Chronicles of Suran: Guide

by Catherine N.X.

So just what the hell is this Suran Continuity? The Suran Democratic Corporate is a fictional South Pacific island country I've created for my serial the Chronicles of Suran. There is no age of consent there, no taboos about who can or can't enjoy sexual pleasure. Under SDC law, any person who can use a language can consent to sexual pleasure. The only laws pertaining to consensual sex cover practical and health issues like pregnancy, penetration, STDs, or prostitution. Surani policies on these will be outlined as the stories progress.

The Chronicles are a series of romantic and political vignettes focusing on individuals living in Suran or elsewhere in its world, the Continuity. Some are children or teens whose sexuality is awakening in a completely uninhibited environment. Some are Surani leaders trying to set policy or establish Suran's international standing. Some are parents figuring out how to raise their kids without repression, but with only those boundaries needed to keep their bodies and minds safe. And some are true predators who think they can have their way with children in Suran, but have another thing coming. The vignettes will be set roughly between the years 2010 and 2090, to allow the nation's history to progress without contradicting too much of real world history. The America of the Suran Continuity is not the one we know today. Religious fundamentalism is the rule, barely masked by the tattered remains of the Constitution. Even the civil rights gains of the past decade have been rolled back, and the result is increasing internal strife - some political, some violent. Americans sick of the cruelty and hypocrisy of what their country has become are flocking to more liberal lands like Europe, Canada, Asia, and the nation of Sinorussia (a combination of modern China and the Russian Federation). Few nations are as liberal for children as the SDC, but most are a far sight better than what was the United States even in its greatest years.

I write the Chronicles of Suran for several reasons. I enjoy the romance and adventure of it (but like any action movie, I'm glad it's just fiction). I want the challenge of depicting regular people in adult-child relationships that are happy and safe. But there is another reason of actual importance. Most childlove sites and stories I've seen expect the abolition of age-of-consent laws to bring about a Utopia where everyone loves selflessly. This is absurd and impossible. Human character is simply not reliable enough to be the basis of a system for protecting children from coercion. Enforceable, concrete laws and policies are needed to make that happen. The Chronicles of Suran will be my running examination of how those policies can be written and applied.

Characters.

The following list describes, in short, the characters populating the Chronicles. Just enough to give you a sense of what they look like, and clarify the relationships between the characters. Each description also tells you which vignettes feature them.

Rachel Lindstrom: Born 17th January 2068, 3'4", 40 lbs, Japanese and Scandinavian descent. Black hair, brown eyes. Third-grade student (SDC schedule - 'first grade' is preschool). Daughter of Sonja Lindstrom.

Sonja Lindstrom: Born 21st September 2042, Scandinavian descent, 5'11", 125 lbs. Black hair, blue eyes. Architect. Mother of Rachel Lindstrom, best friend of Shimura Takeshi, friend of Dana Stevenson.

Karen Stuyvesant: Born 7th May 2041, African-American descent, 6', 136 lbs. Black hair, brown eyes. Personal trainer. Girlfriend of Sonja Lindstrom, friend of Dana Stevenson.

Shimura Takeshi: Born 24th June 2040, Japanese descent, 5'8", 140 lbs. Dyed bluish-silver hair, brown eyes. Antigravity propulsion engineer for the Surani Air Force. Father of Rachel Lindstrom, best friend of Sonja Lindstrom, husband of Geoff Shimura.

Geoff Shimura: Born 5th August 2041, West African descent, 6'2", 210 lbs. Shaved head, brown eyes. Copy editor. Husband of Shimura Takeshi, friend of Sonja Lindstrom.

Dana Stevenson: Born 18th September 2029, Irish descent, 5'9", 148 lbs. Strawberry blond hair, green eyes. Owner of Lightfoot Personnel Services. Mother of Brendan Stevenson, wife of Michael Stevenson, friend of Sonja Lindstrom, friend of Karen Washington.

Brendan Stevenson: Born 20th February 2058, Irish and Anglo-American descent, 5'10", 140 lbs. Red hair, green eyes. High school student. Son of Dana and Michael Stevenson.

Glossary.

AFC / Ahead Flank Cavitate - Maximum propulsion output for a submarine, at which the propeller or propulsor jet will cause bubbles in its wake (cavitation). These can be detected by sonar, and each submarine has a specific cavitation signature which can be used to detect it if the sonar operator knows the signature. The term is actually used in naval service, but I don't know if the abbreviation is used.

ARAD (p. 'AY-rad') - Aerial Reconnaisance and Attack Drone, a scramjet-propelled unmanned aircraft designed for reconnaisance and delivery of air-to-air and air-to-ground ordnance. Also has a 'lightwrap' system for near-total stealth including invisibility. Unmanned combat aircraft do exist, but do not have all of the ARAD's capabilities and are actually called UCAVs (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles).

Arcology - A design philosophy for housing large numbers of people in a sustainable, environmentally sound habitat. Also refers to 'hyperstructures' designed on these principles. Term is an amalgam of 'architecture' and 'ecology,' and was coined by architect Paolo Soleri.

Bulkhead - Naval parlance for a wall.

Bluetooth - A radio-wave system which allows electronic devices to communicate remotely within a range of roughly ten meters. This system actually exists (such as in cordless headsets for cellphones), but Bluetooth in the Chronicles has been continuously improved upon over the years. One such advancement is the PWN, or Personal Wireless Network. It pwns.

CO - Military abbreviation for 'commanding officer,' the highest ranked officer on a ship or at a command.

