"Sea of Serenity"). Many references are made to the station's fecundity; its principal industry was likely agriculture. Later renamed "Neotenic Cultural Republic" Mare Tranquilitatis People's Circumlunar Zaibatsu a large space station named after the lunar feature Mare Tranquilitatis (the "Sea of Tranquility"). The station is in some disrepair; a proportion so badly affected by radiation it has been walled off. Its main industries are agriculture (oxygen farmers), pharmaceutical (the black medicals) and prostitution (the Geisha Bank). Its main currency is credit with the Geisha bank. Cirumsolar Asteroid Worlds: built in the Asteroid Belt, principally dominated by Mechanist factions. Dembowska Cartel: an entity ostensibly governed by Michael Carnassus, a revered pioneer of an alien embassy, the Cartel is controlled and monitored by 'the Wallmother', the character Kitsune who has abandoned human form for an ever-growing mass of flesh. The station becomes a centre of Investor knowledge when Abelard Lindsay begins publishing his 'Journal'. Its principal industry is manufacturing (cryonics), fuelled by alien trade secrets gleaned from Carnassus. Czarina-Kluster People's Corporate Republic The permanent residence of a disgraced Investor Queen, Czarina-Kluster is an ad hoc city-state of both Mechanist and Shaper construction. Esairs XII, a small asteroid inhabited by a Shaper task force, involved in mining and manufacturing. Ring Systems. Saturn's Rings are dominated by the Shaper faction, governed by the Ring Council. In the beginning of the novel, the rings are under a Mechanist siege. Goldreich-Tremaine Council State Home of the Mavrides and Vetterling gene-lines, Goldreich-Tremaine flourishes during détente while the Shaper 'military-academic' complex has a privileged relationship with the alien Investors. Skimmer's Union Council State Based in orbit of Titan, the Skimmer's Union mined the gas of Titan for organic gases. Europa: the colonization of Europa begins in earnest with the end of the novel 'Schismatrix' - aquatic species based on those illegally retrieved from the Earth prepare the moon for inhabitation by posthuman 'angels', genetically engineered to survive Europa's harsh conditions. Terraform-Kluster. Founded after the financial ruin of Czarina-Kluster, principally devoted to the project of Terraforming Mars. Vocabulary Shapers: Group that alters the body through genetic modification and specialized mental training. They originate from the colonies orbiting Jupiter and Saturn. Mechanists: Group that modifies bodies through computer software and external alterations. The Mechanists have been at war with the Shapers for decades, fighting over whose technology is more powerful and efficient. They originate from the asteroid belt's colonies. Moondocks: