K47 suggest that the planet was within 3,000 light years of Earth. The high oxygen content of the atmosphere made fire a particular hazard on the base. A plague designed to kill any human who had suffered the Terran Ague broke loose on Fosforon and killed everyone there. Blake put out a plague warning transmitter, despite Servalan's imminent arrival.


See Also Q-BASE.

Bran FOSTER (A-1: THE WAY BACK)

Resistance leader who had known Blake four years previously prior to his arrest and trial. At this time he had presumably been working on Earth, but Richie mentioned that he had recently been on Ziegler-5. Blake did not recognise him when they next met. Foster told Blake some details of his past, opening up some of the sealed off areas in Blake's mind. Despite insisting on not resorting to violence or resisting arrest, he was shot dead by the security forces (the first person at the illegal meeting to be killed). FRANTON (C-7: CHILDREN OF AURON)

[1] Pioneer of cloning and spontaneous cell differentiation on Auron, and an opponent of Auron's isolationist policy. Ginka referred to him having died "several years ago".

[2] Daughter of the above, who continued with her father's work. She was born naturally, before the replication process was perfected, and was thus presumably not telepathic. In charge of the replication plant at the time of Avon's visit, it was Franton who persuaded CA 1 that Zelda should contact Cally aboard the Liberator to seek help against Servalan's plague. She contracted the plague herself, but was cured on Servalan's ship (the first person to be cured of the plague). Having rescued Avon, Cally and Tarrant from Servalan's guards in the control centre. she left Auron with Patar and gene stocks for 5,000 offspring, and presumably arrived safely at the planet Kahn. FREEDOM CITY (B-11: GAMBIT)

Described by Servalan as a "pestilential rathole", Freedom City was situated on a planet not far from the Federation's borders. It was famous for its gambling opportunities including the Big Wheel, and Avon said that "Space City pales by comparison". The planet had a breathable atmosphere, and was home to a species of reptile from the distilled venom of which pataki cakes were made. Chenie referred to Freedom City being run by Krantor. Blake went there in search of Docholli, as did Servalan and, independently, Travis. FREEDOM PARTY (B-10: VOICE FROM THE PAST)

Outlawed political party of which Blake was a member. He renounced it after his trial, under the influence of psychological treatments. According to Orac in Voice from the Past, the Freedom Party was founded by Blake himself. FRENCH (various episodes)

In Shadow Clonemaster Fen pronounced Servalan's name with a French accent. In Voice from the Past, the bogus Shivan described Ven Glynd as the �minence gris behind LeGrand. In Gambit, the croupier of the Big Wheel addressed her audience in an affected French accent, inserting the occasional French word or phrase into her speech, and Krantor referred to a spirit of Mardi Gras. Verlis on Domo mentioned the nouveau riche, and Egrorian said "Quel dommage" at one point. FUNERAL (C-9: SARCOPHAGUS) by Murray Smith

The only funeral seen in the series was that of the unnamed alien in Sarcophagus.


FUSION BOMB (A-8: DUEL)

Jenna compared the surface of UP-Duel with the effect of a fusion bomb, and given the planet's history she may well have been right.

Back to Sevencyclopeadia Intro

Back to Blake's 7 Top Sevencyclopaedia - S S&D LOG (C-11: MOLOCH)

A record of the serviceability and disposition of all units in a legion, to be maintained by the senior officer present. Servalan asked Grose if he had kept such a log, at which he looked distinctly perplexed. SALVAGER (B-7: KILLER)


The Salvager Landing Ship sent up from the Q-base on Fosforon to recover Wanderer K47. It looked very similar to the London, and may have been a modified version of the same model of ship. SAMOR (B-6: TRIAL)

Fleet-Warden General, rarely seen away from the flagship of his "beloved Galactic 8th Fleet". Lye referred to him as "Old Starkiller" adding "I never thought I'd see him in the flesh". Thania described him as "a rulebook officer of the old school". Samor acted as pro tem (i.e., temporary) military arbiter at Travis" court-martial, and pronounced the death sentence upon him. He was probably killed after Blake's surprise attack on Servalan's HQ. SARA (A-7: MISSION TO DESTINY)

Woman aboard the Ortega, who murdered first Rafford and then Dortmunn as part of her scheme to steal the neutrotope and sell it to an unspecified party. Mandrian discovered she was responsible and tried to persuade her to give herself up: she later killed him, although Sonheim was initially accused of the crime. She voted in favour of giving Blake the neutrotope to take to Destiny, and stole it when Dr Kendall sent her to collect it for Blake (suggesting that she may have been a member of his staff rather than one of the crew). Rafford scrawled her name with his own blood as he died, although it was at first interpreted as being 5(S),4(A),12(R),4(A) - Avon finally realised what it really said. Sara then locked herself in on the flight deck, until lured out by being fooled into thinking that the people she was dealing with had arrived and killed the rest of the crew. Avon disarmed her as she came out of hiding. Moments before teleporting onto Liberator she threw off her teleport bracelet and remained on the Ortega, presumably dying in the explosion that destroyed the ship. SARCOPHAGUS (C-9: SARCOPHAGUS)

Alien vessel of unknown origin found drifting by the crew. Initial views afforded by the Liberator's visual detectors were of surprisingly poor quality. The alien ship then stopped just 200 spacials away from Liberator. Zen surmised that the exterior fittings were "decorative rather than functional", and when Avon, Cally and Vila teleported aboard they found a single deck with no controls or instrumentation. The atmosphere was breathable but oxygen-thin, and what artefacts there were had been subjected to a long period of decay. The remains of a humanoid corpse bedecked with priceless jewels led Cally to realise that the "ship" was a tomb. Vila's investigation of tinsel-like ribbons apparently activated an anti-intruder device, and he and Avon were left behind after Cally teleported back with an ovoid artefact and a ring secretly taken from the corpse. Cally then returned to bring back Avon and Vila before the ship exploded.


See also UNDEAD ALIEN.

SARDOS (C-11: MOLOCH)

A large fixed meteoroid on the edge of the Outer Darkness, not far from Kalkos. Its presence was concealed by two energy fields surrounding the meteoroid, the inner impervious, the outer refractive to medium pulse energy (gamma radiation to radio waves). The latter required altering the frequency on which the teleport operated to omicron wavelengths, and this was carried out by Cally. Poola made reference to a desert region on the surface. Light was provided by the energy/mass transformation technology developed there.

The population consisted of 300 Sardoans, who avoided all genetic change and had projected the progress of their evolution two million years forward in time. Astrid, soon after he arrived, ran the computer projection through the energy/mass transformer to create a specimen of the creature into which the Sardoans would eventually evolve. His name was Moloch, and he effectively ruled the population.

Some time after the Intergalactic War a Federation T-16 transporter with the survivors of the 5th Legion, arrived on Sardos and took control. Colonel Astrid was later imprisoned by Moloch, and his second-in-command had "an accident", leaving Grose in command. Grose lured Servalan to Sardos, intending to use her cruiser as a model for a fleet of ships crewed by prisoners from Kalkos.

The only Sardoans mentioned by name were Poola and Chesil, the former being handed over to Grose's men, the latter killed by Moloch. SARKOFF (A-11: BOUNTY)

Formerly president of Lindor for five years, removed from office by elections rigged by the Federation. This was part of the Federation's "Lindor Strategy", to destabilise the planet and provide an excuse for moving in a "peace-keeping force" and reinstalling Sarkoff as their puppet. In the interim, Sarkoff, along with his self-pity, was accommodated on an unnamed planet under Federation guard. As President, he had resisted joining the Federation, and been contacted by Leeharn of Auron with a view to forming an alliance that never materialised.

His election defeat occurred seven years before meeting Blake, during which time he had apparently been seen by Cally, although he failed to recognise her when they met. Brought aboard the Liberator, he stood by and watched as Tarvin prepared to hand the crew over to the Federation, but eventually killed Tarvin as he threatened Tyce, who was only then revealed to be Sarkoff's daughter. Sarkoff then returned to Lindor to unite his people and prevent the Federation annexing his planet.

Sarkoff was a keen collector of ancient Earth artefacts, with a particular interest in the 20th Century. He described (inaccurately) his residence as "a replica of a typical residence of that period, set in an authentic Earth garden". Amongst his possessions were a revolver, a pair of flintlock pistols, a case of mounted butterflies (which he referred to as now being extinct), a stuffed thrush, a gas mask, a gramophone and several records, two of which he played whilst Blake was present. Blake smashed one, and threatened to destroy the entire collection unless Sarkoff returned with him to the Liberator.

See also Tommy STEELE and Kathleen FERRIER SARRAN (C-1: AFTERMATH)

Described by Servalan as "a remote Outer Planet", it was the landing point for several survivors of the Intergalactic War, including Avon and Servalan. The local people, the Sarrans, regarded what they could see of the fighting as a prophecy fulfilled, and under the orders of their leader, Chel, set out to kill everyone they found (perhaps suggesting that the first Sarrans were fugitive human colonists). Two troopers were seen to be slain as a result.


Also on the planet were Hal Mellanby and his daughter Dayna, who had arrived twenty years earlier fleeing from the Federation. Their space craft was mostly under the sea, but with several entry hatches on the beach.

The Sarrans were technologically pre-industrial, possibly nomadic and, uniquely among native populations seen in the series, rode horses. Chel spoke with Servalan, and appeared to have a reasonable command of Terran. Hal Mellanby held a very low opinion of the Sarrans, discussing them as though they were little more than semi-intelligent creatures.

When Avon and Dayna teleported back to Liberator Servalan was left behind. In Powerplay she was brought aboard the Chengan hospital ship, which presumably landed on Sarran. The ship had almost returned to Chenga by this time, and so the two planets were probably very close to each other. SATELLITES (various episodes)

On the way to Saurian Major, Jenna asked Blake if there were any artificial satellites on their course. The Pyroans had a satellite in orbit around Obsidian, with which they detected the Liberator without the ship detecting the satellite. In Terminal Avon received signals boosted and redirected through a communications satellite. A satellite was in orbit around Xenon, with visual and probably other information relayed to the control room in Xenon Base. Practor had a satellite communications link with all areas of Helotrix. Gerren's transmissions to Avon were relayed through an obsolete communications beacon in Sector 4.

Servalan several times referred to her headquarters as a "satellite station", and Vila called Space City the "Satellite of Sin". Neither was seen to orbit a planet, and it could be that "satellite" in Blake's time meant any fixed artificial body, regardless of size or purpose. SATELLITE OF SIN (B-2: SHADOW)

Another name for Space City, in Vila's mind at least. SAURIAN MAJOR (A-4: TIME SQUAD)

Planet described by Blake as being in star sector "four six point two one". The atmosphere was tinted red, at least in the area Blake visited, and some of the native flora was carnivorous, some species even having an intelligence rating. It had a day length of 36 hours. Cally referred to the resistance fighters hiding in "the hills and jungles", giving some idea of the terrain.

An early self-governing colony, Saurian Major was at some point annexed by the Federation. The settlers redeclared their independence, and were promptly crushed, half the population being killed and the rest transported to frontier planets. The Federation built what Blake described as "a vast transceiver complex", through which all Federation signals were routed before being boosted and redirected to their destinations, "a vital nerve centre in the Federation space control system". Some resistance fighters remained, but were eventually wiped out (except for Cally) by "poison from the sky", presumably an allusion to chemical warfare. The transceiver complex was eventually destroyed by Blake. SAUROS (B-7: KILLER)

Constellation for which Blake set a course on departing from Fosforon. SAYMON (A-5: THE WEB)

One of the Lost, whose body came to house the minds not only of himself but of five others as well. This collective identity was kept alive in a life support system powered by flutonic cells; when the cells began to run out of power, Saymon and the other minds used their combined power to force Cally into bringing Liberator to their planet. Saymon and the others died when the Decimas infiltrated the compound and destroyed everything they found.

Saymon described himself and the others as "from the Auronar, but not of them".

SCANNERS (A-2: SPACE FALL)

Often synonymous with detectors, but aboard the London the term referred to the internal surveillance system. Avon turned off the scanners (black cameras with a winking red light) once he had overpowered the technician in the computer room. Similar scanners were seen in the dome city on Earth in The Way Back and again on Earth in the Forbidden Zone in Pressure Point. SCAVENGERS (A-12: DELIVERANCE)

Survivors of the war which destroyed civilisation on Cephlon. They had undergone severe regression to the primitive state, a process probably aided by the high radiation levels on the planet. Meegat estimated their numbers at about two hundred. They held Jenna prisoner for a while. Avon killed one scavenger whilst on the planet, and others received a severe bruising. SCHOOL (A-1: THE WAY BACK)

Although several academic institutions were mentioned at various times (the Central Educational Complex, the Central Science Complex, Leedenbrank, Belhangria University), reference to schools was found in only one episode. The three children allegedly assaulted by Blake each attended different schools in the dome city on Earth. Renor Leesal went to school ZL 2 Level 716, Carl Deca to school ZL 14 Level 552, and Payter Fen to school ZL 3 Level 417. Interpretation of the medical records in The Way Back suggests that these children were 9 or 10 years old. The reference to "Levels" might indicate either some measure of academic performance, or the physical location of the school within the city - the latter seems more likely, but there is no hard evidence for this. Access to school attendance records from the Public Records Computer was through access code alpha 3377. SCORPIO (13 episodes from D-1: RESCUE)

Described by Tarrant as "a Wanderer class planet hopper, Mark II by the look of it - obsolete but functional", Scorpio belonged to Dorian until acquired by Avon. Its speed at acquisition was unstated but once fitted with the photonic drive it could make at least Time Distort 12. The ship was generally under the control of the Slave computer, designed and installed by Dorian. It was also fitted with a teleport facility, installed by Dorian and perfected by Avon. Like most ships of this type, only the main deck was pressurised in flight.

Scorpio was taken by Avon and his crew to Helotrix, Caspar, Bucol-2, Pharos, Domo, Mecron II, Virn, Zerok, Beta 5, Malodar, Betafarl and Gauda Prime. Because of the teleport, landings were rarely made, and the ship was only seen to touch down on Terminal, Xenon, Caspar, and Betafarl. A landing was also made on Beta 5. Final touchdown was on Gauda Prime, where the ship broke in two on crash-landing.

Scorpio suffered damage in Stardrive, where it grazed an asteroid when trying to enter the Altern system, holing the main drive chamber as a result, and in Animals when attacked by pursuit ships above Bucol-2, suffering damage to the main detectors and anti-grav gyros. Control of the ship was lost in Power, when Pella briefly hijacked it, and Headhunter, where all systems came under the influence of Muller's android.

Orbital altitudes were mentioned twice: in Traitor the ship took up position 40 miles above Helotrix, and initial orbit over Malodar was 10 miles up.

Prior to installation of Dr Plaxton's photonic drive, the ship needed fuel crystals derived from selsium ore. Other fittings included an orbital booster, inertial guidance glycolene ballast channels, precision guidance subsystem, thrust computer, short burn boosters to aid lift-off with a full payload, and armament which Soolin described as insufficient to "tangle with Federation patrols". There was also a gun locker for six clip guns (Rescue), a medicapsule (Headhunter) and facilities for in-flight docking (Gold). In Orbit Tarrant stated that Scorpio needed to be stationary for a docking, but Gold apparently contradicts this.

In Gold the transfer tube from the Space Princess locked onto a hatchway marked "Bay 2", so the ship presumably had at least two and possibly more cargo bays. Bay 2 must have been pressurised when the gold was brought aboard, since the crew entered the ship through this bay whilst not wearing spacesuits. SEALING GEL (A-2: SPACE FALL)

Safety device on certain ships, including the London. If the outer hull was holed, sealing gel would fill the space between the inner and outer bulkheads, setting solid in seconds. It was recognised by Jenna, and Nova died when asphyxiated by it. SECTION LEADER (various episodes)

Rank within the Federation. Personnel noted as holding this rank included Klegg (Aftermath), Forres (Rumours of Death), and Grose (Moloch). Grose was superior to Unit Commander Lector, and Forres subordinate to Major Grenlee, suggesting that a Section Leader was a junior officer, possibly of similar rank to a lieutenant (a rank no trooper was noted as holding, though it apparently existed as a fleet rank). A section might thus be the Space Command equivalent of a platoon, with a typical strength of perhaps 30-40 troopers. SECTOR (various episodes)

Sectors were referred to in a number of contexts. A sector could be part of a battle zone, as in The Harvest of Kairos where Tarrant defied computer predictions and took the Liberator through delta sector whilst all the pursuit ships were waiting in alpha sector. Cheney in Bounty referred to "intruders in Sector 3", a very local application of the term.

The galaxy, or at least some of it, was divided into sectors for mapping purposes. There were at least 12 sectors, possibly more, and the sector in which some planets were located was referred to on a number of occasions.

In Time Squad Blake defined Saurian Major's position as "star sector four six point two one", possibly a full definition of a 4th Sector location.

In Redemption Avon identified the location of Orac's predicted destruction of the Liberator as astro point 781 in the 12th Sector. In the same episode Blake ordered a course to "Earth sector", and it is tempting to think of this as being Sector 1.

In Hostage the mass attack on the Liberator took place in Sector 4, and Avon transmitted a message to Servalan from that same sector whilst en route to Exbar. Exbar may thus have been in Sector 4 as well, though this was not explicitly stated.

In The Keeper the Fool gave the location of Star One as "grid reference C-17320 in the 11th Sector". This was some way beyond the edge of the galaxy.

In Star One the Liberator, on its way to Star One, crossed from Sector 9 into Sector 11.

In Volcano Obsidian was said to be in the 6th Sector.

In Dawn of the Gods the Liberator was pulled off course into the 12th Sector, which Tarrant described as uncharted: he noted that Federation survey ships sent to Sector 12 "had a habit of not returning".

In Terminal Delta 716, the sun around which Terminal orbited, was on the edge of Sector 6. The journey from Terminal to Xenon appeared to be a short one, so Xenon may also have been in this sector.

In Traitor it was noted that the recent re-annexation of Luba, Porphry Major and Helotrix gave the Federation control over most of Sector 4.

In Games Mecron II was located in Sector 9, and Avon received transmissions from Gerren (who was on Mecron) via a communications beacon in Sector 4. This suggests that the two sectors were adjacent to each other, or that the reference in this case is to a local application of the term.

Co-ordinates for various planets, when given, were not terribly helpful. Zen mentioned use of "galactic centre co-ordinates" in Cygnus Alpha. Young Ensor gave Aristo's co-ordinates as 112 intersect 59, possibly a reference to the 11th Sector, but more than likely a course to Aristo from Cephlon.

See also QUADRANT, ZONE SECURITY CODE XX - see XX SECURITY CODE SECURITY COMMANDER (A-9: PROJECT AVALON)

A possible rank within the Federation, but more likely a position held by an officer of variable rank. Security Commander within the detention blocks on UP-Project Avalon was Sergeant-Major Garbon. SEEKERS (B-1: REDEMPTION)

Vila suggested launching "a couple of seekers" at the pursuing Space World ships, with the aim of "throwing their attack run". The launch systems failed to function, since the attackers had crippled the Liberator's defence systems. Seekers were probably self-targeting missiles of some kind, possibly the ship's main (or only) rear armament. They may have been the "missile systems" whose launch codes Orac scrambled aboard the DSV that pursued Liberator from Spaceworld.

SEER (A-1: THE WAY BACK)

A patient admitted to the Central Clinic on the same day as the three children allegedly molested by Blake. SELMA (B-4: HORIZON)

A native of Horizon, originally engaged to Ro but sent to the monopasium mines when she refused training by the Colonial Service. She had already been dismissed from earlier training for disobedience. When the Kommissar had her tortured, ostensibly to learn more about Blake and his crew, Ro came to a final decision and opted to reject the Federation. SELMAN (A-3: CYGNUS ALPHA)

A prisoner on the London, put down on Cygnus Alpha. Selman, along with Vila, Gan and Arco, elected to try and escape from Vargas with Blake, but Vila reported him as being killed in the attempt. SELSON (B-9: COUNTDOWN)

A sergeant in the Federation Space Assault Force detachment on Albian, he tried to dissuade Provine from arming the solium radiation device. Leaving for the rocket silo with Provine, he was killed when an explosion brought down the roof of the escape tunnel. His body was later found by Blake and Del Grant. SELSIUM (D-4: STARDRIVE)

Ore needed by the crew of Scorpio to make badly needed fuel crystals; an attempt to obtain selsium ore from the Altern system failed.

The name "selsium" suggests an element, but there is no known element of that name. SENATOR (B-6: TRIAL)

Bercol described himself as a senator, though in Seek-Locate-Destroy he had been addressed as Councillor Bercol. (His career may have progressed since his first appearance) The existence of senators implies a senate, though its relationship with the High Council was never made clear. Bercol was an ex officio member of the High Council, either through being head of the Information Bureau or through being a senator. The former is perhaps more likely. SENSORMESH (B-5: PRESSURE POINT)

A feature of the high intensity radiation grid in the Forbidden Zone. The grid was weight and disturbance sensitive, and could detect the approach of intruders. The sensormesh performed at least one and probably both of these functions. SENSORNET (C-12: DEATHWATCH)

Brain implant worn by the champions of Teal and Vandor, consisting of a series of microsensors linked to a conductive mesh etched into the bone of the skull. When this mesh was charged up, all of the champion's senses, and some thoughts and feelings, could be transmitted to tuned-in observers outside the combat zone. SENSORS - see DETECTORS SENSORY ECSTASY HOURS (B-4: HORIZON)

A feature of Federation rest centres, briefly but enthusiastically mentioned by Vila.

  • SENTHA

(D-12: WARLORD)

A frontier system, mentioned by Avon as being threatened by the Pacification Programme. SERUM (A-8: DUEL)

See BLOOD SERUM. SERGEANT (B-9: COUNTDOWN)


Selson Rank within the Federation. Selson was a sergeant. Among the rebels on Helotrix, Hask held the rank of sergeant. SERGEANT-MAJOR (A-9: PROJECT AVALON)

Rank within the Federation. Security Commander in the detection block on UP-Project Avalon was a Sergeant-Major Garbon.

  • SERRUS

(D-12: WARLORD)

A frontier system, mentioned by Avon as being threatened by the Pacification Programme. Zukan had apparently made territorial claims on Serrus. SERVALAN (29 episodes from A-6: SEEK-LOCATE-DESTROY to D-12: WARLORD)

Some hints of Servalan's past appear from time to time. At the age of 18 she had a love affair with Don Keller. Keller left her for unspecified reasons, after which Servalan pursued power as her primary goal, or as she put it: "Power became my lover - power is like a drug". In Pressure Point she was revealed to be the "bright cadet" who reported Kasabi for teaching treason. Kasabi herself had considered Servalan "unfit for command". In Seek-Locate-Destroy She was appointed to the post of Supreme Commander by the President, supported by Councillor Joban. She had clearly been involved with Egrorian at some point after her appointment, and assisted him in his disappearance from the Space Research Institute. She did not, however, appear to reciprocate Egrorian's feelings towards her.

At first she was seen to direct Travis from her headquarters, but soon became personally involved with the acquisition of Orac, promising without authority to pay 100 million credits for the computer. She then hired the services of the psychostrategist Carnell in securing IMIPAK, a plot that almost succeeded. Her interest in capturing Kasabi seemed to go beyond the purely professional, since she said she had waited "a long time" to get her hands on Kasabi and took a personal hand in interrogating her. She also took a personal part in the chase to stop Blake finding the location of Star One, although cannot be definitely ascribed with wanting to find its location for herself (although her visit to Freedom City was not in an official capacity and she went to Goth personally rather than send an assault force to recover Lurgen's brain print). As Star One began to malfunction she launched a coup against the President and the High Council, suggesting she may have considered the problems with Star One to have their origins in the Civil Administration, or to have felt that only the military could lead the way out of the crisis. Her rise to the Presidency during the Intergalactic War may therefore have been a product of circumstance rather than intent.

As President (she was first seen to be properly addressed as "Madam President" by Mori in Volcano, although Durkim had called her that before she formally seized power) she concentrated on capturing the Liberator, trying and failing no less than four times: on the last occasion she finally acquired it minutes before its destruction. She boarded the ship twice, in The Harvest of Kairos and Terminal.

In Volcano In this period she also exterminated the population of Auron and nearly provoked war between Teal and Vandor. While on Auron she attempted to clone herself, but the clones died when the replication plant was fired upon. Servalan was telepathically aware of their deaths. Exactly how powerful she was is a matter for conjecture: Practor referred to her as "the Supreme Empress", Tarrant mentioned the rapid expansion of her empire in Ultraworld, but Grose said that her "reconstituted Federation" wasn't "worth a light".

