Glossary (Descent)

With impressions carrying anything complex, everyday speech aboard shrank to a fast, basic vocabulary, mostly inherited from games and older computer systems, plus loanwords from many cultural grades that caught on. The book never explains it in the story: the glossary in its Notes is the only key. Loanwords are written in square brackets.

Act: widely used, it implies any version of doing something or participating in something.; Example: «What are you acting here?»
Anticipate: to desire something, be it an object, an event, or how an event will unfold. Accustomed to the possibility of achieving virtually anything, anticipation becomes the closest thing to a longing or desire. Sometimes it is used for the act of predicting something, then used interchangeably with the term "Impression".; Example: «I anticipate it's the idea of arriving at Calima and the intuition that it will not update our existence.»
Appear: beyond its common use, the term extends to showing up in a certain way or arriving at a place.; Example: «Finally you appear, citizen.»
Block: to paralyze or stop in some way, both others and oneself, for any reason. The term "blocked" is used interchangeably for both mental states such as confusion or daze and physical limitations such as immobilization.; Example: «Don't block him, Claire.»
Bonify: to reward or be rewarded, including oneself.; Example: «Won't you bonify me for that?»
[bouillie]: pulp or thick liquid mass, used to refer to the reactive gel in recreation tanks.; Example: «He woke up in his recreation tank, lying on the still damp padding; the reactive gel or [bouillie], as people commonly called it, had already been filtered out.»
Connect: to join, reach out to, or set something in motion. In some cases also used to indicate focusing one's will on something.; Example: «Hey, why don't you connect?»
Disconnect: to separate, leave, or stop in one's current course of action, but in some cases also used to indicate being absent or unconscious.; Example: «I disconnect so you can continue with your game.»
Employ: initially reserved for performing productive, reward-worthy tasks assigned by AI, later on will be extended to performing any purposeful task.; Example: «Do you want to employ yourself or start the refuge session directly?»
[ennui]: boring/boredom.; Example: «But is it for [ennui] or to avoid other impressions?»
Format: the style, structure, or intent of something.; Example: «What was its format?»
Impression: to interpret or intuit, if it does not refer to the explicit fact of receiving impressions.; Example: «I impression that citizens have not recorded well enough its content.»
[intenso]: absorbing or demanding concentration.; Example: «I can't, there's assembly: the first tenth of the cycle is always [intenso], more so now on the arrival.»
Invoke: to call, to bring into coalition or to generate something.; Example: «Uhhh, this invokes a duel: fight in the gallery after lunch?»
[jefe]: denotes someone's leadership or mastery.; Example: «Status available, [jefe]?»
[kuaile]: depending on the context, being happy, being fortunate or feeling grateful.; Example: «A large part of the group is very [kuaile] with their choice.»
[lagom]: sufficient or appropriate, neither too much nor too little.; Example: «And do you accept [lagom] the result of the game?»
Mark: to indicate, to point out or to make manifest.; Example: «[Top] appearance, mark it!»
Play: to participate or take part in the event being referred to, which is usually called generically "game".; Example: «Play it.»
Points: initially used literally to refer to the points that can be used in recreations, later on will expand its meaning to encompass other concepts of value or wealth.; Example: «There go our points...»
Promote: to obtain an advantage or to improve the essence of something.; Example: «It promotes with the employment.»
[puto]: foul-sounding, intensifies something. Depending on the context it can vary from pejorative to complimentary.; Example: «Record that, the [puto] Yong!»
Record: to notice or take notice of something, either by oneself or to ask others to do so. While "Scan" can be translated/simplified to the action of looking, "Record" then does so to the fact of realizing what one is observing.; Example: «Record that, the [puto] Yong!»
Register: widely used, it implies thinking, understanding or the act of memorizing something at the moment. Given the ubiquity of AI in the lives of crew members and its constant assistance, the term used to carry out a mental activity has moved more towards a passive event than a personal effort.; Example: «I still don't register why you are not a citizen, employing yourself so much.»
Remember: to know or to have knowledge of something. Memory itself has a variable and/or fickle value in modern times; hence what is remembered at a given moment is that which is closest to what is known or understood.; Example: «You remember my opinion about the administration: 99% of it is done by Omega.»
Reproduce: beyond its usual use, the term extends to transmitting or repeating any type of information, even speaking.; Example: «Are you reproducing about the minor injury we inflicted on your leg between seven players?»
Require: beyond its usual historical use, the term extends to any request, question, need or immediate desire. See "Anticipate" for more complex or long-term desires.; Example: «Aditi, in case you require a name.»
Scan: the act of directing one's attention to something. After the technological advent of impressions and recreations, concepts such as looking or listening with the physical senses partially lose their meaning.; Example: «Now I was going to play at the gallery, but I scanned you here, blocked.»
Simulate: seem, resemble or possibly be something.; Example: «It would simulate so.»
Solid: something clear, correct or of quality.; Example: «It is a very solid result.»
[sumimasen]: to ask someone for forgiveness or demand it.; Example: «Ehm, Wang, [sumimasen].»
[tamade]: foul-sounding, to curse or complain.; Example: «[Tamade]!»
Terminate: in addition to its usual use, it is the usual word used to kill or finish off someone. Since the act itself is an archaic concept in the real world, the terminology used in virtual games is more commonly used.; Example: «You almost terminated me in the last group experience.»
[top]: gives maximum capacity or quality to something.; Example: «It's you who is [top] at talking.»
Transition: moving from one context to another, be it a physical point, topic of conversation, thought, etc.; Example: «Sorry, I was transitioning.»
Union: obligatory intimate contact (not necessarily sexual) during vigils. Many actions or suggestions guided by AI aim to avoid the total disconnection of humans from reality.; Example: «He was already searching for a module with a free engineering operating armchair when the periodic reminder of the union appeared on his interface.»
Update: to change or update the state of any object, thought, or concept. Secondarily, it is used to ready something or indicate that one is ready.; Example: «I mark that yes, don't update your status.»
[vkus]: someone's pleasure or enjoyment.; Example: «I forgot it's your [vkus] to speak at vigils.»
[zeichen]: personal physical object carried by each crew member during the vigil.; Example: «Kurt returned to the tank and took his [zeichen] from the last compartment: an amulet of Thor's hammer, Mjölnir.»