Neoevolution Earth Glossary of Terms

Neoevolution Earth Glossary of Terms

If any readers find a word in the book that isn’t clear and/or isn’t in this glossary, please send me a message so I can add it. Thanks!

(Warning! I tried to avoid spoilers for individuals currently reading at any point in the series, but it’s possible tiny spoilers exist on this list.)

Concepts:

Afterworld: The afterlife that most young Wintersvilla Warriors believe in. It is said that as long as you die with glory, then you will enter the Afterworld when you die. The Afterworld is filled with all the greatest female warriors from time who eternally battle one another for the sake of endless glory.
ANNA Project: The project devised by Mendel involving Anna’s design, birth, and eventual true purpose.
Ascension: Mendel’s concept of ascending beyond the cosmos and entering the Great Beyond.
Birth-fire: Hunters are roasted over birth-fires to teach them pain and suffering beyond all else. This has several purposes, including allowing Huntresses to better control them and creating a lust for suffering and pain.
Birthing Mothers: A class of citizen in Wintersvilla chosen for their ability to give birth to especially fit female warriors and male slaves.
Continental Organ: A planetary organ encompassing an entire continent.
Cure: The designation given to Aliana, though it hasn’t been revealed what it truly means.
Eternal Hunt: The religious drive of Huntresses and Hunters to eradicate all of humanity from the Earth.
First Revolution of Astrea: The first revolution that took place in the Foundation of Astrea, led by Samuel Kaminski’s father. After this event, the Queensguards were implemented as wardens of the Foundation.
Flesh pod: These grow from flesh trees and house developing Nomads.
Flesh tree: Whenever a Nomad or Hybrid Nomad dies, they turn into a flesh tree, which grows flesh pods that eventually grow into fully developed Nomads. Virtually all flesh trees grow roots that connect to the global mycelial network of the Earth.
Great Beyond: A location beyond the cosmos that Mendel is focused on entering by utilizing Mendel’s Ladder and attaining Ascension.
Hacker: Mostly young Foundationers who refuse to work at power stations and provide labor and energy for Astrea to function. Instead, they hack into Astrea’s computer systems and siphon small, usually unnoticeable amounts of energy from other Foundationers laboring at power stations.
Helix-warden: A type of specialized mercenary prominent during the early revolutions of Downver. In the present day, most can be found living in the Walled City. An individual becomes a helix-warden by allowing a handler to alter their DNA so that they can fully fuse with mechanical and cybernetic body parts. Only 2% of individuals who undergo the necessary operations to become a helix-warden survive.
Hybrid Nomads: This is a classification humans use to specify humanoid Nomads. Some Nomads are utterly alien, while others appear extremely human and can utilize human speech. In truth, there is no real separation between Nomads and Hybrid Nomads. All Nomads turn into flesh trees when they die and all Nomads serve the will of the Earth.
Hunter: A humanoid weapon released by Astrea to hunt down all of humanity. They are roasted over Birth-fires from the moment of birth and prodded incessantly by Cleaners. When they are old enough, depending on the year of their intended release, Hunters drag themselves to find their Huntress, who provides them with a skinsuit. A Hunter’s normal appearance is nine-feet tall, sharpened claws and teeth, vertical eye lids and pale yellow eyes, pointed ears, a demonically deep rumbling voice. Their appearance is intended to strike fear into humans, but they can also shapeshift, changing themselves in incredible ways to become more humanoid or to transform into beasts of endlessly diverse evolutions.
Huntress: A humanoid weapon released by Astrea to hunt down all of humanity. Huntresses are gestated in the Thymus of Astrea and released when there is a Hunter ripe for them to use as a living weapon. Huntresses appear totally human, with raven black hair and deep emerald eyes. However, they can alter the color and texture of their skin, allowing them to camouflage themselves or disguise themselves as someone from a human encampment for easy infiltration. Huntresses utilize a small neural-chip at the base of their necks to control their Hunters through the skinsuit and also communicate directly with Astrea (through the computer systems called the Marrow).
Jumbo: Astrean citizens who are naturally larger and more muscular than others. These citizens are usually the ones chosen to become Queensguards.
Mendel’s Ladder: The process of progressing beyond natural evolution to attain a state of neoevolution and eventually Ascension. Ultimately, this is the “reasoning” behind all the events taking place in the series. According to Mendel, everything and everyone is just a rung of his ladder leading beyond the Cosmos and into the Great Beyond. It is said that Mendel’s Ladder is the only pathway out of countless pathways that allows humanity to ascend beyond entropy death and existential pointlessness.
Mendel’s Vision (His Foretold Future): Mendel’s prescient vision of future events. It is said that Mendel’s Vision is perfect, up until a certain point in the future, at which point “fate” fractures. This fracturing is due to aspects of Mendel’s Ladder.
Mirror-Man (Living Reflection): A being who the Nomads revere with religious-like reverence. It is said that the Mirror-Man is like a mythological figure to the Nomads, that the Mirror-Man will have the power to command the Nomads and even the Earth itself. The Mirror-Man, or Living Reflection, is made of a perfectly reflective substance down to the sub-atomic level.
Mind of Earth: The fledgling and still growing singular consciousness of the planet Earth. The Mind of Earth is still being built through the growth of flesh trees, the expansion of the mycelial network, the building of planetary organs, etc.
