Glossary
M
Note: This glossary changes constantly, receiving new entries all
the time. Most of these words will not crop up in all stories. I have
not written down all of the unusual words and terms that I have buried
in my notes, but have concentrated mainly on those most pertinent to
finished novels (which is why you will at first see more notes on Til
Territories and the Charadoc than any other cultures) though I am
trying to include as much as I can on missions, cultures and lands not
yet formally written about--hundreds of cultures exist in my notes, and
they all have their peculiar terminology. Please notify me if you find
anything unfamiliar in my tales that I haven't yet catalogued for this
letter. Thank you. Mabhrathan: Often confused with Mabhratha, this country lies considerably to the East, although they share the same folk hero, Mabhratha. Mabhrathan, in fact, claims to be where Mabhrath came from. Believed to be Catalán, Irish and Greek in origin, but archaeologists have not yet determined this beyond all dispute. Mabhrathan is bordered to the north by Nimu Sea and Clomen, to the east and southby [not yet dreamed] and to the west by Tsariosh. They are known for the skill of their stone sculptures and the quality of their marble and granite. Their own
legends of Mabhrath describe him as a restless young man, a trickster
and a breaker of rules. They have a large collection of comical
tales supposedly of his childhood and teens, sidestepping authority,
deliberately misunderstanding instructions for his own ends, and
generally outwitting those in charge of his supervision. It
apparently surprised no one when he departed on a voyage of
exploration, never to return. They have also imported many tales
of his adult adventures from other countries, altered with their own
impudent embellishments. Although proud of their famous son, they
rebuke disobedient children with "You are no Mabhrath" meaning, "You
are not clever enough to pull this off," "Your disobedience has
no justification," or "Don't think you can get away with this." Mabhrathan Scorpion: A large (22 to 30 centimeters) amphibious arachnid, believed to be a mutation of the Earthian scorpion, probably descended from stowaways among the last years of the Age of Migration. Notable for its bright, spring-green exoskeleton, and its aquatic habits, dwelling in tide pools and in the bright green sea-grasses along the shore. Mabhrathan Sea:
That spur off the Hystredemian Sea, between the islands of Mediterrae
and the continental coast of Pakashk, Mabhratha, and Gazelistan.
magentine: An octahedron translucent crystal, of grey-green,
magenta or cobalt blue color, which focusses, amplifies and/or stores
psychic energy. Apparently, it changes the "signature" of psi-waves
that pass through it from something accessible only to the more
primitive regions of the brain to a form that a human being can
consciously process. Recent research indicates that it is in fact
a form of cobalt-laden calcite that has doubled its four sides into an
octagon, possibly by route of a dimensional shift imperceptible to
human beings. Magorris: A country in the Northeastern Continent, bordered to the west by Corriebhai, to the north by... [I haven't dreamed of any of the other countries bordering Magorris thus far.]
