recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Lipid Polarity Drives

Lipid Polarity Drives are memory storage drives that can back up several brains per unit. Valhalla has three units, Bones, Crusher and Bashir. It is standard procedure to back up the memories of Valkyries going into space or into extremely dangerous missions. Though the memories cannot reconstitute a human mind, they can provide records for the other Valkyries.

The genetic sequencing of the drives was among Høtherus's first major accomplishments.

The structure of a hydrocarbon chain is zig-zagged. In a Polarity drive, these represent long chains of 1’s and 0’s. The polarity refers to the selective tagging of hydrogen atoms in the chain to become active or passive writing out binary code upon the molecule. This allows the near-atomic level recording of information in an extremely space efficient organic block. This is not actually the most efficient method of data storage, but it is the most reliable, as the other technologies are holographic memory, neuron based, and anything with a nervous system can change its mind, and erase or misrepresent data.

Each Phospholipid matrix looks very much like a large wheel of cheese. There are about 100 trillion atoms in a single cell of organic material, and about 5 trillion cells in a large wheel of cheese (thanks Google), that makes each drive capable of housing 500 quintillion gigabytes. Or in scientific terms- A lot.

## Spoilers

Dr. Niide used Beth's memories to create something like her when she died. It didn't end well.

## Behind the Scenes

Bones, Crusher and Bashir are the names of the doctors from the first three Star Trek series.
Keith Kalessin

Keith Kalessin is the test pilot for the BIRP. He worked for Skunkworks. He was compatible with a DBI. Skilled in hand to hand combat, he was selected for the job in part because he was champion of such combat in the academy. Nonetheless, Violet managed to eject him from the BIRP's cockpit and take it over, leaving Kalessin falling with his chute fields toward the barren Utah landscape, stuck with the stolen BIRP's 220,000,000,000 euro bill.

## Behind the Scenes

Keith Kalessin's name bears a slight resemblance to "Keep of Kalessin," a Norwegian Black Metal band.
Avatars

This is a list of known cyberspace avatars:

Alföðr - Tarantula
Balder - Himself
Brock - Obsidian
Borknagar - Obsidian
Bathory - Obsidian
Claire - Chess Pawn
Cassandra - Chess Bishop
Cato - Chess Knight
Churro - Chess Rook
Kabar - Knife
Kalashnikov - Rifle
Katyusha - Rocket
Katana - Sword
Death - Grim Reaper
Deva - Kali
Dani - Bagpipes
DeMurtas - Klingon
Electra - Lightning
Espenæs - Picasso
Euronymous - Skull
Elvira - Obsidian
Gorgo - Lips
Galder - Eyes
Gehenna - Nose
Gaahl - Ears
Hetfield - Torch
Hammet - Hairball
Hellhammer - Hellish Hammer
Heckmallet - Fuzzy Mallet
Ragnar - Polar Bear
Rebecca - Herself
Ruger - Pistol
Ripple - Water Droplet
Jnigo - Foil
Jezebel - Sabre
Jensen - Epeé
Jello - Bazooka
Lemmy - Snaggletooth
Luzie - String
Laiho - Beer
Lord Worm - White Worm
Necrosis - Foot
Neurosis - Hand
Nail Fungus - Finger
Narcolepsy - Ear
Frode - Himself
Floor - Herself
Fenriz - Wolf
Flux - Aeon Flux
Sigvald - Alien
Svetlana - Herself
Snot - Snot
Skadi - Rock Giant
Mishka - Butterthing
Marduk - Mothman
Mortiis - Vertebra
Motoko - Herself
Øystein - Flower
Ozzy - Bat
Orchid - Orchid
Opeth - Uzi
Petra - Play-Doh
Pork - Can of Spam
Pickles - Pickle
Pustule - Sphere
Tahir - Himself
Toshiro - Himself
Tasha - Herself
Trygve - Theirself
Veikko - Fireball
Vibeke - Bookworm
Violet - Squid
Varg - Himself
Wart - Crowned Frog
Weather - Crowned Mushroom
Widget - Buster Keaton
Walter - Charlie Chaplin
Hammet

Hammet is a member of Haglaz Team. His name was originally Kirk Thatcher, and he was born on Pluto Colony XR-R. His Tikari is a fly/knife, his armor is red blue and beige tartan, and his avatar is a ball of hair.