At some point between Death-Watch and Traitor she was deposed, and according to Practor reported dead in the rearguard action on Geddon. She later told Tarrant that the Presidency had been stolen in her absence on Terminal. Surviving the destruction of the Liberator through a power surge in the teleport system, at least by her own account, she reappeared as Commissioner Sleer, responsible for the Pacification Programme on a number of worlds. Leitz was the 26th person she came to kill to protect her identity. She later killed Ardus for the same reason, and would probably have killed Reeve as well if Tarrant had not done so first. As Commissioner, she deliberately sought out the crew of Scorpio four times (in Assassin, Gold, Orbit and Warlord), other encounters being coincidental. As well as pursuing her official duties she also found time to embark on her own enterprises, as in Gold. She was last seen leaving Zukan's ship, having planted an explosive device in the airlock, and there is no evidence for her ever being present on Gauda Prime.

Bodycount: She was seen to personally kill Coser and later one of her own troopers with IMIPAK; Kasabi through drugs in interrogating her; a Sarran; Deral and Ginka; Hob; a number of Grose's men on Sardos; Practor, Forbus and Leitz on Helotrix; Ardus and Justin in Animals. She was also responsible for the deaths of Ensor Jr., Maryatt, Ardus, Zukan, Finn, possibly Gerren and probably Keiller. She knocked Avon to the floor in Terminal.


In Moloch She told Travis in Project Avalon that she had been the subject of two recent assassination attempts, but no mention was made of who might have been responsible.

Captured by: Jenna in Pressure Point, where she was used as a hostage to release Blake, Avon, Vila and Gan from Travis in the Central Control bunker; the Sarrans, from whom she was rescued by Avon in order to find out where Orac was hidden; Sula and her rebels on Earth, where Avon again released her in return for Bartolomew's identity; and Grose on Sardos, where she effectively rescued herself with some help from Vila.

Places visited: UP-Project Avalon, Aristo, UP-Clonemaster, UP-Weapon, Earth (twice), Exbar, UP-Gambit (where she stayed at room 100 at the terminal), Goth, Sarran, Chenga, Obsidian, Auron, Sardos, UP-Death-Watch, Terminal, Helotrix, Bucol-2, Domo, Mecron II, Virn, Beta-5 and Malodar.


In Weapon

In Trial She met various members of the crew on the following occasions:

In Project Avalon she met Blake for the first time. On Aristo she met him again, and Cally, Avon and Vila for the first time. In Weapon she met Blake and Avon, and Gan for the first time, and in Pressure Point Jenna for the first time, and Blake, Avon, Vila and Gan again. On Goth she met Vila and Jenna again, but was gone by the time Blake arrived.

On Sarran she spoke to Avon for the first time (and kissed him into the bargain) and also earned Dayna's undying hatred by killing Hal Mellanby. In Powerplay she recognised Cally on the hospital ship and Vila on Chenga. In The Harvest of Kairos she boarded the Liberator and met all of the crew. On Auron she held Avon, Cally and Tarrant prisoner, and tried to negotiate with Vila. In Rumours of Death she met Avon, Cally and Tarrant whilst held prisoner by Sula's rebels. On Sardos she briefly teamed up with Vila. In Death-Watch she was confronted by Dayna, who reminded her of Hal Mellanby's death (Servalan appeared to have forgotten), and Avon again. In Terminal she met all of the crew again, though only very briefly in Vila's case.


In Terminal She was recognised on Helotrix by Dayna and Tarrant, and in Animals captured Dayna, and used her to capture Justin. On Domo she purchased Avon for 2,000 vems, and narrowly missed being shot by Dayna. In Sand she was stranded on Virn with Tarrant for some hours. Finally, she met Avon, Tarrant, Dayna and - for the first and only time - Soolin on Beta-5 in Gold.

In all, she came face-to-face with Avon on 11 occasions, Dayna on 8, Vila and Tarrant on 7, Cally on 5, Blake on 3, Jenna and Gan twice, and Soolin only once.

She handled light weapons with apparent ease and familiarity, and may thus have had some training in their use. In Orbit she flew her L-type cruiser unaccompanied to Malodar, suggesting some ability as a pilot. It seems likely that she also piloted a ship from Sardos as she had three ships, but only two pilots.

Carnell described her as "the sexiest officer I have ever known", a rare compliment. Kasabi described her as "a credit to your background - spoilt, idle, vicious", and added "greedy", "sick" and "degenerate" before she died. She had also, when a Federation political officer, listed Servalan as "unfit for command". Sula called her "a tasteless megalomaniac" and alluded to her as "a grotesque anachronism". Krantor described her as "perfidious as a snake". Rontane said that "any attempt to embarrass her personally is an exercise in total futility", and Bercol agreed, adding "she has all the sensitive delicacy of a plasma bolt". Avon later likened her to a "greedy gangster".

For all her ruthless ambition and self-interested endeavours, she exhibited a firm belief in order and a horror of moral decadence, and had long sought a way to clean up Freedom City. By contrast, however, albeit much later as Commissioner Sleer, she expressed admiration for slave-dealer Verlis" work, saying that she was "obviously fulfilling a deeply felt need". In this case, as so often, it is difficult to gauge her sincerity in what she said.

See also SLEER SESKA (D-2: POWER)

"Not a tribe", according to Pella, the Seska may have been native to Xenon, but Pella did mention them coming to the planet because it was not unlike Earth. The Seska were all women, with telekinetic powers boosted by dynamon crystals. Removing the collar containing the crystal required specialised surgery, suggesting a direct link with the neural system of the wearer. Orac referred to the crystal as "ingrafted".

War between the Seska and the Hommiks had been waged for some time prior to the crew's arrival on Xenon. Records from the time of Maravik (predecessor of Gunn-Sar) include references to a nucleic burster being thrown in the procreation vault, contaminating the seminal stocks held there. Reports viewed by Dayna and Tarrant of the last battle mentioned 18 dead and 7 taken, leaving 94 remaining Seska including 52 infants.

The Seska described themselves as experts in tele-ergonomics and energy transference. They assisted Dorian in developing what he thought was a teleport system, but was in fact a tele-ergotron. Kate said that the Seska had worked on developing a teleport "for generations".

They were hunted by the Hommiks to "give them sons", and did their best to find and save daughters left exposed on the hillsides. A week prior to the crew's arrival there were five Seska, but this had dwindled to just three by the time Avon met them: Pella, Kate and Luxia. Luxia was captured and operated on by Nina, a former Seska, and Kate was killed by Pella who, last of the Seska by a matter of minutes, was shot dead by Avon as she tried to take control of Scorpio. SHAD (C-5: THE HARVEST OF KAIROS)

Captain of the kairopan shuttle with command over at least seven guards. One was left behind on Kairos, four killed by Avon and two more boarded the Liberator with Shad. Shad's name was recognised by Jarvik, and the two had apparently worked together at some point. Shad addressed Jarvik as "Sir". He managed to gain control of the Liberator and invited Servalan aboard, but later left with her when Tarrant threatened the ship with a landing module. SHADOW (B-2: SHADOW)

Addictive drug, extracted from the xerophyte Alpha 7/5 (moon disc) on Zonda and peddled by the Terra Nostra. The President of the Federation described shadow as "the greatest single threat to the welfare of mankind", according to Avon, and possession carried a mandatory death penalty, despite the fact that the moon disc plantations were protected by the President's personal security force. Shadow

Shadow in the globe, with Largo and his enforcer Largo laced the shadow he supplied with a substance capable of controlled particle emission, allowing Largo to keep a track of any "dream heads" he supplied. Addiction resulted in death, either through withdrawal or continued intake. Two shadow users were shown: Hanna, and Petie (who died of taking the stuff). Largo also wrongfully believed Hanna's brother, Bek, to be a user. SHAFT COVER C-13: TERMINAL Written by Judith Proctor

A shaft cover on the artificial planet Terminal protected the entrance to an underground base. It had an electrostatic lock which needed a sonal key. It opened automatically when Avon approached it, suggesting that it was either triggered by the directional indicator or else that Avon's approach was still being monitored by Reeval and Toron and that they (or someone else) triggered the cover to open.

See also locks and Sonal key

SHERM (C-6: CITY AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD)

A none-too-intelligent henchman to Bayban who had a mutual rivalry with Kerril, and one of very few people to be killed by Cally. SHEVRON (C-2: POWERPLAY)

False name used by Avon on encountering Tarrant aboard the Liberator. He claimed that Dayna was his wife. SHIVAN (B-10: VOICE FROM THE PAST)

A member of the Freedom Party, fate unknown. Travis posed as a severely injured Shivan to infiltrate LeGrand's planned coup. From what happened it can be deduced that Blake and Shivan had formerly known each other. Travis" imposture (which according to him was Servalan's idea) began with reports of Shivan being killed in a Federation trap, but surviving and being taken to therapists on LeGrand's planet of Outer Gal. LeGrand welcomed him there. From this it can be inferred that these events were relatively recent (Travis last having been seen on Exbar two episodes previously), indicating that Shivan's dissident activities were contemporary with Blake's. He was probably no minor rebel either, since LeGrand included him in her triumvirate with herself and Blake. Nagu called him "Defender of Truth".


It was never disclosed whether or not Shivan had actually been killed or captured, or if he remained free, but it is perhaps most likely that the reports of his death were true.

  • SHOKOV

(B-13: STAR ONE)

One of the technicians who elected to remain behind on Star One, later taken over by an alien infiltrator. Lurena shot "Shokov" and saw him revert to his true form, her first real intimation that her colleagues were not quite who - or what - she thought they were. SHRINKER (C-8: RUMOURS OF DEATH)

Federation interrogator, responsible for the deaths of hundreds of prisoners, and by his own declaration "there wasn't one that died without telling me what I wanted to know". He also claimed to remember every one of his victims. In the chaos after the Intergalactic War, Shrinker changed sides and worked for the rebels, interrogating amongst other people a controller from Central Security. He later returned to the Federation, or at least that faction of it loyal to Servalan. He remembered who Avon was, though they had never previously met. It was Shrinker who informed Avon of the agent Bartolomew, but could supply only Chesku's name as a clue to his or her identity.


Avon went to Earth to execute Shrinker for killing Anna Grant, but it transpired that Shrinker and Anna had never crossed paths. He left Shrinker in a cave deep underground, with a loaded pistol as his only way out. Whether or not he took it is unknown. Tarrant described him as "an animal", and Shrinker did not deny taking pride in his work. SHUTTLES (various episodes)

In Shadow Blake convinced Largo that he came to Space City on one of four shuttles aboard the Liberator. Since he made the number up it seems likely that there was only one shuttle on the ship, as Largo supposed, or none at all. Largo had shuttles of his own.

In Voice from the Past Blake, LeGrand, Jenna and Vila took a shuttle from the Liberator to Atlay.

In The Harvest of Kairos it took 45 minutes for the shuttle carrying the last load of kairopan from the surface to the unmanned transporter waiting in orbit.

The inside of the shuttle In Orbit, Egrorian insisted that Avon and Vila travel to Malodar by shuttle, once Scorpio had been taken out of teleport distance of the planet. After the tachyon funnel had been exchanged for Orac, Egrorian planted a speck of neutron star material on the shuttle, intending to ensure that it would fail to reach the escape velocity of Mach 15 and crash into a swampy area beyond the biodome. This would have killed Avon and Vila but left the tachyon funnel intact and recoverable. SILMARENO (B-4: HORIZON)

The original name for Horizon, and the only name by which Porah referred to it when talking to Blake on the London. When Ro came to rule in his own right the original name was not restored, Ro explaining "We can't return to the past". SINGLE FUNCTION ISOMORPHIC RESPONSE (A-3: CYGNUS ALPHA)

Avon's comment on Liberator's refusal to let himself, Blake or Jenna take one more than one weapon from the gun locker on board. Trying to take a second weapon made it unbearably hot to the touch. The phenomenon was never witnessed again, perhaps because Zen was using the capability to acquire information about the new arrivals, or perhaps because someone deactivated it. Avon described this phenomenon mathematically as a "Single function isomorphic response".


In Redemption all the weapons became too hot to touch, preventing the crew from arming themselves against a boarding party from Space World. SINOFAR (A-8: DUEL)

The Guardian of the Power on UP-Duel. Together with Giroc, the Keeper, she was the sole survivor of a race that had wiped itself out through a thousand years of war. Sinofar first appeared to Gan, then disappeared, but later summoned Blake and Travis down to the surface, preventing Liberator ramming Travis" ship. She also brought Jenna and Keera down. She later healed Keera of whatever injuries the mutoid had sustained, recharged Liberator's energy banks and allowed Blake to leave ahead of Travis.

See Also AMERSAT (Fanlore).


SKELLERIANS (D-3: TRAITOR)

The General on Helotrix attributed Orac's research into space craft design to Skellerians, whom he described as "utter rogues" and "can't fight worth a damn, either". From what the General said, ship-building would appear to have been the Skellerians" speciality. SLATEN (D-10: GOLD)

Doctor aboard the Space Princess, and a replacement for the "drunken halfwit" Keiller was expecting on the voyage. Slaten diagnosed Dayna as suffering from Exobriddian addiction, symptoms she had originally intended to merely fake. During the transfer of the gold from the Space Princess to Scorpio, Slaten was killed by Keiller. SLAUGHTERHOUSE (C-2: POWERPLAY)

As Servalan told Cally and Vila, the name used by the staff to refer to the organ bank on Chenga. SLAVE (13 episodes from D-1: RESCUE)

Flight computer, built and installed on Scorpio by Dorian. When Dorian picked up the survivors from Liberator on Terminal, Slave was programmed to respond only to Dorian's voice pattern. Orac later made contact and managed to override the security program, enabling anyone on the flight deck to give commands.

Slave was taken over by an external source once, in Headhunter when Muller's android used its ability to influence circuitry over a distance. Life support systems closed down, stranding Vila and Tarrant on Scorpio; they would have died if Avon had not countermanded Orac's suggestion to leave the teleport deactivated. Slave had to be taken off-line over Virn owing to atmospheric interference with its circuitry, and suffered severe damage during the crash-landing on Gauda Prime, briefly addressing Tarrant by name before closing down.

Tarrant pointed out in Headhunter that Scorpio could not land, at least in the silo on Xenon, whilst Slave was off-line. He also pointed out that Slave alone was not enough to handle the ship for an emergency landing on Gauda Prime - as he said to Avon, "It takes talent to fly a dead ship". SLAVERY (various episodes)

Apparently not uncommon in the galaxy, the Federation for one openly using slave labour. References as follows:

   * Project Avalon: the natives of the unnamed planet were used as slave labour for the mining of "ice crystals".
   * Deliverance: Travis noted that when Maryatt was posted as a deserter, his family would consequently be sold into slavery.
   * Redemption: slavery was used by the Altas, and mention was made of a revolt by Slave Group 7 which included Norm-1.
   * Weapon: Servalan threatened to have Travis sent to the slave pits of Ursa Prime. Rashel described herself as a "bond slave", with fairly obvious connotations. She also remarked that a disobedient slave could be "modified", suggesting a possible origin of some mutoids.
   * Dawn of the Gods: the Caliph made several references to there being slaves among the Thaarn's workforce on Crandor.
   * Assassin: the pirates of Domo took the passengers of ships they attacked as slaves and sold them to the highest bidder. Slaves were only put up for auction twice, then killed if not sold after the second time. Auctions were conducted by Verlis. Servalan bought an entertainer for Cancer, and Avon for 2,000 vems, outbidding Natratof of Gourimpest.

SLEER (D-3: TRAITOR ff)

Federation Security Commissioner, in actuality Servalan who had adopted this new identity after her reported death in the rearguard action at Geddon. Sleer was in control of the Pacification Programme that subdued the planets of Tarsius, Luba, Porphyr Major, Helotrix and others, using pylene-50 manufactured by Forbus. She ruthlessly eliminated anyone who could identify her, Leitz being the twenty sixth person to suffer this fate. Ardus was later killed when he recognised her voice. Practor said that Sleer was highly thought of at Federation Headquarters, though Forbus preferred to describe her as a "vile sadist". She told Borr that she had written the standing orders for Central Intelligence Control herself, and so was probably a very senior figure within the Bureau. SLIME (Various episodes)

The basis for a number of colloquial expressions possibly euphemistic. "Slime sticks, as the saying goes." said Senator Bercol in Trial, and Par referred to being "up to your neck in slime and lasers." Bayban called sherm a "son of a slime crawler", and Vila confessed to not giving a "scoop of slime" for Norl's people once Bayban realised that Norl was using him. SLIMECRAWLER (C-6: CITY AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD)

Bayban described Sherm as a "son of a slimecrawler", possibly a reference to an actual creature on some unspecified world. SMALLPOX (B-7: KILLER)

Blake told Dr Bellfriar on Fosforon of how Lord Jeffrey Ashley supplied hostile Indians with the blankets of smallpox victims, an analogy with the use of Wanderer K47 to introduce a virulent pathogen into the personnel on Q-base. SMELLING SALTS (C-7: CHILDREN OF AURON) By Murray Smith

A mixture of ammonium carbonate crystals and an agreeable scent, inhaled by smelling, used to stimulate recovery in cases of headache or faintness. Something similar was used to stimulate Cally's recovery from the trance-like state she went into when the deaths of her people by the Federation-induced epidemic were communicated to her. Its strength was indicated by Vila's exaggerated comment that it could 'snap an asteroid out of orbit'.

SMOKE BOMB (C-10: ULTRAWORLD) By Murray Smith

Dayna rescued Tarrant from the Ultra by detonating a mobile smoke bomb that resembled the remote-controlled, heat-seeking explosive device used by her in City at the Edge of the World.

See EXPLOSIVES. SMOKING (B-12: THE KEEPER / D-3: TRAITOR)

In the course of 52 episodes only two characters were seen smoking. Gola had a hookah or something similar on Goth, and the General on Helotrix had a cigar over tea. It was lit for him by Quute. SOLAR WINDS (A-3: CYGNUS ALPHA) By Murray Smith

The streams of ions and electrons which continuously emanate from the stars. In Cygnus Alpha, when Jenna wondered what would happen if someone was teleported beyond the Liberator's teleport's maximum range, Avon imagined that 'they would appear momentarily in space, and then that their atoms would be scattered to the solar winds'.

SOLIUM RADIATION DEVICE (B-9: COUNTDOWN)

Device located on one of the polar caps of Albian, at grid reference 11179 intersect 441, installed by the Federation to deter attempts to challenge Federation rule. Once in fission, the radiation it emitted could destroy all life on the planet but leave buildings intact. The radiation decayed rapidly and contaminated areas could be safely re-entered within a day. The device on Albian could be activated from a control bunker on the inhabited equatorial belt, where it was guarded by a detachment from the Federation's Space Assault Force. The Activator

The Counter A group of Albian rebels, led by the mercenary Del Grant, attempted to call the Federation's bluff, or at least reach the bunker before the device was activated, but Provine ordered it armed when the computers predicted a 93% chance of the bunker being penetrated. Actual activation was by Tronos. Vetnor attempted to stop the countdown by isolating the rotornoid link, but this failed.

The detonators, of which there were three, contained mercury. The device was deactivated by Avon and Grant with seconds to spare. Blake threatened to pull them out when the countdown went below 50, but they both removed their bracelets to ensure they finished the task. Provine, Selson and Tronos had an escape route: a short-range ship ready for launch, but only Provine ever reached it and even he failed to take off. The Detonator (with Del Grant) SOMA - see ADRENALIN AND SOMA SONAL KEY (C-13: TERMINAL)

Used by Tarrant to open the door to the underground complex on Terminal. He found the key on Toron's body. SONHEIM (A-7: MISSION TO DESTINY)

Crewman aboard the Ortega, who shared quarters with Pasco. He set out to proposition Cally and instead joined her in finding Dortmunn's body. He was later found with Mandrian's body, but denied having killed him. He was teleported aboard the Liberator shortly before the ship was destroyed. He voted against giving Blake the neutrotope to take to Destiny. SONOSCOPE (D-5: ANIMALS)

Ardus was fitted with a sonoscope after he was blinded by a radiation flare. The head-mounted device presumably used ultrasonic echoes to locate the position of objects. SONO VAPOUR (A-7: MISSION TO DESTINY / B-5: PRESSURE POINT)

Narcotic gas, used by Sara to put the crew of the Ortega to sleep while she stole the neutrotope. Rafford had to be killed because he had switched off the air conditioning on the flight deck (contrary to flight procedure). Cally succumbed to its effects, and Blake nearly did too, but managed to clear the air by shutting off the circulation flow and removing the gas canister. Blake described the smell of sono vapour as sickly sweet.

Sona gas, presumably the same thing, was used by Veron to knock out Blake, Avon, Vila and Gan in the church cellar where they found her on Earth. She then took their teleport bracelets (but not their weapons) before locking the door. Blake et al succumbed very quickly, so perhaps the gas Veron used was an improved formula or more concentrated. SOOLIN (13 episodes from D-1: RESCUE)

Scant information was given about Soolin's background. Her family were among the early settlers on Gauda Prime, but murdered when they refused to make way for the mining corporations that later moved in. By this time Gauda Prime was an open planet, so the killings were not technically illegal. Soolin told Zeeona that her father was murdered when she was eight years old, and the rest of her family presumably died at the same time. How Soolin came to survive was not mentioned. She later trained as a gunslinger under one of the men responsible, describing him in Rescue as "the second best" since she subsequently killed him and the rest of those who had murdered her relatives.

She first appeared as Dorian's companion on Xenon, but he clearly felt little for her, as he included her as Cally's replacement in his projected gestalt. She then vanished for up to 48 hours, but came back soon after Avon had made the teleport system workable. She claimed to give no allegiance to the rest of the crew but to "sell my skill". She remained with the crew until apparently dying on her home planet of Gauda Prime.

Known relatives: Only her father was specifically mentioned, in Warlord, but other relatives were alluded to.

Bodycount: Soolin shot four space rats on Caspar, a mutoid on Bucol-2, 3 guards on Zerok, another on the Space Princess, 5 or 6 troopers on Betafarl (one with a dagger-like energy weapon, four with a heavy rifle of some sort), a technician in Blake's base on Gauda Prime and a Federation trooper soon afterwards. She is unique among the crew in averaging more than one kill per episode she appeared in. Her skill was also useful in overcoming one of the game-like defence systems on Belkov's Orbiter ship, where a player had to outshoot her/himself.

Captured by: Dorian, who planned to use her in place of Cally as a component of his gestalt creature. She avoided capture on Betafarl by claiming to be Zukan's daughter.

Planets visited: She was seen to set foot on Xenon, Caspar, Bucol-2, Zerok, Betafarl and Gauda Prime. As far as is known, she is unique amongst the crew in never having visited Earth. It was never made clear whether her family settled on Gauda Prime before or after she was born.

Amongst her more notable achievements were her decoying Muller's android with Orac, realising that Piri was in fact Cancer, and suggesting the use of rain to neutralise the sand on Virn. Together with Tarrant she rescued Avon from Piri/Cancer, and alone rescued him again on Betafarl when he had been captured by Federation troopers.

Although she could and frequently did kill without any sign of compunction, there were indications that she did so within a strict personal code of conduct. She strongly disapproved of Keiller killing Slaten on the basis that the doctor was unarmed. She also seemed to be quick to form an opinion of people, rapidly growing tired of Piri, having little time for Zukan, but warming to Zeeona straight away and helping her slip back to Xenon Base to be with Tarrant.

It is unrecorded whether Soolin was her first name, surname, only name or a pseudonym. SOONI (B-13: STAR ONE)

Frontier world, one of those cited by Durkim as evidence of Star One's malfunction. Climate control had broken down, with temperatures rising by 20� (presumably Celsius?) with no rainfall for 60 days. SOPRON (C-5: THE HARVEST OF KAIROS)

An alien life form, silicon-based, that lived permanently on the dark side of an unnamed planet. The planet was presumably tidally locked in its orbit or something equivalent to have a permanent dark side. Sopron was collected by Avon and Vila, who wore breathing apparatus but no pressure suits, so the planet presumably had tolerable atmospheric pressure. Vila described the surface as cold, but presumably not cold enough to warrant wearing a thermal suit.