So far as anyone can construct, human presence here began with a
Hungarian colony that began the construction of a great cathedral that
might have fallen into ruin, or might have never been finished
(archaeologists differ on this.) By the time a Welsh colony came
upon them, the survivors had dwindled into a small and sickly
population due to malnutrition and inbreeding. However,
intermarriage with the new and larger colony, intermixed with a later
Scottish colony and then a small band of Americans, restored them to
robustness, while absorbing them. These newcomers also brought
new strains of crops, as well as botanists qualified to discover
indigenous nutritional sources. Magorris exports rice, rye, dinyee, paprika, aluminum, porcelain, hasvin, basketry, rope, tengri, and piskisaw. They are neither a rich country nor a poor one, but these days usually enjoy sufficiency, with enough margin to trade with other countries. They practice constitutional, parliamentary monarchy. The two main religions are Roman and Episcopal Catholicism, but people often simply attend whichever church comes handiest. Their language has roots in Gaelic and Welsh, with many borrow-words in English and Hungarian. Mahigeet, Brian Peter: Originally a peasant of the Caseda caste in Corriebhai and a cartwright by trade, his community chose him to be their reeve, to represent them to the nobles. But he took it further than that. Upon hearing that the nobility had acquired a taste for imported seafood, a wanderlust and a yearning for greater freedom overtook him at the very thought of the sea. So he volunteered to lead a colony of fellow peasants to a new land, there to fish and trap for the nobles in exchange for financing the colony. With permission and financing, he
lead fwenty-two families on the long march to the sea, to
Rakashko. Some died along the way of unfamiliar heat and
diseases, but most arrived in time to benefit from Rakashkan
medicine. Mr. Mahigeet knew better than to reveal his actual
mission (since it would threaten Rakashko's lucrative trade) and
simply presented the colony as escaped slaves. Accordingly, nobody
hesitated to teach them sailcraft and fishing, especially since they
carried quite a bit of "stolen" currency with which to pay their way
until they learned these crafts. He never actually said that they
were escaped slaves, he later said, but simply went along with local
expectations. After three years most of the original colonial party (some opted to stay behind) supplemented with whatever
children they'd borne in the interval, plus some new local marriages
(and subtracted from with one divorce) took off to cross the
ocean and try their luck on other shores. To this end they pooled
their last money (both earnings and further funds secretly smuggled to
them from their lords) to purchase the construction of the ship, "The
Drunken Monkey", state of the art for the time, complete with an early
version of a desalinator, and designed for great journeys. They faced many trials and no few deaths on that crossing. For the full tale, read "The Voyage of the Drunken Monkey", by Julia Meecker. Eventually they settled, with the help of the Olovrmni who found them, and the Istislani who lionized them. They set up their Corriebhai Colony on the southeastern coast of the Northeastern Continent, under Mahigeet's leadership. However, dissent soon broke out when it became clear that he intended to keep his end of the bargain, canning and sending the rich new seafoods of this new shore back to Corriebhai. The colonists had drunk deeply of the heady brew of freedom and wanted no part of the old bonds, not least because they had no desire to cross that ocean again! So the majority of the colony
split off and formed Skarfangers. In the end Brian Mahigeet had
to send his tribute by way of Istislan, which ultimately worked out to
the best, for Istislan has many of the best mariners and finest ships
in the world, and developed a keen interest in exploring this new
trading opportunity. Mahigeet ended his days contented
enough, surrounded by children and grandchildren, teaching them the
importance of honor and of keeping one's word no matter what.
mainstreaming program: An attempt to see how Til-raised children
would do when sent to live in foster-homes in the surrounding
communities. A qualified failure, it did nevertheless result in
interesting data that improved the education of future generations of
children raised both in Til Institute and the Territories. Mardi Gras demon:
According to common belief in Dixie, an evil being who entices Mardi
Gras celebrants to excesses during Mardi Gras. Some believe that
such demons need placated by mild cooperation during Mardi Gras, so
that they will become too sated to distract anyone from devotions
during Lent. Others (especially priests and ministers) consider
this the absolute worst course, playing right into their hands.
If possible, a Mardi Gras demon will try to entice the victim into a
sinful death through hir vices, before e can repent in the Lenten
season. mazed: Slang term for intoxicated, or in any state not conducive to clear thinking. Martinez, Figgy: Birthname
Juan Walter Martinez. The controversial "Johnny Appleseed of
Novatierre". A farmer in Alonzo Valley (rumored to be a grandson
of Alonzo Hernandez) he began by planting a few fig trees offshore, on
islands with a hotter climate than he could find in the valley, and
guaranteed rainfall so that he would not have to maintain them, prizing
the especially rich, sweet taste of figs grown in temperatures above
the heat of the human body. He initially intended them for his own use, for his table and for market.