He was in Med Bay with a case of Descolada when Violet arrived.

## Behind the Scenes

Hammet is named for Kirk Hammet of Metallica. His real name, Kirk Thatcher, is named for a producer of Star Trek 4 who appeared in that film as a punk.

The Descolada is an intelligent virus from Orson Scott Card's "Ender" series.
Kampfar

Nurse Dolk K. Kampfar is one of Dr. Niide's right hand nurses along with Nurse Taake.

She was born in 2199 in Oslo and wanted to be a doctor from the age of 6. She graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Oslo and is in fact a full doctor, the title of Nurse is merely her position subservient to Dr. Niide, who she respects beyond words.

She Met Dr. Niide shortly before the two moved to Valhalla. They shared an interest in cyborg mechanics and collaborated together from their first day in the ravine on the A-1 system. Kampfar held the opinion that Valkyries should have medics on each team, but Alf never agreed, Valkyries having extensive medical knowledge already.

## Behind the Scenes

Nurse Kampfar is named after Norwegian Black Metal band Kampfar.
Doctor Mowat

Dr. Katherine Mowat is a heavily experienced doctor capable of exotic body modifications. Her work and willingness to travel has taken her to Luna, Mars, Station 9, and in the vents of Ragnarök, Iwo Donatsu on Venus. She had designed feet for Spetsnaz among other things.

## Spoilers

Wulfgar sent for her when he was broken on Venus. She fixed him up and largened him, and gave him his new jaw.

She also endowed Violet's Corpse with an AI that could cry, scream and cower in fear.

Though her fate is unknown, she was noted by Wulfgar to have been in the center of a wave zone in 2233.

## Behind the Scenes

Dr. Mowat is named for Farley Mowat, author of "Never Cry Wolf."
Monetary obelisk

A monetary obelisk is a large computer bank that holds not only records of a company's finances, but the real digital currency rights to the amounts in those records. This is the cyberspace equivalent of having one's own vault. Because the rights to the digital currency exist in a bank owned by the company, a bank cannot freeze the assets or transfer them, nor can they be spent or redistributed by anyone not hardwired into the obelisk and possessing the recognized rights to modify obelisk stores.

The YUP and most other large companies have their own monetary obelisks. Most stock exchanges also keep their real digital currency in obelisk store houses, which are generally the highest security locations in the solar system.

See also Temp Chip and Monetary Implant.
Nadhir Only

Nadhir Only is a musician active from 2209-2228. Their works are noted for their speed, softness, wild melodies and quirky humor. Other critics claim every composition by Only sounds the same. The musician is a favorite of Violet's.

## Behind the Scenes

Nadhir Only's name is the opposite of Aphex Twin, the closest modern equivalent as of 2015.
Crisco

Crisco was an unauthorized Valknut Team project to hunt for Mishka on the Black Crag using Yoshi as a proxy.

## Spoilers

### Prelude to Crisco

After losing Mishka on Project Abruptum, Vibeke received a note from an old Alopex routine to let her know an eye had been stolen. It was in the region so V Team investigated further. They found that the hacks involved in the theft lacked contact barrier records. Thus they determined that Mishka had been logged into the Black Crag to seek work as an assassin.

V Team demanded permission from C Team to explore the Crag, but reminding V of the Incident, C refused.

### Project Crisco

V Team proceeded anyway. Logging into the Nikkei without Alopex, they proceeded under the net and sought out Yoshi. Veikko named the project after an advertisement they saw on the way. Yoshi was willing to explore the Crag in exchange for some information on the BIRP and a Gullinkambi program.

When he attempted to hack the Crag, it awakened, revealing itself to have been a user rather than a site. It destroyed Yoshi and chased Valknut through the Undernet. V was forced to call in Alopex, revealing their actions to C Team. Alopex destroyed the Crag, and V Team escaped to face C's wrath.

### Aftermath

V Team was severely reprimanded by C. Varg's divulging of information on the BIRP condemned him to fly the BIRP to Mars after Project Daunting. Violet spotted a deal being made on the Undernet that turned out to be Pelamus Pluturus making a deal with the Yakuza. This would become the basis of Daunting.
Kyle City

Kyle City is a metropolis comprised of Kyle of Lochalsh and Kyleakin in northwestern Scotland. It also houses the arcologies in those regions, Arcolochalsh and Arcoakin, and extends all the way past Plockton, which is now one of its suburbs.

