Ideology
As the Americans learned so painfully in Earth's final century,
free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny.
The once-chained people whose leaders at last lose their grip on
information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality, but
the free nation gradually constricting its grip on public discourse
has begun its rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would
deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself
your master.
Commisioner Pravin Lal, "U.N. Declaration of Rights"
Applied Physics
Scientific theories are judged by the coherence they lend to our
natural experience and the simplicity with which they do so. The
grand principle of the heavens balances on the razor's edge of truth.
Commissioner Pravin Lal, "A History of Science"
Doctrine: Mobility
Once a man has changed the relationship between himself and his
environment, he cannot return to the blissful ignorance he left.
Motion, of necessity, involves a change in perspective.
Commissioner Pravin Lal, "A Social History of Planet"
Fusion Power
Our ancestors harnessed the power of a sun, and so again shall we.
Commissioner Pravin Lal, "The Science of Our Fathers"
Silksteel Alloys
Until quite recently, spider silk had the highest tensile strength
of any substance known to man, and the name Silksteel pays homage
to the arachnid for good reason.
Commissioner Pravin Lal, "U.N. Scientific Survey"
Mind/Machine Interface
The Warrior's bland acronym, MMI, obscures the true horror of
this monstrosity. Its inventors promise a new era of genius, but
meanwhile unscrupulous power brokers use its forcible installation
to violate the sanctity of unwilling human minds. They are
creating their own private army of demons.
Commissioner Pravin Lal, "Report on Human Rights"
Biomachinery
I loved my chosen. How then to face the day when she left me?
So I took from her body a single cell, perhaps to love her again.
Commissioner Pravin Lal, "Time of Bereavement"
Neural Grafting
I think, and my thoughts cross the barrier into the synapses of the
machine, just as the good doctor intended. But what I cannot shake,
and what hints at things to come, is that thoughts cross back. In my
dreams, the sensibility of the machine invades the periphery of my
consciousness: dark, rigid, cold, alien. Evolution is at work here,
but just what is evolving remains to be seen.
Commissioner Pravin Lal, "Man and Machine"
Centauri Psi
The Mind Worms are the natural defenses of the living Planet--the
white blood cells, if you will. In a world in which unassimilated
thought represents danger, the Mind Worm seeks out concentrations of
sentient mental energy and destroys them, ruthlessly and efficiently.
Commissioner Pravin Lal, "Mind Worm, Mind Worm"
The Planetary Datalinks
As the Americans learned so painfully in Earth's final century,
free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny.
The once-chained people whose leaders at last lose their grip on
information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality, but
the free nation gradually constricting its grip on public discourse
has begun its rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would
deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself
your master.
Commissioner Pravin Lal, "U.N. Declaration of Rights"
Recreation Commons
The entire character of a base and its inhabitants can be
absorbed in a quick trip to the Rec Commons. The sweaty
arenas of Fort Legion, the glittering gambling halls of
Morgan Bank, the sunny lovers' trysts in Gaia's High Garden,
or the somber reading rooms of U.N. Headquarters. Even the
feeding bay at the Hive gives stark insight into the sleeping
demons of Yang's communal utopia.
Commissioner Pravin Lal, "A Social History of Planet"
Centauri Preserve
In the years since our arrival, we have foolishly disrupted so
many of Planet's ecosystems that entire species may vanish
without our ever having understood, or even known them. We must halt
this plunder, and halt it immediately, for our own survival as a
species depends on our ability to strike a balance on this world.
Commissioner Pravin Lal,"Mind Worm, Mind Worm"
Mass to Energy
I hold a scrap of paper in the darkness and
light it. I watch it burn bright and curl, disappearing
into nothingness, and the heat burns my fingers.
Where has it gone? What has it become? I cannot shake
the feeling that I have witnessed a form of transcendence.
Commissioner Pravin Lal, "The Convergence"