mast: A tropical event during which a high percentage of fruit
trees all happen to bear ripened fruit at once. Unlike harvest seasons
in more temperate climates, it takes a trained botanist to predict when
mast will next occur. Matyas the Monster: Ninth monarch of Magorris. A notorious tyrant, who gathered around him a corrupt army of mercenaries, rewarded by gifts of land (and the peasants upon it) as well as marriage (for however long they wished, be it an hour or a lifetime) with any woman of their choosing in the kingdom. With this army he dissolved parliament, and then demanded crushing taxes from the people, or extracted bribes, and by this means kept his mercenaries happy and his lifestyle extravagant. After awhile, however, he had to spend increasing time suppressing insurrections, and got little joy out of his palaces. After his death, with permission from his son and the reinstituted parliament, people refused (with armament if necessary) to make any transaction with his mercenaries except for those few who had fallen in love with and stayed faithful to their wives and who had gradually reformed--if these were willing to free their serfs and make restitution for their crimes. The rest, cut off from resources, became outlaws with all hands against them, and after briefly supporting themselves with robbery, one by one found themselves hunted down and executed, or fled the country altogether. However, Matyas did not leave
behind only a heritage of horror. Music, theater, and art
flourished under his patronage. Indeed, culturally, his reign was
called the Tarnished Golden Age. mayfly: A delicate insect with transparent purple wings, which
exists mostly as a purple larvae until late spring, when it emerges
from its cocoon to live, fly, and mate for one day, before laying eggs
and dying. Mdzes Yanacapuna: The annual gathering of community representatives, shepherds, wool-buyers, and anyone else interested, which takes place in the Autonomous Mountainfolk Region of Altraus. It rotates yearly as to which village hosts it, at the onset of sheep-shearing season, whenever that might fall in the spring or late winter of a given year. Its original and still primary
purpose is to gather the representatives and elders to decide legal and
societal issues that affect the larger community, such as grazing
paths, infrastructure, protection from wildfire, etc. But it has
also become a gathering-time for shepherds to shear their flocks
together, and to market the wool. Over the years a general festival
atmosphere has layered onto this, with itinerant merchants setting up
stalls for every kind of goods that they can transport, housewives
setting up outdoor kitchens and selling their wares, buskers and
entertainers passing the hat, and portable bars selling all manner of
home-brewed beers, wines, and spirits. Games and sporting events,
as well as singslams, pitch the villages against each other in friendly
competition. Weddings often take place at the Mdzes Yanacapuna,
and business deals, public declarations of adoptions, and occasionally
public declarations of divorce. Evenings often end with dances
and revelry. It is no coincidence that births in the Autonomous
Mountainfolk Region tend to spike around November.
meadow-shrimp: Nickname for edible insects with large hind
legs--the Novatierran equivalent of grasshoppers, crickets, or locusts.
A rich source of argenine, protein, and certain B vitamins. Meecker, Julia: Istislan historian of the twenty-fourth century. She launched her career at the age of seventeen, when she first became fascinated with Brian Mahigeet and his colony from Corriebhai. She volunteered at the refugee camp first set up for his party, and got to know him. While he gracefully declined her underage flirtation, he did enjoy regaling her with tales of his great voyage, supplemented with comparisons between his own culture and that of Istislan, both favorable and critical. She wrote everything down faithfully, and combined it with interviews of the other passengers of the Drunken Monkey, while it remained fresh in the minds of the participants. Thus she scooped more seasoned reporters with her poorly structured but meticulously researched articles. Essential Data soon recruited her for a youth interest column, and paid a scholarship for her to study journalism in college. But by her second year she changed her major to history. Essential Data continued her scholarship, however, so long as she contributed a monthly article on the latest historical findings. Her bestsellers include "The Early
Days of Xarthikae", "Transfer: Space, Time and Passion at the Dawn of
the Migration", "Who Was Mabhratha?" "Tragedy and Transcendance:
the First Oracles" "A History of the Teeth of Cana'a, in Legend