Mycelial Network: The flesh tree root and fungal networks spanning the entire globe. The mycelial network expands through the pathways carved by shooter worms. The mycelial network can be accessed by virtually any Nomad, and it can also be hijacked and observed by clever individuals.
Neoevolution: Self-driven evolution meant to supersede natural evolution in the pursuit of eventual Ascension.
Nomads (People of Earth/Changed People): After nuclear bombs destroyed many of Earth’s major cities, Astrea was launched and Hunters/Huntresses began massacring humanity en masse. The only way out for most humans was to willingly allow themselves to become a Nomad, a process that can only take place through mental consent. Nomads are safe from the ire of Hunters/Huntresses, but they are also no longer human. Nomads can take on many forms, all of them seemingly arbitrary and spanning all taxonomical domains of life. Nomads live to carry out “His” will, which they also refer to as the will of the Earth. Most Nomads only live for a decade or less. When they die, they turn into a flesh tree and begin growing flesh pods, which in grow more seemingly random Nomads to continue the process.
Overdrive: The process of a Wintersvilla Warrior allowing her exo (exoskeleton) to fully take over her mind and push her body and brain to their fullest potential for violence and rage. Overdrive utilizes the warrior’s body as fuel for its onslaught, consuming the warrior’s body piece by piece. Once in Overdrive, the process cannot be stopped, and the warrior will battle and rampage until her dying breath.
Planetary Organ: A neurological organ built on or below the surface of a planet. These colossal structures serve as the foundation for a planetary mind.
Power station: These are ultimately just advanced collections of machines that harness a person’s exercise/weight lifting and convert it into the energy that Astrea runs on. Both time and effort are measured. All citizens of the Foundation are required to work at a power station for 3 hours of standard output per week (more hours if their output is measured to be too weak). After turning 81, this number increases to nine hours per week. This number increases to 27 hours per week after turning 90. If a citizen is unable to meet this required output or find someone to makeup the difference for them, then they are recycled a few months after entering energy debt.
Prodigal Sons of the Agency: Enigmatic and powerful beings created by the Agency. Their true motives are currently unknown. It is revealed that the First and Second Prodigal Son were killed in battle years before book 1 takes place in 2099. The Third Prodigal son, Julian, is revealed by Gambe to be in Downver. Gambe Mainstone is Fourth Prodigal Son. Leif mentions that the Fifth Prodigal Son is named Romeo. Gambe states that the Sixth Prodigal son is named Harald. Leif Mainstone, the Seventh Prodigal Son, is a character introduced directly in book 2 and indirectly in the publishing credits of each journal entry by Denis Mendel. Gambe stated that the Eighth Prodigal Son was killed in a battle with a group of Wintersvilla Women who all entered overdrive. Gambe notes that the Ninth Prodigal Son is someone he and his brothers don’t talk about, not even his name.
Queensguard: Wardens of the Foundation in Astrea. Due to being Luxury Quarters citizens, they are biologically immortal. These naturally muscular men are adorned in tank-like metal armor with the ability to create a forcefield that stops projectiles. The Queensguard appear lifeless and work tirelessly, standing in their watchtowers as they observe the citizens of the Foundation from above. The Queensguards were naturally muscular Foundationers chosen by the Queen after the First Revolution. It is their job to quell any potential revolution that might arise in the future.
Recycler: This is where citizens of the Foundation are taken when they can no longer labor at a power station for the required number of hours per week. Recyclers crush the body quickly, allowing all of the nutrients of a person’s body to be used in the creation of fertilizer for Astrea’s pristine soil, the air that each Astrean breathes, etc.
Rooster-warden: A type of specialized mercenary prominent during the early revolutions of Downver. In the present day, most can be found living in the Walled City. An individual becomes a rooster-warden by allowing a handler to alter their DNA so that they can fully psychologically and hormonally sync with roosters bred for violence and battle. Roughly 50% of individuals who undergo the necessary operations to become a rooster-warden survive.
Rovers: The small or deformed boys born in the Matriarchy of Wintersvilla. Nomusa decided to toss the boys over the walls and into the Nomadic wilds. However, the wilds did not consume the boys like they would anyone else. Raised by the wilds and their own wit, the Rovers number in the hundreds of thousands, with most of them following an enigmatic king named King BigBilly. High ranking Rovers in BigBilly’s army are taught how to tame Biofreaks and enter a pact with them. For this reason, Rovers combine their name with the name of their Biofreak, seeing themselves as a single entity.
Second Mother: After a girl is born to a birthing mother and raised by her for some time (usually 2-5 years, depending on the girl), a second mother takes over and begins training the girl to become a Wintersvilla Warrior.
Skinsuit (body membrane): The skinsuit of a Hunter (referred to as a body membrane by most humans) is actually a living suit of flesh composed of billions of microdermic needles. The skinsuit merges with a Hunter and provides them sustenance through the absorption of nutrients in the soil, sunlight, or most ideally (due to nutrient density), human/animal flesh. The skinsuit begins as a Huntress’ skin pod, which she uses to safely land on Earth’s surface after being ejected from Astrea. After giving it to her Hunter, the skinsuit saves the Hunter from their fatal wounds on their birth-fire. The skinsuit doesn’t actually heal the wounds, it just keeps the Hunter in a state of painful stasis. If the skinsuit ever fails or dies, the Hunter will die as well due to its birth-fire wounds never actually healing. The skinsuit allows a Hunter to transform in endless ways and develop countless abilities that the Huntress can utilize to further the Eternal Hunt.
