Paladin Steel/Greater New England Slang:
-Allison---A reliable, well-performing engine or powerplant.
-Amerzon---Female Shemarrian.
-Anwap---Advanced enhanced neutron emission particle beam weaponry.
-Aristo---Old money GNE family, typically Elven.
-Atom-smasher---Particle beam weaponry.
-Bait-chanter---Lord of the Deep cultist. Also Bait-singer.
-Banana---Standard measurement unit of how difficult a problem is, supposedly by how many plantains it takes to bribe the ape assigned to fix it; a one-banana problem is fairly simple, a five-banana problem is very difficult.
-Bash-Palace---The Northern Gun Robodome. Gladiatorial arenas in general.
-Bathboy/girl---Native of the New Bath development zone.
-Battleclunker---PS/ASI/USA space battleship, especially the Joshua Norton class of modular ‘coat rack’ design.
-Belter---Long-tour asteroid miner. A space native who eschews planetary life in favor of working smaller celestial bodies.
-BigFolk---Human-sized and larger beings, as seen from the perspective of a Smallkin(see Smallkin). See also Gifolk.
-BigMetal---Heavy vehicles and robots.
-BioBitz---Biosystems
-Blowarp---A victim of particularly disfiguring Splugorth biowizardy, such tat only the most drastic efforts(such as full body transplant) can mitigate the effects. Also Kragger, Worp.
-Blowville---Nickname for the former city of Worcester, Massachussets. Resettled by the Wynaro d-bees, who named their community Panasar.
-Brickhouse---The New Boston Arcology. Also ‘the Anthill’, ‘Wall’, ‘Minas Beantown’, ‘Bosscon’, ‘East-chi’, ‘Mini-chi’.
-Cambrdge Jungle---Region of exceptionally dense and mutated vegetation stretching east of Worcester/Panasar to just west of New Boston, south to New Bedford and the ruins of Providence, and north into New Hampshire. Home of the Miter- tribes. Also known as the MIT Forest.
-Canker, the---Splugorth Atlantis. Also ‘the Boil’.
-Chigger---Chi-Town native, especially arrogant upper-classer.
-Chipped Boff---Chipwell armor suit(also ‘Spam-Suit’).
-Chugrug---Vehicle powered by a TW steam engine(also ‘chugboat’).
-Chunkinator----Automatic Grenade Launcher
-Crazy-Hangers---A Crazy’s knobs. Also Dendruff.
-Cremator---Plasma weapon
-’Crete, to Lay Down---To put down roots, establish oneself more or less permanently in a location, to settle down.
-Crunchie---GNE Infantry. Though the verdict is out on whether they’re being crunched or doing the crunching.
-Cuckoocopper---M.O.M. Crazy in law enforcement.
-Cullskull----Particularly good-looking vampires(the sort you want to kill IMMEDIATELY on just general principles). Also ‘Cully’
-Cybatty----Crazy about cybernetic implants and bionics.
-CyMid---Cybernetically or bionically-augmented person.
-Day of Wrath(aka the ‘Great Smiting’)---The ZOT’s surprise attack on Splugorth Atlantis, that utterly disrupted normal activities for at least a day.
-D-Bone---Obvious d-bee supporting the Coalition States, singing their praises in hopes of gaining citizenship.
- Deathsharpy---Micro-missile. Also Death-Pencil, Screaming Meenie.
-Deathwalker---Zombie or necromancer.
-Dendruff---A Crazie’s cranial knobs.
-Deniler---Negapsychic
-Dethsmokey---CS government-issued tobacco product(also ‘deathsticks’, specifically cigarettes). Also ‘Dethsmogger’.
-Dizzer---Ion weapon, especially tose with a stun mode.
-Downworld---Extradimensional trade/contact/travel to/with less advanced worlds/societies.
-Dumbledork---Old school magic user. Uber-conservative(and elderly) magic user.
-Dumphole---One-way dimensional portal. Typically one that ends up someplace miserable.
-Dundergun---Ridiculously overpowered weaponry trying to imitate a boomgun in power and noise. Impractically heavy weaponry.
-Dundergunner---Weapons fanatic who HAS to have the biggest, loudest firearms out there, no matter how impractical they are to carry and attempt to use.
