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CLIP GUN

(D-1: RESCUE ff)

Multi-purpose sidearm developed by Dorian on Xenon. The weapon could fire a variety of ordnance depending on which colour-coded clip was inserted. Dayna listed "laser, plasma bullet, percussion shell, micro grenade, stun, drug" as among those available, and described the weapon as "the best I've ever seen". Stun clips were coloured red. Dorian made at least five of these clip guns, and the gun locker on Scorpio could hold up to six clip guns and nine ammunition clips.

Two clip guns were destroyed by Muller's android, using its ability to influence circuitry over a distance.

CLONEMASTERS

(B-3: WEAPON)

The origin of the Clonemasters is obscure. Cloning was developed some considerable time before Blake's period, but fears of it being deployed as a weapon led to the secrets of cloning being entrusted to the Clonemasters. The Clonemasters were all themselves clones, propagated from the original trustees on their unnamed planet. The Federation protected the Clonemasters, but not out of altruism, and had to pay for the Clonemasters" services. The only Clonemaster to be named was Fen and she, like all the others, was bound by the Rule of Life.

In Children of Auron Servalan mentioned the "untimely destruction of the Clonemasters", probably during the Intergalactic War.


Clonemaster Fen

CLONING

(B-3: WEAPON / C-7: CHILDREN OF AURON)

Cloning technology was not available to the Federation (surprising, given the genetic engineering experiments on Bucol-2 and modification of the Phobon Plague for Project Avalon) but entrusted to the Clonemasters. Cloning was usually carried out from a cell taken from the intended subject, but two clones of Blake were made from his DNA identity profile.
The first Clone of Blake

The second Clone of Blake
One of these clones was killed by Travis, the other remained with Rashel on UP-Weapon, guarding IMIPAK. This second clone told Servalan and Travis that he was 34 years old, but born 5 hours ago, indicating the accelerated rate of development possible through the Clonemasters" technology.

Cloning was also developed by Clinician Franton on Auron some decades prior to Liberator's visit. Whole batches of identical individuals were grown from a single white blood cell. The Replication Plant seen in the episode gestated about 15 fetuses in each brood unit. The technology was lost when Ginka persuaded Servalan to allow him to open fire on the plant, destroying it. The fetuses grown from Servalan's cells appeared to be telepathic, since she felt them die from her star cruiser. Cally and Zelda may well have been clones, but not necessarily (see CALLY).

In Animals Servalan asked Justin how soon Og could be ready for cloning.

COFFEE

(C-11: MOLOCH)

Shortly after Servalan arrived on Sardos, Grose offered her "coffee, from beans". This might imply the existence of synthetic or ersatz coffee.

COLONIAL SERVICE

(B-4: HORIZON)

The Kommissar and Assistant Kommissar were representatives of the Federation's Colonial Service on Horizon. Few details were given, but the Central Educational Complex was probably within the Service's sphere of responsibility.

COLOUR BLINDNESS

(A-13:ORAC) written by Murray Smith

It is highly likely that Ensor was colour blind; for he was unable to distinguish between the red and green buttons on the device used to administer electronic anaesthesia to him.

See also ELECTRONIC ANAESTHESIA.

COMBAT GROUNDS

(C-12: DEATHWATCH)

The computer-selected environments in which disputes between Teal and Vandor were settled by a fight to the death between the champions of each system. Darvid referred to environments from "other planets, other cultures, other times", with each champion given the same weapons and any necessary survival equipment. The principle of using such chambers was summed up in the phrase: "Let no man say; "This man chose the ground on which we die"". Exactly how these combat grounds were generated is unclear: some at least appeared to be outdoor locations, yet energy/mass conversion on this scale was implicitly unique to Sardos. The sensormesh technology indicates a possible application of a "virtual environment", but Tarrant was not fitted with such equipment.
The door to the chamber

COMMANDER TECHNICIAN

(B-7: KILLER)

Tynus described his position on the Q-base on Fosforon as Commander Technician, subordinate to Federation Security.

COMMERCE

(various episodes)

The commercial infrastructure of the galaxy was rarely alluded to in any detail, but a few references include the following.

Cartels were mentioned in three episodes. Vinni was suspected to be the work of an arms manufacturing cartel; Muller worked for a robot development cartel and, more intriguingly, the Ultra referred to Avon's embezzling of 500 million credits from the Federation's banking cartel. There is therefore some evidence to suggest that the Administration was not directly responsible for all financial and commercial operations within the Federation.

COMMUNICATIONS

(various episodes)

Communicators of various forms were seen in most if not all episodes, and to list them all would be impractical. Some of the more pertinent facts are given here.

At least some communications were faster than light, and thus not in the electromagnetic spectrum. Hyperspace sub-beam communication was first mentioned in Seek-Locate-Destroy, presumably the same as the sub-beam transceiver on Cephlon and Coser's sub-space communicator in Weapon. Orac's carrier beam passed through the same dimension as Cally's telepathy. Instantaneous long-range communication was seen between Servalan and LeGrand in Voice From the Past, to name but one example.


On the London

On the Liberator
Few indications of range were given, but clearly varied according to the device used. The teleport bracelets used by the crew could transmit over at least a thousand spacials, since this was a standard orbital distance. Central Control was beyond the range of both the Federation contingent on Horizon and the pursuit ship flotilla called to Horizon by the Assistant Kommissar. Orac, on the other hand, could contact Servalan's HQ from Star One, beyond the edge of the galaxy, and given the purpose of Star One the computers there could presumably do the same.

Communications were frequently relayed on their journey. A large relay/booster station had been built by the Federation on Saurian Major. Blake blew it up. Scrambled messages were relayed through Centero and the A-line converter on Fosforon. Some planets were endowed with a magnetrix terminal to relay communications, and Hunda planned to isolate the Federation forces on Helotrix by destroying the terminal there. Avon's directions to Terminal were relayed through a communications satellite, and Gerren's communications with Avon were through an obsolete communications beacon in Sector 4.

It was noted in Weapon that a Federation "priority-1 communication" was automatically relayed to the senior officer present at the receiving end.

Short-range hand-held communicators of various designs were seen in many episodes. More unusual was Krantor's dressing table mirror, which also doubled when required as an audio-visual link.

Orac had what it called in Hostage a unique ability to intercept transmissions.

See also CYPHER MACHINES, HYPERSPACE SUB-BEAM, ORAC


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