Sopron

The Planet Sopron came from Sopron looked like little more than a piece of rock, but appearance was obviously none too important on the dark side of a planet. The unique ability of Sopron was its defensive ability to project an image of itself as slightly more threatening than a potential adversary. Zen described it as a capacity charged brain, Orac as a highly sophisticated computer, and Cally had visions of her parents (suggesting Sopron functioned telepathically). Avon devised a computer analogue of Sopron in the abandoned landing module on Kairos, which led to Zen identifying the craft as a high technology space cruiser, with herculanium skin, a speed of Standard by 12.203 and better armament than Liberator, persuading Servalan to abandon the ship and hand control back over to the crew. SPACE ADMINISTRATORS (A-12: DELIVERANCE)

Whilst waiting for Travis, Servalan was told that the Space Administrators were waiting for her in the conference hall. She ordered the conference cancelled. SPACE ASSAULT FORCE (B-9: COUNTDOWN)

Less than a hundred troops of the Space Assault Force constituted the Federation garrison on Albian, under the command of Space Major Provine. Avon described them as "crack troops". SPACE CAPTAIN (C-2: POWERPLAY and others)

Tarrant told Avon that he had trained as a Federation Space Captain. Quite how this rank differs from an ordinary captain was not explained. As a Space Captain, Tarrant was apparently involved in flying space craft, and when he deserted he stole a pursuit ship, at least according to the Ultra. Vila claimed to have bought his "Grade-4 Ignorant" status to avoid any chance of becoming a Space Captain. SPACECASTS (B-8: HOSTAGE)

Servalan told Joban that no spacecasts of Blake or Travis had been made, even though knowledge of their activities was becoming widespread. Spacecasts were probably interstellar broadcasts intended for the general public. SPACE CHOPPER (D-4: STARDRIVE)

Small one-seater spacecraft. Tarrant referred to them being a teenagers" craze "two centuries back", whereupon the Federation outlawed them. The space rats on Caspar had at least two space choppers, fitted with Plaxton's photonic drive enabling them to reach high speeds. Orac stated that the speed of the chopper attacking a Federation patrol near the Altern system was Standard by 12.6, but Atlan on Caspar referred to TD (ie: Time Distort) 12. The improved Mark II version of the drive was too large to be fitted into a space chopper. Dayna and Vila found two space choppers in the space rats hideout on Caspar, though there may well have been more. SPACE CITY (B-2: SHADOW)

Space station, not seen in orbit around any world, but according to Vila "also known as the Satellite of Sin" so it may have been close to an unnamed planet. That it was ran by the Terra Nostra was an open secret, according to Blake. He went there to buy the aid of the Nostra, and was captured by Largo. Visiting Space City was one of Vila's "all-time great ambitions", and he also teleported over, with Orac's help. He reported back to Cally saying "you should see the sights I'm seeing. Then again maybe you shouldn't".


Space City sent a gunship against Liberator: it was destroyed when Cally opened fire.

The station was mentioned again in Gambit where Avon, talking of Freedom City, said "Space City pales in comparison". Space City also appeared on the "Galactic Monopoly" board: in Dawn of the Gods Dayna had a hotel on Space City, charging 5,000 credits a night. SPACE COMMAND (various episodes)

The military wing of the Terran Federation. According to Par in Trial, "Space Command runs the Federation". The Supreme Commander was, however, answerable to the President and the High Council: Servalan lacked the authority to turn off the defences around Central Control on Earth. Other references include:


   *
     Under attack from the Liberator in Trial	Deliverance: Blake noted that Maryatt's AA security clearance gave him access to any area of Space Command. This seems to be the first mention of Space Command in the series.
   * Voice from the Past: Ven Glynd mentions having enough evidence to convict both the Terran Federation and Space Command. One would expect the Arbiter General to be precise in his terminology, but apparently not in this case. In the same episode Avon refers to a "course interceptor", which Space Command had been working on without success.
   * Star One: Servalan told Durkim that "Space Command no longer recognises the authority of the President or of the [High] Council".

The term apparently fell into disuse on Servalan's seizure of the Presidency, and this is evidence for her merging Space Command and the Administration into a single body. After she was deposed the High Council was restored to power, as noted by Practor in Traitor. The civil and military wings of the Federation may then have been separated again, but no clear indication of this was ever made. SPACE COMMANDER (various episodes)

Rank within the Federation, relative seniority unspecified. Travis was a Space Commander, and was seen to take orders from no-one but Servalan. He described himself as "a field officer", and Par said of him "He didn't waste troopers... when you're up to your neck in slime and lasers, that's everything". Travis was thus engaged in surface combat, in command of troops, and low enough in rank to be directly involved in the fighting, though this may have been before his promotion to Space Commander.


Another, unnamed, Space Commander was seen in Hostage, in charge of the attack on the Liberator with 20+ pursuit ships - a very different type of command from that inferred for Travis. Servalan ordered him to put himself under arrest when the attack failed. SPACE FATIGUE (B-10: VOICE FROM THE PAST)

Suggested by Avon as the possible reason for Blake's unusual behaviour en route to Del-10. Presumably common parlance for a clinically recognised psychological condition affecting long-term space travellers. SPACE HAPPY (B-7: KILLER)

Bellfriar suggested that Tynus might be "space happy", a diagnosis not unconnected with Tynus" passion for drawing locusts. Possibly another, even more colloquial, term for space fatigue. SPACE HEADQUARTERS (various episodes)

Servalan's command station as first seen in Seek-Locate-Destroy. The station was seen in apparent close proximity to Centero in that episode, not far from UP-Clonemaster and UP-Weapon in Weapon, a few hours flight away from the Host at Standard by 10 in Trial, little more than hours away from Exbar at Time Distort 10 in Hostage, and in The Harvest of Kairos was stationed in Lipterion and very close to Kairos. This assumes that the station seen on each occasion was the same one, which is not necessarily the case. The station was also seen in Deliverance and Star One. In Hostage the designation "FEDSTAT 2" can be seen marked on the outer rim.


Later references are to "Space Command Headquarters". SPACE HOURS (B-9: COUNTDOWN)

Provine's escape rocket on Albian contained life-support for just 100 space hours, according to Blake, whereas the nearest planet was 500 space hours away. It is not impossible that a space hour is a measure of distance rather than time, with one space hour perhaps representing one hour of travel at TD-1, but this is pure conjecture. SPACE MAJOR (B-9: COUNTDOWN)

Rank within the Federation, held by Provine of the Space Assault Force on Albian. Provine SPACE MASTER (A-12: DELIVERANCE)

The craft in which Ensor Jr. and Maryatt journeyed towards Aristo was described by Zen as a Space Master series V, with four neutron power units with a maximum thrust of "four by six". It appeared to be very small and cramped, but fitted with at least two impact life capsules. Cally described Liberator to young Ensor as "ten times faster" than the Space Master, although this might have been mere platitudes on her part. SPACE MET (A-2: SPACE FALL)

Mentioned by Artix soon after the London left Earth. Space Met had reported that meteorite activity 18 hours ahead on the London's flight path would have cleared by the time the ship got there. "Met" is clearly an allusion to meteorology; "space met" might be a colloquial term for a space flight monitoring body with a more formal title. SPACE PHENOMENA (various episodes)

As well as planets and space stations, a number of natural phenomena were encountered by the crew in their travels. They included meteorite storms, asteroid clusters, dustclouds, stardust blizzard field, turbulence and black holes, all of which are discussed under their respective headings.

In Breakdown the Liberator crossed a Prohibited Space Zone and encountered a powerful gravitation vortex which threatened to tear the ship apart. In Trial Blake was put down on a planet which turned out to be a single living organism, the Host. In Hostage the Liberator was flown through a cloud of ionised particles in an attempt to disrupt the detector systems of pursuing Federation craft. In Moloch Vila mentioned asteroid clusters and ion clouds. Ionic reefs as residues from ship-to-ship combat appeared to be a recognised hazard. In Headhunter Dayna suggested that freak magnetic storms might be responsible for the disruption of Scorpio's systems. The violent energy discharges were in fact the work of Muller's android.

In Terminal Avon flew the ship through an energy-charged cloud of fluid particles, some of which adhered to the hull and began to literally consume the ship. Zen detected "enzyme activity" and "molecular metamorphosis", implying that this substance was in some way alive. It was certainly capable of self-reproduction, and ate its way through metal, plastics and fabric with equal ease. Ultimately it led to the Liberator's destruction. SPACEPORT (D-10: GOLD)

The only spaceport specifically cited was that on Zerok, but such installations must have been present on most if not all colonised worlds. SPACE PRINCESS (D-10: GOLD)

A pleasure cruiser, implicitly owned and operated by persons or a company on Zerok and probably by the gold mining company there. Although ostensibly carrying passengers on a tour of various galactic sights, it actually made a direct 12-day run to Earth carrying gold for the Federation. The itinerary was pre-recorded and the passengers drugged to make them believe what they were seeing. The gold was listed as a cargo of fruit.


When first boarded by the crew, the ship had just been refitted at an unspecified location and was flying on automatic, the only person aboard being Keiller. On Zerok to Earth voyages, the ship flew under Captain Kennedy. Keiller also noted that the usual doctor was a "drunken halfwit", but on the voyage intercepted by Avon the decidedly more competent Dr Slaten filled this post. Keiller himself travelled as the ship's purser, though he was in fact in charge of the security team protecting the gold. Keiller mentioned only three guards and two others disguised as passengers, but at least five uniformed guards were killed during the heist.

Soolin noted that the ship was unarmoured and Avon that it was unarmed, neither of which is surprising. Since Avon and Soolin managed to board the ship via the conveyor tunnel from the processor on Zerok, it would seem that the Space Princess could make surface landings, despite its not overly-aerodynamic shape. SPACE RATS (D-4: STARDRIVE)

Delinquents of unexplained origins, they were described by Vila as living for "sex and violence, booze and speed - and the fellas are just as bad". He added that he had known two on an unnamed penal colony who "were always trying to frighten me". They had been imprisoned for breaking into transport museums to steal vehicles for personal transport, something that had been banned by the Federation. He then said that space rats were "speed crazy, and I mean crazy".

The space rats encountered by the crew of Scorpio were based on the planet Caspar, where they were sheltering the renegade Dr Plaxton whilst she developed her photonic drive for their space choppers. Atlan referred to them "scouring a dozen worlds" for raw materials for the drive. At least nine space rats were seen to be killed, including Atlan. Others, including several female rats, were apparently left alive on Caspar. Named space rats were Brig and Bomber, and they were led by Atlan, who admitted to Dr Plaxton that he was not really a space rat himself. SPACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (D-11: ORBIT)

Egrorian worked at the Space Research Institute up to the point where he fled with Pinder and several million credits. Tarrant also trained there shortly after Egrorian disappeared. SPACE SECURITY (A-2: SPACE FALL)

Shortly after taking off from Earth, Leylan reminded Artix to identify the London to Space Security. No further mention of this was made, nor any indication as to whether it was a civil or military body. SPACE SHIPS (various episodes)

A wide variety of space craft, Federation and otherwise, appeared during the course of the series. Named or described vessels included the London (make and model unspecified - unless it was an ex-military T16 transporter); Liberator (a Deep Space Vehicle used by the System); an ancient cryogenic capsule (not unlike a Space Master in design); the Mark III Galaxy class cruiser Ortega; Starburst class (and other) pursuit ships; the civilian cruiser Star Queen in Bounty; a Series V Space Master; a chemical rocket on Cephlon; two high speed craft despatched by the System to intercept Liberator; an apparently faster sister ship to the Liberator; the freighter Blake followed to Horizon (very similar to the London); Wanderer K47; the Salvager on Q-base (also very similar to the London); Provine's escape rocket (also like a Space Master);


The Bari; a Trantinian planet hopper on Freedom City; the passenger liner Nova Queen; the unmanned ore carrier it collided with; an unidentified and possibly alien craft bringing Travis to Star One; a Chengan hospital ship; the remains of a Type 6 survey ship on Crandor; the unmanned kairopan transporter; an Auron C-Type Patroller; Servalan's Mark II Star Cruiser; an alien sarcophagus-craft; a T-16 troop transporter (also looking very similar to the London); a Teal-Star liner; Scorpio, a Mark II Wanderer class planet hopper; B-19 cruisers; single-seater space choppers; Alpha-3 (a small cargo ship); Orbiter; the Space Princess (a pleasure cruiser); and the commercial freighter Lodestar as well as sundry interceptors, cruisers, shuttles etc.

Commissioner Sleer used a number of craft. Her lenticular cruiser was first seen in Animals, and also seen in Assassin and Warlord. It had surface landing capability and could accommodate at least five people. Other performance criteria were unspecified. In Sand, she went to Virn on a totally different craft (fanlore: According to Martin Bower, who made the model, it was an FT-7 freighter), and in Orbit mentioned reaching Malodar in an L-type cruiser, which she told Egrorian could only hold two people.


Ship fittings were too numerous to detail here, but the following have their own entries elsewhere in this volume: antigrav gyros, deflector shields, detectors, energy banks, gravity compensators, hyperdrive, ison crystals, life capsules, neutron drives, various boosters, thrust computers, and transfer tubes .

When any form of drive system was mentioned it was usually the "neutron drive", but Orac noted that the photonic drive was innovatory in its use of "light instead of plasma". This suggests that plasma drives were also found on many ships. Little was said about different drive systems and type of travel (sublight, faster-than-light etc), except that hyperdrive appeared to be for faster than light travel, and Scorpio used plasma thrust to approach an asteroid near the Altern system, probably at sublight velocity. Plasma drives were fitted with a focussing coil, but no other drive components received a meaningful mention.

References to fuel and power were few, but the prisoners bound for Cygnus Alpha were held in a transit cell whilst the London was being refuelled. Scorpio also needed fuel, at least before the acquisition of the photonic drive, since a disastrous visit to the Altern system was made to obtain selsium ore for fuel crystals. SPACE SUITS (various episodes)

Very few space suits were worn. In Voice from the Past Blake wore a suit when he teleported down to Asteroid P-K118: it was silver with a "teardrop"-style helmet and tinted visor. Vila and Tarrant wore a very different kind of suit in Dawn of the Gods, which had an open "fishbowl" helmet and visible oxygen tubes entering at the sides. At least one such suit was kept on the flight deck.

Vila in Dawn of the Gods The pressure suits worn by the crew and Vena in Headhunter were noticeably less bulky, and helmet fittings appeared to leave the throat and neck area exposed, not recommended in a low pressure environment. These suits were seen again in Warlord, worn by Zeeona, Tarrant and Dayna. It was noted that the suits provided protection from radiation.

Wardin's body on Wanderer K47 was dressed in what was described as a "compression suit", which is pretty much the same thing. SPACE WORLD (B-1: REDEMPTION)

Large space station at astro point 781 in the 12th Sector, under the control of the System. Space World was one of only two places in which the Liberator was seen to dock, the other being Ultraworld. It was the central control complex for three planets previously at war but now united by the System, and probably housed the System itself. Disruption to the System by Orac led to Space World suffering damage of unspecified extent on Liberator's departure, and the whole space station itself may have been destroyed. SPACIAL (various episodes)

Unit of distance, never specified. Liberator's standard orbital distance from a planet's surface was 1000 spacials, from which the ship could be visible from the ground as in Cygnus Alpha. Many references were made, too many to list here (see DETECTORS), but some include Voice from the Past, where Asteroid P-K118 had a stated diameter of 0.102 spacials, and The Harvest of Kairos, in which Zen reported destroying an area of fifty square surface spacials (possibly a different unit altogether).

See also SUBSEC SPECIMEN P7943011 (C-10: ULTRAWORLD)

Relf of Probus-4, as catalogued by the Ultra. SPECTRAL CLASS (A-8: DUEL) by Murray Smith

Any of the classes or types used in astronomy to classify the stellar spectrum (plural. spectra) - the pattern of emission from a star of light or other electromagnetic radiation, over any range of wavelengths.

These spectral classes are called, in descending order from the star's hottest surface temperature to the coolest, by the letters O, B, A, F, G, K, M, N, L, S, R, and T. The star's colours also differ, hotter stars being bluer, cooler stars redder. These classes are then divided into ten sub-classes, from 0 to 9, apart from class O which only runs from 3 to 9 - classes O0 to O2 are waiting the discovery of even hotter stars. Classes N, L, S, R and T overlap in their (relatively cool) temperatures, but are characterised by the prominence of different elements in their spectra.

In Duel, the Liberator's instruments identified the star of the unnamed planet inhabited by Sinofar and Giroc as 'G2' class, the same as that of Earth's sun.

SPECTRUM SHOCK WAVES (A-2: SPACE FALL)

The London was hit and damaged by a number of "spectrum shock waves" from the battle between unidentified ships that lay on its course to Cygnus Alpha. Some blasts registered as greater than "scale 9" and were powerful enough to puncture the outer and inner hulls. SPEED (various episodes)

Most ships measured speed on a Time Distort scale. The London left Earth at TD-5. Keera in Duel estimated Liberator's arrival speed at the unnamed planet as TD-6. The ship in which Servalan travelled to Exbar had a safety maximum of TD-9, but an emergency maximum of TD-10. Servalan ordered her cruiser to depart from Obsidian at TD-10.

The Liberator used a different scale, of multiples of an unspecified standard. Blake instructed Zen to plot a course to Cygnus Alpha at "standard speed" and the journey was completed in what appeared to be a very short space of time. Later journeys were made at SB-2, SB-3 etc but later SB-6 became the norm for long distance travel. SB-10 was frequently used to escape from places on departure, and Blake's attack run on Servalan's HQ in Trial was made at this speed. Maximum speed appeared to be SB-12: Zen identified the landing module from Kairos fitted with the Sopron analogue as capable of SB-12.203, presumably marginally faster than Liberator. Blake completed the journey to Star One at SB-12. The sister ship despatched by the System in Redemption was stated by Zen to be approaching at SB-14.

In Duel the Liberator tried to ram Travis at an implied speed of SB-2, and Keera stated this to be TD-3. This suggests a SB:TD ratio of 1.5:1. In Hostage the Liberator accelerated to SB-10 and then SB-12 when first attacked. On the second attack speed was again increased to SB-10 on Blake's order. The command ship's mutoid pilot determined Liberator's speed as TD-20 soon after. This suggests a 2:1 ratio, unless Blake accelerated again to SB-12, a ratio of 1.7:1 and closer to the value suggested in Duel.

In Breakdown Blake states that Standard by 20 will cause the crew to lose control of the Liberator.

In Project Avalon Terloc told Travis that the Liberator had entered the planet's system and was expected to rendezvous with Avalon within 50 hours. This is rather a long time for a ship that could easily travel between stars and might refer to intra-system travel at sublight speeds (as a basic comparison, to travel the distance from Pluto's mean orbital distance from the Sun to Earth's mean orbit - about 5.7 billion kilometres - in 50 hours would require travelling at a speed of about 0.1c).

Some confusion over speed arises in Stardrive: Scorpio approaches an asteroid at a converging speed of SB-1, and the photonic drive-fitted space chopper seen near the Altern system was said by Orac to have a speed of SB-12.6, but further references by Atlan were to TD-12 and, in the case of the Mark II drive, TD-15. Fitted with the photonic drive, Scorpio fled from Bucol-2 at a speed estimated at TD-12. This is somewhere between SB-6 and SB-8, making Scorpio at least as fast as Liberator's standard cruising speed.

Speeds were usually given as whole integers, but some fractional speed values include speed increasing to SB-8.65 in The Web, and Jenna pulling away from XK-72 at SB-0.01.

TD and SB speeds appear to refer to faster-than-light velocities, but were also cited to when manoeuvring around planets, something that might conceivably be better done at sublight speeds.

See also HYPERDRIVE, PHOTONIC DRIVE, TIME DISTORT, INTERGALACTIC DRIVE. SPEED CHESS (B-11: GAMBIT)

Described by the croupier as "the only game in town", a win or draw against the Klute at speed chess offered a prize of one million credits. The challenger was offered the white pieces and the advantage of the first move - all moves had to be made within five seconds or the player lost a pawn by default. Those who lost were fixed in their chair and electrocuted to death, a process described by Krantor as "the Klute's only reward".


Thrylce Two games of speed chess were witnessed in the episode. A challenger, described as "a trekker", called Thrylce was defeated in 28 moves. Vila was persuaded to play to double his 5 million credit win on the Big Wheel, and aided by Orac forced a draw after 21 moves.

See also Chess The Draw SPIDERS (Various episodes)

Spiders or spider-like creatures were referred to in one and seen in two episodes in the series. They were referred to in The Web by Jenna and Vila. The former compared the strands of the Lost's web to a spider's web; the latter prophetically pointed out that spiders' webs were used for 'trapping food'.

In Shadow, the Chairman of the Terra Nostra kept a large spider or spider-like creature as a pet; in The Harvest of Kairos, a species of spider-like creature inhabited Kairos. Like spiders, the latter were silk-producing creatures who, once they hatched out, needed Kairopan to produce their silk webs.

As a result, they had a highly-developed sense of smell, being able to detect if other creatures had even touched Kairopan, killing all who had in order to obtain that crystal. They ensured that, with the exception of the seven days following the vernal equinox, Kairos' environment was 'hostile to human life'; because all humans on the planet could not resist the temptation to pocket some Kairopan, due to its great value.

The legs of these spider-like creatures were short compared to their body size, resulting in a slow, cumbersome-looking, almost waddling, way of moving. This comical way of moving was, however, belied by their ferocity, as seen in the terror exhibited by Dayna, a woman not easily scared, when she was at the mercy of one, due to being trapped in one of their webs.

See also KAIROPAN, KAIROS, BRIAN THE SPIDER (FAN LORE).

SPONTANEOUS CELL DIFFERENTIATION (C-7: CHILDREN OF AURON)

Name given by Servalan to Clinician Franton's cloning process. SQUAD LEADER (C-8: RUMOURS OF DEATH)

Possible rank within the Federation. The squad leader despatched by Grenlee to investigate a surveillance fault around Residence-1 was one of five troopers, but Federation troops were more normally seen in groups of six, suggesting that this might be the typical strength of a squad. STABILISED ATOMIC IMPLOSION (B-11: GAMBIT)

Orac's reply to Avon's query about the theory of molecular reduction. Avon (untruthfully) told Orac that it was impossible, prompting Orac to give a demonstration. The computer reduced its size to one eighth of normal for two hours and six minutes, allowing it to be taken down to Freedom City and assist Vila on the Big Wheel and later at Speed Chess. The duration of such miniaturisation was inversely related to the degree of atomic implosion - smaller size, less time. STADLER LINK (B-9: COUNTDOWN)

Technical component in relay systems, probably named after its inventor. The launch doors of the rocket silo on Albian contained a Stadler link in their control circuitry. STARBURST CLASS PURSUIT SHIP (A-6: SEEK-LOCATE-DESTROY)

Requested by Travis when first assigned to hunt Blake. Servalan told him that only three had so far been built and they had all been assigned to the Galactic 8th Fleet. They were described as "high range" pursuit ships, which suggests they were not necessarily built for more speed or firepower than conventional pursuit ships. STAR CRUISER (various episodes)

The ship Servalan used when President was a Mark II Star Cruiser, and was named as such in Moloch. In Volcano she gave an order to leave Obsidian at Time Distort 10, indicating the speed at which it could travel. Although large and ungainly-looking, it could make surface landings, and did so on Auron and Sardos. It was fitted with a scoop facility for picking up smaller ships, such as Pilot 4-0"s C-Type Patroller from Auron.

STARDRIVE (D-4: STARDRIVE)

Referred to by Orac as another name for the photonic drive developed by Dr Plaxton. STARDUST BLIZZARD FIELD (D-10: GOLD)

A harmless electrical phenomenon in space, supposedly passed by the Space Princess on its journey from Zerok to Earth. STARKILLER (B-6: TRIAL)

Nickname of Fleet-warden Samor, used by Lye and also Servalan. STAR MAJOR (D-3: TRAITOR)

Rank adopted by Hunda as leader of the 4th rebel column on Helotrix. STAR ONE (B-9: COUNTDOWN ff)

First mentioned by a dying Provine as the new location of the Federation's Control complex, the hunt for Star One involved Blake, Servalan and Travis each with their own reasons for finding it. It turned out to be located on a single planet circling a white dwarf well outside the galaxy proper, and thus the first star to be encountered by anyone travelling between the Milky Way and M31. The Fool on Goth gave its co-ordinates as "grid reference C17320 in the 11th Sector", a position Jenna later described as imprecise. The planet itself was cold, temperatures rising above freezing point only around the equator during the day. The computer complex was underground, and shielded by some unspecified means. The teleport could not work through this shield, though this was probably coincidental. Orac was able to access Star One's computers, since he mentioned making a cursory analysis of the systems concerned with the antimatter minefield.