Skin pod: The protective membrane used by a Huntress in her descent to the Earth. The skin pod is given to a Hunter, at which point it merges with him and becomes his skinsuit.
Sons and Daughters of the Foundation: The revolutionary group in the Foundation inspired by the First Revolution. The founders include Albatross, Nikki, Samuel, Frank, and Damian. By present day in the novel (2099), Samuel hasn’t been involved with the group for decades. Their ideas have spread to many young minds in the Foundation, leading to the rise of hackers. These hackers refuse to do any work and siphon energy credits from other citizens to live.
Studs: Particularly fit male slaves in Wintersvilla used to copulate with birthing mothers and create even greater female warriors and male slaves.
Virus: The designation given to Aurelia, though it hasn’t been revealed what it truly means.
Void-vortex: An ongoing hallucination that Aurelia has seen in her mind since she was a child. It is a giant churning vortex of nothingness that seems to be calling to her and beckoning her to fall into it. Aurelia believes that the void-vortex will play a role in her fate.
Wintersvilla Warriors: Female warriors from the Wintersvilla Matriarchy in the remnants of old world Vancouver, which was obliterated by nuclear bombs five decades earlier. These warriors utilize Agency technology to replace their skeletal system with an endoskeleton. They also embed ports throughout their body which allow them to connect to an exoskeleton (exo), turning them into a semi-autonomous machine of war. An endoskeleton is also capable of providing warriors with faster healing, while an exoskeleton is capable of providing clear biological data on their body and also help manage their body’s macromolecular makeup/cellular activity.
Worker: A pejorative used to describe Foundationers who spend more time than legally necessary at power stations. This can be done to gain even more credits to be used for slightly elevated luxury, or they can be given to others who might not be capable of working on their own due to age or mishap.

People:

Albatross (Jakob Rohrshan): The Leader of the Sons and Daughters of the Foundation. His ethos is one driven against forced labor, the unfairness of some people (jumbos like Samuel) being larger than others, his desire to become immortal like the citizens of the Luxury Quarters, and his insatiable desire to enter the Paradise Quarters (which may or may not be real) beyond the Golden Wall of the Luxury Quarters.
Aliana (the Cure): A young girl raised alongside her twin sister, Aurelia, within the walls of Wintersvilla. At 13 years old, Aliana is a fierce warrior. She was raised by Shira, Myriam, and Rooli, and though she sees Shira as her mother, she looks up to Myriam as an idol. She has a fiery and opinionated personality. She has emerald green eyes like a Huntress. She has no biological mother or father as she and her sister designed and created by Tomasz Novak for some unknown higher purpose.
Anna: The enigmatic woman who descended from Astrea to the Earth in the year 2065 on a ship marked with the letters “ANNA”. She looks and smells nearly identical to a Huntress, but according to Anna she is in fact human, except for her emerald eyes. She took the place of Thompson’s original Huntress (who turns out to be Volya) and provided him with a special skinsuit. She and Thompson fall in love during her four months on Earth, however, she chooses to leave and go back to Astrea, resulting in Thompson rampaging and killing millions of people and Nomads over the course of several weeks.
Armando Ferreira: As the highest ranking alpha helix-warden, Armando is one of the most feared individuals in the entire Walled City of Downver. A silent and imposing figure, he carries an air of mystery. All four of his limbs are fully cybernetic. Armando works for Cid the Knower and obeys his every command.
Aurelia: A young girl raised alongside her twin sister, Aliana, within the walls of Wintersvilla. At 13 years old, Aurelia is a clever warrior. She was raised by Shira, Myriam, and Rooli, but she is closest to Rooli, seeing her as the closest thing she has to a mother. She has a calculating and stoic personality. She has violet eyes and black, still-painful scarring spanning from her lips and up her cheeks. She normally wears a face mask to hide the black scarring from others, who find it horrific. She is unable to speak and instead utilizes a form of sign language. She has no biological mother or father as she and her sister designed and created by Tomasz Novak for some unknown higher purpose.
BigBilly: The King of the Rovers. This Rover/Biofreak pair commands tens of thousands of Rovers from his kingdom in the wilds east of Wintersvilla, which he refers to as the Boreal Kingdom. Billy, the Biofreak, is unnaturally intelligent and is the only Biofreak thus far encountered with the ability to speak. Big, the Rover King, is a man in his early twenties with a missing right pectoral muscle and flower tattoos covering every inch of his skin except for his pectoral deformity. He is described as having auburn hair, being handsome, and also being quite charming. He taught other Rovers how to tame Biofreaks and become paired with them. He also seems to be working with the Nomads and is privy to a great deal of information that others apparently don’t know.
Bill Wendover: The operator of the bar called the Earth’s Reprieve in the Foundation of Astrea.
Brutus: The lizard-headed, chicken-bodied Mutant tamed by the Rover Maxx.
Cid the Knower: The First Lord of the Walled City of Downver. He wears thick black glasses that totally occlude his eyes. The glasses give him the ability to kill or manipulate matter at will. He also appears to know information that should be impossible, especially concerning the lives of Aliana and Aurelia.
Craig Winters: One of the old world Titans. In the old world, he was the head of Winters Security, and in the Nomadic world, he was the leader of one of the surviving bastions of humanity, Wintersvilla (founded in 2051 on the ruins of Vancouver), for just over 20 years. In the year 2071, Winters was killed by Shira Arcadia when she was 12 years old, ending Winters’ reign and beginning Nomusa’s reign of Wintersvilla as a Matriarchy.