and in Fact", and the controversial "Sibling Love/Sibling
Rivalry: Our Relationship with Til Throughout the Ages". And
eventually she went back and collected all of her youthful notes and
articles, improved the grammar and structure but kept the facts intact,
added follow-up interviews, and published "The Adventures of the
Drunken Monkey." Melle: Called the Beloved of the Gods. According to Darvinian mythology, she is a human woman, mother of two of the Uponae. Theto, God of Fate, knew in his soul yet not in his head that he needed some counterbalance, and so he went sleepwalking among humankind and made love to Melle, who gave birth to Daio, God of Chance. But then Horo, God of Time, wanted a more deliberate and self-determining counterbalance to Theto than to leave all opposition in the hands of Chance alone. And so, fully conscious, he lovingly and deliberately courted Melle, to beget upon her Ario, God of Choice and Free Will. Although not a goddess herself,
many supplicate her as an intercessor, to persuade Time to be on their
side, to lull Fate to sleep or else move him to show them favor, to
bring Chance under her discipline and his desire to please her, and to
ask Ario to strengthen them. She does not have her own shrines,
but people do sometimes carry medals of her, portrayed as an ordinary
woman, holding the hands of Daio and Ario as children. melody-wraith: A subclass of supernatural being in the legends
of the Southwestern Continent. There some believe that if an artist
of any kind allows hir artform to drive hir to hir death, e will become
a kind of voracious ghost tied to hir particular passion. In the case
of obsessed musicians, they become melody-wraiths. They will sing
people to sleep or into a state of helpless hysterics, depending on the
type of music, in order to suck out of their victims the life-force that they
undervalued when alive. They never quite get enough to experience life
itself again, however. This is a kind of damnation that they cannot
escape until they decide to let go of their passion, which they will
never do. The victims generally survive the first few attacks, though
often visited with vivid dreams and nightmares afterwards, but if the
attacks continue they themselves will become obsessed musicians and the
cycle will start over. Micah‘s Gap: A mountain-pass in the Charadoc, leading from farmland to high desert. Most of the residents are either descendants of Micah Koros, who founded an inn, there, or those who have married such descendants. The people of Micah's Gap marry guests at the busy inn. Michawna (adjective): Identifies
Zarm-Michawn as the place or culture of origin for a human being, human
trait, institution, style, or sentiment. To apply this adjetive
to an inanimate object, however, would insult the entire nationality. m Michawna, (nationality): A person of
Zarm-Michawn. Michawna (race):
The majority of citizens in Zarm-Michawn also belong to an ethnicity
also called Michawna. Characterized by dark skin color, varying
from ebony to terracotta; straight, thick, coarse hair; widely spaced,
large eyes with pupils that can slit horizontally or vertically at need, in black, brown, hazel, green or amber;
mesomorphic builds; everted lips; and a characteristic "arrow" facial
profile, dominated by a large, hawkish nose with large nostrils. Long known to spring from a mixture of Old Earth
races, DNA testing has recently revealed that the Michawnas can also claim descent
of a number of species, confirming old legends that the Ancients recruited
volunteers for experiments in human gene-splicing. Study of these genes have confirmed the legend
that the Michawnas were crossed with eagles, but that is only part of the
picture. They were crossed with several
kinds of raptors, and like these birds their eyes include a pecten and a second
fovea to improve both near and far vision.
They have also been crossed with tarsiers (also well-endowed with sight)
as a primate bridge for the avian genes, plus goats (horizontally extending the pupils
greatly increases their peripheral vision.) Contrary to the legend, their hawk noses do not
come from hawks, but dogs. Michawnas
have had sufficient canine genes spliced in to give them a vastly superior
sense of scent, detailed and nuanced, accurate for miles, with special sinuses
containing sensitive olfactory tissue, causing the jutting profile of the face. According to legend (but with no documentation
found thus far) the ancients had to abandon experiments in heightening hearing,
as children born with this gene found the noise of largely urbanized Earth
unbearable. Some committed suicide. Others sought surgery to induce deafness, or,
failing that, pierced their own eardrums.
