The Vorkosigan Companion (51 page)

No first name given. A major in the Barrayaran military, he oversees gate security at the Tannery Base shuttleport after Vordarian's coup attempt, and notifies Cordelia of Doctor Vaagen's arrival. (B)

Sixteen, Pramod:

A quaddie airseal technician on a work crew in Freight Bay Two on Graf Station who helps catch Russo Gupta. (DI)

Skellytum:

A tall maroon-colored plant with a barrel-shaped trunk and raised tendrils that is native to Barrayar. Ekaterin owns a bright red miniature one that is seventy years old. She inherited it from her grandmother many years ago, and uses bonsai techniques to keep it small. Etienne smashes it when Ekaterin tells him she is leaving, and Miles salvages it, although she will have to repot a cutting from it instead of trying to save the entire plant. Ekaterin plants the salvaged cutting in the garden near Vorkosigan House before quitting as Miles's designer. She returns to find him watering it the wrong way, not having read her detailed instructions. (CC, K)

Sleep gas:

A standard tranquilizer gas that can be administered by grenade or in an aerosol spray. Safe and effective, it is often used in police or hostage situations. (All)

Sleeptimer:

A time-release sleep aid that can be calibrated for varying durations of effect. Cordelia suggests Miles use one to snatch some sleep before his wedding. (WG)

Smetani:

No first name given. A corporal in Barrayaran Imperial Security, he mans the front desk when Miles brings his little group to headquarters to arrest Lucas Haroche. Miles orders him not to inform Haroche about his appearance there, which is seconded by Simon Illyan. (M)

Smolyani:

No first name given. A lieutenant in the Barrayaran military, he pilots the courier jump ship
Kestrel
, and delivers Miles's orders to go to Graf Station in the Union of Free Habitats. He also transports Miles, Ekaterin, and Roic to the station. (DI)

Social duty credits:

Part of a government program on Athos, social duty credits are earned via volunteer work and service to society, to be used toward gaining sons and becoming a designated alternate parent. They can also be used to pay fines, as Janos does when he is arrested for destruction of public property and assault and battery on his boss. (EA)

Soletta Station:

The name for the orbital solar mirror array, and the space station that supports it, in orbit around Komarr. The station was damaged, and six technicians were killed as a result of Barto Radovas and Marie Trogir's experiment with one of the wormhole-  closing devices, which created an energy backlash that drove an ore freighter into the solar mirrors, rendering four of the seven panels inoperable. As his wedding present to Komarr, Gregor funds the repair of the station, as well as expanding the solar program to aid the terraforming process. (CC, K)

Solian:

No first name given. A Komarran serving as the Barrayaran security liaison aboard the trade ship
Idris
, he went missing while the ship was docked at Graf Station. Captain Brun thinks he deserted, because some personal effects and a valise are missing but uniforms were left. About four liters of blood, presumably his, were found in an airlock, so he is assumed dead. The blood was planted by Russo Gupta to try to draw attention to the
Idris
, so that Ker Dubauer wouldn't get away. Solian fell victim to the same deadly biotoxin that killed the smugglers, administered by Dubauer. His remains are found in another body pod on the
Idris
. (DI)

Solstice:

The domed capital city of Komarr, it is occasionally rocked by riots caused by Komarrans protesting Barrayar's control of their planet. It is where the infamous Solstice Massacre occurred, with a plaque erected in the martyrs' honor on the site. (K)

Solstice Massacre:

Occurring during the conquest of Komarr, it saddled Aral Vorkosigan with the nickname "The Butcher of Komarr." Two hundred Komarran counselors, including Ser Galen's sister Rebecca, were killed by order of Aral's political officer, who was then killed by Aral when he found out what had happened. A plaque memorializes the site in Solstice. Miles visited the site with Duv Galeni, who burned a death offering for his aunt there. (BA, K, VG)

Solstice University:

The main university on Komarr. Imperial Auditor Vorthys once taught a course there, and he requests the assistance of a university professor, Doctor Riva, while investigating the solar mirror array accident at the Waste Heat experiment station. (K)

Soltoxin:

