The Incompleat Known Space Concordance

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magnetic sandals— Used aboard the Angel's Pencil circa 2366 to walk in microgravity. ["The Warriors"]

detail of cover for The Man-Kzin Wars
copyright © 1991, Orbit Books

Man-Kzin Wars— Humans fought four interstellar wars with the Kzinti Empire over the period of 2367-2505. Each war ended with the punitive confiscation of two worlds of the Kzinti Empire [1], and the death of approximately two-thirds of the Kzinti adult males [2]. In addition to the four wars, there were Kzinti "incidents" both major and minor. "Kzinti fight gallantly, ferociously, and with no concept of mercy; and they always take on several times as much as they can handle" [3]. Even long after the wars, in 2850, the Kzinti population was less than one-eighth what it had been before Kzinti encountered Humans [4]. ["At the Core", "The Soft Weapon", Ringworld]

First War (2367-2420?): The first war was the worst for Humans. In 2367 Wunderland was conquered and occupied by the Kzinti, and in following years Sol System was invaded more than once. Sol held off the invaders using safe ramscoop ships, giant giant laser cannon in the outer asteroids (used to launch the ramscoops with light sails), and smaller mobile cannon using their own beams as photon drives, while Kzinti telepaths continued to report that the Human worlds had no weapons at all. Thus the war dragged out for decades, instead of just years. But the huge Kzinti Empire, with its heavily armed, gravity-polarizer driven starships, would have eventually won the war [5], [6]. Then, in 2406 (?) the Outsiders sold hyperdrive technology to the Human colony of We Made It. When a Human-built hyperdrive ship arrived at Sol System two years later, the crew hadn't known of the war and were amazed at their heroes' welcome [7]. An unconfirmed source says Human hyperdrive armadas ended the war over the period of 2410-20 [8] (see also "Dating the Advent of Hyperdrive" in the Articles section).

Second War (2449?-2475?): The second and subsequent wars were hardly worth discussing, at least by comparison with the first. The Kzinti always tended to attack before they were ready [9]. The Kzinti were barred by treaty from owning hyperdrive motors, but had a few anyway. Gravity generators were coming into use in Human Space [10].

Third War (2490-?): Said to have been a bigger push by the Kzinti [11]. Wunderlanders claim it was ended by the Wunderland Treatymaker.

Fourth War (?-2505): The last Man-Kzin War was a desperation move, with Kzinti suicide attacks [12]. It was highly unequal in Earth's favor and ended in 2505 with the Covenants of Shasht [13]. This treaty made it illegal for Kzinti to use any but police weapons, either individually or on their starships.

Editorial Note: Continuity

Mann, Richard— see Schultz-Mann, Dr. Richard

manned ramscoop— see safe ramscoop

Margo— see Tellefsen, Margo

Margrave— A Human colony world, in 2830 the closest to Trinoc space. ["There Is a Tide"]

mark— The UN mark was the standard currency on Earth in 2370. Later it was replaced by an interstellar currency, the star. ["The Ethics of Madness"]

Mark— Marcia Loeffler's husband ["The Ethics of Madness"]

mass indicator— see mass pointer

mass limit— The distance from a large mass at which it is safe to travel via hyperdrive. This varies by the size and density of the mass. In Sol System, the distance is beyond the orbit of Neptune; but at the neutron star BVS-1, the limit was only a million miles. This suggests that, for astronomical bodies of a given mass: The denser the body, the closer the mass limit. At the moment a hyperdrive is engaged, it is apparently much more sensitive to the presence of a nearby mass; even the mass of another spaceship is too much if it is nearby [14]. See also "Hyperspace Theory & Practice" in the Articles section. ["Grendel", "The Borderland of Sol"]

A mass pointer resembles an oversized crystal ball.

mass pointer— (also called mass indicator or mass sensor) A device used for dynamic or responsive navigation in hyperspace. The mass pointer is a big transparent sphere of doped crystal, with a number of green (or blue) lines radiating from the center. The direction of a line shows a star's direction, and the length indicates the star's mass. It is a psionic device, requiring a living mind to operate. However, see autopilot. See also "Hyperspace Theory & Practice" in the Articles section. ["At the Core", "The Soft Weapon", "Flatlander", Ringworld's Children]

Editorial Note: Continuity

mass sensor— see mass pointer

medical science— see autodoc, boosterspice, life expectancy

memory erasure— Puppeteers possess the technology to erase selected portions of a Human's memory. ["A Relic of the Empire"]

memory plastic— A material which can be compressed, then regain its original shape when heated. In 2647 tables in a Human hunting camp were made of memory plastic. ["Grendel"]

Mercury (Sol I)

Mercury— The innermost planet of Sol System. ["The Coldest Place"]

mercy rifle— A rifle firing "mercy needles", inch-long slivers of anesthetic chemical which dissolve instantly in blood, putting a target to sleep instead of killing it. A mercy rifle used by a hunter on Gummidgy in 2647 could fire individual rounds or a second-long burst of 20. One type of sliver usually affected all the lifeforms on a given world. ["Grendel"]

Miller— A Human male who in 2639 set out to reach the edge of the universe, in a hyperdrive starship with a ramscoop to power its fusion plant. ["Flatlander"]

Mira Ceti-T— An uninhabited planet located in the trailing Trojan point (the L₅ Lagrange point) of the double star Mira. Dr. Richard Shultz-Mann was studying stage trees there in 2644 when he was taken prisoner by "Captain Kidd" and his pirate gang. ["A Relic of the Empire"]

Mist Demons— Creatures imagined to live in the mist off the edge of Plateau. Used as an expletive: "Mist Demons!" [A Gift from Earth, "Flatlander"]

Moby Dick— The Human name for a Dolphin who in 2647 was traveling to Wunderland on the Argos. ["Grendel"]

moon— The following moons (or notable absence thereof) are mentioned:

(a) Luna

(b) Nereid

(d) Gummidgy has one diminutive moon. ["Grendel"]

(e) Beowulf Shaeffer believed the Puppeteer homeworld had no moon, because in 2641 General Products' regional president on We Made It, a Puppeteer, apparently did not know what tides are. ["Neutron Star"]

(f) [Spoiler alert: "There Is A Tide"] Louis Wu discovered a tiny neutronium "moon" in 2830. ["There Is a Tide"]

Moscow Motors— Manufacturer of spacecraft systems. In 2324 they built the first safe ramscoop field generator, and also the most advanced autodoc of the era. ["The Ethics of Madness"]

Detail of Mt. Lookitthat, copyright © 2008
by Aerospace Imagineering & Aldo Spadoni

Mount Lookitthat— The 40 mile high, straight-sided mountain on which the Human colony Plateau resides. It was named when the pilot of the first colony slowboat to reach the world, looking for a safe landing place, spotted the mountain and exclaimed "Lookitthat!" The mountain has fluted sides, perhaps resembling Devils Tower in Wyoming, Earth. ["The Ethics of Madness"]

Devils Tower, Wyoming, Earth