All of the survivors requested, and received sterilization. We do know for certain that Michawnas today
have the normal range of hearing typical of the rest of humanity. Other modifications seem to have come from human
stock. Michawnas in general have an
advantage in building muscle, and in converting fat into energy for increased
endurance. The price has been a tendency
among females to develop fine moustaches, and among males to gain weight mainly
in the buttocks, hips, and lower belly. They have paid a somewhat higher price as
well. The Michawna’s finely tuned
hormones can easily go out of balance.
In the sciences they have contributed quite a bit to endocrinology, out
of necessity. Add
to this that
enhancements of creativity have necessitated grafting in genes
associated with
bipolar condition and schizophrenia, only partially mitigated in the
laboratory, and you have issues with mental stability which need
careful
attention to psychological hygiene. Psychiatry is another medical
specialty
prized in Zarm-Michawn. Once feared as potential supermen,
they instead live quietly, and largely among their own, enjoying their
advantages and transcending their disadvantages. The Midlands: That portion of the Charadoc midway up the
mountains, characterized by deciduous forest and farmland. Most of the
nation’s food grows in this region. The Mighty Rail: The largest overland transportational infrastructure in Novatierre, a railroad system put together with the cooperation of many nations, each of whom have responsibility to maintain their part of it. Extending from Holumbria in the west to Tashkara in the east, it passes west from Holumbria through Llangdan, Darvinia, Lludlowe, Duerlongh, thence to Naugren, then curves a bit east and south through Tremarnion, south through Aistruli and Clomen, then east again through [unnamed as yet], Noran, Gueymaial, and ending in Tashkara. The Mighty Rail Treaty:
A binding agreement between the nations regarding The Mighty
Rail. Each nation shall maintain the rail in good order, on
penalty of invasion from neighboring countries on the rail. Each
nation shall contribute materials and the cost of maintenance of the
rail in proportion to the length of rail within their
territories. No nation shall transport troops, weaponry, or the
machinery of war into any other nation, except when that country has
failed to maintain their portion of the rail, on penalty of
carpet-bombing from all other nations on the rail. No one shall
sabotage the rail regardless of whom they might war with, on penalty of
finding themselves at war with all other nations on the rail. If
any terrorists should independently damage the rail, stations, or
trains upon the rail, all nations, including any who might benefit from
such terrorism, must cooperate in speedily apprehending and punishing
the culprits. The penalty for such acts can range from exile to
an isolated island or country in a different continent, to death,
depending on both the severity of the crime and the redeemability of
the criminal, with judgment coming from the nation most offended
against. Any nation may build domestic railroad systems connected
to The Mighty Rail, but they have sole responsibility for materials and
maintenance for these. No nation has ever broken The Mighty Rail
Treaty in the history of Novatierre.
The Migration: That collective human movement when everyone who
could transferred from Earth to Novatierre to escape ecological
collapse, in no particularly organized fashion. Moonberry Bush: A rainforest shrug of the Southwestern Continent, named for its large, white berries, which, being mildly toxic, have emetic properties. The bush has long, lanceolate leaves, sometimes with small, round lobes at the base, of a deep green verging on black. It also bears thorns. It blooms white in the spring. moon-mites:
A wood-eating beetle native to the rainforests of the Southwestern
Continent, but having spread wherever men have exported lumber from
that land. Most varieties are charcoal-gray or brown-gray, some
with chevrons on their wings of red, rust, or orange. They have a
preference for barkless surfaces, and will seek out the bare wood of
dead trees, or exposed strips and ends of fallen ranches. They
get their name from their habit of nibbling round dents into wood,
leaving paths that look cratered like the moon. They often mark
lumber and thrive in sawmills, but do not affect the strength of the
wood, as they only browse the surface. Some cultures consider
their marks a blemish, while others seek affected wood as especially
beautiful. Morgo:
A large aquatic reptile, varying in length from a meter and a
half to two meters, in green, blue-gray, olive brown, or a combination,
native to the southeastern coast of the Northeastern Continent, with
varieties best suited for saltwater, freshwater, or both.