The poison gas used in an assassination attempt against Aral by Evon Vorhalas, which caught Cordelia as well. Soltoxin is a slow-acting poison that will turn the lungs to jelly within an hour if the antidote is not quickly administered. A delaying first-aid treatment is to wash the gas from the skin and mouth to minimize absorption. The antidote is an inhaled gas that is a violent teratogen, destroying bone growth in a fetus. The antidote damages the fetal Miles, weakening his skeleton, and causing him to be transferred to a uterine replicator for regenerative calcium treatments. In adults, since their bones have already reached maturity, the antidote induces a tendency toward arthritic-like breakdowns that are treatable. Soltoxin also causes testicular scarring in males on the cellular level, often rendering survivors sterile. (B)

Sonia:

No surname given. Amor Klyeuvi's niece, she is an aged woman, with gray hair in a long braid down her back. She gives sweet cakes to the boy who brings Kly's mount back to his hiding place. (B)

Sonic grenade:

An airtube-launched grenade that killed Aral's mother when one was shot into her stomach during Yuri Vorbarra's Massacre. It is also used in an assassination attempt against Aral's motorcade in Vorbarr Sultana after he is named Regent. Although the technology isn't defined, the weapon is powerful enough to make a large hole in the street after missing the armored groundcar. The weapon might have been older ordnance with a possibly defective tracker, as the security didn't detect a ranging pulse before the attack. (B, SH)

Sonic toilet:

A standing lavatory disposal device on jump stations that uses sound waves to break apart waste matter. Ekaterin tries to clog one using her shoes while being held prisoner to cause a maintenance alert, but it disposes of her footwear without any problem. (K)

Soudha:

No first name given. He is an administrator and the department head of Waste Heat Management at the Serifosa branch of the Komarr Terraforming Project. A big, square-handed man in his late forties, he gives Andro Farr the runaround about Marie, then spreads the story that she ran off with Barto Radovas. He is siphoning money from the terraforming project by creating a fake experimental department and employees, then using the funds to build a wormhole-destruction device that will collapse the jump point between Komarr and Barrayar, leaving the latter planet cut off from the rest of the universe. Along with Barto and Madame Radovas, Marie Trogir, Lena Foscol, Cappell, and Arrozi, he considers himself to be a Komarran patriot doing what is best for his planet, with humane limits on loss of life, but a previous test of the device caused the Soletta Station accident, and the group doesn't realize that their device has a very good chance of destroying them and the entire jump-point station. After their device is destroyed by Ekaterin, he votes to stop the standoff, and surrender to the authorities. (K)

South Province:

An area on Athos where Ethan Urquhart's family comes from. (EA)

Soya oatmeal:

One of the two provisions at Base One that weren't destroyed in the Barrayaran attack. Cordelia, Aral, and Dubauer survive on it during their trip to the supply cache. (SH)

Spacer's Union:

A galaxywide union for the men and women who work on projects in near and deep space. Leo Graf sees potential problems with them when the effectively enslaved quaddies arrive to compete for work. (FF)

Spaceship:

A powered, self-contained vehicle capable of traveling between planets or stars. The propulsion system is not specified, and neither is the fuel that powers the ships. The fuel used is sufficiently compact that refueling does not affect most trips, and multiple jumps between solar systems are possible without refueling. Fuel cost and efficiency are important to the economy of commercial ships. Acceleration forces are high, ranging from 15g to 100g, and are compensated for by artificial gravity so the crew and passengers only feel one-gee during that time. There are many different kinds of ships, some that lack jump capacity, and are designed solely to travel within one solar system, and others equipped with Necklin field generators to travel through wormholes, enabling them to cross vast distances quickly. Interstellar ships need a jump pilot with a cybernetic link to the ship to control the jump, in effect making them part of the ship while they are jacked in. The jump pilot's cybernetic link includes expensive micro-viral circuitry implanted by delicate surgery into the pilot's brain. Metal contact points for the control headset show on the forehead. The jump can take several subjective hours for the pilot, but little or no subjective time for the passengers. If a person feels unusual subjective effects during jumps, it may be appropriate to screen them to see if they can be jump pilots. (All)

Speaker:

The title for the leader of any village in the Dendarii Mountains. Serg Karal is the Speaker of Silvy Vale when Miles first visits, and is replaced by Lem Csurik when he returns ten years later. (MM, M)