Control was moved from Earth, according to Travis in Pressure Point, some thirty years before Blake's attack on Earth, but Travis also later reported, on Freedom City, having seen Docholli "two years ago". Lurena, one of the technicians on Star One, was young enough to have had to have been a child when Control was moved from Earth, as were most of the other technicians seen there. Perhaps she had spent some of her time in suspended animation (to extend the period of time over which she and her colleagues would be present?), or Control was moved from Earth to an interim location whilst Star One was under construction. Alternatively, Travis might have been misinformed or lying.


Many of the technicians Docholli operated on thirty technicians who had built Star One (other cybersurgeons may have operated on additional personnel, but this is never indicated). Those that chose to remain there were possibly different people altogether. At least twelve people were present at the complex when Blake arrived, although all but one was in fact an alien infiltrator. Named technicians were Stot, Parton, Lurena, Marcol, Leeth and Shokov. Blake killed "Stot", Avon killed "Parton" and one other, Lurena killed "Shokov" and was herself killed along with four others by an explosive device planted by Blake. At least three other aliens were unaccounted for.

Star One was, from what Durkim said, responsible for climate control on many frontier worlds (Sooni, Vilker, Palmero, Carthenis and Heeron were mentioned) and for Computer Flight Co-ordination, sabotage of which caused the collision of the Nova Queen with an unmanned ore carrier above Keldon City. It also maintained and monitored the antimatter minefield sown by the Federation to keep out the threat of an invasion from M31. Durkim referred to no rain on Sooni and continual rainfall on Vilker for 60 days, suggesting that alien interference in Star One's systems might have begun about this time. Travis in The Keeper said that Star One "controls climate on more than two hundred worlds, communications, security, food production... it is the key to our very lives."


Avon on the surface Travis acquired the location of Star One from the brainprint left on Goth by Lurgen. Blake found the information hypnotically planted in the Charl's Fool: by travelling at Standard by 12 he arrived hours, if that, ahead of Travis, who may have acquired one of the aliens" ships along the way (it was of a type Jenna could not recognise). Blake, Avon and Cally teleported down.


Entrance Blake abandoned his intention to destroy Star One when the alien threat became apparent, and Liberator remained in the vicinity to hold off the alien fleet until Federation reinforcements could arrive. Federation Battle Commander Squadron 6 reported the aliens destroying Star One during a surprise counterattack at some point during the war.


Liberator in front of Star One Cally pointed out that "many, many people" would die with the loss of Star One, a toll Blake was prepared to accept. The after effects of its destruction, however, were never remarked upon after the War except in Aftermath, when Servalan told Avon that "half the civilised planets" were now left to their fate. STAR ORBIT BURIAL (C-4: DAWN OF THE GODS)

Suggested by Tarrant for Vila, after his apparent death on Crandor. STAR QUEEN (A-11: BOUNTY)

The civilian cruiser from which Tarvin and at least four Amagons boarded the Liberator, using a voice synthesizer to transmit a reassuring message from Gan after he teleported across. Although described as having no heavy armament, it might not have been a civilian cruiser at all, but a ship adapted for piratical purposes. STASIS FIELD (A-8: DUEL)

Sinofar told Blake and Travis that their ships were held in a stasis field and would remain so until the duel was complete. Jenna later mentioned the effect as being like that of a stasis beam, suggesting that "stasis technology" might not have been unknown in Blake's era. Tommy STEELE (A-11: BOUNTY)

Tommy Steele's recording of Singing the Blues was played by Sarkoff on his gramophone, and described as "echoes of a more civilised age".

Singing the Blues entered the UK singles chart on December 14th 1956 and spent one week at number one in its thirteen week chart run, alternating with Guy Mitchell's recording of the same song. Steele had no less than 17 chart hits, including seven top-tenners. They included Butterfingers, Nairobi and the unforgettable Little White Bull. If Sarkoff had that last in his collection he deserved to be exiled.

STEER CONTROL UNIT (C-3: VOLCANO)

Control unit on Liberator, damaged during the attack by eight Federation cruisers above Obsidian. STOCK EQUALISATION ACT (D-3:TRAITOR)

Legislation that ensured that all races from Earth were represented whenever a new planet was colonised. It was only mentioned in reference to Helotrix, and Tarrant spoke of it in the past tense, implying that it had subsequently been abandoned. Almost all the people encountered by the crews of Liberator and Scorpio were caucasian, and other races were conspicuous when present. At least three of Ven Glynd's aides on Asteroid P-K118 and Atlay were black, as were Hal and Dayna Mellanby and one of the adapted Helots seen on the concourse when Hunda launched his attack. Of the warlords assembled by Avon for his anti-Federation alliance, Chalsa and Lod were also black. Ginka was clearly of oriental extraction, but he was very much an exception rather than the rule. STOT (B-13: STAR ONE)

One of the technicians remaining on Star One after its construction, effectively marooned for life with no hope of ever leaving. At some point he was replaced by an alien infiltrator. The substitute Stot acted as the senior technician present, so presumably the real Stot fulfilled this role. "Stot" welcomed Blake to Star One believing him to be Travis. He was later killed by Blake. STRONTIUM GRENADE (B-5: PRESSURE POINT)

Powerful grenade, thrown by Travis in what looked like desperation to try and stop Blake escaping from the Central Control complex on Earth. Servalan tried and failed to stop Travis using it. The ensuing explosion brought about severe structural damage, trapping Servalan, Travis and two mutoids deep within the complex. Gan was killed as a result of the explosion, although the rest of the crew escaped unharmed. SUB-43 (A-1: THE WAY BACK)

The doorway out of the dome city on Earth through which Blake went with Richie and Ravella to meet Foster. Later used by Varon and Maja, it was said to be on the north side of the city. SUB-BEAM COMMUNICATION SYSTEM (A-12: DELIVERANCE)

Part of the launch control system in Meegat's bunker on Cephlon, it enabled Avon to contact the Liberator.

In Weapon a sub-space communicator was one of the pieces of equipment taken by Coser when he fled the Federation's Weapons Development Base. It was used by Rashel to inform Blake that he and his crew were safe from IMIPAK. See also HYPERSPACE SUB-BEAM.

SUB-CONTROL ROOMS (B-1: REDEMPTION) - By Murray Smith

Rooms aboard the Liberator, whose presumed function, suggested by their titles and by what the crewmembers did there, was to allow greater access to the ship's main systems than was possible from the flight deck.

The only time we see and hear about these sub-control rooms is in Redemption. At the start of the episode, Gan and Vila are seen working in an unidentified sub-control room; after the attacks by the System and its (as yet unknown to the crew) takeover of the ship's systems, we see two, in particular one, identified sub-control rooms.

Gan is sent by Blake to Sub-Control Room One to check the 'power units', later reporting from there that 'Virtually all the control systems seem to be out'. This suggests that this sub-control room was an important one, dealing with the ship's power.

The sub-control room we see the most of is Four, which contains the controls for the auxiliary drive. When no isolation of it from the energy units was possible from the flight deck, Blake went to that room to perform the operation, but was attacked by a thick coiled cable.

In short, it can be assumed that the sub-control rooms performed an important function in the running of the Liberator. There were at least four, One dealing with the ship's power, Four with the auxiliary drive; but no further details were given about them. Also, no main control room was ever mentioned.

See LIBERATOR. SUB-ETHERIC TRANSMITTER (B-9: COUNTDOWN)

Communications device, and the means by which the solium radiation device was activated from the Federation bunker on Albian. From what Avon said, it had a range of about 10,000 miles. SUBLIGHT DRIVE (A-4: TIME SQUAD)

A space craft drive that does not enable the ship to travel faster than light. The cryogenic capsule brought aboard Liberator was said by Avon to be fitted with a sublight drive. Wanderer K47 in Killer was described by Blake as being infraluminal, which essentially means the same thing. SUBNEUTRONIC OVERLAP SHIFT (D-10: GOLD)

The processed gold on Zerok was stated by Orac to have undergone a subneutronic overlap shift, and if subjected to the stress of teleporting would turn irrevocably to dust. The subneutronic overlap shift was probably a side-effect of the processing rather than a description of the process itself. SUBSEC (A-2: SPACE FALL)

A measure of distance in deep space. Artix reported the battle between two unidentified fleets as "five subsecs" away "on the high-D grid". Leylan asked him to plot a course round, at least three subsecs away from the outer edge of the battle. Subsecs were never referred to again in the series: they may have been equivalent to spacials, or something else entirely (possibly subdivisions of a parsec - 3.262 light years - but this is pure conjecture). The London was an old ship and may have been fitted with antiquated detector equipment, using an obsolete scale. SUB-SURFACE SHUTTLE (C-12: DEATHWATCH)

Means of underground transport on UP-Death-Watch. Deeta and Max travelled in a VIP shuttle. SUBTERRONS (A-9: PROJECT AVALON)

Inhabitants of the unnamed planet on which Avalon was working when captured by Travis. One died during a test of the virus with which Travis planned to eliminate Blake and his crew. About a dozen working with Avalon were wiped out by mutoids, including Terloc, who had informed Travis of the meeting place. The only survivor was Chevner, who acquitted himself well in helping Blake rescue "Avalon" but was killed aboard Liberator, probably because he might discover (or actually had discovered) that 'Avalon' was in fact an android.

Avon referred to the Subterrons as "humanoid creatures", but Travis requested "a human" to test the modified Delta 706 virus. SUMMONS TO JUSTIFICATION (C-12: DEATHWATCH)

An article of the Teal-Vandor Convention, by which those who attempted to assassinate a Champion without right of blood feud or outside a period of declared hostilities had to justify their actions. SURGICAL MECHANICS (A-6: SEEK-LOCATE-DESTROY)

Travis referred to his arm being rebuilt and fitted with a lazeron destroyer by "surgical mechanics", possibly an alternative term for cybersurgeons. SURGICAL UNIT (A-10: BREAKDOWN/A-13: ORAC)

Written By Murray Smith

A room aboard the Liberator where illnesses were diagnosed and sugrery carried out. It was seen only once, in Breakdown, after Gan was taken there to find out why he attacked Jenna and Blake; and it was later where surgery to repair his limiter was successfully carried out. Three items of equipment in the unit were both referred to and used: a diagnostic analyser, a voray scan, and a radio sensor.

The unit was mentioned twice in Orac, first by Vila, who called for himself and the others who had absorbed heavy doses of radiation on Cephlon to go there; and second by Blake, when he told Ensor that he and his crew had the facilities to perform the implant of the new energy cells in the latter's mechanical heart, because the _Liberator_ had 'one of the finest surgical units you've ever seen'. Due to the lack of information, nothing is known of any possible relationship the unit might have had with the 'medical unit' mentioned in Star One.

See also DIAGNOSTIC ANALYSER, MEDICAL UNIT, RADIO SENSOR, VOR-RAY SCAN. SURVEILLANCE TRACER (A-12: DELIVERANCE)

Device by which Servalan monitored the destruction of young Ensor's Space Master in the vicinity of Cephlon. SURVIVAL UNIT (A-2: SPACE FALL) By Chris Jones.

It is likely that a Civil Administration 'Survival Unit' consists of a white one-piece suit, boots, helmet and two devices on a chest harness. In Space Fall, Leylan gives the order to Wallace and Teague: - "Kit out with your survival units. I'll be with you in a minute...", Teague appears dressed as shown in the picture.



When Raiker gets concerned as to the activities of Blake, aboard the Liberator, he issues an order to be brought a survival unit, and subsequently is seen in similar equipment to Teague. Blake, Jenna and Avon only have 2 devices on their harness and no suits or helmets, but this is after Leylan has given the order "Right. Get them equipped and bring 'em down here...". In this instance, he does not refer to 'Survival Units'.

As to the devices themselves, there are a few clues as to their function. The smaller of the two devices on the chest belt is a communication device. When Teague enters the transfer tunnel, he clicks the device, the red light comes on and he says, "Starting along the transfer tube now sir." He then clicks the device again and the red light goes out.

Blake also uses his communication device when Leylan contacts him on board Liberator.

The cylindrical object on the chest harness may possibly be an emergency air supply.

SULA (C-8: RUMOURS OF DEATH)

Name by which Chesku and later Hob referred to Anna Grant. No explanation was given as to why she was known to them as Sula. It may have been a new identity, or a name taken through marrying Chesku, although there is no evidence for that. Servalan, when they met, did not address her by any name at all. SUPREME EMPRESS (D-3: TRAITOR)

When Practor discovered Servalan's portrait in his private suite on Helotrix, he referred to her as "the Supreme Empress". Nobody, including Servalan herself, had previously been heard to address her as such, and Tarrant did not include it in his list of Federation titles in Rumours of Death. Servalan last called herself "President and Supreme Commander" as late as Moloch, but she may have subsequently declared herself Supreme Empress before being deposed. The SYSTEM (B-1: REDEMPTION)

Described by the Altas as "the supreme power of Space World". Norm-1 told Blake how the System evolved from the computer of one of three warring planets which took over the weaponry computers of the other two. The System controlled the Altas, with whom it could link via fingertip-contact consoles. The System interrogated Blake through Alta Two. Orac was able to access the System and interfere with its operation, allowing the crew to escape. Grenades thrown into Alta Two's control room appeared to do some damage, but probably not enough to prompt the "Destruct" response she began to chant thereafter. It is quite possible the System was destroyed, and perhaps also Space World with it.

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Sevencyclopaedia - P PACEMAKER (B-5: PRESSURE POINT)

Vila said he needed a pacemaker for his heart after sprinting across the high intensity radiation grid in the Forbidden Zone. PACIFICATION PROGRAMME (D-3: TRAITOR)

Supervised by Commissioner Sleer, the Pacification Programme used the adrenalin-blocking drug pylene-50 to subdue whole planetary populations. Dayna referred to Luba and Porphyr Major being taken "in the past three weeks". The General on Helotrix said that without Sleer he would still be bogged down "five star systems back".

In Warlord Avon pointed out that the Federation had developed ways of introducing pylene-50 into air and water supplies.

Practor referred to Sleer's activities as the "Adaptation Programme". Colonel Quute mentioned the "pacification police", suggesting that the Programme was not in the hands of the military. Hamer PAINTER (A-1: THE WAY BACK)

Carl Deca, treated to believe he had been assaulted by Blake, was a patient of Dr Painter's. PAIR BOND (B-12: THE KEEPER)

Gola intended to pair bond with Jenna on Goth, and the term is either the Goth's phrase for marriage or something analogous. PALMERO (B-13: STAR ONE)

One of the frontier planets on which climate control broke down as Star One was sabotaged. Durkim described it as the Federation's main producer of tropical fruit, but not with snow falling on its equatorial zone.

  • PAMPERANIAN FUNGI

(D-3: TRAITOR)

Source of tincture of pyrhennic, the poison used by Sleer on Forbus to keep him under her control in manufacturing pylene-50.

PAR (B-6: TRIAL)

Federation trooper who had served a tour under Travis and been involved in the murder of 1,417 civilians on Zircaster. He was assigned to guard duty at Travis" court-martial, and complied with Thania in smuggling liquor into Travis" cell, though for his own reasons rather than hers. He was rendered unconscious by Travis after Blake's surprise attack on the station, and presumably survived. He described himself as "a twenty year man". PARAFLAME 5 (D-12: WARLORD)

A coolant, but highly flammable. It was in use on Xenon base, and released during the explosions arranged by Finn. Tarrant recognised it, but nobody else seemed to have heard of it. PARANEUTRONIC GENERATOR (A-4: TIME SQUAD)

Essential component of the transceiver complex on Saurian Major. Avon disconnected the limiters, initiating an unstoppable chain reaction that destroyed the complex. PARATYPE 926 (B-7: KILLER)

Identified by Orac as the paratype of the virus introduced to the Q-base on Fosforon by Wanderer K47.

See VIRUSES. PARTON (B-13: STAR ONE)

A male technician who volunteered to spend the rest of his natural life on Star One, but was replaced by an alien some time before Blake's arrival. "Parton" took the decision to kill Lurena, and was later killed by Avon. PASCO (A-7: MISSION TO DESTINY)

One of the crew of the Ortega. He voted in favour of giving Blake the neutrotope, along with Dr Kendall, Levett and Sara.

PASSENGER LINERS (various episodes)

Several passenger liners were featured: the Nova Queen was destroyed above Keldon City in Star One, the Teal Star carried Deeta Tarrant to his duel with Vinni, and the Space Princess (a "pleasure cruiser") was used to ferry gold from Zerok to Earth. In Gambit Chenie mentioned that no passenger liners had called in for a month. The Bari was probably a passenger liner, possibly indicating how long Travis had been in Freedom City before Blake's arrival. The Nova Queen

  • PATAKI CAKE

(B-11: GAMBIT)

Distilled from the venom of a reptile on UP-Gambit, they produced an effect that Krantor described as "highly stimulating". PATAR (C-7: CHILDREN OF AURON)

Flight controller on Auron who contracted the disease introduced by Servalan. He was taken up to Liberator by Dayna and cured, then inadvertently revealed the presence of Servalan to Dayna and Vila. He helped keep Deral under guard, and remained on board as one of the only two Auronar to escape the planet (the other being Franton). Presumably he left the ship at Kahn. PELAR (A-9: PROJECT AVALON)

One of the prisoners kept in the same detention block as Avalon, in cell G1. Unlike others seen, such as Hend and Kalor, Pelar was female. PELLA (D-2: POWER)

One of the last three Seska, and apparently the leader. She infiltrated Xenon base by telekinesis and met Vila, explaining the nature of the nuclear compression charge. Captured by Hommiks, she was held in a cell with Avon and escaped with him. Her telekinetic power proved no match for Avon's physical strength, but it did allow her to kill Cato by firing a crossbow held by Avon, and to knock Avon unconscious by dropping a computer terminal on his head. Together with Kate, she also assisted Dayna in killing Gunn-Sar. Dorian thought she was helping him to build a teleport system in return for hydroponics nutrients from Onus-2, but she was in fact building a tele-ergotron to boost her power and open the access hatch to Scorpio. Pella held Dayna hostage at gunpoint to force Avon to open the door for her, and killed Kate once the door was open before taking off in Scorpio. Avon then teleported aboard and killed her. PENAL COLONIES (various episodes)

Cygnus Alpha was a notorious penal colony, some 100-150 years old. It was home to Vargas, Kara and Laran and up to 500 others. Blake, Jenna, Avon, Vila, Gan, Arco, Selman, Nova and Porah were among those sent there on the London. In Weapon Servalan threatened to send Travis to the slave pits of Ursa Prime, which may or may not have been a penal colony. Exbar was also the destination of prisoners sent from Earth, but was reserved for "grade-4 offenders only" and those sent there were allowed visiting rights and other privileges: Blake visited Ushton there when he was a boy, and Inga might have been born there. Kalkos lay on the edge of the galaxy, near the Outer Darkness. Doran appears to have been sent there for life, and never saw daylight in all the fifteen years he spent there. He referred to being put in a cell, a feature not seen on Cygnus Alpha.

Penal colonies also featured in "Galactic Monopoly", as played by the crew in Dawn of the Gods: under Rule 10, a player sent to one could remain there for two turns, but on the third turn had to pay a 10,000 credit fine and leave. PENCIL (C-4: DAWN OF THE GODS) By Murray Smith

See GRAPHITE WRITING STICK.

PENSION (B-7: KILLER) By Murray Smith

A regular payment made by a government or a private company, usually to its employees on their retirement. The only reference to a pension in Blake's 7 was in Killer, when Gambrill, Dr. Bellfriar's assistant, hoped that the recovered Wanderer Class One space craft did not contain any hostile life, joking that he had 'my pension to think about'. PEOPLE'S COUNCIL (C-8: RUMOURS OF DEATH)

The rebels led by Sula on Earth intended to depose Servalan and replace her rule with a People's Council. Sula's own level of commitment to this ideal is debatable.

  • PERAPHIN

(D-6: HEADHUNTER)

Tarrant described the box containing the head for Muller's android as being made of what looked like peraphin. Presumably a common enough substance in Blake's era, smooth, hard and black if Muller's box was anything to go by. PERKINS (C-10: ULTRAWORLD)

Vila recited a limerick about a young lady named Perkins, indicating that the name was still extant in Blake's time.

  • PETIE

(B-2: SHADOW)

A dreamhead on Space City, who died of taking too much shadow. Bek said to Hanna, "She told me to take care of you and Petie", suggesting that Petie might well have been a relative of Bek's. Who "she" might have been was never specified, but was presumably their mother. PETROSCOPE (D-2: POWER)

A device used by Avon in his search for dynamon crystals. It was recognised for what it was by Gunn-Sar. PHAROS (D-6: HEADHUNTER)

Planet on which the robot development cartel employing Muller was based. Tarrant teleported down whilst Vila remained on Scorpio. Pharos was not specifically stated to be a Federation world, and the interceptors launched against Scorpio may have been sent up by either the planet's government or the robot development cartel itself. PHIBIANS (A-13: ORAC)

As suggested by the name, probably the amphibian species - referred to by Zen - which had begun to develop in the oceans of Aristo. The members of the species were human-sized, grey, with claws, an ability to cling to surfaces, and emitted a roaring sound. Despite Ensor's belief that they would deal with Servalan and Travis, the species did not seem to be particularly dangerous; Servalan and Cally were attacked by individual phibians, but the latter were easily killed by Travis and Blake respectively. Presumably, members of the species relied on their roaring sounds to terrify their enemies.

See also ARISTO

PHOBON PLAGUEEdit

(A-9: PROJECT AVALON)

Popular but incorrect name of virus delta 706. Mentioned by Zen. It may or may not have had its origins on a planet (or moon) called Phobos (Phobos is one of the two moons of Mars).

See Delta 706


PHOTOCELL LOCKEdit

- see LOCKS PHOTONIC DRIVE (D-4: STARDRIVE)

Developed by Dr Plaxton on Caspar. Using light instead of plasma, it could allow ships to travel at previously unimaginable speeds "in real time". Atlan's space choppers could manage Time Distort 12.6 with the Mark I drive, and theoretically TD-15 with the Mark II (which was, however, too large to be installed in a space chopper, despite being readily portable). Scorpio was fitted with the Mark II drive and was reported to leave Bucol-2 at TD-12.

Plaxton spent three years on Caspar developing the drive, with an unspecified previous period working on it for the Federation. She referred to 3,000 hours of work on Caspar, and Atlan referred to his space rats combing a dozen worlds for the raw materials. Few details of its functioning were given, although a photon generator chamber was mentioned.

See also HYPERDRIVE, SPEED, TIME DISTORT, INTERGALACTIC DRIVE. PHOTON SHIELD (D-4: STARDRIVE)

Safety screen deployed when testing the photonic drive under laboratory conditions, wheeled around by two resentful space rats. It started to melt before the Mark II drive reached full power. PHOTOPRINT RECORD (D-5: ANIMALS)

Sleer requested Justin's photoprint record whilst on Bucol-2. Just how much information this contained was not disclosed. PIERROTS (B-11: GAMBIT)

Two of the people present around the Big Wheel were dressed as pierrots. Others included arabs, cavaliers, a toreador, a vampire and a nun. PILOT FOUR ZERO (C-7: CHILDREN OF AURON)

Pilot of an Auron C-type Patroller, returning to his home planet when his ship was hit by an ionic beam fired by Ginka. This crippled the ship's systems as well as neutralising his telepathic ability. Pilot 4-0 was brought aboard Servalan's cruiser and contaminated with the alien pathogen which eventually wiped out the population of Auron. The pilot was dead on docking back at Auron. PINDER (D-11: ORBIT)

A mathematical prodigy, who at the age of 18 accompanied Egrorian in his flight from the Space Research Institute. Exposed to Hofel's radiation, Pinder aged fifty years in as many seconds and thus appeared considerably older than 28 when encountered by Avon and Vila ten years later. By this time Pinder was virtually senile, a condition hardly helped by the sadistic way in which Egrorian treated him. Egrorian planned to leave Pinder on Malodar when he left with Servalan, but Pinder overheard and exposed both himself and Egrorian to a lethal dose of Hofel's radiation. PIPES (B-7: KILLER)

Avon and Vila crawlled through pipe to enter the Q base on Fosforon. PIRATES (A-4: TIME SQUAD)

Presumably not common, since they are very sparingly mentioned. In Time Squad Jenna warned Blake that space pirates sometimes used false distress signals to lure their victims. The pirates on Domo sold the prisoners they took as slaves: Soolin stated that the pirates began their operations on Domo ten years prior to Scorpio's visit. PIRI (D-7: ASSASSIN)

Name used by the professional killer Cancer in her attempt to eliminate the crew of Scorpio for Servalan. Nebrox told Avon that one of the entertainers for sale had been bought by the owner of a black ship (Cancer's). When Avon, Tarrant and Soolin teleported aboard they found a man, as well as a woman claiming to be a dancer: Cancer and purchased entertainer. In fact the man was an actor Servalan had bought to play this crucial role in their plan, and "Piri" persuaded him to work for her by making him believe that he and she would "go off together" when the job was finished. Feigning weakness and terror she won Tarrant's confidence, but got little more than a slap in the face from Soolin. She had to kill Nebrox when it seemed he might realise that she had never been held as a slave on Domo. She then killed the hired actor, and captured Avon.

