Center for Education, Research, and Applications

An Institute of the Space Exploration and Defense Administration

123 B C E M N R S

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3Vid

• “3Vid” is popular slang for a three-dimensional video display.  Despite long held expectations, 3Vids never developed into a form of popular entertainment.  However, their use in complex information display and data net navigation have made them indispensable in technical environments, even with the advent of high-resolution internal net opticstream graphics.  The displays consist of a clear semi-solid projection medium (varying by manufacturer) contained in a plastic-metallic casing that filters out ambient light to make the projections easily visible under a variety of lighting conditions and from most angles. [Referenced 1:4:30]

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‘bots

• See the corresponding Encyclopedia entry. [Referenced 1:1:19]

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Colony Ship Mercurial

• See the corresponding Encyclopedia entry. [Referenced 1:1:1]

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ELISE

• See the corresponding Encyclopedia entry. [Referenced 1:1:8]

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mercurials

• extra-dimensional particles that interact frequently, but briefly, with our space-time continuum.  They can be constrained by a Strunk field and used to propel spacecraft. [Referenced 1:1:23]
• In keeping with naval custom, when capitalized (i.e. “Mercurials”) the term refers to the crew members of a ship named “Mercurial” (e.g. The CS Mercurial)

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Naval Custom in SEDA

• See the corresponding Encyclopedia entry.

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Ranks

• Officer Ranks
  Officer ranks are greatly simplified from earlier forms, reflecting the smaller size and scope of SEDA in comparison to Earth’s traditional military organizations.  Officer of higher rank may refer to a junior officer by title or as “Mr.” or “Ms.”  Junior officers refer to superior officers by rank or as “Sir” or “Ma’am.”

Admiral
SEDA has one Admiral who commands the entire agency.

Vice Admiral
SEDA has three Vice Admirals at any given time, one each to head the Exploration, Defense, and Research and Education branches.

Commodore
The rank of Commodore is a temporary rank granted to a Captain who is given overall command of a group of spaceships acting in concert on a particular mission.

Captain
The men and women on the Captains’ List command spaceships or serve in major administrative posts, such as the three divisions of CERA.

Commander
Commanders in SEDA may command smaller space-going vessels, extraterrestrial installations, or serve in executive functions on larger spaceships.

Lt. Commander
A Lt. Commander is often assigned as a department head on a larger spaceship or in an executive post on a smaller ship or extraterrestrial installation.

Lieutenant
Lieutenant is the lowest rank among commissioned officers.  They often take a variety of rotations to gain experience is different operational areas.

Midshipman
Midshipmen are officers-in-training who are either pursuing their educations at CERA or taking a rotation on a spaceship on near-Earth tours.

• Enlisted Ranks
  The greatest innovation in ranks has taken place among enlisted personnel where the number or ranks has been simplified and their titles adapted from earlier forms.  The size and complexity of spaceships, as well as the relative safety of space-faring, have meant that space travel is no longer the sole province of officer-level personnel.  Indeed, SEDA would be crippled without the many enlisted specialists who man its ships and installations.

Master
The highest enlisted rank in SEDA is Master.  In earlier times, these would have been equivalent to Warrant Officers, such a ship’s Master, Gunner, Boatswain, etc.  Unlike commissioned officers, they typically have long and deep experience in only one operational area.

Chief Master’s Mate
The rank of Chief Master’s Mate is something like a Petty Officer or Sergeant in earlier military history.  They are usually specialists in some subarea of ship or installation operations.

Master’s Mate
The lowest enlisted rank, often addressed simply as “Crewman.”  Junior personnel of this rank will have the opportunity to work in several operational areas until they are assigned one permanently.  Receiving a permanent assignment is often referred to as “getting hitched,” and an enlisted person who has been assigned is called a “hitch.”  Thus, there is some stratification among Master’s Mates, although officially they’re the same rank. 

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Space Exploration and Defense Administration (SEDA)

• See the corresponding Encyclopedia entry.