Control - The room just forward of the sail on submarine Albert Ross - a combination control compartment and combat information center. It is the central hub from which the crew can access propulsion, weapons, navigation, drone telemetry, and coordinate damage control. Think of the bridge on any Star Trek ship.

Crystal Shield - The military wing of the Objectivist Party.

DARPA - Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a United States government agency which conducts research and development of innovative technologies with military potential.

Electrolaser - Essentially a long-distance taser, this device uses lasers to create conductive 'plasma channels' in the air. Electric current is then directed along one channel, through the target and back to the weapon to complete a circuit. Also erroneously referred to as a 'Tesla coil.'

Head - Naval term for a restroom.

Honshu - Japan's largest island, the name literally meaning 'main state.' Includes Tokyo, Yokohama, Hiroshima, and Osaka among other cities.

Hotkey - Button on an electronic device or system which can be programmed by the user to serve any function they like.

Laurentian Abyss (or Abyssal) - Oceanic trench in the North Atlantic Ocean, off of the eastern coast of Canada.

LIDAR (p. 'LIE-dar') - LIght Detection And Ranging, a sensor system which uses lasers and visible light to detect and range objects in a manner similar to radar. Can also be used for topography and atmospheric measurements. Non-fictional, although it has been improved upon in the Chronicles.

'Lightwrap' - Informal term for systems which use electromagnetic fields to move light around an object, rendering it invisible to the naked eye and electromagnetic scanning methods such as radar or microwave. The term is fictional, but as of October 2006 a similar system has been used to render objects 'invisible' to microwave scans and the same principle is expected to work with other wavelengths.

Maritime Self-Defense Force / 'MSDF' - Official name for Japan's navy.

Megafloat - Floating artificial island, usually tethered to the ocean floor or partially supported by pilons. The first practical example of such a structure was successfully tested in Japan's Yokosuka Bay starting in 1999.

Objectivist Party - Nationalist political party formed in Suran in the late 2030s. Platform includes Randian Objectivism, fair capitalism and technological progress as moral principles, protection of human rights.

Overhead - Naval parlance for a ceiling.

Parish - Unit of Surani government similar to a county or prefecture. The term has been used by real-life governments in the same context.

PDA - Personal Data Assistant, or handheld computer. The term is real as are the devices, but those in the Chronicles are drastically more advanced and almost always include mobile videophone and Internet capability.

Piezoelectric (p. 'pie-AY-zo-electric) - Refers to technology using materials which vibrate in response to electrical current, or to materials which produce electrical current when under physical or thermal stress.

Pound-radiant - Unit of Surani currency, backed by dual energy-mineral standard. Also appears on the Surani flag, attributed with multiple meanings including survival, self-determination and creativity.

PT - Military abbreviation for 'physical training.'

Range Intersection / 'RI' - Computer extrapolation of which segments of a ship or aircraft's course will cross the sonar, radar, or LIDAR ranges of other craft.

SDV / SEAL Delivery Vehicle - A miniature submarine used for transporting Navy SEALS during clandestine operations. I have taken some liberty with the term, using it to refer to a fully pressurized vehicle. In real life SDVs are flooded, and pressurized minisubs are called ASDS (Advanced SEAL Delivery System). I figured that by 2047 it's likely pressurized vehicles will be the standard rather than being considered 'advanced.'

SERPOS / Static Electric Reversible POwer Supply - A system used by the Navy to electronically convert direct current to alternating current and vice versa, providing a running connection between the AC and DC sides of the electrical system. Came into service in the late 1990s, replacing ship’s service motor-generators.

SGNX-47 - A classified experimental multirole submarine designed for the United States Navy by Commander Tristan James Murtaugh and constructed by Electric Boat Corporation at NAVSUBASE Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Destroyed along with all schematics during a terrorist hijacking attempt on 17th August 2046, with the loss of CDR Murtaugh.

Sino-Russian Federation / 'Sinorussia' (p. 'SIGH-no-russia') - A military and political coalition including modern-day Russia and China.

Spectraflair - Pigment technology, most often used on automobiles, resulting in a surface which appears to be more than one color. Developed by optics company JDSU and chemical company BASF in the late 1990s.

Suran (p. 'SOOR-ann') - A chain of islands in the South Pacific, geographic center 45 degrees south, 114 degrees west. Landmasses include Tashkana Island, Suran Island, Canelli Island, Lavelle Island and Kessler Atoll among others.

Suran Democratic Corporate / 'SDC' - The official name for the Surani nation-state, originally coined for the Articles of Incorporation.

Suranese - Popular American term for residents of Suran. Considered archaic and mildly offensive within Suran.

Tashkana (p. 'tosh-KAY-na') City - The largest city in Suran, and capital of Tashkana parish which includes the northeast part of Tashkana Island.

Tesla Coil - Common misnomer (in the Continuity) for the electrolaser (see above).

T-Rex - Highly agile three-wheeled two-seat sport vehicle produced by Quebec's Campagna Corporation since 1994.

UCAV (p. 'yoo-kav') - Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle.

VTOL (p. 'vee-tall') - Vertical Take-Off and Landing, any of a number of jet-powered systems which enable an aircraft to take off and land vertically, or hover in place. Also refers to craft capable of such maneuvers. Examples include the AV-8 "Harrier" jet, V-22 "Osprey" tiltrotor aircraft, and all helicopters.

XO - Abbreviation for 'executive officer,' the second-highest ranked officer on a ship or at a command.