-Earth-devil---Burrowing monster, aka ‘Death from below’ or ‘boot-eater’..
-Edge, The---A person’s personal advantage or power, vocational, technological, biological, or magic, giving them ‘an edge’ over those who don’t have it.
-Electric Cannon---Rail guns.
-E-Wap---Magnetic vortex weapon.
-FireTeam---A grouping of talents/personnel working together. Originally limited to its military meaning, but expanded to cover other work and social activities. In the GNE, especially on Rifts Earth, being part of a ‘fireteam’ is considered essential to survival and prosperity, an extension and more immediate permutation of the ‘social networking’ of the pre-Rifts era.
-Five Star Alliance---Early form of the Earthside United Systems Alliance; it encompassed Greater New England, Free Canada, Paladin Steel West, the United Connecticut Baronies, and Wooster. However, when the political winds changed, and both the UCB and Wooster became direct states of the GNE, the Five Star Alliance moniker fell out of usage. The term and insignia syill persist and surface with regards to Earhside alliances between the GNE, Lazlo, the Tundra Rangers, and other earthsode kingdoms.
-Fleshhater---Cybernetic or bionic zealot. Perfecty healthy voluntary bionic conversion.
-Flipperboy/girl---Pneumo-biforms.
-Fluffer---Hovercraft
-Frygun---X-ray laser.
-FullCon---Full conversion cyborg.
-Fuzzbutt---Chai-Chuk d-bee.
-Gawker---Golden Age Weaponsmith enthusiast or customer.
-Gawkjob---GAW vehicle rebuild. By extension, any rebuild of a pre-Rifts vehicle into an improbable refit for Rifts Earth.
-Gener---Greater New England citizen. Generally regarded as derogatory, though some make the distinction between it being acceptable pronounced gENer and an insult pronounced gEEner.
-Genie---Genetically augmented or engineered lifeform.
-Genieware---Genetically engineered bio-implants.
-Geriborg---Late-life geriatric full-conversion cyborg. Older people taking ‘second life’ option as fullcon cyborgs, typically in support roles. Also Cybersenior, Geezertech, Gitzer, Rockerbot, grandmekker.
-Gevver---Hovercraft(also ‘gevrevv’ for hovercycles).
-Ghost-silk----Fabrics made from stabilized ectofiber.
-Gifolk---Giant d-bees/sophonts
-Gimmer----GMT(Gravitic-Magnetic Resist) vehicle, Also ‘Floater’, ‘Repulsor’, ‘Magev’.
-Godhammer---Heavy artillery support. Also ‘Smiter’.
-Gothjackets----Coalition States uniforms, and the people wearing them(also ‘Gothjacks’).
-Grand Banks Treaty----Terms of survival forced on Splynncryth by The ZOT after the Day of Wrath, curtailing Splugorth expansion into North America. The Splugorth have since constantly tested the Treaty, especially via the resumption of the Faerie Harvest.
-Grand Exodus---Mass exodus of slaves following the Day of Wrath. Many settle in various corners of Rifts Earth, but many also attempt to use the rifts to escape the Splugorth entirely. The Great Exodus is generally seen as a great boon to Paladin Steel and the GNE, as it brought thousands of talented beings familiar with the magic and technologies of Atlantis into their service, as well as thousands of tons of equipment and assorted loot brought out with the escaping slaves.
-Grassburner---Animal transport.
-Greener---GNE citizen.
-Greenscraper---Multi-level urban farm. Also ‘grass-scraper’.
-Gumper---A dumb or naive d-bee.
-Hammerhand---Steel Gaian EShemarrian. More broadly, cyborg blacksmith or foundry worker.
-Hayver---Madhaven resident.
-Hellworld---Planet with very difficult conditions ranging from violent civil unrest to climatic uninhabitability. Exact definition varies by point of view; Rifts Earth is considered by many to be a hellworld while others consider it a habitable parradise.
-Heroland---Nickname given to Greater New England, inspired by their patronage of adventurer parties, use of superpowered augmentation, and an early PS marketing slogan ‘We build heroes!’. Later used in reference to their espousem*nt of altruistic causes. Used semi-derogatorilly(the same way ‘Boy Scout’ is sometimes used, and akin to ‘holier than thou”).