Damian Szewczyk: Samuel’s best friend and one of the founding members of the Sons and Daughters of the Foundation.
David Kaminski: Samuel’s father and the leader of the First Revolution of Astrea, which took place when Samuel was only four years old.
Denis Mendel: One of the old world Titans. In the old world, he was the head of Mendel Networks and inventor of Mendelian AI. He is said to be responsible for the Nomads, the Nuclear bombs, the Hunters/Huntresses, and all the other new lethal aspects of the new world. In the present day, he is nowhere to be seen, except through his journal entries, dated up until 2065 when they appear to stop.
Doe (Roger Ward): A citizen of the Walled City of Downver. He is generally cautious and is particularly adept at maneuverability, escape, and close-quarters combat. He has two pet grasshoppers the size of his fists that sit on his shoulders. He meets Aliana and Aurelia in the Feeding Cave alongside his best friend, Ricky, and the enigmatic “gray boy.”
Eddy Hopper: A citizen of the Walled City of Downver who directly serves Cid the Knower. Eddy has hulkish musculature and is covered in tattoos, many of which depict Wintersvilla Women with unbecomingly large breasts.
Fana Tsehay: One of the old world Titans. In the old world, she was the head of Tsehay Labs and invented the process of neurolacing, along with Tsehay Manufacturies.
Frank Abelmann: One of the founders of the Sons and Daughters of the Foundation and the original muscle of the group. He is the largest jumbo after Samuel, but unlike Samuel, he labors for his own hedonistic desires rather than for the good of others.
Fullman: Wesley’s husband and lover. In Wintersvilla, the name “Fullman” is often given to slaves as a pejorative for breaking the law and having to be seriously punished more than once at some point in their life.
Gambe Mainstone, Fourth Prodigal Son of Agency: A being composed of what appears to be a swarm of tiny machines. He is capable of making his body appear humanoid, making copies of himself, turning himself into vehicles, and likely other abilities as well. He claims to be a weapons expert.
Geronimo Pérez: The youngest and newest member of the Sons and Daughters of the Foundation. Geronimo is a jumbo like Frank and Samuel.
Gladys Mainstone: One of the old world Titans. In the old world, she was head of Mainstone Technologies. In the present day of 2099, she is referred to as “mom” by Gambe. Gambe also states that Gladys doesn’t just run the Agency, but “IS” the Agency.
Greta Acs: One of the founders of the Wintersvilla Matriarchy. She is Chief of Slavery and Birthing.
Gray Boy: A young, enigmatic boy with gray features that Aurelia and Aliana meet after exiting the Feeding Cave.
Harald Mainstone, Sixth Prodigal Son of Agency: Gambe refers to Harald as his brother and states that Harald is ruthless, knows everything, and has a bad temper.
High Commander Roland Ottonian: The leading commander of the Queensguard. He wears golden armor outfitted with combustion-based flight.
Hunter541: A Hunter that Aurelia and Aliana met in the Feeding Cave.
Jamis: The wolf-headed, frog-bodied Mutant tamed by the Rover Maxx.
John Downver: One of the old world Titans. In the old world, he was the head of Downver Diggings. He built Downver a mile beneath Denver and allowed millions of people to enter its gates in 2051 before sealing the self-sufficient underground city away from the world. 10 years later, John Downver passed away, leading to destabilization and a series of violent and radical revolutions across the seven districts of Downver.
Julian Mainstone, Third Prodigal Son of Agency: Gambe states that his brother Julian is an expert in biology and currently lives in Downver.
Lain of Wintersvilla (The Green Wraith): The Chief of Reconnaissance and Expedition in Wintersvilla. Lain spends most of her time outside the walls of the Matriarchy, returning only to provide the other Chiefs with reports and to repair her exo.
Leif Mainstone, Seventh Prodigal Son of Agency (Memory of Earth): Leif, who also refers to himself as the Memory of Earth, is first indirectly introduced to the reader as the publisher of Denis Mendel’s Journal in 2108, nine years after the present day in which the series takes place. Leif is dressed in an old world black and white tuxedo and has angelic features, including coifed blonde hair. He radiates bright light and always presents himself with extreme politeness and courteousness. He is intangible and hovers above the ground. He is capable of moving so fast that he can appear to be in two places at once. He reveals that he has been watching the characters of the story for some time, observing the events of the world.
Lily: A modified individual living in the Walled City who helps Doe, Aliana, and Aurelia during their escape. She has large horns growing from her head and small wings growing out of her back.
Lina of Wintersvilla: One of the joint Chiefs of Protection who remains at Nomusa’s side at all times.
Lingyun Liu: One of the old world Titans. In the old world, he was the head of Liu Energy, which held a major monopoly over the entire world’s renewable and non-renewable energy production and transportation.
Lord of Limbs: Seemingly the only individual in Downver that Cid the Knower fears, the Lord of Limbs is the de facto leader of all of Downver and the Lord of the Erudite and Central district. Very little is known about the Lord of Limbs beyond their power and position.
Lorenzo Visconti: One of the old world Titans. In the old world, he was the head of Visconti Banking, which held a major monopoly of the entire world’s private and public investments.
Margot Kaminski: Samuel’s daughter.