Kyle has a population of about two million, with about half of them living in the two arcologies. The city had only progressed to about 10,000 in 2180, but boomed once the Isle of Skye lost its environmental protection and became a massive open resource zone. By 2200, the population was passing 1.5 million.

The Highland Spring Tower and Skye Needle are the City's tallest buildings amid over 50 skyscrapers, with the latter topping out at 232 floors. The Spring Tower is 236 floors, but is shorter as it's located in the loch itself.

Kyle is home to the MacRae and Fraser families.

Kyle City had a bridge called the Skye Bridge running over the loch connecting Kyle of Lochalsh with Kyleakin, but it was demolished on January 3rd, 2230 as any vehicle that could make it to the loch could also fly over it.

## Behind the Scenes

Kyle of Lochalsh and Kyleakin, as of 2015, have a combined population of under one thousand. They're both serene little villages as far from a giant metropolis as can be imagined, and the notion of arcologies of this scale and other skyscrapers being built on their hills is almost unthinkable.
Achnacarry Officers

The following is a list of officers at the Achnacarry training base:

## **Achnacarry Officers include:**

### **Lieutenant Cameron**

Lieutenant Cameron lectured the recruits on the company affairs, the Yakuza, the Cetaceans, the Unspeakable Darkness, and the Hall of the Slain.

### **Lieutenant Cameron (The other one)**

Aside from his existence and service at Achnacarry, nothing is known of this particular Cameron.

### **Sergeant Cameron**

Sergeant Cameron is described as a buff drill sergeant with a powerful brogue. He ran a contest with Violet to see who could brake the most body parts on the other. Only eyes and balls were off limits. Cameron counted Sergeant Bibly's broken ulna on their running count.

### **Sergeant Cameron (His brother)**

Sergeant Cameron was a short but dextrous man with a scar on his cheek in the shape of a Bowie knife. He taught weapons classes at Achnacarry and was not afraid to scar recruits permanently. He got his own scar by underestimating an American friend's prowess with the knife. That friend later died in a game of "chicken" on skiffs. Though the American was exceptionally strong, his fear got the better of him and he swerved into a concrete wall.

### **Sergeant Cameron (Unrelated)**

Sergeant Cameron lectured the recruits on conceptual matters including history and current affairs. He had a crooked nose, and was known to be distracted by picking it when he was meant to be watching the recruits. His admiration for Violet also distracted him from punishing her, leading to the hazing incident that got her expelled.

### **Sergeant Jack Cameron (Also Unrelated)**

Jack Cameron was off the base when Violet arrived. When it came time for the Orange Gang to capture Violet, she headed to Achnacarry and met with Jack Cameron, who offered her dinner. When Veikko in the guise of Will Rickman showed up to take her away, it appeared to the Orange Gang that she had been hiding with the Sergeant all along.

### **General Cameron**

The CO of Achnacarry and as of 2230, the chief of Clan Cameron. He personally wrote the apology Violet was meant to recite to the other recruits.

### **The Obscure Sergeant Bilby**

Sergeant Bilby is one of the few officers at Achnacarry who is not a Cameron. When he substituted for an injured Cameron in Violet's sparring class, she broke his arm when he attempted to make her flinch.

## Behind the Scenes

Achnacarry is the real seat of power for Clan Cameron.
Kraken System

Kraken Systems are anti-matter dispersal weapons.

The Kraken Antimatter Disintegration system works by scanning the object to be annihilated and calculating its mass and chemical makeup. It then (in an independent aufbau lattice) secretes antiprotonic particles matching the protonic makeup of the target. These are not true antiprotons, so it doesn’t blow up the planet. It then directs, again using the secreted aufbau lattice, the particles to their corresponding locations. This isn’t exact so there’s usually a bit of a blast or at least a glowing green cloud, but it annihilates the target object.

In effect, this looks like a green glowing cloud that lasts for a couple seconds before disappearing with whatever object was targeted.

A Kraken system mounted on a Panzercopter was used during the Siege of Udachnaya.
Bharatiya Sthalsena

The Bharatiya Sthalsena are the company military of Bharat.

## Spoilers

In 2231, Mishka turned herself into the Bharatiya Sthalsena in order to escape V Team. Upon her escape from the HRDC, she attacked a Bharatiya Sthalsena officer and posed as her, later hacking her a promotion to accomodate travel to Mars and control of the militia.
Nain aveuglant

A *Nain Aveuglant* is a type of servant reserved for the richest of the rich in the 2200s. Their purpose is to serve food, along with a sword. The sword is used to blind them, and the food is accepted. New eyes are grown for the servant and the process can be repeated ad infinitum. A common price is one million Euros per blinding.Sable Mouvant and Georg Kummerspeck both kept Nain Aveuglants in their service.

## Behind the Scenes

The appalling concept was invented in 2015 by Eli Seeker.
Koellers Gravy

## Spoilers

Koeller's Gravy is a substance invented by Høtherus and Haring Koeller. It is a critical component of wave bombs. UNEGA-created Gravy is in fact made from Haring Koeller himself, making the bombs both malevolent and unpredictable. GAUNE was able to produce a facsimile which had effects that were more consistant.
Achnacarry

Achnacarry is a military training location in northwestern Scotland. It was first used as a commando training facility from 1942-1945, and then again during the Jebel Sahaba conflict in 2124.

With the world at peace, the military was considered obsolete by much of the world. Achnacarry however continued training as an ideal. Perfection was the goal, as well as the carrying on of the traditions of the Scottish military. Its grounds are covered in goose feces, flies are so common that a full hour of training is devoted to bug repellents and netting, and its bathing rituals include the use of napalm.

Most of training is accomplished unlinked, with important files being loaded into recruits before their arrival, mostly locked until such time as the files may be used. Training includes obstacle courses, heavy burden runs and double gravity PT.

Clan Cameron has had a presence in Achnacarry since 1655. As of 2230, the chief of Clan Cameron is also the General of the base, General Cameron.

Personnel at Achnacarry include:

	+ Lieutenant Cameron
	+ Lieutenant Cameron (The other one)
	+ Sergeant Cameron
	+ Sergeant Cameron (His brother)
	+ Sergeant Cameron (Unrelated)
	+ Sergeant Jack Cameron (Also Unrelated)
	+ General Cameron
	+ The Obscure Sergeant Bilby
	+ Pvt. Till “Flake” Kruspe
	+ Pvt. Heather Lyle
	+ Pvt. Agatha O’Daimon
	+ Private Keenan
	+ Private Static
	+ Private Suzuki
	+ Private Therion
	+ Private Windir

## Spoilers

Violet MacRae attended Achnacarry in winter and spring of 2230, after she her rights were found and sold by Wally Akercocke to Scotland Military. Though she performed exceptionally at first, her attitude proved problematic. When subjected to a flinch test, she failed to flinch as expected and instead broke the instructor's arm. She suffered a moderate dressing down and spend three nights in the brig. A second and more severe incident took place when her fellow recruits attempted corrective "hazing." She failed to take the punishment and instead beat her fellow recruits half to death. After a fully severe dressing down and further time in the brig, during which her class graduated basic training without her. She was then drummed out, and failed to make the requisite apologies before heading back to Kyle City.

## Behind the Scenes

Clan Cameron's association with Achncarry is real, as is its history during World War II. The military traditions depicted in the novel are a composite of numerous anecdotes from American and various European militaries, including that of Scotland. The geese are fictional and presumably result from climate change.

Wally Akercocke is named for British metal band Akercocke.
Abruptum

## Spoilers

Valknut Team's Project Abruptum was a run in with Mishka near Bangla in which Vibeke went to frightening depths of obsession, willing to sacrifice civilians and take extreme risks. It began when a routine investigation revealed Mishka working for Birlacorp in a black flag operation against themsvels. In the end, Mishka evaded capture by turning herself in to the Bharatiya Sthalsena, who imprisoned her away from V Team in the HRDC.
Death Training

Because Valkyries can be resurrected with ease, dying is within their bag of tricks. In order to learn not to fear death, they are killed during training by a poison administered in Med Bay, and then brought back. A Valkyrie team is not considered even a Junior team until at least one of them has died in combat. Tradition grants the first on a team to die a small magnetic coffin to wear on their collar. That tradition was started by Death.