-Horry---Horune pirate.
-Humzing---Particularly fast/frenetic person or critter, especially d-bee.
-Infernal---Demon or Devyl. Any truly monstrous and EVIL supernatural being preying on people.
-Iniac---Integral (or internal) artificial intelligence. Advanced software incorporated into neuro-cybernetics or full conversion cyborgs, especially if it uses a verbal interface.
-Inkjobber---Tattooed Man/Woman(also ‘Touchyfeeler’, ‘Inkskin’).
-Invizibiz---A company or organization that is involved in covert(or at least not public knowledge) cross-dimensional trade. Sometimes refered to as ‘icebergs’ for most of their operations being unseen. By extension, larger, typically d-bee, companies fronting as small local businesses. Also known as ‘shadowfirms’. Sometimes used as a broad reference to the Black Market in general, especially if a reputable company is carrying on business through the Black Market.
-Jode---Meat product produced by the Stone to Flesh spell from rock(‘geode’). Often used in conjunction with other food names; jode-stew, jode-burgers, jode-jerky, etc.
-Litebrite---Laser target designator.
-LocBlocker----Any PS design heavy on options. Also ‘Lego’ed’.
-Magcaps---Railgun rounds. Also ‘Marbles’.
-’Major Chin’---Nickname for any of a number of generic, officious, authoritarian, square-jawed Coalition officials appearing in CS video pronouncements and propoganda. Suspected of being CGI effects. Said to speak in clipped, terse, statements because he can’t open his bulldog jaws. Zealous, too-good-to-be-real, diehards in CS uniforms are said to be ‘Major Chins’. The post-Rifts American version of the British ‘Colonel Blimp’.
-Maniac-Zone---Magic Zone
-Meatware---Biosystems, cloned transplant organs.
-Mega, The---The Megaverse.
-Metroworlds---The more densely populated/heavily travelled ‘homeworlds’ of the major Galactic polities of the Three Galaxies. Also called ‘coreworlds’, as opposed to the Fringe/Rim/Frontier. Sometimes used to imply a certain cosmopolitan sophistication or haughtiness/cluelessness in contrast to the supposed rustic ‘bumpkinness’ of Fringe-worlders.
-M-Factor----’Megadamage’. Especially tough, durable, or damaging materials, equipment, and weaponry are said to possess this.
-Miter----MIT Forest native. Also ‘Miterite’.
-Mocmeat---Articficial/synthetic meat-product, including that produced by the Stone to Flesh conversion spell. Se also ‘Jode’
-Mod-Bod---Genetically augmented person.
-Modesitt Greens---The green themed uniforms adopted by many organizations in the GNE. Reference to a pre-Rifts sci-fi author who created a fictious society based on meritocracy and scientific advancement.
-Mortwart---Necromancer.
-Nanobopper---Juicer’s IRMSS ‘slap-pad’ incorporated into their harness.
-Narts---Naruni plasma rounds.
-Needleshirt---Juicer Harness(also ‘NeedleJacket’).
-Negjacket---Northern Gun armor or power armor(also ‘Negsuit’).
-Negstick---Northern Gun hand weapon.
-Neuronut---Crazy. Psynetic augment. Anybody who spends an excessive amount of time ‘jacked into a tech-system.
-Nexxy---Nexus Maw. Plural ‘nexxies’. Cutesy name for a deadly dangerous predator.
-Nort---Northern Gun.
-Nug---Northern Gun.
-Odessa Brigade---Unauthorized paramilitary units using PS/GNE equipment and uniforms and acting as aggressive political activist(typically abolitionist) groups. Also ‘Odessa Factories’; unauthorized or off-the-books manufacturing facilities using PS/GNE-made/funded equipment to produce PS-template goods and equipment. Most Odessa groups, when found, are assimilated into the GNE command structure and made accountable to the General Orders, but not all suspected Odessa Brigades have been found.
-Orgo---Genetically-engineered organism, especially those created/bred for combat, or of especially monstrous appearance.
-Outworld---Extradimensional trade/contact/travel to/with other worlds/societies(in general).
-Pathman--Wilderness scout. Explorer.
-Perfessor---Lazlo citizen, owing to the large number of scholars, or well-educated idealists from that city.