Piri killed using a crab-like creature she wore as a brooch on her tunic. The creature may have been wholly or partly mechanical in nature. She died when Soolin brushed the creature off Avon onto Piri's arm, where it fatally bit her. PLACE OF REBIRTH (A-3: CYGNUS ALPHA)

Mentioned by Kara shortly after the London was seen approaching Cygnus Alpha. No further details given in the episode.

Kara may possibly have been referring to the holding cell/landing bay complex where the London touched down. This would be the point where the prisoners would leave to be 'reborn' into their new life on Cygnus.

PLACE OF THE NOVICES (A-3: CYGNUS ALPHA)

Part of the building on Cygnus Alpha, where newly arrived convicts were held after contracting the Curse of Cygnus. Apparently underground, the Place of the Novices consisted of barred cells with at least one guard present. PLACE OF SACRIFICE (A-3: CYGNUS ALPHA)

Mentioned by Vargas, apparently referring to the main hall of his church. Gan was brought here to be sacrificed, until Blake, Selman, Vila and Arco revealed themselves. PLANETS (various episodes)

A large number of planets were visited or mentioned through the course of the series. All of the following have their own references elsewhere in this index:

Agrava, Albian, Altern, Arcos, Aristo, Atlay, Auron, Auros, Beta-5, Betafarl, Bucol-2, Califeron, Carthenis, Cassiona, Centero, Cephlon, Chenga, Cygnus Alpha, Cynra, Del-10, Destiny, Disentastra, Domo, Earth, Epheron, Epinal, Exbar, Exiton, Fosforon, Gardenos, Gauda Prime, Goth, Helotrix, Heeron, Herriol, Horizon, Jevron, K-14, Kainessos, Kairos, Kalkos, Kahn, Keezarn, Lindor, Lovus, Luba, Malodar, Mars, Mecron II, Morphenniel, Obsidian, Outer Gal, Overon, Palmero, Pharos, Porphyr Major, Sarran, Saurian Major, Sentha, Serrus, Sooni, Star One, Tarl, Tarsius, Ursa Prime, Vilker, Virn, Wanta, Xaranor, Xenon, Zircaster, Zerok, Zolat-4, Zonda, and Zondawl.

Geddon, Gesarus, Gourimpest and Prim may have been planets. Crandor, Ultraworld and Terminal were artificial planets. P-K118 was an asteroid, albeit a large one and Sardos a fixed meteoroid. The United Planets of Teal and Vandor Confederacy consisted of more than one planet. Possible other planets include Phobos and Ceros, and reference was also made to the Amagons, Skellerians and Trantinians who may have been named after planets.

Planets visited by a particular ship or individual are listed under the relevant heading.

Planetary populations were rarely alluded to. Kainessos was said to have a population of 7 million. Albion could claim a population of 6 million. The United Planets of Teal and the Vandor Confederacy each had populations of about 20 million. Such low figures might be typical of planetary populations in Blake's time, or they may reflect Liberator's tendency to avoid densely populated worlds. Other figures cited included a maximum of 500 people on Cygnus Alpha (a penal colony), and 200 Scavengers plus less then a hundred of Meegat's people on Cephlon. Only three Seska and an implicitly small number of Hommiks were seen on Xenon, though other relict populations might have been extant elsewhere on the planet. The same might apply to other primitive worlds such as Goth and Sarran, though this was implicitly not so. Both UP-Bounty and UP-Weapon appeared to have been abandoned despite previous colonisation.

Unnamed planets occurred in the following episodes: The Web, Duel, Project Avalon, Bounty, Weapon (two), Gambit, The Harvest of Kairos, Sarcophagus, Death-Watch. See UNNAMED PLANETS. See Also AMERSAT (Fanlore).

PLANET HOPPER (B-11: GAMBIT / D-1: RESCUE)

Type of spaceship, probably a blanket term for a wide variety of makes and models. Chenie secured Docholli a place on a Trantinian planet hopper out of Freedom City, held in the docking cradles 50 yards from Loading Bay 10. The pilot, she said, owed her a favour.

Tarrant described Scorpio on first boarding her as "a Wanderer class planet hopper, Mark II by the look of her: obsolete but functional". PLANETARY RESOURCES COMMISSION (D-8: GAMES)

When stopped by an officer on Mecron II, Gerren claimed to be working for the PRC. It seems reasonable to assume that such a body existed and that Gerren was a bona fide employee. PLANTATION FIVE (D-13: BLAKE)

Mentioned by Klyn as the area in which Scorpio crash-landed after running the blockade above Gauda Prime. PLASMA BOLTS (various episodes)

The main armament of Federation pursuit ships. Many plasma bolts were launched at the Liberator through the series, most of them hitting. Once launched, a bolt took some time to reach its target (24 seconds was mentioned in Animals, suggesting something of the non-manoeuvrability of target craft). Plasma bolts were also responsible for the destruction of XK-72.


Scorpio nearly getting hit In Horizon Blake said it would be "raining plasma bolts" if Liberator had been detected in orbit, possibly a figurative expression on his part but also an indication that plasma bolt launchers might be a feature of surface defence installations.

In The Harvest of Kairos reference was made to the Liberator using plasma bolts for launching surface strikes, rather than the neutron blasters. Zen noted that they struck 13 seconds after launch from an unspecified orbital distance. In Animals Servalan's captain noted that plasma bolts had slowed Scorpio up, suggesting that they were effective as proximity burst weapons even if they failed to land a direct hit.

Dayna noted that the clip guns developed by Dorian could fire plasma bullets. In Blake a lightweight plasma weapon was fired at Blake from an unseen airborne vehicle. Blake told Tarrant that plasma ammunition was "scarce".

Senator Bercol in Trial described Servalan as having "all the sensitive delicacy of a plasma bolt". PLASMA RADIATION (D-4: STARDRIVE)

Referred to by Avon when attempting to sneak into the shadow of the Altern system in the shadow of a large asteroid. He stated that the crew could not risk the Federation detecting plasma radiation from sustained thrust, suggesting that plasma was used for sublight ship manoeuvres. PLAXTON (D-4: STARDRIVE)

Top space drive designer with the Federation, she left at least three years before Scorpio's visit to Caspar to develop her photonic drive. Her assistant Napier joined her. She wanted no part in Atlan's plan to control the space trade routes, and welcomed the crew's arrival as a chance to escape. She started to install the new drive into Scorpio as pursuit ships moved in, and Avon cut in the drive before the last connection was made. She was therefore killed on completing the operation, but Scorpio escaped the plasma bolt bearing down on the ship. PLEASURE MACHINES (B-4: HORIZON)

Longingly mentioned by Vila in his brief eulogy on the delights of Federation rest centres, but no details were given. PLEASURE PLANET COMPUTER (D-8: GAMES)

Gambit was partly composed of units from a PPC unit, and from Avon's remarks it would seem that such computers were dedicated to games playing. PN OVERRIDES (A-5: THE WEB)

Tampered with by Cally whilst under the control of the Lost, leading to an increase in Liberator"s speed. No further details given. POETRY (D-9: SAND) By Murray Smith

Don Keller quoted a poem by Tanith Lee at the beginning of Sand:

I know a land beyond the heart of time. The sun never comes there, no moon ever shines. And man, a grain of sand, nameless and lost, Blows with the dust.

See also LEE, TANITH.

POLICE (D-3: TRAITOR / D-4: STARDRIVE)

Somewhat remarkably, explicit references to a police force are made in only two episodes. Quute mentioned the Pacification Police, and the General admitted that an investigation of Practor's death was "a police job". The investigation came under the jurisdiction of Commissioner Sleer, reflecting her civil rather than military position. Many of the personnel she was seen to associate with wore the same uniforms as military troopers, so either police and troops dressed essentially alike, or troops were seconded to her command.

In Stardrive Dayna "reminded" Dr Plaxton of how she had reported her ground car stolen to the police.

Investigator Reeve in Sand may have been a police officer, as his title strongly suggests. On Gauda Prime, Blake was seen to be appointed as a temporary law enforcement officer, presumably as a result of his "bounty hunter" activities.

POOLAEdit

(C-11: MOLOCH)

A native of Sardos, who erased the recording of Liberator's entry through the energy barriers around the meteoroid. Moloch ordered her to be given to Grose's men as a result, and she was never seen again. PORAH (B-4: HORIZON)

Native of Horizon. Blake told Ro that Porah was one of the convicts on the London headed for Cygnus Alpha. He died on the journey and his body was dumped in space. Blake made no reference to him being involved in the attempt to take over the ship, but this might have been understandable reticence on his part. Ro thought Porah had been sent on a "training course". Porah referred to Horizon only by its former name of Silmareno, hence Blake not realising quite where he was when he first approached the planet. PORPHYR MAJOR (D-3: TRAITOR)

Noted by Dayna as one of the frontier systems the Federation had re-annexed within the past three weeks, presumably through Commissioner Sleer's Pacification Programme. PORPHYRUS (D-11: ORBIT)

A lunar satellite in the constellation adjacent to Malodar. Although 17 light years away, it was destroyed instantly by Egrorian's tachyon funnel. POT PLANTS (various episodes)

Potted plants were seen in Ensor's underground room on Aristo, in the conference centre of Atlay, in Residence-1, and in the lounge area of Xenon base. Now come on, be honest, you always wanted to know that, didn't you? The POWER (A-8: DUEL)

Sinofar described herself and Giroc as guardians of "the power of the race". This may have been the cataclysmic weapon Giroc described as ending the war on their planet. Such conclusions are circumspect but not entirely unavoidable. PRACTOR (D-3: TRAITOR)

President-elect of Helotrix, and a Helot by birth. Although he had been held prisoner for a while in the confusion following the Intergalactic War, he had been on the Federation's Civil List for years. He described himself to Leitz as "something of a pedant" through his long years in the civil service. He had known Servalan well in the past, and recognised her in a portrait, referring to her as "the Supreme Empress". Servalan used her security clearance as Commissioner Sleer to gain access to Practor's private lift, killing him in his living quarters and destroying the portrait. She then assumed command of the ensuing murder inquiry. PRECISION GUIDANCE SUBSYSTEMS (D-4: STARDRIVE)

A feature of Scorpio's sublight drive, used for fine manoeuvring. Such subsystems were doubtless fitted to many other ships as well. The precision guidance was brought online as Avon attempted to bring Scorpio within the radar shadow of a large asteroid to enter the Altern system undetected. It promptly blew up, at which point Slave informed the crew that they had just lost the back-up system with the main precision guidance having been inoperative from the start. PRELL (A-6: SEEK-LOCATE-DESTROY)

A technician at the Federation's communications centre on Centero, Prell was the first to realise that the cypher machine had been stolen by Blake. PRESIDENT (various episodes)

Ruler of the Federation. The President preceding Servalan was never named, and there may even have been more than one President through the course of the first two seasons. The post was probably held for life, although there is nothing said to confirm or deny this. References include:

   * The Way Back: loudspeaker broadcasts made reference to the President answering questions on population control. Varon suggested going to the President if necessary to expose the miscarriage of justice at Blake's trial.
   * Seek-Locate-Destroy: Rontane was introduced as the President's personal representative.
   * Shadow: Avon said that the President described shadow as "the greatest single threat to the welfare of mankind". The moon disc plantations were monitored by the President's personal security force.
   * Trial: Rontane reminded Bercol that Servalan was appointed Supreme Commander by the President.
   * Gold: Keiller's record, studied by Avon, revealed that he formerly served on the President's personal staff, but did not specify which president. Avon guessed that it was Servalan, and she later confirmed this. 

Immediately prior to the Intergalactic War, Servalan overthrew the existing President and High Council and at some point during the War declared herself President. The only councillor of the preceding regime to have definitely acknowledged this was Chesku, although doubtless there were others. At some point around her absence on Terminal she was deposed, and her successor never named, or indeed mentioned. It is not impossible that the position of President disappeared at this point, though there is nothing to suggest this.


In Rumours of Death Tarrant related her full title as "President of the Terran Federation, Ruler of the High Council, Lord of the Inner and Outer Worlds, High Admiral of the Galactic Fleets, Lord General of the Six Armies and Defender of the Earth". This title may have been assumed by Servalan herself, but use of the word "Lord" suggests otherwise. PRESIDENTIAL ORDER IN COUNCIL (B-13: STAR ONE)

Written By Murray Smith

The form in which Durkim was summoned to appear before the High Council in 'Star One'. His remark, 'I have to go', suggests the considerable authority of such an order and the penalties for disobeying it. Presumably it was a decree or order made by the President with the consent of the High Council. Due to the scarcity of information in the series in the powers of the presidency and the High Council, and their positions in the Federation's power structure, it is difficult to judge if this consent was nominal or real.

The origin of the Presidental Order in Council is found in 'Order in Council', the name for a decree or order made by the British monarch by and with the advice of the Privy Council of Great Britain. The monarch had the power at common law to legislate by Order in Council, a legacy of the time when legislation was part of the royal prerogative; but this is now limited. Orders in Council are also used as a form of secondary legislation, giving effect to an Act of Parliament which authorized the issuing of Orders in Council.

It is therefore possible that a Presidential Order in Council may be some Federation equivilant of a British Order in Council; but this is speculative, as the series tells us very little about sources of law in the Federation.

See also FEDERATION, HIGH COUNCIL, PRESIDENT. PRIM (D-7: ASSASSIN)

Proxy bidder Tok on Domo took the opening bid for Avon from Valeria of Prim. Whoever she was, she dropped out at a fairly early stage. Prim may have been a planet, or a location on an unnamed planet. PRIMITIVES (C-2: POWERPLAY)

Name applied to descendants of the settlers on Chenga who had chosen to live a simple, technologically unsophisticated life. They were hunted for sport or bounty by the Hitechs who used them as a source of organs for transplant surgery. Vila met two Primitives on Chenga, Lom and Mall. PRINCE REGENT (B-11: GAMBIT)

Krantor dressed in a costume which he claimed was modelled on the Prince Regent, one of very few actual historical personages to be named in the series. When George III was declared insane in 1811, his son ruled Britain as Regent until assuming the throne as George IV in 1820. PRO TEM (B-6: TRIAL) by Murray Smith.

Abbreviation of the Latin phrase _pro tempore_, which means 'temporary' when used as an adjective. Samor used it in that context when he described himself as having been appointed 'pro tem military arbiter'.

PROBABILITY SQUARE (D-9: SAND)

Used by Avon whilst in orbit around Virn because electrical interference had forced him to have Orac switched off. It was a method of analysing a problem by shuffling tokens representing elements of the problem until they took on an order which pointed to a solution. Avon claimed to have got 'very interesting results' from using it and deduced that the sand was feeding off human energy and that it required a breeding pair of humans. PROBE (A-7: MISSION TO DESTINY)

Tool requested by Avon whilst repairing the flight deck of the Ortega. Almost certainly a generic term for a wide variety of instruments. PROBUS-4 (C-10: ULTRAWORLD)

World from which the menial Relf on Ultraworld came from. Tarrant was told this by the recording in Relf's memory tube. PROGRAMMED GUARDIANS (A-4: TIME SQUAD)

Aliens or modified humans carried in cryogenic suspension aboard a sublight vessel carrying gene stocks and brood units from an unspecified place of origin to an equally unspecified destination. The ship was brought aboard Liberator on approaching Cygnus Alpha and the surviving crew (one of the four was long dead) thawed out. They were programmed to protect their cargo from any possible threat, which included Blake's crew, and they injured Jenna, overpowered Gan and drained energy from the Liberator. Jenna killed two of the three remaining guardians (the first people seen to be killed with a Liberator handgun), the third died when he was pushed against a live power cable by Blake and electrocuted. PROHIBITED SPACE ZONE (A-10: BREAKDOWN)

Area of space Zen stated as having an "unacceptable risk designation". The terminology suggests that there were several - if not many - such zones, officially recognised and classified. The one crossed by the Liberator on its way to XK-72 contained a massive gravitational vortex. PROJECT AVALON (A-9: PROJECT AVALON)

Travis' plan to plant an android replica of Avalon aboard the Liberator and release a deadly virus modified from the so-called Phobon Plague, enabling the ship to be captured intact. Travis referred to the plan by this title and Avalon was not amused.

A broadcast announcement of "project A6 security green now in operation" may be a reference to Project Avalon or to some other operation. PROJECTILES (C-7: CHILDREN OF AURON)

Weaponry available to the Federation, almost certainly a generic term. Projectiles were fired from Servalan's star cruiser into the city on Auron, causing extensive devastation. Mark V projectiles had a very small burst radius, and were launched against the crew as they raced to the bio-replication plant.

PROSTHETIC DEVICES (various episodes)

A number of these were featured. Travis" left arm, complete with lazeron destroyer, was among the first to appear. The only other artificial limb referred to was Zee's leg, constructed by Docholli, a cybersurgeon.

Vision replacements were fitted to Hal Mellanby, who had an image amplifier, and Ardus, who was fitted with a sonoscope.


Ensor was kept alive by a mechanical heart, a transplant organ not being available when needed, and Vila mentioned a pacemaker in Pressure Point.

Gan was fitted with a limiter implant to prevent him killing, and the body of Wanderer K47 crewman Wardin was fitted with a brain implant to control his body when he attacked Dr Wiler. Deeta Tarrant had microsensors implanted in his brain and a conducting mesh etched into his skull, all part of the sensornet through which audiences could take vicarious part in the combats of the Teal-Vandor Convention. The dynamon crystals worn by the Seska were apparently ingrafted.

Mechanical life-support systems were integral to the Altas and Moloch. The Altas could also communicate with the System by contact with a console, suggesting a possible fingertip receptor implant. The mutoids on UP-Project Avalon responded to broadcast commands without any visible reception device.

This is all a long way from the nerve-splicing and datanet interfacing of William Gibson's "cyberpunks", but the technology certainly appears to have existed in Blake's era.

As well as humans fitted with mechanical devices, there was a case of a machine adopting part of a human body. Muller's android donned its creator's head to pose as Muller and be taken to Orac on Xenon Base. Quite how the android managed to effect lip movement and facial expression on the head was (perhaps wisely) left undiscussed. PROVINE (B-9: COUNTDOWN)

Federation officer with the rank of Space Major. He was stationed on Albian in command of the Space Assault Force garrison there, but had formerly served with Central Control, and Blake thought he knew where Control had been moved to. Provine attacked Ralli, killed the guards at the rocket silo, and almost killed Blake but was fatally shot by him in a struggle. Before he died he told Blake that Central Control had been moved to Star One and that Docholli alone knew of its location. The Fight with Blake PROXIMITY MINES (B-3: WEAPON)

Travis had the planets to which Coser had most likely fled seeded with small proximity mines in random orbits. They were virtually undetectable until they exploded, and one detonated when the Liberator drew close to one above UP-Weapon. No significant damage was sustained, however. PSYCHOINSTRUCTION (D-5: ANIMALS)

The final stage of Justin's perfection of Og, never completed. PSYCHOMANIPULATION (B-13: STAR ONE)

Psychomanipulation teams conditioned the technicians left behind on Star One to ensure that they did not try to disrupt the systems or broadcast its location. The head of the team responsible died under interrogation when Star One began to malfunction. Psychomanipulation may have involved similar techniques to those employed by criminotherapists. PSYCHOSTRATEGIST (B-3: WEAPON)

An expert on predicting the behaviour of an individual in given circumstances, assuming sufficient data was available. Carnell described himself as an "official" psychostrategist, suggesting that the Federation (or perhaps some other organisation) employed him especially for psychostrategical work. He also mentioned exacting a fee, which might indicate that he was working privately for Servalan or that Space Command had to buy his services from elsewhere in the Federation: the former seems more likely. The accuracy of a prediction depended on the psychostrategist having all the pertinent information: in Carnell's case, he was not told until too late of Rashel being with Coser, invalidating his predictions.


Psychostrategists were colloquially known as "puppeteers": Carnell was called such by Servalan's aide and he replied: "Do they still call us that?". The aide regarded him with something akin to awe, reflecting the power, putative or actual, that a psychostrategist had over individuals. PUBLIC RECORDS COMPUTER (A-1: THE WAY BACK)

Visited by Tel Varon when collecting evidence for Blake having been mistried. It is not stated whether this computer held records for the dome city alone, all of Earth's population or even some wider area, but the first seems most likely. Varon had to use his Justice Department credentials in order to get access to information, suggesting that general public access was not permitted. Three command codes were used by the duty officer (spoken to the control console): Alpha 3375 accessed medical records, Alpha 3377 school attendance records, and Alpha 00288-alpha Central Clinic admissions on a particular date. This last was classified and unavailable to Varon's Priority 3 clearance. PULSE CODE (B-7: KILLER)

Means of scrambling messages. The pulse code could only be broken with the TP-crystal fitted in an A-line converter. PUPPETEER - see PSYCHOSTRATEGIST PURSER (D-10: GOLD) written by Murray Smith

Originally the officer on board a ship who kept the accounts, and who usually had charge of the provisions. Later, on board passenger ships, the purser had the general responsibility for the passengers and their welfare.

Keiller, as Purser of the Space Princess in Gold, appeared to carry out this responsibility. He gave the passengers their day's itinerary, described the sights they could see, and promised that he, the captain, and the crew would 'endeavour to ensure' that the passengers would 'gain maximum enjoyment and instruction' from the voyage. All this was, however, done via recordings, his actual job being that of head of security, responsible for the safe delivery of the gold on board.


PURSUIT SHIPS (various episodes)

The type of Space Command vessel most often encountered by Blake and Avon. Pursuit ships were first mentioned in Cygnus Alpha when Zen reported a "fleet of ships" changing course towards Liberator: it identified these vessels as pursuit ships. They were additionally encountered as follows:


Pursuit Ship (28K)

   * Seek-Locate-Destroy: Travis specified use of Starburst class pursuit ships for his pursuit of Blake. He was given the only three then available.
   * Duel: Travis" three ships, crewed by mutoids, cornered Blake above UP-Duel. One of these ships was forced to cease firing after launching seven plasma bolts, being low on power.
     	
   * Project Avalon: Servalan ordered pursuit ships to be launched, implicitly from the surface of the planet.
   *
     Breakdown: three pursuit ships were summoned to XK-72 by Professor Kayn: they fired on Liberator, missed, and destroyed the space station. 	
   * Bounty: three pursuit ships came to collect the crew from Tarvin.
   * Shadow: seven pursuit ships came to Zonda to attack Liberator.
   * Horizon: all three ships of Pursuit Flotilla 13 were destroyed by the magnetic barrier around Horizon.
   * Trial: Servalan's personal ship was Pursuit-4.
   *
     Hostage: More than 20 pursuit ships attacked the Liberator in a carefully planned trap, registering more than 12 hits. Zen stated that their detector range was 900 spacials. The commander of the attack ordered an attack speed of Time Distort 10. Servalan travelled to Exbar in a pursuit ship, C-26, capable of TD-10 (though TD-9 was its safety maximum). 	
   * The Keeper: Avon intercepted and destroyed Travis" pursuit ship. Servalan's ship was described as a modified Mark I pursuit ship.
   * Volcano: Servalan's star cruiser was flanked by two pursuit ships. Eight cruisers attacked the Liberator, but those seen looked like pursuit ships. The ship making an attack run on Obsidian before Hower destroyed the planet also looked like a pursuit ship.
   *
     The Harvest of Kairos: Jarvik's attacked Liberator with three Mark X pursuit ships, which Servalan said were the newest and fastest in her fleet. Zen noted a modified fin suggesting "primitive Time Distort facility". 	
     A Mark X Pursuit Ship
   * Stardrive: Three pursuit ships were destroyed by a space chopper fitted with the photonic drive. Another flotilla pursued Scorpio from Caspar, but was outrun when Avon activated the photonic drive.
   * Animals: Three pursuit ships attacked Scorpio above Bucol-2, inflicting some damage before Tarrant could cut in the photonic drive and escape them.
   * Games: pursuit ships were reported as launched from Mecron II.

See also STARBURST CLASS PURSUIT SHIPS.