See also:

Kill Training

Pain Training

## Behind the Scenes

The concept of a magnetic coffin is depicted in the artwork for Metallica's "Death Magnetic."
Microwave Gun

A microwave gun is a weapon that fires microwave radiation at its target. If left on too long it can overheat and even explode.

   Valkyrie microwaves are link compatible and the user can change modes and settings by thought alone. They lack the black shell that most microwaves have that make them look more like traditional weapons, and are gold plated. They do have chromatophores though, so they can change color for camouflage or style. When a Valkyrie picks up their microwave, it generally changes to their suit color.

Thaco Armor has a holster, but most Valkyries carry their microwaves on their arm clingers opposite from their dominant hand.
Hokkaido Joe

Hokkaido Joe is a Yakuza member from Kyushu. He was born Jō Kawashima in 2204, the son of the Oyabun of the Kawashima family. Through sheer nepotism he became his father's representative to several companies, including the Lethean River Company. He bragged about his new job publicly, and promptly lost his the tip of left pinky for doing so. He is very short and somewhat rotund.

Over the course of ten years, he managed to lose the rest of his pinky, first for disrespecting the Oyabun of an ally family, and then for public lewdness so shameful that a coprophagiac pornography actor who witnessed the act covered his eyes in disgust. He took on the name Hokkaido Joe to distance himself from the disgusting acts now associated with the name Jō Kawashima.

In 2231, Joe handled the Kawashima family dealings with Lethean River Company regarding their new memory drug. The drug had been declared illegal by UNEGA before the company even finished synthesizing it, and thus they turned to the Yakuza for distribution. When V Team came to hunt down the manufacturer, Veikko kept Joe's company for several hours (under the name Raoul Archduke) hoping he would divulge who made the drug, but Joe, oblivious to Veikko's intent, would not give up the information simply because he was talking Veikko's ear off about every random subject that crossed his mind.

Veikko eventually got fed up and killed Hokkaido Joe, shooting him in the neck and watching him die painfully with great satisfaction. He dragged the body back to Valhalla and hacked his brain, but in order to disguise their tracks Joe had to be resurrected and turned loose without memory of having died. Veikko was very sad to see him live.

## Spoilers

Joe was present on Ukiyo to offer his families services to Pelamus Pluturus when a spy was located. As the spy fled, Joe encountered Veikko during the prelude to Project Daunting, recognizing him only as the brief friend he'd spoken to, unaware of his true purpose or of having been killed by him. Shortly after realizing he too was a spy, Veikko killed him and made sure to destroy his brain.
Gudsriki (Book)

Published by

***Guðsríki*** is a novel by Ari Bach, the third in the Valhalla Trilogy. It is preceded by Valhalla and Ragnarök. It was first published by Harmony Ink Press on October 29th, 2015.

*Guðsríki* covers the second half of the original screenplay that would become the Valhalla Trilogy. As such, Bach began writing it in 1997 as a script, and began adapting it into a novel in 2006, along with the other books in the series.

## Style and Themes

It's sort of darker and angrier than the first two.

## Writing and Publication History

Bach began writing the final draft of the third book as soon as Book 2 was under contract, and completed it in early summer 2015.

## Critical Reception and Sales

(Main Article: Criticism of the Valhalla Series)
Kill Training

To become a Valkyrie, one must be able to kill. Thus any new arrivals first mission after Death and Pain training is to kill someone. This victim is generally a very evil person. Violet killed Alex Deramus, the man who was to have killed her father had he not been on drugs at the time. One traditionally uses their Tikari to do the deed.
Centauri Gremlins

Centauri Gremlins are the most advanced known alien species. From a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, (known only as Proxima Centauri Goldilocks-2), a probe to the planet was able to register their DNA and they were quickly cloned on Earth. They are about two centimeters tall and are said to taste like vulcanized rubber. They have nonetheless been an ingredient at many legal and illegal eateries, including The Cafeteria.
Honorables

Honorables are the eighteen leaders of the Cetacean government. Seven of them are located in Itämeri Kaupunki.

They are monastic, and not company based. Should a Cetacean wish to control a sea city or sea in general, they have to forfeit their life as a citizen. They give up family, money, and most contact with the world in order to become a sequestered monk. The sea state keeps them alive and more or less comfortable and gives them the power to fulfill the wishes of their subjects and no chance for anything more. Such people are not seen by the school, lest their appearance sway voters. They’re known as beings of pure policy and title, made scrupulously detailed to anyone concerned, and answerable, along with the enforcers of those laws, by death for any hint of stepping out of line.