Freshwater morgos particularly favor cattlewades and watering-holes
frequented by large vegetarian animals, because they bury their eggs in
rotting vegetation to heat them, and have a preference for vegetarian
manure as giving off especial heat. This matters to morgos more
the cooler the climate. For the same reason those not in the
tropics favor waterways fed by hot springs, or dark-stone shallows. Rumors that a morgo can eat a man
whole have no basis in fact, although it has been known to bite off the
foot or hand of an unwary swimmer; at most it could eat an unattended
baby. For the most part, however, morgos eat fish, water-rats,
sea-birds, and whatever small creature happens upon the wrong watering
hole. Although they give off a strong, unpleasant, fishy smell,
one should not rely on scent alone to protect oneself, as other
odors can mask it.
mortanda: Murderousness. The quality of murder, as distinguished from the act or fact. Mudaliar, Baba Mukunda: An influential, tragic hero of Corriebhai's history and legends. Born on Earth, he witnessed, at the age of four, traumatic violence, as his family shot their way out of a siege on their mansion, on their way to the helicopter that would bring them from Chennai, India, to their secret workshop in Paisley, Scotland, where they had built a large-scale transfer-device. In the process, his mother fell from a gunshot wound while carrying him, but his father swept him up and continued running with him. We now know that his early experiences, combined with exposure to the rich magentine-veins of Corriebhai, which they and their workers colonized, in all probability made an untrained oracle of him. The many legends of the wonders which he worked, and the uncanny insights purportedly imparted to him through his devotion to the goddess Parvati, could well have happened, explainable by the many gifts of an unfocused oracle. History also shows that his family trained him in computer programming, as well as in everything that they could learn or discover of magentine technology. The overall pattern of his legend
shows him as a compassionate man who used "extraordinary" gifts for the
well-being of his people. Eventually, however, he became more and
more unstable, tormented by anxiety attacks and sudden fits of rage,
fear, or depression. When he accidentally slew his own daughter,
mistaking her for a gunman when she came to urge him to eat, he left
the palace, weeping for Mother Parvati to bring her back to
him. He was last seen scaling Wisdomstone Mountain, and is
presumed to have died there. Legend says that his spirit found
his daughter and apologized to her, and that somewhere else in the
world, he, his daughter, and his mother, have reincarnated as
triplets. The legend warns that no one should ever seek them out,
for they are best left ignorant of the past.
Mulberry, The: A semi-fastfood restaurant/coffeeshop and popular
hangout for young Tilián. Founded generations ago by a fan of George
Orwell as a gathering-place for agents with a sense of irony, it has
since become fashionable for agent wanna-be's, while real agents prefer
the more discreet comforts of The Silverfoam Inn. muras:
A fungus indigenous to the Mountains of Fire in the Southwestern
Continent, having a symbiotic relationship with the roots of plants
adapted to soil made highly acidic due to concentrations of
sulfur. Its fruiting body is tall, slender, often slightly
s-curved in the stem, with a long, narrow cap, all of it a deep sepia
brown with a sheen of metallic blue-grey iridescence. The strong scent resembles a mix of musk and rum with a touch of sandalwood and cloves, and the flavor is sweet, though toxic. Cooking
increases the sweetness and reduces some of the toxicity, although
leaving enough to induce drowsiness, brief hallucinations, and vivid
dreams, followed by a sense of euphoria that can last for hours.
