SOL, Subsector 1-A: No. systems: 63 Sector: Orion with 3 inhabited planets: 3 Ruled by: with 2 inhabited planets: 11 with 1 inhabited planet: 20 SOLAR FEDERATION: (2091-2128) Established when enough Terrans had moved off-planet to justify a System-wide government, the Federation was a loose democracy. It was superseded when hyperdrive allowed humanity to travel faster than light, rapidly spreading to the point where sheer scale made democracy impossible. At that point the Federation Congress amended the constitution, dissolving the Federation and creating the Terran Empire. SOUL-BLADE: (Irschchan) A dagger carried by all Irschchans from pre-adolescence. It has the owner's personality impressed on it by a specialized form of darlas, and is supposed to remain with its owner for the rest of @'s life. The owner becomes uncomfortable if it is not within reach, more so if it is handled by another, and suffers permanent psychic shock if it is destroyed. After the owner's death, the soul-blade is preserved in the family's Hall of Memories, where the survivors are able to feel the presence of their deceased relatives. SPECIAL LIAISON: An individual with special knowledge of a culture or society, usually because @ was born or raised in it, appointed to work with the officer in charge of a mission to that culture. STILDYNE, Subsector 7-F: No. systems: 96 Sector: Cygnus with 3 inhabited planets: 6 Ruled by: with 2 inhabited planets: 8 with 1 inhabited planet: 26 STINGWEED: Nemran plant. A low-growing shrub with silvery-green three-lobed leaves and milky sap. The sap contains something generally described as a cross between a fungus and a bacterium, which is harmless to intact skin, but is poisonous if introduced into a wound. The first indication of poisoning, usually in less than an hour, is that the wound begins to ooze a thick, greenish-yellow, foul-smelling matter. If the victim does not receive prompt treatment, a fever develops, followed by delirium, coma, and death, the speed of progress determined by the amount of poison absorbed. It is dangerous for anyone except a medic or physician with life support available to attempt medicating a stingweed victim, since even something as normally safe as quidine may at times intensify the poison's effect. STUNNER, NEURAL: A blaster setting or special-purpose handgun that stuns rather than injuring the one shot. Although it causes no actual damage, the victim does wake with a severe, migraine-like headache. STYX, Subsector 17-B: No. systems: 115 Sector: Indus with 3 inhabited planets: 3 Ruled by: with 2 inhabited planets: 10 with 1 inhabited planet: 21 SUBSECTORS: The second subdivision of the Empire, ruled by earls. There are 106 Subsectors, having an average of 53 planets in 36 systems.