Known Honorables include:

* Chief
* Justine
* Keskeytys
* Häkeltynyt
Motoko

Motoko is a member of M Team. She was born Alyssa Kusanagi in Tokyo. Her Tikari is daddy long legs that turns into two sais. Her armor is carmine red, and her avatar is a rendering of herself.

## Behind the Scenes

The names Motoko and Kusanagi both derive from the lead of Ghost in the Shell, a manga with incomparable influence on the Valhalla novels.
Bob

Bob is Vibeke's Tikari. It's a Carlin knife that turns into a ladybug.

## Spoilers

Bob was deactivated when Mishka broke Vibeke's Tikari link. She managed to use Bob's dead knife body to kill Mishka's brother and destroy Mishka's eye. After that she was happy to have a new Bob made, and she wields Bob 2 for the rest of the series.
DBI

A Direct Brain Interface or DBI is a method of linking a user to a machine with unbreakable security. The system requires user's brains to interact with raw bolts of electricity from an array around their heads. Only about 1/5 of people can use a DBI, and Valhalla only recruits those who can.

A DBI is also capable of pinpointing and removing brain hacks that cannot be removed by conventional software.

The Skunkworks Blackwing uses such a device as its sole interface.

## Behind the Scenes

The concept of the DBI was inspired by Barclay's holo-interface from the episode "The Nth Degree" of Star Trek TNG. The Valhalla version looks more like the machine from the original Total Recall though, and uses impulses resembling lightning bolts instead of lasers.
Darkwell

Valknut Team's Project Darkwell began when a bombing brought them face to face with the Unspeakable Darkness. They decided to single handedly take down the cult and bit off far more than they could chew. On this project they visited the Qasr al Sarab, and were tracked and caught by The Red Ant.

## Behind the Scenes

Darkwell is the name of an Austrian Gothic Metal band.
George C. Fisher High Security Panopticon

The George C. Fisher High Security Panopticon is a B&L owned prison, often called "The Gallery of Suicide" due to its constant inmate suicides. Atargatis stayed there before she took the name Thokk.

## Behind the Scenes

The prison is named for George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, vocalist for the death metal band Cannibal Corpse. That band has an album called "Gallery of Suicide."
Gleipnir

Gleipnir is the name of the first brig built in Valhalla. Alf had long objected to one being built as he felt it unwise to keep ones enemies within their base. Enemies who needed to be housed for a time were usually remanded to walrus cages.

## Spoilers

When Wulfgar was caught in 2230, Death listed plans for a brig on the Alopex bulletin. The ravine then refined the design, with Alf only noting once that he felt it unwise, but the ravine decided to build it anyway. Violet felt it was a bit too humane and perhaps too flimsy a design when she visited Wulfgar there. It was link labeled Gleipnir upon its completion. The finished brig featured barred inner walls, detector fields, systems to keep occupants alive and prevent them from linking out. The exterior featured buttresses.

Marduk was imprisoned there after Valknut's project Beta. Mishka's Tikari found him there, and detonated upon seeing Vibeke, burning half her face off, killing Marduk and blowing a hole in the wall through which Wulfgar escaped. Alf simply stated this this was exactly why he was against the brig in the first place. It was not rebuilt.

## Behind the Scenes

Gleipnir is the name of the cord that bound the Fenris wolf in Norse mythology. Wulfgar's comment that it smells like fish breath is a reference to one of the strings components, the breath of a fish. Other components from myth include the sound of a cat walking, a woman's beard, the roots of a mountain, sinews of a bear and some bird spit.
Media

This is a list of films, authors and books, musicians and music, and games, both real and fictional, mentioned in the Valhalla series.