For this reason some cook a sweet filling of it, for pastries for a
select clientele. Although called "Charadocian Pastry" in
countries outside the Charadoc, it can just as readily come from other
nations along that mountain range. Habitual use can lead to a manic
indifference to danger, lapses of judgment, and brief, acute loss of
emotional control. Moreover, the euphoria can abruptly crash,
causing flash-depressions. Overall nutrition starts to suffer. Over time the user grows
increasingly out of touch with reality, becoming progressively more
susceptible to suggestion or fancy. Physical addiction takes
place after two weeks to two months of regular use, depending on the
initial health of the user; withdrawal will bring severe depression and
anxiety, headaches, nausea, and sometimes convulsions. However, many who indulge in this
dessert do not become addicted, using it as an occasional indulgence or
even as a mystical experience. The hill-cults used to use it as a
sacrament on solstices and equinoxes. Much depends on why one
chooses to eat muras, and whether or not one has unresolved issues that
would drive one to abuse it. Murder Palace of Kalorcabori:
Home of the notorious Constantin of the Angels--a fabulous
pleasure-palace built on the profits of his exploitation of a
gregor-force built on the shock and fear of his murder-victims.
Here he would hold the fabulous, decadent parties that lured in his
prey. Said to hold, in the basement, a room entirely lined with
magentine, where he would make his sacrifices to himself. An explosion destroyed the entire building in 2445, killing Constantin and all of his cronies, effectively ending his reign of terror. No one knows whether any one of several plots to destroy him succeeded, or whether this was just a side-effect of the gregor-force, grown too great for him to control. We know little about the
architecture of the palace, except that it had a dome and several
towers, and many gardens, and was said to be beautiful. Some say
it luminesced at night, the walls like frozen moonlight. We do
know something of the ballroom, for a picture of that survives.
All other depictions of the palace have not survived an era where
people destroyed every trace that they could find, convinced that such
pictures could carry bad luck from traces of the gregor-force. muskmelon:
Although named after an extinct earth vine which it resembles, the
muskmelon is native to Novatierre, originating in Tsariosh. It is
a thick, hairy vine with round, ruffled, scalloped leaves. The
blossoms are white or pale green, with five petals, and yellow stamens,
giving off a touch of the perfume for which the fruit is noted.
The fruit is large and round, varying in size from softball to
basketball, and has a fluted husk of pale gray-green, covered with an
insect-repellant powder. This dust alone would make it
commercially valuable, but the real prize is the inedible, oily flesh
of the fruit, light orange in color. mussel:
A bivalve mollusk, longer than it is wide, usually dark gray but
sometimes dark blue, golden or beige, often used as a foodsource.
An invasive species from Earth. When word came back from
Novatierre that many colonies perished almost instantly from landing in
ocean (which, after all, makes up most of Novatierre's mass) many of
the Mid to Late Migration colonists converted boats into
transfer-devices, just in case. Quite a number of these,
unbeknownst to the colonists, carried plankton in their bilge,
including mussel eggs. Even those who knew of such a possibility did not expect anything to come of it, because the life-cycle of the mussel includes a brief parasitic period attached to certain species of fish found only on Earth. However, some of these varieties also came to earth, often as aquaculture livestock. Many of these early aquaculture experiments failed, due to inexperience with the local weather, when storms tore down dams or sea-walls, or flooded areas unexpectedly, releasing the fish into the wild. For the record, Aliens consider mussel plankton a delicacy, and will travel many miles to any current rich in it. They consider mussels the finest contribution that humanity has made to Novatierre. Mustard.
A wildflower common to the Southwestern Continent in temperate regions,
proliferic with large, amber-to-orange blossoms in almost roselike
double or sometimes triple rings of thick petals. These petals
have a sharp, peppery flavor that can be mashed and boiled, with
vinegar and spices, into a bright yellow sauce that early colonists
said made a passable substitute for the mustard of their
homeland. Whether that is true or not no one can now tell, for
the plant went extinct on Earth long ago. Mustard of Novatierre
grows half a meter to a meter tall, depending on conditions, with dark
green, hairy pinnate leaves and stocks. All parts except for the
blossoms and seeds are inedible, but not toxic enough to cause more
than indigestion.
mycobacterium pseudobacchae: The organism responsible for Tipsy Fever. |