In Redemption Zen referred to the second DSV launched by the System as a pursuit ship. PYLENE-50 (D-3: TRAITOR)

Invented by Forbus on an unspecified world, pylene-50 was intended to be used homeopathically as a muscle relaxant. When administered at 100 times normal dosage, it induced total docility and obedience (by blocking the production of adrenalin, according to Leitz). Leitz also observed that the work ethic was often reinforced by those "adapted" by it and that the effects of pylene-50 were immediate with no side-effects.

Commissioner Sleer used pylene-50 in her Pacification Programme on Helotrix and other worlds. On Helotrix at least it was injected by chemical laser, but by Warlord it was being pumped into air and water supplies. The enzyme bonds in the drug broke up within a few days of production and so it had to be manufactured where it was needed. The secret of manufacture appeared to be held by Forbus, forced to work for Sleer, but his death did not hinder the Pacification Programme or use of the drug, at least in the long term. Forbus also developed an antidote, which could not cure those already "adapted" by pylene-50, but could offer immunity to those who later came into contact with it. Avon needed Zukan to produce this antidote from a plant ostensibly growing in abundance on Betafarl. PYRHENNIC POISONING (D-3: TRAITOR)

Forbus" description of his condition to Dayna and Tarrant, referring to Sleer's use of tincture of pyrhennic to ensure his obedience to her. The effects were kept at bay by a drug Forbus had to take regularly: Sleer threatened to cut off his supply for three days, explaining "that means you'll die another ten per cent". PYROANS (C-3: VOLCANO)

The name the inhabitants of Obsidian called themselves. First Citizen Hower, was not native to the planet and it is a matter of conjecture as to how many Pyroans were born there. Taught "peace from the cradle", their aggressive urges were curbed by tiny electric shocks and daily psychological propaganda. The result, said Hower, was "no wars, no lawlessness, no crime... our people devote themselves to creation and not destruction". They were all wiped out when Hower detonated the nuclear device in the volcano rather than see his planet annexed by the Federation. This was in accordance with their Vow, to destroy themselves rather than be colonised. They were all dying anyway, through fallout from the nuclear device.


Homer

Milus and Natin One Pyroan who did not conform to the general ideal was Bershar, Hower's son, and he was executed with a lethal dose of anaesthetic for his nonconformity. Other Pyroans mentioned by name were Milus and Natin. No female Pyroans were named, although some were seen. PYRRUS (D-10: GOLD)

Supposedly passed by the Space Princess on its journey from Zerok to Earth. Keiller's recorded commentary described it as "the twelfth wonder of the..." (of the galaxy, presumably). Described only as a "ferocious power", with no indication as to whether it was a planet or a star, but the latter seems more likely.

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Sevencyclopaedia - H HANNA (B-2: SHADOW)

A dreamhead, addicted to shadow, and Bek's sister on Space City. It was through her that Largo was able to track the Liberator when Blake left for Zonda. She died trying to deactivate Orac, on which Avon commented, "She was dying anyway". HARMON (C-2: POWERPLAY)

One of the Death Squad troopers who boarded the Liberator with Klegg. Avon believed that Harmon was responsible for the deaths of two other troopers after seeing him leave the ship's strong room. The killings were in fact due to Tarrant, who shot Harmon when he attacked Avon. HARMONICA (C-11: MOLOCH)

A harmonica was heard to be played by one of the prisoners from Kalkos aboard the T-16 transporter taking them to Sardos. HASK (D-3: TRAITOR)

Hunda's second in command on Helotrix, given the rank of sergeant in the end credits. Hunda gave Hask command of the 4th column when he left to enter the city. Little more was said about Hask other than the fact that he was not a geologist. HAVANT (A-1: THE WAY BACK)

Doctor at the Central Clinic on Earth. He confirmed Alta Morag's suggestion that false memories could be implanted in a subject, and treated three children to make them believe they had been indecently assaulted by Blake. Although the term was not used, he was probably a criminotherapist. HEERON (B-13: STAR ONE)

One of the frontier worlds listed by Durkim as experiencing a breakdown in climate control, along with Carthenis, Palmero, Sooni and Vilker. HELL (various episodes) by Murray Smith

In many religions, the place or state of eternal punishment of the wicked after death. Twenty-one characters made 62 references to hell in the series: Avon (17), Vila (12), Del Tarrant (9), Blake (4), Leylan, Deeta Tarrant, and Casgo (2 each); and Provine, Servalan, Raiker, Par, Thania, Gambrill, Tek, the Nova Queen's pilot, Dayna, Grenlee, Doran, Dorian, Plaxton, and Soolin (1 each), which can be divided into 5 categories. While the first two indicate a link with the origin of the word, the other three, comprising the majority of the references, indicate a complete break with the origin, probably due to the passage of time and the Federation's anti-religious policy.

1. The use of the word in the belief that one is actually in hell: Vila, when he recovered consciousness in Dawn of the Gods, saw numerous images of Avon and muttered, 'I'm in hell - and it's full of Avons!' From what was seen of Vila in the series, this reference did not presumably indicate any religious belief on his part, including a belief in the existance of hell, only a belief that a place full of Avons was his vision of hell, if it existed.

2. The use of the word as a wish of evil:

   * In Countdown, a dying Provine told Blake to 'Go to hell'.
   * In the same episode, Blake, after Provine died, said, 'See you in hell'.
   * In Rumours of Death, Servalan told Avon to 'Go to hell', to which he replied, 'Probably'. 

3. The use of the word as an expression of anger or astonishment:

   * In Space Fall, after a nearby explosion, Raiker asked, What the hell was that?'
   * In the same episode, Leylan asked Artix, 'What the hell's going on?'
   * In the same episode, Leylan demanded, 'Where the hell is that backup man?'
   * In Redemption, after the attack by the two System ships, Avon demanded, 'What the hell is going on?'
   * In Horizon, Avon wondered what a Federation freighter was doing so far out. 'He's in Zone Eight already. Where the hell is he going?'
   * In the same episode, Blake said, 'Oh, hell, I'm tired of running, Jena'.
   * In Trial, when Samor appeared, Par exclaimed, 'Blazin' [g] [h]'ell, look at this!'
   * In the same episode, Thania asked Travis 'What the hell' he thought he was doing.
   * In Killer, Gambrill demanded of Blake 'What the hell' he thought he was doing.
   * In the same episode, Tek told Gambrill, 'To hell with orders!'
   * In Hostage, Avon asked 'where the hell' a plasma bolt came from.
   * In the same episode, Avon asked 'Where the hell' was Blake.
   * In Countdown, Avon stopped hauling on a chain and commented, 'Hell, it's jammed'.
   * In The Keeper, Avon asked Blake, 'What the hell happened' after the latter was teleported back aboard the Liberator.
   * In the same episode, Blake asked Cally 'where the hell' was she.
   * In Star One, when Kelden Control told the Nova Queen's pilot that the computer didn't make errors, the latter's response was 'To hell with that!'
   * In Dawn of the Gods, Tarrant asked Orac 'where the hell' they were.
   * In the same episode, Tarrant again asked Orac 'where the hell' they were.
   * In the same episode, after something with a 'claw' knocked out the Liberator's scanner, Dayna asked, 'What the hell was that?'
   * In The Harvest of Kairos, Avon asked Tarrant, 'what the hell is that?' pointing to a landing module.
   * In the same episode, Tarrant asked, 'Where the hell' was Avon.
   * In City at the Edge of the World, Vila asked Kerril 'what the hell' it was he was meant to have done.
   * In the same episode, after a shot was fired, Avon asked, 'What the hell is that?'
   * In Rumours of Death, Major Grenlee asked 'Where the hell' was the squad he sent out.
   * In Sarcophagus, when Cally drew and fired at something not there, Avon remarked, 'What the hell!?'
   * In the same episode, after he and Vila were brought back to the Liberator by Cally, after the teleport had mysteriously failed, Avon demanded, 'What the hell was going on here? Afternoon tea?'
   * In Ultraworld, when the artificial planet was revealed on Liberator's main screen, Tarrant exclaimed, 'What the hell is that?'
   * In the same episode, Vila demanded to know 'what the hell' was going on from Tarrant.
   * In Moloch, Doran told Vila that he thought, 'what the hell, Vila likes a woman'.
   * In Death-Watch, Deeta asked Max 'what the hell' was Vinni.
   * In Terminal, Tarrant demanded, 'What the hell is he [Avon] up to?'
   * In the same episode, Tarrant asked 'where the hell' was Avon.
   * In Rescue, Dorian said that he had never been able to work out 'what the hell' something was for.
   * In the same episode, Tarrant said 'if we knew what the hell was waiting for them' on Xenon.
   * In the same episode, Vila stopped trying to open a door, remarking, 'To hell with it'.
   * In Traitor, Avon asked 'How the hell' Servalan had managed to get off the Liberator.
   * In Stardrive, Plaxton said 'What the hell' did she care that the Space Rats would complain to Altan.
   * In Animals, Tarrant said, 'What the hell' in response to Slave's obsequious behaviour.
   * In Headhunter, Vila asked Muller 'What the hell' was the matter with him.
   * In Assassin, Soolin said that the question was 'where the hell' was Cancer.
   * In Games, Vila told Avon that they had been trying to contact him for 'an hour', demanding, 'What the hell have you been doing, taking a nap?'
   * In the same episode, Vila demanded of Avon, 'What the hell's going on?'
   * In the same episode, Avon asked Orac, 'what the hell is going on?'
   * In Sand, Vila demanded of Soolin 'what the hell' she knew about Liberator's destruction and Cally's death.
   * In the same episode, Casgo asked Servalan 'what the hell' happened.
   * In Warlord, Vila asked 'What the hell' was killing the Betafarlian technicians in the freight bay. 

4. The use of the word as a phrase telling someone to make a quick retreat:

   * In Project Avalon, Avon said, 'let's get the hell out of here'.
   * In Traitor, Vila said that if Tarrant did not 'get the hell out' of Hellotrix, they were finished aboard the Scorpio.
   * In Stardrive, Avon told Tarrant and Vila to secure Dr. Plaxton's photonic drive and 'let's get the hell out of here'.
   * In Blake, Vila suggested that they lay in a course and 'get the dignified hell out of here [Xenon]'.
   * In the same episode, Tarrant told Avon to 'get the hell out of here [Scorpio]'. 

5. The use of the word as a description of something tremendous, serious, great, or important:

   * In Trial, Blake admitted that he had taken 'one hell of a risk' with his crew when he went ahead with his attack on Central Control.
   * In Moloch, Avon said that Moloch had made 'a hell of a stupid mistake'.
   * In Death-Watch, Vila explained to Cally that the combatants under the Teal-Vandor Convention didn't just step up and 'beat hell out of each other' with big wooden clubs.
   * In the same episode, Deeta said to Max that the stuff put inside his head frightened 'the hell' out of him.
   * In the same episode, Avon said that when Vinni was revealed to be an android, 'all hell' would break loose.
   * In Sand, Casgo said that it was going to be 'a hell of a bumpy ride' down.
   * In the same episode, Avon said that they did know that what they were going to do was 'one hell of a risk'. 

See RELIGION.

HELIOFUSION ROD (D-2: POWER)

A remnant of the pre-war technology on Xenon. Avon used one, protected by a glove, to defeat Gunn-Sar in single combat, and described it as "ordinary" and "domestic", although this might have been irony on his part.

HELOTRIX (D-3: TRAITOR)

One of the oldest Earth colonies, colonised when the Stock Equalisation Act was still in force. The Federation spent years subduing the population during their first expansion. Avon added that the Helots were among the first to gain independence from "the Empire": this might refer to the Federation in the aftermath of the Intergalactic War, or possibly some pre-Federation power bloc. Hunda mentioned an old monorail tunnel being sealed off "a hundred years ago", showing that the planet had been colonised for over a century (though since Chenga had been colonised for two hundred years in Powerplay, Helotrix's pioneer settlements were almost certainly older).

Helotrix was served by Magnetrix Terminal 4006, situated in an unnamed city on the planet. What little was seen of the city indicated buildings of a pyramidal shape. It can be inferred that Helotrix was in Sector 4, and was the target of the Pacification Programme after Luba and Porphyr Major.

Helotrix was visited by Tarrant, Dayna, and Servalan (as Commissioner Sleer). Named Helots were Practor (President-elect, relieving the military as ruler of the planet for the Federation), Star Major Hunda, Hask, Avandir and Igin. Named places were Leedenbrank and the White Mountains.

The General had previously led a squadron of Helots and regarded them as good fighters, especially in hand-to-hand combat. Of the rebels on the planet at the time of Scorpio's visit, only Hunda's 4th column was still fighting. Column 2 had been virtually wiped out, with 1 and 3 withdrawing to the White Mountains. HEND (A-9: PROJECT AVALON)

One of the prisoners held on the unnamed planet in this episode, detained in cell S8. Others noted were Distar, Kalor and Pelar. HERCULANIUM (various episodes)

Described by Avon in Dawn of the Gods as "the strongest known metal in the universe", the outer skin of the Liberator was made from it. It was stated to be an alloy, although it could apparently be found occurring naturally in some asteroids. Zen identified the landing module from Kairos, fitted with an analogue of Sopron, as having a herculanium hull.

In Power Vila identified the door to Scorpio's hangar as being made of herculanium, and added that it could not be cut, burnt or blasted. HERRIOL (D-12: WARLORD)

A border system, represented by Lod at the meeting of warlords called by Avon. Avon noted that Herriol, along with Serrus and Sentha, was threatened by the Federation's pacification Programme.


Lod is on the left HIBERNATION PILLS (B-7: KILLER)

Mentioned by Blake as a means of coping with the stresses of lengthy confinement in early infraluminal space flights. HIGH ADMIRAL (C-8: RUMOURS OF DEATH) by Murray Smith

'High Admiral of the Galactic Fleets' was one of Servalan's presidential titles, mentioned by Tarrant in 'Rumours of Death'. This title seems quite similar to that of 'Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom', a title held by the monarch of that Earth state since 1 April 1964 AD.

The office was established in the fourteenth century, when the English fleet first came under a single admiral's command. The title became fixed as 'Lord High Admiral' by the sixteenth century; previously the titles 'High Admiral' or 'Lord Admiral' were used interchangeably. From 1628 to 1964, except for certain periods, the office was in commission, the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty being vested with all its jurisdictions and powers.

See also Rank.

HIGH COUNCIL (various episodes)

Governing body of unspecified size, at the top of the Federation's hierarchy. Among the Presidential titles listed by Tarrant in Rumours of Death, one was "Ruler of the High Council". No details were given as to the composition of the High Council, or how its members were chosen. Other references include:

   * Pressure Point: Servalan requested a direct link to the High Council in order to ask that the Forbidden Zone's defences be deactivated.
   * Trial: Senator Bercol (not High Councillor Bercol) stated that he was head of the Information Bureau and "ex officio member of the High Council".
   * Voice from the Past: Servalan told LeGrand that the High Council were aware of what she and Ven Glynd were planning from the very beginning, suggesting that planetary governors were not members of the High Council.
   * Star One: Durkim was summoned to a meeting of the High Council, a summons he called "a Presidential order-in-Council". Servalan refused to give him clearance to leave her command station.
   * Rumours of Death: Major Grenlee noted that Chesku was a High Councillor, although his wife "Sula" apparently was not. The High Council had, therefore, survived the Intergalactic War.
   * Traitor: Practor told Leitz of how the High Council was restored to power at the time Servalan was deposed, which rather contradicts the evidence suggested in Rumours of Death. Perhaps Servalan had abolished the High Council at some point after that episode, or the High Council under President Servalan had no effective power.
   * Animals: Ardus wanted authorisation from the High Council to disclose information on Bucol-2. Sleer threatened his family, forcing him to change his mind.
   * Blake: Orac informed the crew that the authorities had placed a formal application for Federation membership before the High Council on Earth. Blake and his allies were expecting a High Council representative to arrive on the planet at any moment. 

HIGH INTENSITY RADIATION GRID (B-5: PRESSURE POINT)

Part of Control's defences, surrounding the bunker entrance for a radius of "fifty yards, maybe more", at least in Vila's estimate. Avon stated that the rays could burn an individual up in seconds, and noted that it was completely self-repairing in eight seconds. An inbuilt sensormesh was weight and disturbance sensitive. The grid also had the apparent ability to fix people to the spot, preventing their escape. Responsible for the deaths of Arle and Berg, it very nearly claimed Avon as well. It was deactivated to allow Travis and two mutoids to enter the bunker, and Servalan, Jenna and Veron later crossed it unharmed. If it remained deactivated after Blake's escape, then Veron may have been able to get away unharmed, otherwise she would have been trapped in the bunker or killed. Arle & Berg being blown up. HIMALAYAS (C-7: CHILDREN OF AURON)

Cited by Vila as a good reason for going back to Earth: "The Himalayas are quite tall at this time of year". The only major geographical feature on Earth to be mentioned by name. HITECHS (C-2: POWERPLAY)

One of the two factions on Chenga, disagreeing from the Primitives in believing in the use of high technology to better their lives. The Hitechs used Primitives and others as a source of organs for prolonging their own lives, and employed bounty hunters to catch Primitives for such purposes. Vila was brought in by Zee and Barr, whilst Cally was one of 64 people (including Servalan) brought in on a ship picking up survivors from the Intergalactic War. Servalan used her position to escape the Hitechs, but Cally and Vila had to be rescued at the last minute. Zee and Barr HOB (C-8: RUMOURS OF DEATH)

A rebel on Earth, working with Sula to depose Servalan and establish a People's Council. Sula persuaded him not to have Servalan killed, and he backed her up in persuading the other rebels in this matter. He was killed by Servalan when he followed Sula to the cellar, distracting Servalan long enough to allow Avon to teleport safely back to the Liberator. HOFEL'S RADIATION (D-11: ORBIT)

Egrorian mentioned Hofel as the scientist who over a hundred years previously had predicted many of the properties of neutron star material. Since these properties have to some extent already been predicted, it would seem likely that Hofel's predictions were pertinent to currently unconsidered applications.

Hofel's radiation was released from neutrons subjected to an intense magnetic field. Severe temporal displacement resulted from this - Pinder had aged fifty years in as many seconds after being exposed to Hofel's radiation for a mere millionth of a second. Pinder later released a fatal dose of Hofel's radiation to kill himself and Egrorian.

Since there are references elsewhere in the series to "neutron" drives, it could well be that the process which generated Hofel's radiation was a fundamental principle of time distort drive technology. Protective shielding could be applied against the radiation and its effects, somewhat necessary if the process was used to power crewed spacecraft. HOLDING AREA (A-3: CYGNUS ALPHA)

The place where prisoners were held as the prison ship took off. Described by Vila as "cold as a corpse's armpit". The doorway to the surface was opened by Artix by remote control once the London had taken off. HOLDING ORDER (A-1: THE WAY BACK) - By Murray Smith

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.

HOLY SPIRIT, ORDER OF THE (C-4: DAWN OF THE GODS) by Murray Smith


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).

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.

The Badge of the Order is worn incorrectly by the Caliph, because it is in gold, worn on a gold sash around his waist, and the dove is flying with the head to the right. Why the Thaarn's Deputy should wear the badge of such an order in such a manner was not disclosed.

HOLY WRIT (C-8: RUMOURS OF DEATH) By Murray Smith

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. HOMEWORLD (C-6: CITY AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD)

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. HOMING DEVICES (various episodes)

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 Blake's homing beacon had a timer delay, remaining silent until required to transmit. Some homing devices were extremely small: the tracer Vila was asked to use in City at the Edge of the World was small enough to swallow and eventually dissolved, or would have done if Vila hadn't palmed it, and the tracer given to Igin in Traitor was also swallowed. In Rumours of Death Avon had a homing device implanted in his neck: the Federation interrogators left it transmitting, hoping to attract Avon's allies, not knowing that they would only come to his aid when he turned it off.

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. HOMMIKS (D-2: POWER)

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. HORIZON (B-4: HORIZON)

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.


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.

HOST (B-6: TRIAL)

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.

HOWER (C-3: VOLCANO)

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.


HULL SENSORS (various episodes)

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. HUNDA (D-3: TRAITOR)

A Helot rebel, with the rank of Star Major apparently a self-styled title. A former lecturer or researcher in geology, first assistant to fellow rebel Igin at Leedenbrank, he was in command of the Helot resistance's 4th column. Hunda blamed himself for Igin's death, and later swam into the city to assess the possibility of demolishing the magnetrix terminal. He believed that Leitz was a traitor to the Federation, but was told the truth by Dayna and Tarrant, who joined him on a successful attack on the city. HYPERDRIVE (A-2: SPACE FALL)

Shortly after leaving Earth, Commander Leylan gave an order to "cut in the hyperdrive, Time Distort five". Jenna noted that hyperdrive running was expensive, and that the London's hyperdrive was an early mark in need of "restressing".

See also PHOTONIC DRIVE, SPEED, TIME DISTORT, INTERGALACTIC DRIVE. HYPERSPACE SHIPS (B-4: HORIZON)

Mentioned by Ro as a new kind of ship, presumably with a new kind of drive, needing monopasium 239 to travel to other galaxies within a reasonable period of flight time. HYPERSPACE SUB-BEAM (A-6: SEEK-LOCATE-DESTROY)

According to Avon, the means by which all Federation communications were transmitted. The messages were converted to zeta-3 particles before scrambling. A sub-beam communicator was found on Cephlon and used to contact Liberator: this presumably used the same principle, and likewise the sub-space communicator taken by Coser to UP-Weapon. The A-line pulse codes featured in Killer may have been an alternative means of transmitting information, or new and improved communications technology.

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AA SECURITY CLEARANCE (A-12: DELIVERANCE)

Security pass "for any area in Space Command". Such a pass was carried by Maryatt. AAA SECURITY INSTALLATION (B-3: WEAPON)

The Federation's Weapons Development Base was a triple-A security installation, as one might expect given the nature of the work conducted there. Vila commented that "we have got into those before", suggesting operations not featured in previous episodes. ABSORPTION - see NUCLEOPLASMIC ABSORPTION ACADEMICIAN (D-8: GAMES) by Murray Smith.

The title of a member of an academy, a society or association for advancing the arts, sciences, or both. It can also indicate a member of a national academy, a body that has a state's financial support and approval to co-ordinate research into the arts, sciences, or both.

In Games, this title was given to Gerren, a Federation professor. According to Avon, he was a 'brilliant geologist' and an 'expert in mining techniques'. Gerren later said that his present job was doing 'geological survey work for the Planetary Resources Commission'. Due to this background, it is possible to assume that the title indicated his membership of a Federation national academy, co-ordinating research into (at least) the sciences.

See also GERREN. ADMINISTRATION (various episodes)

The civil wing of the Federation, as opposed to the military (Space Command). In theory Space Command was answerable to the Administration, but Trooper Par for one had other ideas. However, Servalan needed authority from the High Council to deactivate the defences in the Forbidden Zone. References include:

   * The Way Back: Blake asks Ravella "Why should the Administration feel the need to drug us?". Varon believed that he had uncovered enough evidence of corruption to "blow the top off the whole Administration" and intended to take his case as high as necessary, up to and including the President. This suggests general public faith in the Administration, at least among higher grade citizens.
   * Space Fall: Artix applied for flight clearance for the Civil Administration ship London. Leylan later assured Blake that all events on the voyage would be reported to the flight authority, presumably some department of the Administration.
   * Seek-Locate-Destroy: Bercol and Rontane informed Servalan that Controllers of the Outer Planets were becoming increasingly critical of the Administration's defence system (presumably meaning Space Command).
   * Project Avalon: Travis noted that the Administration had insisted that the Liberator be captured intact.
   * Pressure Point: Blake stated that the Administration had built Central Control when the Federation began to expand 200 years previously. 

ADRENALIN AND SOMA (various episodes)

Dispensed by Cally to counter fatigue shock in Horizon: described as one third adrenalin, two thirds soma. The crew had been virtually living on it for weeks, according to Cally, yet Vila still had to ask what it was.

In Horizon it was injected, leaving Vila sleepy for about half an hour, but Vila helped himself to a glass of adrenalin and soma in Volcano and seemed visibly affected before downing half the glass.


Justin offered Dayna a glass of adrenalin and soma shortly after her arrival on Bucol-2, adding that he had taken to drinking a lot of it lately.

Adrenalin is a stimulant hormone, raising heart rate in response to sudden stress.

Soma has a number of meanings. It can refer to the cell body of a nerve cell (from the Greek *soma* the body), but the more likely connection seems to be to Hindu mythology where Soma is the moon-plant, the juice of which bestows immortality -- an intoxicating drink called soma is used in some Vedic rituals. This strongly echoes the tranquillising drink of the same name in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. However, the derivation here may also be from the Latin *somnus* to sleep.

