Factions in Revelation Space

This is a list of fictional factions in Revelation Space. The human factions are found in the Revelation Space universe, the setting for a series of stories and novels by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds.

Interstellar factions

Spacefaring humanity is divided among these four main factions. While each of these factions has its roots in the Solar System, they have spread with humans to multiple other star systems. Demarchists controlled most major colony worlds, including Yellowstone, until the introduction of the Melding Plague. Conjoiners inhabited hollowed out asteroids on system peripheries, called Nests, before the move to the central Mother Nest in the Yellowstone system during the Conjoiner-Demarchist war. Ultras prefer living aboard the massive lighthugger ships, and are generally uncomfortable on terrestrial worlds. Skyjacks are comet and asteroid miners.

Conjoiners

Domestic pig

The domestic pig (Sus scrofa domesticus or Sus domesticus), often called swine, hog, or pig when there is no need to distinguish it from other pigs, is a large, even-toed ungulate. It is variously considered a subspecies of the wild boar or a distinct species. Its head-plus-body-length ranges from 0.9 to 1.8 m (35 to 71 in), and the adult can weigh between 50 to 350 kg (110 to 770 lb). Compared to other artiodactyls, its head is relatively long, pointed, and free of warts. Even-toed ungulates are generally herbivorous, but the domestic pig is an omnivore, like its wild relative.

Domestic pigs are farmed primarily for the consumption of their meat, called pork. The animal's bones, hide, and bristles are also used in commercial products. Domestic pigs, especially the pot-bellied pig, are sometimes kept as pets.

Description

The domestic pig typically has a large head, with a long snout which is strengthened by a special prenasal bone and a disk of cartilage at the tip. The snout is used to dig into the soil to find food, and is a very acute sense organ. The dental formula of adult pigs is 3.1.4.33.1.4.3, giving a total of 44 teeth. The rear teeth are adapted for crushing. In the male the canine teeth can form tusks, which grow continuously and are sharpened by constantly being ground against each other.

Pig (dice game)

Pig is a simple dice game first described in print by John Scarne in 1945. As with many games of folk origin, Pig is played with many rule variations. Commercial variants of Pig include Pass the Pigs, Pig Dice, and Skunk. Pig is commonly used by mathematics teachers to teach probability concepts.

Pig is one of a family of dice games described by Reiner Knizia as "jeopardy dice games". For jeopardy dice games, the dominant type of decision is whether or not to jeopardize previous gains by rolling for potential greater gains. Most jeopardy dice games can be further subdivided into two categories: jeopardy race games and jeopardy approach games. In jeopardy race games, the object is to be the first to meet or exceed a goal score (e.g. Pig, Pass the Pigs, Cosmic Wimpout, Can't Stop). In jeopardy approach games, the object is to most closely approach a goal score without exceeding it.

Gameplay

Each turn, a player repeatedly rolls a die until either a 1 is rolled or the player decides to "hold":

Noun

A noun (from Latin nōmen, literally meaning "name") is a word that functions as the name of some specific thing or set of things, such as living creatures, objects, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Linguistically, a noun is a member of a large, open part of speech whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition.

Lexical categories (parts of speech) are defined in terms of the ways in which their members combine with other kinds of expressions. The syntactic rules for nouns differ from language to language. In English, nouns are those words which can occur with articles and attributive adjectives and can function as the head of a noun phrase.

History

Word classes (parts of speech) were described by Sanskrit grammarians from at least the 5th century BC. In Yāska's Nirukta, the noun (nāma) is one of the four main categories of words defined.

The Ancient Greek equivalent was ónoma (ὄνομα), referred to by Plato in the Cratylus dialog, and later listed as one of the eight parts of speech in The Art of Grammar, attributed to Dionysius Thrax (2nd century BC). The term used in Latin grammar was nōmen. All of these terms for "noun" were also words meaning "name". The English word noun is derived from the Latin term, through the Anglo-Norman noun.

Dirty Epic

"Dirty Epic" is a 1994 single by Underworld. The track was originally released in an instrumental form as "Dirty" in 1992, credited to the group's short-lived alias, Lemon Interupt. It was reworked with lyrics for their 1994 album, dubnobasswithmyheadman, and was released as a single in the USA on 18 July 1994.

The original Lemon Interupt mixes "Dirty" and "Dirty Guitar" were included on the "Dirty Epic" single, now credited to Underworld.

Track listing

All tracks written, mixed and produced by Rick Smith, Karl Hyde and Darren Emerson unless otherwise noted.

12": Junior Boys' Own / JBO 7-12 (UK, 1992)

Released under the name Lemon Interupt.

CD: Wax Trax! / TVT 8725-2V (US, 1994)

12": DMD / DMD INT 001 (Germany, 1994)

12": Intercord Tonträger GmbH / INT 193.019 (Germany, 1994)

Underworld (band)

Underworld are a British electronic group formed in 1980 in Cardiff and the principal name under which musicians Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have recorded together. Darren Price has toured with the band since 2005, after the departure of Darren Emerson in 2000. Known for visual style and dynamic live performances, Underworld have influenced a wide range of artists and been featured in soundtracks and scores for films, television, and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Their fifth studio album, Barking, was released on 13 September 2010.

History

Pre-Underworld years (1980–1986)

Hyde and Smith began their musical partnership with the Kraftwerk and reggae-inspired sounds of The Screen Gemz while working together in a diner in the city of Cardiff, where both had been studying. They were joined by The Screen Gemz' bass player Alfie Thomas, drummer Bryn Burrows, and keyboardist John Warwicker in forming a proto-electroclash/new wave band whose name was a graphic squiggle, which was subsequently given the pronunciation Freur. The band signed to CBS Records, and went on to release the albums Doot-Doot in 1983, and Get Us out of Here in 1986. Freur disbanded in 1986.