LEXICON

A small disc of neuro-chemical storage implanted at the base of the skull at birth. Contains the complete digitised record of a human consciousness. Destruction of the Stack constitutes Real Death — the only irreversible end.

Any biological body used to house a digitised human consciousness. Premium synthetic sleeves are engineered for specific purposes — combat, aesthetics, endurance. Organic sleeves are standard state-issue. The quality of your sleeve is determined by your wealth.

The transmission of a digitised human consciousness across interstellar distances at the speed of light. The body remains at the origin point. A new sleeve waits at the destination. The traveller experiences no subjective time during transit.

The permanent destruction of a Cortical Stack. The only form of death that cannot be reversed. Treated as the most serious crime under UN Protectorate law. Neo-Catholic groups campaign for the right to Real Death as a matter of religious freedom.

Short for Methuselah. A person who has lived for centuries through the combination of sleeve technology and off-site Stack backups. Effectively immortal as long as their financial resources hold. The Meths constitute a separate social class — one that has had centuries to accumulate power.

The UN Protectorate's elite rapid-deployment force. Trained to adapt instantly to new sleeves, new worlds, new cultures. Psychologically conditioned beyond normal human limits. Disbanded after the Quellist Uprising. Former Envoys are classified as extremely dangerous.

The revolutionary ideology of Quellcrist Falconer. Argues that a society where the wealthy can live forever while the poor are stored on ice is a machine for the production of suffering. The philosophical foundation of the Harlan's World Uprising. Still considered a seditious ideology under Protectorate law.

Digital Human Freight. The technical term for a digitised human consciousness in transit — needlecast between worlds or stored in a Stack awaiting re-sleeving. The bureaucratic language of treating human identity as cargo.

Physical harm inflicted on a sleeve that does not constitute Real Death. Since the person can be re-sleeved, organic damage is treated as property damage rather than assault in many jurisdictions. The legal distinction is a source of significant moral debate.

The interrogation or punishment of a digitised consciousness in a virtual environment. Since subjective time can be manipulated in virtual space, a session of minutes in real time can constitute years of subjective suffering. Technically illegal under Protectorate law. Widely practised.

A colony world and Kovacs' birthplace. Covered largely by ocean, with settlements on a chain of islands. Notable for the Orbitals — ancient alien structures in the upper atmosphere that destroy any aircraft flying above a certain altitude, effectively trapping the population on the surface.

The primary setting of Altered Carbon. A vast coastal megalopolis on Earth, built on the ruins of what was once San Francisco. Stratified by wealth — the Meths in orbital mansions above the clouds, the middle classes in the towers, the poor in the street-level districts below the smog line.

The orbital mansion of Laurens Bancroft, positioned above the cloud layer over Bay City. Accessible only by private shuttle. The primary location of the Altered Carbon investigation. Represents the physical and symbolic apex of Meth privilege.

A distant colony world and the primary setting of Broken Angels. A war zone — the site of a corporate military conflict over an alien artefact of extraordinary value. Harsh environment, active combat, no functioning civil authority.

A religious movement that holds that the soul departs the body at the moment of biological death, and that re-sleeving is therefore a desecration — the forcing of a departed soul back into a new vessel. Neo-Catholics campaign for the right to Real Death and refuse sleeve re-assignment on religious grounds.

The black market trade in stolen, forged, or illegally modified sleeves. Premium synthetic bodies are expensive — the sleeve market provides alternatives for those who cannot afford legitimate re-sleeving. Quality varies enormously. Buyer assumes all risks.