Marissa Welf: One of the old world Titans. In the old world, she was the head of the Welf Corporation, the industry leader in many forms of weaponry, aerospace engineering, rocketry, and space/asteroid mining.
MaxxEl: The Rover/Biofreak pair composed of Maxx, a rover with mere flaps for hands, and a large Biofreak with a particularly deformed face. Maxx served as general in BigBilly’s army, until he left for a life of peace so that he could create more Mutant pets by bringing a pair of animals to a splicer bush.
Mei Wu: One of the founders of the Wintersvilla Matriarchy. She is the Chief of Science and Trade and is the only Chief without an endoskeleton or ports for connecting to an exo.
The Mind: The enigmatic force in Astrea that has some level of power over events.
Madam Aubrey: A hyper-sexualized woman with seemingly no enhancements beyond her clearly electronic voice. She has the ability to hypnotize people with her voice, especially young children. When hypnotized by her, one can’t help feeling that Madam Aubrey will care for them and love them. In truth, Madam Aubrey exploits children by hypnotically convincing them to work for her as sex-slaves or general workers.
Maitreya (Olaf): The Ninth Prodigal Son. The Outsider.
Mrs. Waters: One of the elderly individuals (98) who Samuel labors extra for. Were it not for Samuel’s labor, Mrs. Waters and other elders would be recycled.
Myriam of Wintersvilla: The wife of Shira Arcadia and a high-ranking major in Shira’s army. Despite being a decade younger than Shira and many other top warriors, Myriam is the deadliest Wintersvilla Warrior alive. Her battle prowess is unmatched. Her exo is the most advanced exoskeleton ever created, and she appears to be the only individual capable of properly syncing with its advanced intelligence. Myriam is known as the Wielder of Summit Splitter, a massive buster sword that requires an exo just to lift.
Nathan Kaminski: Samuel’s son.
Nichole Adamich: One of the founders of the Wintersvilla Matriarchy. She is the former Chief of Reconnaissance and Expedition. She left the Matriarchy approximately 17 years before the present day of 2099 and hasn’t been seen since. She was also the second mother of Lain, and by abandoning the Matriarchy, she also abandoned 8-year-old Lain, who became the second Chief of Reconnaissance and Expedition in Nichole’s absence.
Nikki Kauer: One of the founders of the Sons and Daughters of the Foundation. She was in love with Samuel when they were kids, but she has been partners with Albatross for over a decade.
Nomusa Mwansa: One of the founders of the Wintersvilla Matriarchy. She is the Matriarch of Wintersvilla and has the final say in all Matriarchy matters.
Norman: The large and mentally handicap son of Old Man Madeira. He also has a strangely deformed face and never leaves Old Man Madeira’s side. He doesn’t ever speak.
Old Man Madeira (Andre Madeira): The oldest man in the Foundation at 99 years old. Old Man Madeira is like a grandfather to Samuel, and were it not for Samuel’s labor, Madeira would have long ago been recycled.
The Queen: The enigmatic ruler of Astrea who the citizens have never actually seen.
Ricardo Endema (Ricky): A citizen of the Walled City of Downver. He is generally confident and brash. He is equipped with battle armor and a special scope over his eye, among other enhancements. He has a pet rooster. He meets Aliana and Aurelia in the Feeding Cave alongside his best friend, Doe, and the enigmatic “gray boy.”
Rooli (Enduring Ironwood): The Nomad protector of Aliana and Aurelia. She arrived at Wintersvilla and has never been more than a few feet away from the twins since the day that Tomasz Novak dropped the twins off to Wintersvilla as babies. She looks like a human/tree hybrid and is capable of expanding or shedding her woody flesh to become larger or smaller.
Ruben Avila: One of the old world Titans. In the old world, he was the head of Empresas Ecológicas, which owned a monopoly over the world’s food production, pollution management, and climate conservation.
Samuel Kaminski (The Workhorse of Astrea): The most well known jumbo in the Foundation. Samuel is a remarkably large and muscular man. As a middler born right near Mount Mendel, Samuel is fond of a slow and uneventful life. He lives with his wife Sandra and his children Nathan and Margot. Samuel spends a great deal of his time laboring at power stations on behalf of others, especially old people, to ensure they do not get recycled.
Sandra Kaminski: Samuel’s wife.
Shira Arcadia: One of the founders of the Wintersvilla Matriarchy. She is the Chief of Logistics and General of War. She killed Craig Winters when she was 12 years old, leading to the founding of the Wintersvilla Matriarchy. She is equipped with Wintersbane, Craig Winters own prototype blade, which Shira used to kill him. Shira has killed more Hunters and Huntresses than any other warrior. She is bulky and brawny and will do anything to protect Aliana, Aurelia and her wife, Myriam.
Silkweavers: Insectoid people in the Walled City who are responsible for making a great deal of the clothing and armor that all citizens wear.
Soma (Aisthanomeno Ouranio Soma): The apparent emissary of the Mind of Earth.
Sophie of Wintersvilla: One of the joint Chiefs of Protection who remains at Nomusa’s side at all times.
Tether: An enigmatic figure with one emerald eye and one violet eye. The Child.