-Personac---Persona Clone---A duplicate made of a person’s mental state, memories, and persona. Sometimes shortened to ‘persac’.
-’Phantom Cheese’---Synthetic diary products or calcium supplements.
-Pinbender---Technician, usually a shoddy one.
-Plow Wall---A ridge of debris averaging 80 ft in height(in some areas reaching 150 ft) running across the former states of Connecticut and Rhode Island, some 3-5 miles inland from the former coastline. The ridge was deposited by tidal wave action that swept over(and away) much of Long Island during the Coming of the Rifts and the rise of Atlantis. The Plow Wall has settled for the most part, but areas of it are still prone to avalanching. Access to the new GNE coastal communities has been cut through parts of the Plow Wall.
-Potholer---Giant robots, from the large footprints they leave.
-Presto---Mage.
-Print-Clone---Biosystem body produced using cloned tissues; common in cyborg re-sleeving. So-called because of the use of advanced 3D printing techniques in the gestation-assembly.
-Prosek Pus---CS Army government-issued beer(more derogatively: ‘Emperor’s P----’).
-Pumpy---Triax pump weapon. Also ‘Pumper’.
-Punchcard---Factory worker. Derisively an urban citizen exchanging their freedom for security and a steady job. Also used by mages as a term of derision to describe other mages, especially Technowizards, who have sold out to work for corporations.
-Quickgun---Any of a wide range of inexpensive SDC firearms, usually ‘repliguns’, stamped out, often by autofac, and available on the open market.
-Resleeving----Changing bodies. Originally applied to full conversion cyborgs changing chassis design, but later including bio-pod shifting, and later still to a cyborg becoming full organic again, by transplanting into a biosystem or cloned body. Also ‘rejacketing’, ‘recasing’.
-‘Retroca’---A post-Rifts replica of a pre-Rifts(typically pre-Golden Age) vehicle or piece of hardware, as opposed to a refit of a surviving piece of pre-Rifts hardware, and meant to capitalize on recovered technology or public interest in ‘the golden days’. While some retrocas are faithful to every aspect, nut and bolt of the original design, many retrocas are updated with modern technology or technowizardry, and in some cases have only a general resemblance(and marketing) to the original design in common. Sometimes refered to more specifically as ‘retrocars’, ‘retroplanes’, ‘retroships/boats’, ‘retroguns’, or ‘retrocraft’.
See also ‘Retrofaced’.
-Retrofaced----Any design or technology that claims or appears to be on the outside of pre-rifts origin, but is really a post-Rifts development, is said to be ‘retrofaced’.
-Riftraff---Megaversal bum. Somebody who always believes that ‘things are gonna be better on the other side of the Rift’, and fails to honor obligations in one place to go running through a dimensional rift to another place.
-Rustbutt---Full conversion cyborg.
-Sardine Jockey---Power Armor Pilot.
-Scramble---Another term for the Cambridge Jungle. Also ‘Tangle’.
-Screamfodder---Clueless city dweller or newly arrived d-bee in a danger zone.
-Shadoface---Computer-generated video avatar used to conceal a person’s real identity over visual comms. A CGI fascade, fake, or fraud.
-Shakker---Pump-action energy w eapon, using an adapted form of the NA Laser Bow’s pull-string power system. Derived from the sound of the slide operating.
-Shattertech---Environmental engineer engaged in repairing damaged worlds/environments. A (re)terraformer.
-Shatterworld----A once-habitable/inhabited lifeworld, damaged or destroyed by disaster, be it natural or man-made. Many refugee members of the United Systems Alliance hail from shatterworlds, onlya few of which can be made habitable again. Also Wreckworld.
-Shem---Shemarrian.
-Skull-farm---Fortified Coalition State farmland.
-Sleepeater---Nocturnal monsters.
-Slickback---Hazmat cyborg, so-called because of the chemically-inert ‘no stick’ armor coating on them.