"Adrenalin and Soma" implies a combined stimulant/tranquilliser (Justin referred to it as a "stimulant", although it appeared to work on Vila as a relaxant in Horizon and Volcano. The names are not, perhaps, to be taken too literally. Taking large quantities of adrenalin in particular seems distinctly unwise. Adrenalin and Soma might therefore have been the trade name of a marketed product, or even a colloquial term of reference. ADVOCATE (A-1: THE WAY BACK) By Murray Smith

The description and possible title of a Federation lawyer. In The Way Back, the arbiter of the court that tried and sentenced Blake called Tel Varon 'your [Blake's] advocate'.


Tel Varon A-F HILL (D-2: POWER)

Site of Maravik's headquarters in the Hommiks" final battle against the Seska. Cato also referred to his surveillance system spying Dayna, Tarrant and Vila at "A-F 43". AGRAVA (D-8: GAMES)

Planet mined by the Federation for feldon crystals. The Federation failed to appreciate the energy-harnessing potential of feldon and thousands of people were accidentally killed in a series of explosions. Avon commented that they would have died anyway, since the Federation would have considered it uneconomic to remove anyone except "key personnel".

  • AKRAN

(C-1: AFTERMATH)

Word spoken by Chel. It might have been the name of one of his warriors, but could equally well have been an expletive of some kind. ALBIAN (B-9: COUNTDOWN)

A planet, population 6 million, all living around the equator, presumably because it was the only habitable region of the planet. Temperature at the poles was stated to be approaching absolute zero (but see under BIRDS), which gives a temperature gradient of something in the region of 250-300K if the equator offered a breathable atmosphere and tolerable temperatures. Since Avon and Del Grant visited one of the ice caps and found a breathable atmosphere, the reference to absolute zero might not mean 0K as such, but be a colloquialism for a region too cold to inhabit. The teleport distance from the Federation bunker to the device's location was said to be 4,000 miles, suggesting the planet was approximately Earth-size or smaller (Earth has a polar radius of about 4,000 miles, and a surface journey from equator to pole would be about 6,200 miles). Blake noted that the nearest planet was 500 space hours away.


A Pole of Albian Albian was colonised in the last century of the Old Calendar. The colonists resisted joining the Federation for a long time. The Albians suffered what Cauder called "impossible demands on our economy", and when the planet tried to secede legally a state of emergency was declared and the planet placed under martial law. At the time of Blake's visit it was garrisoned by less than 100 troops of the Federation's Space Assault Force under Space Major Provine, who described Albian as "important to the Federation". Resistance was kept in check by a solium radiation device on one of the polar caps.

Britain was referred to as Albion by the Greeks in the 4th Century BC, after the Albiones who lived there. It was also known as Albany. The term later applied more specifically to Scotland, under the name of Albin. ALIENS (various episodes)

Simply defining an alien is not always easy. The inhabitants of planets like Sarran and Goth, for example, may or may not have originated from Earth. In Gold, Tarrant was told that Dayna could not be given drugs on Earth because she was an alien - this might be taken to imply that the people of Zerok were not human, or simply that they were not recognised Federation citizens. "Alien" in a general sense might have been a term for anyone not coming directly from Earth (cf EXOMORPH). Some definite (non-humanoid) aliens did appear, however, including the following.

   * Time Squad: some native plant life on Saurian Major was carnivorous and according to Blake some species even had an intelligence rating. Vila described the texture of one as "warm, clammy; a bit like flesh".
   * Jenna referred to the programmed guardians in Time Squad as aliens, and used the word in a highly derogatory sense against Cally as Blake left Saurian Major.
   * Duel: nocturnal predatory species were heard in the forest.
   * Breakdown: Jenna noted that the inhabitants of Epinaarl were hostile to humanoid life and Homo sapiens in particular. Whatever else they were, they were not human.
   * Orac: an amphibian species, called "phibians" by Ensor and described by Travis as "some kind of lizard", inhabited the tunnels beneath Aristo.
   *
     Shadow: a being from another dimension, referred to herein as the Darkness, took control of Orac in an attempt to enter our own universe. Zonda was home to the moon discs. 	
     Moon Discs
   *
     Weapon: a large predatory creature attacked Coser and Rashel during the night. Coser killed it using IMIPAK. The mood-responsive vegetable of the Clonemasters" city may have been a naturally-occurring species. 	
   * Trial: the planet which Blake visited was a life form in its own right, with the composition of its oceans analogous to saliva. It surface was inhabited by a number of life forms, including the parasitic species to which Zil belonged. Zil referred to it as the Host.
   * Star One: the "andromedans" from M31 could assume human shape, but in their natural form looked amorphously non-humanoid.
   * Powerplay: Vila was aware of the presence of a predatory-sounding species on Chenga. Epheron, to which Blake was headed, was said by Zen to be home to several primitive life forms, presumably indigenous to the planet.
   *
     The Harvest of Kairos: a large insect-like species roamed the surface, devouring kairopan which it used for making silk. It could be deadly to encounter, although exactly how it killed was never shown. The same episode featured sopron, a rock-like organism which defended itself by projecting an image of itself as slightly more dangerous than its opponent. 	
   *
     A Link	Terminal: the corrosive cloud through which Avon took the Liberator may have been a form of life, though probably not intelligent. The planet Terminal was home to violent ape-like creatures called Links, which according to Servalan were what humanity was destined to evolve into.
   * Rescue: another Link was seen on Terminal. The planet was also inhabited by large, carnivorous creatures which Vila referred to as "snakes", though this was a purely figurative term of expression. Avon killed one, and Dorian rescued Dayna and Vila from two more.
   * Assassin: the polymorphic crab like creature with which Cancer killed her victims was probably a form of life, but may have been partly or wholly mechanical.
   * Sand: the sand on Virn was vampiric, motile and with some reasoning capacity. It could feed on human life energy, and also nourish itself on the dead. It selected its victims according to the herd principle, keeping one dominant male alive and any number of women. Vila, Reeve and a Federation officer fell victim to it, the latter fatally. It also wiped out the first expedition to Virn. Tarrant managed to kill Reeve through the action of the sand. Emanations from the sand affected Virn's atmosphere, charging it such that it interfered with circuitry systems. The sand appeared to have some control over which items were affected in this way.

See also ALTAS, ANDROMEDANS, AURON, the DARKNESS, DECIMAS, MOON DISCS, PHIBIANS, PROGRAMMED GUARDIANS, SLIMECRAWLER, SOPRON, SUBTERRONS, TARSIAN WARG-STRANGLER, UNDEAD ALIEN, WAAZIS, WARG A-LINE CONVERTER (B-7: KILLER)

A communications scrambler, converting messages into A-line pulse codes. The converter on Fosforon was constantly manned by three technicians. The TP crystal, essential to its functioning, was located within a high voltage area: Avon referred to 250,000 volts flowing through the circuitry. Avon sabotaged the converter so that Tynus could draw a spare crystal from the stores, allowing Avon to take the original. The sabotage effects could be attributed to a fire started by Tynus. Avon ultimately destroyed the converter after removing the crystal, hoping its absence would not be missed. Avon with the crystal ALPHA 197 (D-8: GAMES)

Class of Federation computer, used by Belkov as the basis for Gambit. ALPHA 3 (D-8: GAMES)

Described by Orac as a small cargo ship, it was Belkov's personal craft. It is uncertain whether the ship escaped or plunged into the black hole of Cygnus-XL. Alpha-3 might have been the ship's name, design model or registration code. ALPHA 7/5 (B-2: SHADOW)

The Moon Disc. The name sounds more like a catalogue number, but Zen called the moon disc species alpha 7/5 of the genus Corla. This implies other species of that genus, though none were mentioned or seen (they might have been non-telepathic, non-motile or both). ALPHA GRADE (B-2: SHADOW)

Vila said Blake was an Alpha grade, describing them as a "highly privileged group". He added that Blake "wouldn't last a minute in the Delta service grades where I grew up".

No-one else was explicitly stated to be an Alpha. Servalan called Jenna (in The Keeper) "a superior grade citizen". Joban mentioned Alpha grades, amongst others, as coming to view Blake as a hero figure, implying dissatisfaction with the Federation at all levels of society. ALTAS (B-1: REDEMPTION)

Humanoid servants of The System. The two seen were female - others may have existed. They acted under the direct control of The System and may or may not have been androids. If not, they had presumably been subjected to considerable augmentation, allowing direct neural interfacing (by touch) with The System and needed an integral life-support unit: Blake disconnected a line between Alta Two's neck and an abdominally mounted control unit. Alta One

Alta Two Norm-1 described the Altas as "not really people at all". Of the two Altas seen in Redemption, Alta Two was killed/destroyed by Norm-1 and Alta One presumably killed/destroyed in the aftermath of Blake's departure. ALTERN (D-4: STARDRIVE)

Scorpio attempted to enter the Altern system by lurking within the radar shadow of an asteroid. The system was visited with the intention of acquiring selsium ore to make fuel crystals, and appeared to be under Federation control. AMAGONS (A-11: BOUNTY)

A space-faring people, quite possibly of arab descent or having a superficially comparable culture. Generally known for smuggling, but apparently open to any form of money-making scheme including piracy, bounty hunting and slave-trading: Tarvin claimed to have sold his own grandmother before she had the chance to sell him. Tarvin boarded the Liberator with at least four fellow Amagons. AMERICA (B-7: KILLER)

Blake mentioned America in reference to Lord Jeffrey Ashley's use of primitive biological warfare against the native peoples there. ANDROIDS (various episodes)

The crews of Liberator and Scorpio encountered a number of androids:

   *
     In Project Avalon a perfect copy of Avalon was put aboard Liberator to release a capsule of modified "Phobon Plague" and kill the crew. Cally talked to the android and suspected nothing, but Chevner was killed when he presumably showed signs of suspicion. Cally was injured by the android and it took Blake, Vila, Gan and Jenna to restrain it. It was partially reprogrammed by Avon, when Blake used it to secure the release of the real Avalon. It was based on what the scientist on UP-Project Avalon referred to as the "triple omega" model, and Avon called it the best robotic engineering he had ever seen.


   * The Altas in Redemption may have been androids.
   *
     In Volcano menial tasks were carried out by an android, and it appeared to act as Hower's attendant. It also administered a lethal dose of narcotic to Bershar, suggesting if nothing else that Asimov's laws of robotics counted for nothing in Blake's time.


   *
     	In Death-Watch Servalan used an android to violate the Teal-Vandor convention in an attempt to provoke war between the two systems. The android killed Deeta Tarrant, but was destroyed by Del Tarrant using a weapon developed by Dayna. Avon conjectured that "Vinni" was the work of Servalan working with a local arms manufacturing cartel, with a Vandor high councillor's involvement also implied.
   *
     In Headhunter Muller developed an android that could influence circuitry over a distance and matched Orac in power. It had megalomaniac designs, planning to enslave all humanity, and Orac at least believed it could do so. Avon planned to harness the android's potential by fitting the head with its attendant restraining mechanisms, but Dayna, on Orac's recommendations, destroyed it. 	

ANDROMEDANS (C-13: STAR ONE ff)

Inhabitants of a galaxy outside our own. Not seen clearly on-screen, but approximately two metres long (or tall?) and perhaps rather less than a metre wide with no distinct appendages. A green glow accompanying the deaths of two of them suggests a luminous / phosphorescent integument or internal tissues (both specimens had been shot). By means unspecified (innate or technological?), they could adopt the form of a studied human individual (but not, apparently, easily: "Parton" reminded "Stot" that "maintenance takes effort"). By extrapolation, they might have been able to do the same for an unspecified individual, a non-human organism of appropriate size, or possibly an inorganic object, but none of these possibilities were explored. At least 11 of these beings had made their way to Star One.

Although popularly known in fan lore as Andromedans, the invaders are invariably referred to simply as "the aliens" in the series.

In astronomical terms, Andromeda is a constellation, which includes the star Beta Andromedae just 75 light years from Earth and the spiral galaxy M31 some 2.2 million light years distant. Since Liberator leaves the Milky Way to reach Star One, references to Andromeda in this episode must be taken to mean M31. In Greek myth, Andromeda was the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, placed among the stars after her death. ANIMALS (various episodes)

Very few animals of Earth origin were seen. Ensor kept tropical fish. Rats were seen in Weapon, and also on Goth: Rashel told Coser that rats were to be found on every colonised planet. Krantor was seen with a cat in Gambit, and the Sarran warriors rode horses. In Rumours of Death a dead squirrel was used by Balon to explain the fault in the surveillance perimeter. A mouse was put through the mass/energy converter on Sardos.


The Mouse in Moloch

A Rat from Weapon Less explicit references are also to be found: in Gambit Vila mentioned poisonous snakes and Krantor said Servalan was as perfidious and devious as a snake. In The Keeper Rod referred to his captors as "dogs". In Ultraworld Tarrant asked Dayna if she had ever seen a lizard suck a bird's egg dry, implying that he might have done so. In the same episode Vila recited a tongue-twister about a woodchuck. In Sand Tarrant compared Servalan with a panther.

See also INSECTS, BIRDS. ANNA GRANT - see Anna GRANT ANTI-CONTAMINATION BAG (B-7: KILLER)

When Wardin's body was removed from Wanderer K47 it was placed in an anti-contamination bag.

ANTIGRAV GYROS (D-5: ANIMALS)

A feature of Scorpio, and probably other ships designed for surface landings. The antigrav gyros were damaged when Tarrant fled from a patrol of pursuit ships above Bucol-2, and the fault was traced to the inertial guidance, glycolene ballast tanks. ANTIMATTER (various episodes)

Antimatter was mentioned a number of times, but rarely in any detail:

   * Cygnus Alpha: When Jenna, experimenting with Liberator's controls, sent the ship hurtling forward at high speed, Avon mentioned "negative hyperspace", to which Blake responded: "Do you mean we crossed the antimatter interface?".
   * Pressure Point: Avon envisaged "antimatter screening" being built into the structure of the blockhouse entrance to Central Control.
   * Star One: Blake described the thousands of objects discovered by Avon out beyond Star One as "the biggest antimatter minefield ever put together". Since matter and anti-matter annihilate each other on contact, it may be that the mines were anti-matter generators rather than made of/containing anti-matter as such. The mine-field also acted as an early warning system, (probably relayed through Star One).
   * Dawn of the Gods: the theoretical negative universe on the other side of a black hole was reputed to be made of antimatter. 

See also NEGATIVE HYPERSPACE ANTI-ORBITAL POSTURE (A-3: CYGNUS ALPHA)

Status of Liberator given by Zen after the crew's trial run of handling the ship's flight systems. AQUITAR (A-3: CYGNUS ALPHA)

Described as an alloy in discussion between Blake and Avon, and used in a large Federation project investigating the transmission of matter. Avon handled the computer analysis, and Blake also worked on the project. The result seldom worked - living matter came out dead at the other end, if it came out at all. The teleport bracelets on the Liberator contained aquitar "or something very like it", according to Blake. ARABS (B-11: GAMBIT)

Two of the visitors to the Big Wheel in Freedom City wore a stylised arab costume. The Amagons" costume in Bounty was also vaguely along such lines. ARBITER (A-1: THE WAY BACK)

Blake's trial on Earth was overseen by an arbiter and two other members (no titles given) of a tribunal, although actual judgement and apparently sentencing as well was carried out by computer. Arbiter appears to be the formal title of a judicial authority within the Civil Administration. Travis" court martial in Trial was presided over by a tribunal, who did not deliver a verdict but decided upon an appropriate sentence. Samor described himself as a pro tem, military arbiter. The Teal-Vandor Convention also demanded the presence of three arbiters (one each from Teal and Vandor and one neutral) to see that combat procedures were properly followed.

Ven Glynd's official title within the Civil Administration's Justice Department was Arbiter General. ARBITER GENERAL (A-1: THE WAY BACK/B-10: VOICE FROM THE PAST) - By Murray Smith

A senior official of the Federation's Justice Department. It is possible that he was the chief law officer of the Federation and legal advisor to the Administration, with perhaps some powers relating to the judiciary. While there is no direct evidence in the episodes for such powers, they may be implicit in the very title 'Arbiter General' and in the activities of Ven Glynd.


Arbiter (left) Clerk of Court (right) The title 'Arbiter General' is suggestive of the office of 'Attorney General', which exists in many states on Earth. While the powers of the various Attorneys General vary, all of them are at least the chief law officer of that state, as well as the legal advisor of that state's government. The use of 'Arbiter' as part of the title suggests some judicial role.

If we look at Ven Glynd's activities, we see that he wields considerable power. In The Way Back, he organises and authorises the manipulation of the evidence in Blake's trial, as well as appointing Tel Varon as the latter's defence counsel. He also had the power to order an inquiry into Blake's case, and perhaps to consent to the issuing of a holding order. Once Varon was aware of Ven Glynd's true role regarding Blake, he told Maja that they would have to go 'Higher up. Even to the President if we have to', suggesting the possible existence of a superior between the Arbiter General and the President, perhaps a Minister for Justice or an equivalent; and his next remark, about needing 'the strongest possible evidence' is again suggestive of Ven Glynd's high office. In 'Voice from the Past', after Ven Glynd has defected from the Federation, it is clear that he is a key mover with Le Grand in the conspiracy, having spent an unspecified period of time using his position to gather evidence of the Federation's injustices. His presence in the conspiracy convinced Blake that it was a serious proposition. Of interest is the fact that he is still referred to as Arbiter General, which presumes that the Federation did not want to advertise the fact that it knew of his defection to the rebels.

To the above evidence must be added a possible disclaimer. Ven Glynd was never referred to as Arbiter General in The Way Back, perhaps suggesting that he might not have held that office at that time.

See also ADMINISTRATION, ARBITER, HOLDING ORDER, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, VEN GLYND. ARCO (A-3: CYGNUS ALPHA)

A prisoner on the London. Described by Vila as a "great oaf", he joined Blake in attempting to escape from Vargas, but before he could get a teleport bracelet he was speared to death by one of the priests. ARCOS (B-9: COUNTDOWN)

Planet on which Del Grant organised a revolt against the Federation at some time prior to his activities on Albian. Grant had apparently been active on other, unnamed planets as well. ARDUS (D-5: ANIMALS)

A former officer of the Bureau, and the only surviving officer with knowledge of the XX-coded operations on Bucol-2. Blinded by a radiation flare, he wore a sonoscope to replace his lost vision. He reluctantly informed Sleer of the work on Bucol-2 after she threatened his family, but made the mistake of admitting he recognised her as Servalan. His ship was destroyed as he left Sleer's cruiser, Sleer having ensured beforehand that no flight plan for his journey had been filed. ARISTO (A-13: ORAC)

The planet to which Ensor fled. Stated by Ensor Jr in Deliverance to be six days" journey from Cephlon, but at a speed unstated. 90% of Aristo's surface was covered by oceans, described by Zen as highly acidic. Zen also made reference to life evolving in those oceans, and several phibians were later seen. The few areas of land were described as arid with primitive plant life, and slowly disappearing beneath the steadily rising oceans.


At the same time, mention was made of cities built by earlier civilisations. it was not stated whether these had been built by earlier colonists or a native species that had subsequently become extinct. Almost all of these constructions were now underwater, although Blake and Cally found an obelisk on the surface. Ensor produced a map of the tunnels, marked "Sub City/73 Section 22". The atmosphere was breathable, even if the climate appeared to be volatile.

A single exploratory expedition had been sent to Aristo, possibly from the Federation, but neither member of the team ever returned. Travis and Servalan found their remains in the tunnels beneath the sea.

Aristo, translated from the Greek, apparently means "best".

See also PHIBIANS. ARK ROUGH BENNETT COMPLEX (D-10: GOLD)

Region of space in which Beta 5 was located. Although listed as Federation territory, it was remote and undeveloped, probably uninhabited. ARLE (B-5: PRESSURE POINT)

One of Kasabi's rebels who, together with Berg, ventured too far into the Forbidden Zone and activated the defence mechanisms there. He died along with Berg. On the left. ARLEN (D-13: BLAKE)

A Federation officer (she appeared unhappy at being called an "agent") who infiltrated Blake's headquarters on Gauda Prime. Blake regarded her as a useful recruit and noted that she had a reputation as a killer - she was seen to shoot two bounty hunters. There was a high price on her head. Although shot in the leg by one of Blake's fellow bounty hunters, she appeared to recover quickly soon after reaching Blake's headquarters. She did not reveal herself for what she really was until Avon had killed Blake, at which point she shot first Deva and then Dayna before being knocked out by Vila. Given that she was acting out a role, Arlen was probably not her real name. Her bogus identity may have been a total fabrication, or she may have been posing as a genuine person of that name. Neil ARMSTRONG (C-6: CITY AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD)

Quoted by Vila soon after arriving on the starship sent from Keezarn some 3000 years earlier: "One small step for man".

On July 21st 1969 former US Navy pilot Neil Armstrong (1930- ) became the first man to set foot on the Moon during the Apollo XI mission.

  • ARNOS-2

(D-2: POWER)

Planet on which Dorian obtained nutrients for the Seska's hydroponics plant, in return for which they offered technical advice. ARRIAN (B-9: COUNTDOWN)

One of two rebels on Albian sent by Cauder to guard the rocket silo. Provine killed the other, and then tried to convince Arrian to come with him, offering him a position of power on the planet when it was recolonised. Arrian refused, so Provine shot him and stole his uniform. ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY (B-10: VOICE FROM THE PAST)

Blake mentioned the artificial gravity field as one of the systems already activated when he arrived at the mining plant on Asteroid P-K118. Such fields were probably commonplace, though were not mentioned in any other episode.

The Thaarn in Dawn of the Gods had developed a means of controlling gravity. This technology was presumably highly advanced, since the gravitational pull exerted on Liberator from Crandor was comparable with that generated by a Black hole.

Traction beams, mentioned in Dawn of the Gods and Games, might be regarded as a form of artificial gravity. ARTIFICIAL SATELLITES (A-4: TIME SQUAD)

When Jenna first detected the programmed guardians" projectile on the way to Saurian Major, she asked Blake if there were any artificial satellites present on their chosen course. See SATELLITES. ARTIFICIAL TELEPATHY TRANSMITTER (B-10: VOICE FROM THE PAST)

Device used by Ven Glynd to bring Blake to Asteroid P-K118. Initial development was on Auron, and Cally remembered two of those working on it leaving the planet before she did. Ven Glynd, however, talked of help from sympathizers on (rather than from) Auron. Avon reckoned it would need an enormous amount of power to operate, but not at close range (when on the Liberator with Blake, for example). Ven Glynd also referred to it as a Course Interceptor. He asserted that it was used only to bring Blake to him, but Blake was rendered helpless by its signal when down in the conference centre: it is possible that Avon's investigation of its workings triggered this. The device was smashed by Avon, releasing Blake from its control, after which he remembered nothing of events since it was first used against him. ARTIX (A-2: SPACE FALL/A-3: CYGNUS ALPHA)

Junior officer on the London, rank not mentioned but possibly flight engineer. He was seen to be studying for a commander's credentials. Artix released the prisoners from the holding area on the planet by remote control, once the ship had taken off from the surface. Leylan told him he was young enough to live down his part in the events on the voyage.

Lord Jeffrey ASHLEY (B-7: KILLER)

Mentioned by Blake as a British officer who supplied hostile Indians with the blankets of smallpox victims. Blake used this incident as a basis for guessing the reasons behind the mysterious appearance of Wanderer K47 above Fosforon.

This early use of biological warfare was used by a General Jeffrey Amherst, presumably the historical basis for the incident cited by Blake.

ASSASSINATION (various episodes)

Sarkoff took Blake to be an assassin, and accepted his presumed impending death in the belief that "assassination has always been a legitimate tool of statecraft". In Project Avalon Servalan mentioned that two attempts had been made on her life as rumours of Blake's activities became more widespread.

Cancer was a professional killer.

ASSISTANT KOMMISSAR (B-4: HORIZON)

Unnamed Federation official serving a tour of duty on Horizon, having been there for two years at the time of Blake's visit and not apparently scheduled for replacement. He had not heard of Blake or the Liberator in all that time, indicating Horizon's isolated position. Blake finally shot him before he could shoot Ro. Assistant Kommissar may or may not have been an official rank within the Colonial Service.


ASTEROID P-K118 (B-10: VOICE FROM THE PAST)

Asteroid to which Ven Glynd summoned Blake. P-K118 had a diameter of 0.102 spacials and a very low gravity (Blake said: "you cover ground fast if you can keep your feet"). Removed from Ceron orbit five years before Blake's visit and mined for urite ore, it was worked out within two years and abandoned in Beta region, wherever that might be. The facilities were left intact, as legally required by the Interplanetary Mining Agreement.


