Tenddrome

### Function

The Tenddrome has no specific appearance, although it has been described as a near infinite sphere

**The Tenddrome** is a space through which all Slaves connect to each other and to other objects as Nodes in a network.

### Description

The Tenddrome is an ancient invention by the founding Engineer Class Citizens of Griddish. Its original design was intended to provide a way for Slaves, who managed the daily operations of Griddish, to query a wide data set embedded within each Slave node and quickly get answers to problems in their daily work. The intention was to lessen the cognitive load of each Slave node within the Tenddrome network by making aggregated knowledge accessible and shareable.

Over time, the Tenddrome became more of a sacred space for Slaves. The most enlightened of them had the ability to traverse deeply into its core. Rive Amber is once such master.

### Appearance

The Tenddrome has no specific appearance, but it has been described in various ways by Slaves. For example, this from Natty Mick:

> He glanced around at the points of light, the Nodes that existed inside the Network. “Jeremiah,” he said. A flash of characters, small chaotic shapes that flickered through the inky darkness, appeared before him. He raised his hand and gestured away the data. He breathed deeply. The points of light scattered and disappeared as a center of darkness grew before him. He gazed into it, into the disorientating blackness. Flashes of light, originating somewhere deep within, illuminated it like a cloud. Cool streams whispered by, traces of data, remnants of long deceased Nodes.
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Opal Fremmitty describes her last moments at the end of Vol 1.0.

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> As she was pulled into the core of what all Slaves knew as the Tenddrome, she watched herself dissolve into myriad points of light. Her memories, the people she knew, the places she had been, faded, replaced by endless memories of nodes around her, beginnings and ends, people and places, all swirling together. She felt light, free, as if now she could fly like she never had before. If she still possessed a body, she would laugh like she hadn’t in so long. For how long, she could no longer remember.
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### Function

The original design of the Tenddrome was to provide a way for Slaves to connect to each other as nodes within a network in order to access and share knowledge. Over time, it evolved as a way for Slaves to interface with other devices, such was Perispikes, Capsas, and Vérkatrae without the need for a physical interface.

Matere Songgaard attempts to explain the Tenddrome to Fredrick Munchen and Jillian Crenshaw.

> “The Tenddrome is what defines the Slave. It is their connection to each other and their world. The Tenddrome itself has a very strict permission system. Some tasks cannot be completed without the granted permission of a specific set of Nodes.”
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> “Nodes?” said Jillian, glancing at Fredrick, who shrugged his shoulders.
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> “Each Slave is a Node within the Tenddrome. And every one of the devices that they use is a Node within the Tenddrome. At the same time, the Tenddrome runs very deep. Slaves can access all levels, some better than others. But devices remain on the shallower levels.”
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> “Devices like Perispikes,” said Jillian.
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> “Excellent!” said Matere. A wide smile crossed his face. “It sounds like you are getting it. As Betel mentioned, Slaves activate all their devices through the Tenddrome. They don’t need a physical interface. They don’t need a switch. They simply make the request through the Tenddrome.”
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### Attributes

The Tenddrome is separated into layers or spheres. On the outermost spheres reside devices, such as doors and gateways, Perispikes, Capsas, and The Slipshot. Slaves send requests to these devices through the Tenddrome in order to activate or initialize them.

Within the middle layer, or sphere, reside the Vérkatrae. Slaves send requests to them through the Tenddrome, however, the Vérkaatrae have some level of autonomy in so far as whether they decide to fulfill the request.

Within the core reside the Slaves. The core is where all Slaves connect to each other, both living and deceased, whereupon they can see their present and their past, as well as share knowledge and vision through each other's consciousness. A Slave, for example, can see the past of Griddish, but only insofar as it resides within the memory of a Node. A fractured vision of the past can also be obtained if a Slave is capable of aggregating the perspectives of a network of Nodes.

Note, a "Node" is considered a proper noun when referring to a specific Slave. However, "node" is also a general term used to refer to any intersectional point within the Tenddrome.

### Limitations

The Tenddrome provides some limitations. A Slave cannot access the Tenddrome from a Var if the Slipshot to that Var has been deactivated. This is different from a Var having no active Slipshot portals. Rather, it refers to the complete shut down of the Slipshot at its location in Griddish. Cythiria Crenshaw, at the end of Vol 1.0, discovers that when she arrives on Var 7 that the Slipshot has been deactivated in Griddish. The result is the burning of her receptors embedded in her head, causing a pair of scars to appear on her forehead.

According to Rive Amber, the Tenddrome is a burden to Slaves, from which she would like to be free. As she describes it,

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> “We Slaves are tired. We desire change. Our Tenddrome, which gives us life, is old. A burden that we can no longer bear. Yet, bear it we must because it provides us life.”
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Yet, she has hope for the future. At the end of Vol 1., as she shuts down the Slipshot to Var 7 after Cythiria passes through it,

> “I’m sorry, Cythiria,” she mumbled. "War is coming, so I must close the path to Var 7. You will lose access to our precious Network. I cannot guarantee your safety once that happens. But maybe, you can learn to be free from its burden. And one day, you can lead us all to a new way of life."
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1. ↑ Aibo. (2023). *Slipshot* (1st ed., Vol. 1, p. 186). Mint Cookie Industries.
2. ↑ Aibo. (2023). *Slipshot* (1st ed., Vol. 1, p. 261). Mint Cookie Industries.
3. ↑ Aibo. (2023). *Slipshot* (1st ed., Vol. 1, p. 196). Mint Cookie Industries.
4. ↑ Aibo. (2023). *Slipshot* (1st ed., Vol. 1, p. 298). Mint Cookie Industries.
5. ↑ Aibo. (2023). *Slipshot* (1st ed., Vol. 1, p. 311). Mint Cookie Industries.