Thompson (Hunnter4430/ The Butcher of the Wastes): The most powerful Hunter to ever exist. As a 17-year Hunter, Thompson was given a special skinsuit by Anna. When Anna left, Thompson went on an uncontrollable rampage, destroying everything in his path for multiple weeks. This resulted in the death of millions of humans, Nomads, flesh trees, and other flora/fauna. It was during this well known event that Thompson became known as the Butcher of the Wastes. After this rampage, Thompson entered a deep sleep, where he has remained for 34 years, until Volya wakes up and descends down to the Earth to make Thompson her own Hunter.
Tomasz Novak: One of the old world Titans. In the old world, he was the head of Novak Medical, which owned a monopoly on the world’s medical technology, hospitals, medicine, etc.
Vash Ravinash: The lord of the Arts District (The Closet).
Volya: A Huntress born 33 years after the Eternal Hunt ended. She refuses to accept the end of the Eternal Hunt and seeks to fulfill her birthright of killing as many humans as possible.
Wagner Nassau: One of the old world Titans. In the old world, he was the head of the Nassau family (Nassaus), who have served as oracles/guides/gurus to the elite and wealthy of the world for thousands of years.
Wesley Potterman: The head-slave of Shira Arcadia. He is blind in one eye, the result of Nomusa’s ire. He is fiercely loyal to Shira, Myriam, Aliana, Aurelia, and the Wintersvilla Matriarchy in general, despite its fall.

Locations:

Agency: Located over the majority of what was once California. The Agency is said to be what Gladys Mainstone turned herself into. The Agency is an enigmatic power. It is known that the Agency is responsible for making the technology that Wintersvilla Warriors depend on. The Prodigal Sons also come from the Agency. The Agency and the Prodigal Sons’ true motives are not yet known.
Astrea (City in the Sky): The gigantic cylindrical space station orbiting the Earth. After the nuclear bombs and the release of the Nomads and Hunters/Huntresses, a select number of people (just over 180,000) were chosen to board Astrea and escape the hell that Earth was turned into. Most people on Earth believe Astrea to be dead, however, Astrea is very much alive and presently undergoing a second revolution. Astrea’s spin produces artificial gravity, allowing the people to live across the entire curvature of the space station’s inner walls. Astrea is split into several distinct sections.
1. The Foundation: Most citizens of Astrea live in The Foundation. The Foundation is a peaceful place of rivers, rolling hills, cottages, and easy life. People are required to labor at a power station for a certain number of hours per day based on age. The power station serves to provide energy for the space station and also provides exercise and strength training for citizens. As an elongated cylinder roughly a mile in diameter, Astrea’s surface area is expansive, especially since the walls and ceilings can be used as well. After the First Revolution, The Queen instituted the use of Queensguards, who now stand on perches overlooking the citizens of the Foundation to sniff out “revolutionary rats.” Many young citizens support a second revolution, but most people of The Foundation are perfectly happy with their peaceful lives above the deadly, transformed Earth. One each end of the Foundation there is a wall. The Space Wall separates the citizens from outer space, while the opposite wall leads to the Luxury Quarters.
2. The Luxury Quarters: A smaller cylindrical section of Astrea beyond The Foundation. A handful of Foundationers are chosen to live in the Luxury Quarters. Citizens of the Luxury Quarters are granted biological immortality in order to serve Astrea longer.
3. The Paradise Quarters: A fabled area of Astrea beyond the Golden Wall of the Luxury Quarters.
4. Marrow: The computer system and information network of Astrea utilized by Huntresses.
5. Mount Mendel: Technically two mountains, Mount Mendel is at the center of The Foundation. One mountain is positioned directly beneath the other so that the peaks nearly meet in the middle. Many kids make a game out of jumping from one peak, flipping over, and landing on the other peak directly above them.
6. Thymus: A section of Astrea that produces Hunters and Huntresses. Volya is ejected from the Thymus at the beginning of book 1.
Boreal Kingdom: Ruled by BigBilly, the King of the Rovers, this mysterious kingdom is located somewhere in the wilds east of Wintersvilla.
Butcher Wastelands/Butcher Wastes: A desolate area spanning thousands of miles east of Downver. This area of scant life was created during Thompson’s mindless rampage over losing Anna.
Downver: An underground city built a mile beneath the ruins of old world Denver. Downver is one of the final bastions of humanity. Intended to comfortably hold 200,000 people, after the unexpected release of the Hunters/Huntresses, John Downver allowed as many people as possible into the city before sealing it away from the surface. This resulted in about 1 million people entering the city, creating immediate strife and chaos due to the unexpectedly high population. Downver was built as 7 distinct districts, and these 7 districts continue into the present day, though all of them have changed and evolved in profound ways.
1. The Walled City: One of the 7 districts of Downver. The Walled City is the only sovereign district of Downver. It has nine total lords (rulers) with the First Lord and most powerful lord being Cid the Knower.
Feeding Cave: The cave where Hunter541 grows his precious glowies (green-glowing mushrooms).
Great Honey Mushroom: The original flesh tree. Samuel has been told that the Nomads at the Great Honey Mushroom might have a way for him to return to Astrea.
Hunter Dreaming: The location where Thompson was strapped to the Earth with vines and entered a deep slumber for over three decades. This is considered a sacred location by the Nomads.
Three Scars: The location of three symmetrical giant craters on the surface of the Earth directly over Downver. These are the result of old world nuclear bombs. It is revealed that there are many similar craters across the world where other old world cities used to be.
Vida: A human society somewhere in South America that has only been referenced in passing so far.
Waru: What was once old world Australia has been converted into a continent-sized planetary organ of the Earth.
Wintersvilla: Initially built by Craig Winters on the partial ruins of Vancouver, Wintersvilla has changed significantly over time. Although Winters initially experimented on little girls and turned them into cybernetic warriors capable of battling Hunters and Huntresses, eventually, those same girls killed Winters and founded the Wintersvilla Matriarchy. In Wintersvilla, men are either kept as slaves or thrown over the walls of the city as babies if they are unfit or deformed. Most girls and women are trained as warriors, with the most fit and capable among them chosen to become Wintersvilla Warriors. Most human societies and settlements trade their violent or problematic men to Wintersvilla in exchange for protection from one or multiple Wintersvilla Warriors.

Technology:

Body Enhancements: Biological and psychological upgrades utilized by the people of Downver.
Body Modifications: In Downver, these are alterations to one’s body spanning transgender, transpeciest, and transtructural changes. These alterations can often be radical, pushing the boundary of what can still be considered human.
Causality Carver: A weapon capable of destroying individuals seemingly protected by Mendel’s Vision.
Claws: A type of weapon that Doe uses. These are blades fitted over the knuckles.
Cognitive Upload Entity (CUE): The result of turning a human mind directly into a digital mind. The first CUE was the mind of Mendel.
Endoskeleton: All Wintersvilla Warriors capable of porting into an exoskeleton require their natural bones to be replaced by a metal endoskeleton system with numerous beneficial properties. Outside of providing the ability to use an exo, an endoskeleton also makes a warrior stronger, capable of withstanding greater force, and accelerated healing.
Exoskeleton (Exo): A robotic/mechanical full body mount created by the the Agency and utilized by the Wintersvilla Matriarchy. These machines require that the user have an endoskeleton and also embedded in their muscles ports so that the exoskeleton can communicate with the endoskeleton. An exo is remarkably powerful, and many of them are also unique and serve functions beyond just battle (ex. reconnaissance, transportation, etc.). An exo can run on autopilot or can be used fully manually. Exoskeletons provide a HUD display over the vision of warriors, providing them essential information about the exo and their own vitals. Exo’s have the ability to sync with other exos on the battlefield, becoming like a single organism in both thought and movement. Finally, exo’s have the ability to enter Overdrive, fully taking over the mind of a warrior and consuming their body as fuel to enter a deadly, overwhelming rampage that will result in certain death for the user.
Glowglobe: In place of the sun, Astrea utilizes these floating orbs or globes to provide its citizens with light, comfort, and nutrition.
Mendelian AI: The most advanced type of AI ever created. Neurolaced individuals have a portion of their mind replaced by Mendelian AI.
Neurolace (neurolacing): The process of hollowing a large portion of a person’s mind and replacing it with AI. A neurolaced individual might seem totally fine, but in truth, their speech, actions, and thoughts are almost entirely AI-driven.
Owen: Lain’s exo, specialized for reconnaissance and ranged battle.
Pusher: A type of weapon used in Downver, especially the Walled City. A pusher is a small device that “pushes” a small area of a target so hard and fast that it obliterates the small area with the power of a bullet.
Relic: Old world weaponry (usually combustion based, like guns and bombs). It is unknown why (especially since every citizen seems to have weaponry of some sort), but relics are illegal to own in Downver.
Riftforge: The technology Gladys used to “create” the Ninth Prodigal Son.
Skinsuit (Body Membrane): A skinsuit (or body membrane as it is referred to by humans) is the protective skin of Hunters that allow them to transform, heal almost instantly, etc. A skinsuit connects to a Hunter via millions of microdermic needles, painfully merging with a Hunter’s body.
Summit Splitter: The colossal sword wielded by Myriam. It is 10 feet long and weighs 700 pounds. The sword is so large and heavy that it can only be lifted with the help of an exo.
Tsehay Manufacturies: Old world manufacturing centers where neurolaced individuals worked as slaves to meet the consumer-based material demands of the global population.
Wintersbane: The cybernetic blade permanently embedded in Shira’s forearm. Originally made by and for Craig Winters, Shira attached the blade to her own forearm at 12 years old and used it to kill Winters, leading to the founding of the Wintersvilla Matriarchy.
Wintersvilla IUD: An IUD implanted into all girls and women of Wintersvilla. These IUDs stop the bleeding of menstruation, but not the pain nor hormonal changes. The IUD was invented by Craig Winters to make girls and women more formidable in battle while still forcing them to suffer.

Flora and Fauna:

Barb bush: Bushes that grow in a nearly identical manner to barbed wire. Although the curved stems are thick, sharp, and lined with elongated barbs, they are also extremely brittle. If the stems are broken, the barbs explode outward with enough force to pierce flesh even from over ten feet away.
Bite moss: Bright colored moss that usually covers the surface of rocks. When something touches the moss, the moss squeezes, deeply and jaggedly tearing flesh with what feels like a “bite.”
Biofreak: Oversized humanoids designed by Tomasz Novak to combat the Hunters and Huntresses. Biofreaks are overwhelmingly strong but equally unintelligent. Biofreaks have impenetrable skin and flesh. Their only vulnerability is their eyes. As they are, Biofreaks don’t pose a serious threat on their own as they are quite docile and empty-headed. However, Rovers discover that they can tame Biofreaks and use them as mounts. So, in the present day, most Biofreaks are seen with one or multiple Rovers riding on their back and leading them into battle. Rovers think of Biofreaks as an extension of their own body, which is why they combine their names into a single name (ex. MaxxEl and BigBilly).
