Concepts

Symbiont: In an attempt to bring humanity into harmony with Medialian ecology, Ailena created a special symbiont that would allow Terran organisms to contact her psychically. She originally hoped that the humans would cooperate peacefully with her, but her contacts with various humans have convinced her otherwise. Ailena now uses the symbiont to take control of human bodies to serve as her agents in the Terran colony.

Temporal Flux: Also called T-flux, temporal flux is the primary means of transport between planets.T-flux is used both in space and on planets. Large facilities are required in order to contain and maintain the necessary equipment, although some experts are working on ways to miniaturize T-flux equipment. T-flux works by bending and shifting time itself. Transportation is achieved through a series of trips through time that end with the transported person or thing arriving at the designated place at the moment that they departed. People due to be transported are put to sleep and placed in specially shielded pods to protect them from time pollution, which can wreak havoc with a person's age, making them younger or older. The effects of time pollution cannot as yet be controlled; if it ever did become controllable, T-flux could potentially be used in place of plastic surgery and other cosmetic treatments to make people not just appear younger, but actually be younger: it could make people immortal. Time travel itself is banned by the Terran Federation, the Revolutionary Forces, and all independent colonies; only a few extremist dissidents disagree about the dangers of changing the past.

Dart Fighters: Dart fighters are tiny, heavily armed spaceships, crewed by a single cybernetically enhanced pilot. Only the Terran Federation uses these, as the expense to train each pilot and build each fighter is high. They are normally used as close-range scouts and defenders of the ship they're stationed on. Unlike other Federation ships, dart fighters are controlled via an electrolytic tank system. The pilot floats in a tank full of a special fluid that is infused with oxygen and special chemical compounds that are similar to electrolytes. This electrolytic tank system has both advantages and disadvantages. It allows for a much faster reaction time and much greater accuracy than a conventional spaceship, which when combined with the dart fighter's small size, powerful engines, and copious weaponry make the dart fighter a formidable enemy. However, the tank system prevents direct communication between the pilot and his or her allies. The dart fighter must fight alone and silently. The dart fighter's onboard computer can send status reports back to allied spacecraft, but the pilot cannot give the computer a new message to send, or edit an existing one.