-Slolife----A slang term rarely heard outside the halls of academia on Rifts Earth, but more common in the Three Galaxies, ‘slolife’ refers to alien intelligences, Elemental beings, and exotic/exotic chemistry alien lifeforms that live at a much slower rate than carbon-based organic beings and other ‘mundanes’. Slolife moves at a pace that is so slow that it is almost imperceptible, and the beings might be mistaken as dead, or not even living beings at all. Movement is glacial in pace, and lifespans measured at a geological level of perception. Spacers in the Three Galaxies report encountering exotic cryogenic lifeforms in the spaces between solar systems that live at super-slow low-energy rates. The more verbose Elemental beings speak of certain slolife Greater Elementals as if they were gods, engaged in slowly shaping the cosmos. Some dragons, with their predilection for hibernating for centuries at a time, are said to be skirting the lower edges of definition for slolife, but most xenobiologists discount grouping such dragons with true slolife entities.
Interaction between the everyday and slolife is rare and frustrating; a slolife being might register the existence of everyday beings, but by the time it responded, the individuals it percieved might be long dead, and even their civilizations might have collapsed.
Despite this lack of interaction, ‘slolife’ is entering common slang vocabulary to mean particularly apathetic, slow-acting, and nearly-below-the-level-of-notice individuals and organizations(examples: “Does D’ress ever leave his apartment? Does he ever DO anything, or is he some sort of slolife?” “Don’t bother waiting for a travel visa from the Republik Office of Antiquities. They’re slolife over there.”).
Naturally, there’s also ‘fastlife’, implying lifeforms that live at much higher perceptual speeds.
-Smallkin---Physically very small-statured sophonts.
-Smartware---Particularly-sophisticated computer-run equipment
-Smogsmut---Low quality tobacco product.
-Sno-puff--Klia, especially Klia civilians
-Somac---Somatic Clone--A clone or duplicate made of a person’s body, and not their persona or mental state. Typically used as an organ source or brain transplant vessel.
-Sonic Gnats---Coalition State Flycycles, so-called for their annoying practice of high speed passes and ‘buzzing’ people on the ground.
-Sparker---Ion weapon. Also ‘zapper’.
-Squeezer---Abusive ’Urb business owner or asociated foremen. Sweatshop owner.
-Stomper---Giant robot.
-Stomp-Jockey---Robot pilot.
-Sungun----Plasma weaponry(also ‘Sun Tan Gun’).
-TechApe---Technician. Also Animal-Man Mutant from Madhaven.
-Touchyfeeler---Tattooed Man/Woman.
-TubeFarm---Hydroponics facility. Also ‘tubetower’. See also ‘greenscraper’.
-Tundie-romper---Tundra Ranger(also ‘Tundie-Jumper’, ‘Tundie-hopper’).
-Ubernaut---Anybody addicted to getting technological or biological enhancements simply to improve their performance, and not for medical reasons.
-Uberware---Any implant, technological or biological, meant to augment, rather than restore, a person’s performance.
-Upworld---Extradimensional trade/contact/travel to/with more advanced worlds/societies(such as the Three Galaxies).
-Usan---Citizen of the United Systems Alliance(USA)
-Verm---Derogatory term for native of the Old Vermont region.
-Vittleville---Coalition supply dump(or any supply dump in general).
-Waldo---Dimensional tourist, floater. Extradimensional tramp.
-Wandic---Mage or mage wannabe. Diehard(and annoying) magic fanatic. Also ‘Wizdic’.
-Windbag---Wynaro d-bee(also ‘Windies).
-Windtown---Panasar(formerly Worcester, Massachussets). See also Blowville.
-Windwaver---Air Elemental Warlock.
-Zilla---Large inhuman d-bee. especially if reptillean in nature(also ‘Tin-Zilla’ for large cyborgs, and ‘Steelzilla’ for giant robots). especially if they like throwing their weight around or blunder around with little regard to collateral damage.
-Zombot---Robot drone. Anybody particularly lacking in personality(and thus suspected of being a robot).
-ZOT---An alien pantheon that once clobbered Splugorth Atlantis hard enough to allow millions of slaves to escape. The ZOT also imposed a moritorium on Splynncrythh attacking North America’s eastern seabaord, allowing the escaped slaves a headstart to escape and affording the nascent GNE time to build up its defenss. Nothing has been heard of the ZOT since, though, and there are fears that the Splugorth may begin testing the limits of the ‘line in the Atlantic’ protecting North America. Little is known fo the ZOT save that they were ridiculously powerful, eccentric, and may have consisted of trickster beings.