Blood mourner: A plant specializing in sensing and feeding on menstruating women. When near the plant, a static hum fills the air and women who are presently menstruating or about to begin menstruating will feel a sense of anguish. The anguish soon turns to despair and despair to defeat. Finally, the woman will feel hopeless and tired and will be unable to do anything besides lie down. At this point, the blood mourner sends out tendrils that look like human faces crying tears of blood. The tendrils slither across the ground and feed on their prone, despairing victim. Blood mourners only bleed and come to life in response to menstrual hormones.
Cleaner: Faceless humanoid individuals who originally served the purpose of cleaning the radiation left over by the nuclear bombs detonated across the world in 2045. However, the true purpose of Cleaners is to torture newborn/young Hunters over a birth-fire until the Hunter is ready to be released and used as a weapon by their Huntress.
Dagger thistle: A small plant that grows a single flower head, which is usually pink or red. The stem of a dagger thistle is covered in sharpened thorns, while the leaves appear as elongated daggers. In a pinch, these leaves can be carefully plucked and used as throwing knives.
Dart weed: Small plants that shoot partially metallic dart-like pods at unsuspecting victims. These darts can hit targets over several hundred feet away, though most dart weeds don’t launch their darts until they sense something within fifty feet. The darts of dart weeds can be used as viable ammunition with a specially made projectile weapon.
Death bloom: A large flower that smells of rotten meat. As long as the death bloom smells rotten, it is harmless. The moment it begins smelling sweet, it is already too late. The sweet smell is in fact a powerful neurotoxin that nearly always results in death for its victim.
Drinking puddle: A drinking puddle appears as a normal area of seemingly clean water. It can also appear as a patch of mud in the event that the drinking puddle recedes into the ground to trick its victim into stepping on the wet area it left behind. Often the size of a small puddle, these creatures can grow to the size of large lakes. If someone steps in the puddle/mud or attempts to drink from it, the drinking puddle grabs the person and consumes them, dissolving their body into a liquid that helps the drinking puddle expand.
Fire vine: Vines that grow mostly on flesh trees. These vines combust when life gets near, spewing fire and molten sap at unsuspecting victims. Fire vines can be utilized to make incredibly strong fibers or rope.
Flesh Tree: When a Nomad dies, they transform into a flesh tree. A flesh tree sprouts flesh pods, which grow more Nomads in turn. Most flesh trees use their roots to expand to the global mycelial Nomadic network.
Fungus nets: The fruiting body of a fungus that can grow to more than teen feet high. They are soft, gray, and shaped like circular nets. Fungus nets collect and store moisture from the air. Fungus nets can be pierced and drained of the water they collect, which is filled with nutrients and phytonutrients that ward off common pests (Due to the changes of the Nomadic world on Earth’s microbiology, people no longer contract diseases or become infected with parasites, but there was a time when these fungus nets also served to ward off sickness and unpleasant bodily invaders, such as botflies, mosquitoes, and ticks).
Giganventus: Colossal whale-like zeppelin creatures flying over the Pacific Ocean. They fly through the sky by sucking in air and farting it out, propelling them forward. All the giganventi taken together are in fact the new world body of Tomasz Novak.
Glowies (Greens): Green-glowing mushrooms that grow underground. They can grow extremely large, with some growing even larger than man-made towers.
Manta flower: Delicate but deadly plants that grow blue mantaray-shaped flowers with corkscrew-barbed petals. Each flower can explode their petals like shrapnel, embedding themselves deep into one’s flesh.
Mutant: The result of two or more (almost always two) animals merged together after being consumed by a splicer bush. Mutants are usually large, dangerous, and deadly.
Razor shrubs: Small spherical shrubs with long vertical leaves as sharp as razors.
Shooters: Small worms found in all soil of the Earth. They move in linear lines and right angles.
Sleeping molds: Often growing in large areas spanning multiple miles, sleeping molds are known for putting people to sleep. Sometimes they grow over their victims and feed on them, while other times they simply allow the person to sleep and wake up feeling well rested.
Slapping ferns: Fern-looking plants with dense roots and leaves. When these plants sense movement, they curl themselves into a mace-like blunt weapon that swings itself wildly around with enough force to break bone.
Soilies: Small beetle-looking insects made of soil. These insects move from place to place, transplanting nutrient-dense soil to nutrient-deficient areas. If a soilie is picked up, it immediately dissolves back into the soil it is made of.
Splicer bush: A small bush capable of biologically fusing two or more (usually two) different animals together into a single hybrid creature.
Tangle grass: An organism that appears as a patch of old world grass and often old world wild flowers mixed into the grass as well. Mats of tangle grass can also combine into a single larger organism, sometimes covering many hundreds of miles. Often, tangle grass can be seen being shepherded like livestock by Nomads from one location to another. It is unknown why Nomads shepherd tangle grass or why tangle grass accepts being shepherded by them.
Trap tendrils: A plant made of individual tendrils that dig deep holes in the ground. The tendrils then condense and form a seemingly solid surface that can blend in with the ground. When the tendrils sense something step on them, they separate, leaving their victim falling into the unseen hole. Finally, the tendrils kill and feed on their victim by wrapping around their body and constricting until the victim is dead.
Vine of Visions: A vine that grows only in the Boreal Kingdom. Used to create the Mark of the Matriarch.