Sphaleros:

No first name given. A ground-captain in Imperial Security, he comes to the Vorthys house to assist Nikolai after he calls Emperor Gregor for help when Vassily and Hugo try to remove him. He escorts everyone in the house to Vorhartung Castle to meet with Gregor personally. (CC)

Sprague, Joan:

A commodore in the Escobaran military and Irene's boss, she is a steady-eyed older woman who is a psychiatrist. After interviewing Cordelia, she recommends further therapy. Her reports arrive too late to prevent Cordelia's disastrous homecoming at Beta Colony. (SH)

Star Crèche:

The Cetagandan haut caste's gene bank, which contains the genetic information on every haut-lord and lady. It is what the haut use to procreate, with great ceremony and detailed contracts between the two parties. Births are carried to term by uterine replicator. The Empress has the ultimate approval over every new child, and she can decide to terminate contracts as well. Any child born becomes, in effect, the property of the father's constellation (i.e., clan). (C)

Stauber, Georish:

The baron of House Fell, he is a surprisingly old, fat, jovial man, balding with liver spots and a white fringe of hair, and red cheeks. Baron Ryoval is actually his older brother, who had Stauber's clone killed before he could be transplanted. Stauber is very interested in the Betan rejuvenation treatment Admiral Naismith is rumored to have undergone. He trades information to let Miles and the
Ariel
leave Jackson's Whole unmolested. Later, he assists Mark, who is posing as Miles, to broker a trade for Miles's cryo-chamber with House Bharaputra. He is also the founder of the Durona Group, and knows Lilly Durona quite well. After Ryoval's death, Mark negotiates a Deal with Stauber that gives House Fell control of House Ryoval's complete assets in exchange for letting the Durona Group go, along with a significant payment to Mark as the negotiating agent. (L, MD)

Steady Freddy:

No last name given. The public's nickname for the Betan president. Lots of people did not vote for him and like to say so. Cordelia accidentally kicks him in the groin during her homecoming on Beta Colony. (SH)

Strangle vine:

A hardy weed that grows wild on Barrayar's southern continent. Ekaterin suggests that Doctor Borgos modify the butter bugs to eat it, providing him with a potentially lucrative market. (CC)

Stuben:

No first name given. A lieutenant in the Betan Expeditionary Force, he is the chief zoologist of the survey expedition on Sergyar. Shorter than Aral, with shoulder-length brown hair that is later cut very short for the rescue attempt. When Cordelia orders him to head back to Beta and report about Barrayar's plans to invade Escobar, he disobeys and launches a rescue mission for her instead. (SH)

Stunner:

An energy weapon firing a beam that knocks a target unconscious upon impact. A stunner produces a central beam with a surrounding nimbus that can affect one to three victims. A near-miss may cause tingling or numbness. It doesn't cause permanent harm unless a victim has an underlying health problem like a heart condition. Recovery symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and headache, which can be minimized by administering synergine. A stunner's range is undefined, but is at least line of sight. Space armor or half armor with a built-in nerve disruptor/stunner shield net protects against it. (All)

Suegar:

No first name given. A prisoner for three years in the camp at Dagoola IV, he has seen much and is now starving and borderline insane. A self-styled prophet, he carries a torn piece of paper that he calls scripture, which he got during the fighting at Port Lisma. He is looking for someone he calls "The One," who will help all of the prisoners escape. Miles seizes on this to formulate a plan, and enlists Suegar to help him by being his guide. He takes a bad beating, but escapes with Miles in the end. (BI)

Sumner:

No first name given. A trooper in the Dendarii Free Mercenaries who participates in the clone raid. (MD)

Sun wall:

A combat tactic of taking a wormhole involving a sacrifice ship that lays down a wall of nuclear-tipped misslettes, creating a planar wave that eliminates anything in the local space, including the ship that created the wave. (VG)

Surgeon:

No name given, he is one of four men over forty years old serving on the
General Vorkraft
. He treats Dubauer and Aral in Sickbay. (SH)

Sweet Dreams Distributing Company:

The company that Anias Ruey is under contract with for her feelie-dreams. It is owned and operated by Helmut Gonzales. (DD)