ASTEROIDS (other) (various episodes)

The remains of a beta-class asteroid found on Crandor contained all naturally-occurring minerals except herculanium, which had been removed (despite earlier references to herculanium being an alloy).

In Sarcophagus the crew debated whether or not to pursue an asteroid from which they could extract unique and valuable minerals. The asteroid was hours away when the alien sarcophagus appeared, and once it went back into the orbit of its sun it would be inaccessible for another three months.

In Moloch Vila mentioned asteroid clusters in passing as Liberator followed Servalan to Sardos.

In Stardrive Avon tried to use a large asteroid's radar shadow to sneak Scorpio into the Altern system. The plan was to approach to within "50 yards", but Scorpio collided with the asteroid and suffered damage to the main drive chamber. The idea was apparently Vila's, but he had had little confidence in it working.

See also METEORS

ASTRID (C-11: MOLOCH)

Federation officer with the rank of Colonel, and commanding officer of the Federation units forced down on Sardos during the Intergalactic War. He created Moloch by putting a computer projection of the Sardoans" evolution into the mass/energy transformer. He later attempted to destroy Moloch, who sentenced him to be kept in a state of sensory deprivation whilst retaining full consciousness. At some point before this Astrid sent a communique to Servalan reporting his suspicions of Grose's loyalty (unless Servalan made this up to protect herself). His fate at the end of the episode was unclear, but if his life support system was still functioning after Moloch's death he could have been removed unharmed (physically at least) by the Sardoans. ASTRO POINT 781 (B-1: REDEMPTION)

Identified by Zen as the location of Orac's predicted destruction of the Liberator. This point was in the 12th Sector and according to Blake, "halfway across the galaxy", though this might have been a figurative remark. ASYMMETRIC THRUST COMPUTER (C-4: DAWN OF THE GODS)

Ordered on-line by Avon when Liberator suffered minor course deviations. Deviation continued to the point where asymmetric thrust could no longer compensate. ATLAN (D-4: STARDRIVE)

Leader of the space rats on Caspar, but not, however, a space rat himself, something of which Plaxton was aware. The other space rats might not have known who he really was (whatever that may have been). He intended to use the photonic drive, fitted to his underlings" space choppers, to gain control of all space trade routes. He presumably died when Avon detonated a grenade under his trike. ATLAY (B-10: VOICE FROM THE PAST)

Venue for the annual summit meeting of all Federation governors, though whether it was a regular venue or not is unclear. Security arrangements for the convention were in the hands of Deputy Commander Galt, and included force walls around the planet. ATOMIC SPECTRUM ANALYSIS (C-4: DAWN OF THE GODS)

The method of analysis employed by Zen to discover that all herculanium had been removed from a beta class asteroid and the main drive stabiliser unit found on Crandor. AURON (various episodes)

Planet with a breathable atmosphere, a probably large population and a high level of technology. What the people called themselves is open to dispute: Cally said: "My people are the Auronar" in Time Squad, but in Sarcophagus she described herself as "an Auron". Both terms might have been in equally common usage.

Just how truly alien the Auronar were is a matter of contention. Jenna referred to Cally as an alien at the end of Time Squad. Sarkoff said to her: "Your people don't originate from Earth." In Sarcophagus Cally said: "I'm not quite human." Avon in Shadow described her as "more human than I am", and the commandeered Orac in that episode told her that she was "the last of the humankind" in order to isolate her. Cally described herself as "not all that alien" in Voice from the Past. Deral remarked that the fetuses Servalan showed him looked "quite human", to which Servalan replied, "They are". The people of Auron certainly seemed to have been subjected to some form of genetic engineering, since this was the process by which Franton induced telepathic and other psi-abilities in all young Auronar. In Dawn of the Gods, Cally recited the legend of the Thaarn, stretching back over a million years, in which telepathy was described as "promised", but she admitted that this was reckoned to be just a children's story.

Another Auron legend was that of the Lost, cast out as "unfit to share the soul of Auronar" at some unspecified time. The Lost, or survivors of them, were apparently encountered by Blake as the corporate being Saymon in The Web. Saymon called Cally "our daughter", and told Blake that he and the minds of which he was comprised were "from the Auronar, but not of them".

Auron technology included development of artificial telepathy transmission: Cally knew of the project but apparently did not work on it. She recalled two members of the development team leaving Auron before she did. In Dawn of the Gods she said that Auron had yet to develop the traction beam.

Auron followed a policy of strict isolationism, although LeGrand referred to having anti-Federation sympathizers on Auron. This policy was particularly enforced after the Intergalactic War, despite being well away from the war zone. According to Avon, this was because they considered themselves too good to become involved with the rest of humanity (sic). Cally defended this on the grounds of Auron being neutral, but added with reference to herself: "We're not all gutless". The isolationist policy was made by a Council, presumably a ruling body, and opposed by clinician Franton, but as his daughter said to CA 1, "those in opposition were simply ignored". This insularity had left Auron free of all diseases for "more than three decades" according to Orac. Nevertheless, Auron did have stargoing vessels, including the C-type Patrollers, one of which was picked up by Servalan on its way back to Auron. The pilot was infected with an alien pathogen before continuing on his way home.

One of the best-known features of the Auronar was their mental powers, especially telepathy. Deral stated that all Aurons were telepathic. In Dawn of the Gods Cally said that some of her people were telepathic "to a degree". Widespread telepathy seems to have its origins in the cloning process developed by Clinician Franton snr. Cally said in Shadow that telekinesis was rare "even among my people". In Children of Auron, Servalan used an ionic beam on pilot 4-0 to prevent his telepathic abilities sensing what she was doing. This suggests that some Auronar may have had some mind-reading ability, or were popularly thought to.

The other, and perhaps most distinctive, feature of Auron society was the fact that a large and probably growing proportion of its population were clones. A process of spontaneous cell differentiation was developed by Clinician Franton snr. some decades prior to Liberator's visit. Most younger Auronar were probably clones, and Cally and Zelda were from the same sibling batch.

Some time after the Intergalactic War the planet's population was eradicated by an alien pathogen introduced by Servalan. The traffic control centre and replication plant in one city (there were probably other cities elsewhere on the planet) were destroyed. The only Auronar to survive were Cally, Franton jnr. and Patar, together with the gene stocks of a potential 5,000 offspring. They were taken by the Liberator to Kahn. One other Auron, Lee-Harn, was mentioned in Bounty and may have been off-planet when Servalan's plague was introduced.

See also BOOK OF AURON, CALLY, CLONING, SAYMON, TELEKINESIS, TELEPATHY, THAARN. AUROS (A-6: SEEK-LOCATE-DESTROY)

Travis was suspended from duty for massacring unarmed civilians after their surrender on the planet Auros. He was later tried for the murder of 1417 people on Zircaster, and it is tempting to assume this is the same incident, although Zircaster itself was stated to be a planet. Either two different massacres took place, or Auros was also known as Zircaster. AUTOMOBILE (A-11: BOUNTY)

Sarkoff possessed an automobile, probably genuine, and neither Cally nor Blake knew what it was, other than a vehicle of some kind. Registration number was RT 277. AUTO-NAVIGATOR (B-1: REDEMPTION)

When the crew started to try and repair the damage resulting from the attack by two Space World vessels, Avon told Cally to "strip down the auto-navigator". Whether this device was part of the navigation computers or a peripheral unit to them was unstated.

In Time Squad Zen deduced the purpose of the programmed guardians after examination of the cryogenic capsule's auto-navigation unit. AUTOPSY (B-7: KILLER)

The autopsy on K47 crewman Wardin was listed by Dr Wiler as autopsy report 149,906. The law not unnaturally required that life was extinct before examination could begin, and space death autopsies were conducted in a sealed mortuary in case alien organisms were present in the corpse. AUTO-REPAIR (various episodes) Revised By Murray Smith

A system found on board Federation ships and the Liberator, as well as being part of the high-intensity radiation grid guarding Central Control on Earth. This system repaired damage automatically, without the need for human intervention. The obvious benefits of such a system were an overall reduction in personnel, which would be particularly valuable on board ship, freeing the remaining crew for other tasks.

The first such system is found on the Federation civilian ship London in Space Fall. The ship was caught up in a space battle, and the outer hull was punctured astern; but Raiker reported to Leylan that the 'Auto-repair circuits' were sealing it. From a later explanation by Jenna, as well as by Nova's death, it would appear that those circuits were responsible for activating the sealing gel which flooded into the endangered section and which went 'solid in seconds'.

Compared to the auto-repair system on the Liberator, the one on the London appeared to be of a far more basic nature, dealing only with structural damage, not damage to components, and with no regenerative capacity; but this was to be expected, given the latter's age and the former's far superior technology. The Liberator's auto-repair system was first mentioned in 'Time Squad'; but it was not described in detail until The Web, when the primary drive increased speed due to a deliberately induced malfunction. Zen reported that the 'automatic repair service' should have it under control in 11.302 minutes.

Later in that episode, after Cally cut the forward detector links, Zen reported that 'repair monitors are assessing the damage'; to a later question he reported that, as the partial malfunction was still not traced, 'Repair monitors are in phase two reassessment'. Later confirmed by Avon, this shows the methodical manner the auto-repair used to locate then repair the damage.

Avon demonstrated the efficacy of the system when he tried to use another of the ship's systems, bypassing the detector computer. In one of his attempts, circuit boards shorted and burned out; but the auto-repair restored the circuitry in seconds, a repair that would have taken days to repair in an ordinary computer system, suggesting that it had regenerative capability. Avon endorsed Gan's response to this of 'fantastic', pointing out that a fortune could be made from it.

Redemption demonstrated what happened to the auto-repair when the Liberator's systems were taken over. The crew had to replace damaged components manually, the replacements appearing to come from an 'auto-repair cavity'. Either some components were kept there for such an emergency; or the system could still operate at an elementary level, regenerating components there instead of in situ.

Exactly how effective the Liberator's auto-repair system could be was shown in Aftermath, when the damage suffered due to Andromedan attack overwhelmed its capacity, leading to a malfunction in the ship's life support system, forcing the crew to leave by life capsule. Despite this considerable damage, the ship was soon operating at 54% of normal capacity, increasing as the auto-repair systems completed their functions. Zen estimated that repairs would be complete in 2 hours and 34 minutes, and reported that the weapon systems were fully operational.

Despite its great abilities, the auto-repair system was unable to cope with the cloud of minute fluid particles encountered in Terminal. After going through the cloud the hull sensors stopped working and the auto-repair circuits were activated. While the substance began to corrode the Liberator's hull, it was not until later that Vila noted a 'very-high level discharge' from the energy banks, such that their regenerative capacity was exceeded. This was due to auto-repair circuits working at maximum capacity; but the damage was exceeding their recitification capacity. The result was the development of dangerous structural weaknesses in many areas of the ship, the circuits fighting a losing battle and burning up the energy banks. The final result was the breakdown of systems, including Zen, and the ship's destruction when Servalan had the main drive activated.

All the auto-repair systems shown in the series were in ships with one exception: the high-intensity radiation grid guarding the entrance to Central Control on Earth, as seen in Pressure Point. When cut, it was capable of total self-repair in 8 seconds. From what was seen, it appears to have a form of regenerative capacity, though nowhere near as sophisticated as on the Liberator.

While auto-repair systems had many benefits, they also had certain drawbacks. First, presumably due to their basic programming, they could not _anticipate future damage_, which would mean interference in human autonomy. In The Web, Zen refused to identify Cally's role in deliberately inducing the malfunction in the primary drive, as 'involvement is not permitted'; and he refused to reprogramme the system to deal with the future explosion of the bomb she attached to the primary power channel as 'Pre-emptive interference in crew activities is forbidden'.

Second, auto-repair systems were methodical. The one on the Liberator, according to Avon in The Web, 'starts at the beginning and it works its way through. It's slow'. Due to its methodical nature, Avon could anticipate how long a particular repair would take. The fact that the radiation grid in Pressure Point would take exectly 8 seconds to self-repair if cut gave the crew the chance to get to Central Control's entrance.

Third, they had to rely on other systems to find out what damage they needed to repair. The Liberator's system relied on the hull sensors; but the malfunction of the latter by the fluid particles in Terminal limited the data for analysis, thus limiting the system's capacity for repair. This, combined with the actual damage caused, eventually resulted in the ship's destruction.

See also FORBIDDEN ZONE, LIBERATOR, LONDON.

AUXILIARY COMPUTERS (A-10: BREAKDOWN)

The auxiliary computer on Liberator were responsible for every minor adjustment of the ship's systems required when in flight, and were ultimately controlled by Zen. When Zen shut down, as in this episode, the auxiliary computers did likewise, and manual control of the ship became next to impossible. AUXILIARY MONITOR (B-7: KILLER)

A feature of the flight deck aboard Liberator: Orac gave Blake information on Wanderer class vessels through the auxiliary monitor. AVALON (A-9: PROJECT AVALON)

Dissident leader who had started resistance movements on over a dozen worlds. She called on Blake's help for transport to a safer planet, but was betrayed by Terloc and captured by Travis.

Original Avalon

Android Avalon She was duplicated in android form and planted on the Liberator, a plan known as "Project Avalon". Jenna had met her at some previous, unspecified, time before escaping with Blake to the Liberator (the android failed to recognise Jenna, and Jenna made no comment on this), and Cally said she had admired Avalon's work "for a long time". Avalon left the unnamed planet in the episode with Blake but was not seen or referred to at any later time. AVANDIR (D-3: TRAITOR)

Helot freedom fighter with Hunda's 4th Column. Avandir monitored Igin's return from the city, and took part in the ambush of the adapted Helots sent out by Colonel Quute. He also took part in the assault on the city once Forbus" antidote to pylene-50 had been supplied to Hunda by Tarrant and Dayna. Kerr AVON (51 episodes from A-2: SPACE FALL)

Some facts are given regarding Avon's past. He trained with Tynus, and they later worked on a fraud together. Avon was arrested, but did not implicate Tynus and was presumably acquitted (see below). In Cygnus Alpha he referred to handling the computer analysis on the Federation's matter transmission project: Blake was also involved with the project, although they did not work together. At some point he conceived the idea of embezzling a large sum of money by undermining confidence in the Federation's banking system (Vila mentioned five million credits in Space Fall. In Space Fall

In Cygnus Alpha The Ultra later cited a sum of 500 million credits, but in Space Fall Avon talked of lifting 100 million credits if he managed to escape from the London, implying that this was far more than his original target). The plan was discovered by Federation security and thought to have political motivations, hence the assignment of Bartolomew to "run" him. Bartolomew was, of course, Anna Grant and according to Shrinker, anyone Avon "so much as looked at was marked for collection". Travelling "halfway across the city" (which city was never specified) to buy exit visas, Avon was shot when the seller increased the price to ten times the original amount and could apparently have got even more for turning Avon in. Avon then killed the man, but had lost a lot of blood and was forced to lie low. He was sheltered by some unspecified people, during which time he heard that Anna had been arrested. He waited for a week until leaving, having heard by then that Anna was dead. At some point after Anna's "death", and probably after his arrest, Del Grant threatened to kill him if they ever met again.


In Time Squad

In Seek-Locate-Destroy He discussed a past fraud operation with Tynus in which he was arrested but kept quiet, allowing Tynus to go free. This may be the crime for which Avon was deported, but if so then Bartolomew would be expected to have had Tynus brought in too (this may, of course, have happened, but Tynus made no mention of it). Avon's activities with Tynus may thus have been an earlier criminal enterprise. It may also have been crime that initially brought Avon into contact with Keiller: Keiller was being blackmailed for his criminal record (or at least claimed to be). Quite what Avon and Keiller had done together - if anything - was not, however, detailed.

Aboard the London, Avon planned to arrange a deal with the crew whereby he would be set free and the rest of the prisoners dumped in space. He quickly deduced that they would then have to kill him to keep his mouth shut. In Blake's escape attempt he took control of the computer room, but was recaptured when Blake surrendered. He boarded the Liberator with Blake, but needed to be restrained by Jenna from leaving Blake on Cygnus Alpha. Thereafter he stayed with the Liberator until its destruction at Terminal, and with the Scorpio until its final flight to Gauda Prime.


In Mission to Destiny Known relatives: The defence mechanism active when Avon first boarded the Liberator (he was the sixth person to enter the drifting ship) tried to lure him with an image of his brother. No further details given.

Bodycount: When asked by Jenna in Cygnus Alpha if he could ever kill face-to-face, he answered "I don't know", which is strange considering he had already done so. It is not unlikely that he was simply trying to avoid talking about the subject. Although by no means incapable of killing, he was not - initially at least - one for taking lives without reason, and as late as Aftermath prevented Dayna from dispatching an unconscious Sarran. He was first seen to shoot anyone in Deliverance, when he killed a scavenger. In Shadow

In Weapon He also killed one of the President's security personnel on Zonda; a trooper on UP-Weapon; four Federation troopers on Horizon; Tynus; two of Mori's troopers in Volcano; one of the Thaarn's guards on Crandor (Tarrant also shot one, and one of these two was only wounded); four of Shad's guards in The Harvest of Kairos; at least two of Bayban's men on Keezarn; Shrinker (effectively) and Anna Grant in Rumours of Death; Dorian's creature in Rescue; two Hommiks and later Pella in Power; two space rats in Stardrive; a mutoid in Animals; a guard on Zerok, at least one guard on the Space Princess; four troopers on Betafarl in Warlord; and two bounty hunters and later Klyn on Gauda Prime before finally killing Blake himself - at least 36 kills.

Notable brawls: In hand-to-hand fighting he knocked out the computer technician on the London; overpowered Sara on the Ortega; was overpowered by Gan in Breakdown; knocked out a trooper in Moloch; lost a fight with Gunn-Sar in Power; overcame Pella's telekinetic power in the same episode; and acquitted himself well against Benos" pirates in Assassin.


In Trial Places visited: Avon set foot on Saurian Major, UP-The Web, Centero, XK-72, Cephlon, Aristo, Space World, Space City, Zonda, UP-Weapon, Horizon, Earth (twice), Fosforon, Exbar, Albian, Asteroid P-K118, UP-Gambit, Star One, Sarran, Obsidian, Crandor, UP-Sopron, Kairos, Keezarn, Auron, Ultraworld, UP-Death-Watch, Terminal, Xenon, Caspar, Bucol-2, Domo, Mecron II, Zerok, Beta 5, Malodar, Betafarl, and Gauda Prime - a total of 38 planets/space stations.


In Countdown

In Killer Captured by: Tarvin's pirates, along with the rest of the crew, in Bounty; by the Altas (again, with everyone else) in Redemption; by Veron, along with Blake, Vila and Gan in Pressure Point; by Travis" crimos in Hostage; by Klegg in Powerplay; by the Thaarn (with the others) in Dawn of the Gods; by Servalan in The Harvest of Kairos; by Servalan again in Children of Auron; by the Federation (voluntarily, in order to get to Shrinker) in Rumours of Death; by the Ultra; by Grose and Lector on Sardos, where he was tortured by Lector; by Servalan on Terminal; by Dorian in Rescue; by the Hommiks in Power; and by the pirates of Domo in Assassin (again voluntarily) where he was sold to Servalan for 2,000 vems. In the same episode he was captured by the professional killer Cancer, and only saved by the sudden arrival of Tarrant and Soolin. He was almost executed by Federation troopers on Betafarl, but saved by Soolin.

Significant injuries: Avon suffered relatively few injuries in his time as one of the crew, but was wounded on the left hand by a spear-like energy weapon carried by Geela in The Web; shot in the left arm arm by Travis in Hostage; shot in the left arm (again) by Mori in Volcano; contracted the alien disease used by Servalan against the people of Auron (presumably cured by Orac); was brutally interrogated when he went hunting for Shrinker; had his memory emptied by the Ultra and incurred a damaged wrist from Lector in Moloch. He was also said to be suffering from back pains in Horizon.


In Dawn of the Gods Avon was frequently rendered unconscious. He was knocked out by Gan in Breakdown, by Servalan in Terminal, by falling from a life capsule in Aftermath, by Tarrant in Powerplay, by Cancer in Assassin, and by an electric shock when trying to place the head on Muller's android in Headhunter, and by the troopers who captured him on Betafarl. His greatest number of knockouts occurred in Power where he was knocked out by a hommik who captured him, by another hommik after he defeated Gunn-Sar and by a computer keyboard telekinesed by Pella.

Rescues: For someone who professed to care little for his compatriots, he effected a surprising number of rescues. He saved Blake from a bomb planted by Cally in The Web; was the first to offer to go back down to Cephlon to look for Jenna in Deliverance; rescued Blake and Cally from Travis in Orac; saved Blake from an animated power cable in Redemption; defeated Federation forces on Horizon almost single-handed, saving the rest of the crew; engineered Blake's retrieval from the Host in Trial; voluntarily removed his teleport bracelet to continue disarming the solium radiation device in Countdown; and made a point of looking for a missing Tarrant in Rescue.


in Moloch On the other hand, he was quite prepared to use Vila and Dayna as live bait for the space rats in Stardrive (a plan which Tarrant happily went along with), and to kill Vila to save his own life in Orbit. In Games he consciously compromised the safety of the rest of the crew (bar Soolin) by shifting Scorpio's orbit around Mecron II. He also used Vila, Dayna and Soolin as bait for a pair of bounty hunters in Blake, but this was coincidental.

He was forced to rescue Servalan twice. In Aftermath he had to save her from the Sarrans in order to find out where she had hidden Orac, and in Rumours of Death he agreed to release her from the cellar where Sula had had her chained in exchange for Bartolomew's identity.

"When it comes to computers, he's the number two man in the Federated worlds" was how Vila described him in Space Fall, but Avon's technical expertise was wide-ranging. He devised a detector shield for the Liberator, first used in the attack on Servalan's HQ in Trial. In Time Squad he displayed a sound knowledge of space craft design, and in Countdown showed considerable expertise in the field of bomb disposal. In fact, he did very little with computers throughout the course of the series, and was unable to effect more than a rudimentary reprogramming of the android Avalon, although he did manage to bypass Zen and get the automatic back-up computers on-line in Breakdown.


In Hostage He claimed, even before he met Blake, that he didn't trust anyone, but when asked (in a flashback) by Anna if he trusted her he replied, "Oh yes, I'm afraid I do". He later told Del Grant "If there had ever been a time when I could have given my own life to save her, I would have done it". This was before he shot her. His relationship with Servalan developed precipitously. They met twice, in Orac and Weapon, and then only briefly, before speaking to each other in Aftermath when she offered him co-rulership of the galaxy (he refused). Thereafter they met no less than seven times, in The Harvest of Kairos, Children of Auron, Rumours of Death, Death-Watch, Terminal, Assassin, and Gold. She once told him, in Death-Watch, that she regarded him not as an enemy "but as a future friend", yet happily abandoned him to his fate on Terminal. In Traitor he said "I need to kill her myself", but showed no subsequent sign of actively pursuing this goal, though opportunities were admittedly very limited.

He was last seen standing over Blake's body, surrounded by at least twelve troopers. A number of shots were heard to be fired, at least eight from standard Federation weapons, three to four more from another weapon. This may have been Avon, but some of the troopers were armed with non-standard weaponry. Whether or not Avon could have survived up to twelve hits or more remains unknown.


Not everything Avon said about himself could be taken literally, never less so than in Aftermath when he told Dayna, "I'm not very keen on watersports". Just how true this statement might have been will, alas, never be known. A-X RIDGE (D-2: POWER)

Site of the last battle between the Hommiks and the Seska twenty years before the crew were brought to Xenon. AYLMER (A-1: THE WAY BACK)

Person of unknown age, gender etc admitted to the Central Clinic of the dome city on Earth on the same day as the three children allegedly molested by Blake.

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Commander Technician on the Q-base on Fosforon, Tynus trained with Avon and later worked with him on a fraud. Avon was arrested but kept quiet about Tynus" involvement. On Fosforon Avon used this to blackmail him into acquiring a TP crystal from the A-line converter. Tynus delayed things as long as possible, sending a message to Servalan informing her of Avon's presence. Vila discovered the message. Tynus was eventually thrown into the A-line converter during a struggle with Avon, and died from the 250,000 volt current flowing through it (and him). He kept locusts, which he was seen sketching, and Dr Bellfriar suspected he might be "space happy". TYPE 6 SURVEY SHIP (C-4: DAWN OF THE GODS)

Th remains of a Type 6 Survey ship were found on the surface of Crandor. Tarrant noted that Federation survey ships had a habit of not returning from the 12th sector, so the Type 6 was may well have been a Federation craft. If so, it was possibly built on Xaranor.

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