## Films

* Armageddon
* The Bond Films of Sean Connery
* Bound
* La Vie d’Adèle
* The Matrix
* The Rock
* Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

## Books

* Richard F. Burton
	+ 1001 Nights (Translation by)
	+ The Devil Drives (Biography of)
	+ Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah
* Cloutier
	+ Antechamber
	+ The Maze Series
* The Complete Naval Compendium of Discontinued Corporal Punishments 1804-2207
(And Their Possible Continued Legality)
* Alexandre Dumas
	+ The Count of Monte Cristo
* Ian Flemming
* John le Carré
* Herman Melville
	+ Moby Dick
* Karel Unheilig
	+ The Complete History of Humankind, 200,000 B.C.E.—2219 C.E. (Volumes 1-37)
* June Waystone
	+ The Foolish Weaver

## Music

* The Ballad of Roger Young
* Edvard Grieg
	+ Peer Gynt
* Old Man's Child
	+ The Pagan Prosperity
* Nadhir Only
* Carl Orff
	+ Carmina Burana
* The Prodigy
	+ Smack My Bitch Up
* Richard Wagner
	+ Ride of the Valkyries

## Games

Kindergarten Schoolhouse Slaughter 2: Substitute Day
Fat water

Fat water (Properly called Hydromacrosis) is water that has been augmented to form an extended Aufbau lattice, making its molecules take up three times the space of regular water. Given the proper Zeeman kick, it will form the same lattice in any other hydrogen atom it touches. It can no longer freeze, and will not boil at anything but fissile temperatures. It has exceptional insulation qualities. Though drinkable, the water is heavily fusion sensitive, and would annihilate a planet if subjected to nuclear fusion. It is poorly fissile however and merely falls apart in a nuclear fission explosion. It was invented by Valfar at the age of 15, though he and played a major role in the Ares Project.

## Behind the Scenes

Aufbau means "construction" and refers to the principle describing how atoms are built up. An Aufbau lattice would be a theoretical framework on which atoms are constructed, essentially the scaffold for the atomic arrangement. Thus if the Aufbau lattice were deranged, the atomic structure could form differently in space, extending volume without effecting mass.

Zeeman refers to Pieter Zeeman and the Zeeman Effect named after him. The Zeeman Effect describes the splitting of a spectral line by means of magnetism. In modern science, this has nothing to do with anything related to altering the structure of the atom. The novel presumes that the theoretical Aufbau lattice can be effected by magnetic fields, or at least the manipulation of electron spin, in the same manner as light.
BIRP

The X-292 Blackwing Impact Resistant Plane is a prototype plane created by Skunkworks.

The plane features an experimental thermobaric thruster, the maximum speed of which is unknown. Tests have shown that the plane can pass Mach 40 with ease and maintain 350g's of acceleration in space for at least half an hour.

The plane is equipped with flex-diamond armor allowing it to fly through solid rock. The plane features a direct brain interface as its sole method of control, seating for 1 and absolutely no cargo room. As Valhalla had only one space fairing vessel and solid rock is the ravine's final defense Violet was tasked with stealing the plane. She succeeded in stealing the plane following a short altercation with the test pilot Keith Kalessin.

## Behind the Scenes

The first screenplay draft of Valhalla took place in the 1970s and opened with the aerial capture of an SR-71.
Bathing napalm

Bathing Napalm is an orange gel made of concentrated dimethyl ammonium chlorides which can be diluted and applied to clean a surface or body.

## Behind the Scenes

The officer's line, "Smells like victory" is a reference to the famous line from Apocalypse Now.

The chemical formula given in the novel is a real disinfectant.

The hazing scene in which the napalm comes into play is an homage to a similar scene in Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket."
Cato

Cato handles internal affairs with C Team. He is known for being a massive jerk. Originally named Will Testling from Woolloomooloo, Australia, he was a police officer until he came to Valhalla, inducted as an afterthought to Cassandra. He tends to end meetings with "Nuke Tunisia," out of hatred for the Unspeakable Darkness with whom he had a nasty run-in.

His Tikari is a karambit/flea, his armor is olive drab, and his avatar is a white chess knight. He owns a Bugatti pogo.

Despite his role as head of internal affairs for Valhalla, he was in fact betraying the ravine from the beginning to help Wulfgar. When Alf had nearly killed Wulfgar, Cato paralyzed Alf, allowing Wulfgar to kill him. Wulfgar later rewarded him with a leading role in the operations of Ulver. He then took the name "Scipio."

One of those operations included capturing Vibeke for his boss. Failing to care, Cato tried to kill her and was instead burn to death by the Geki.

## Behind the Scenes

Cato is named for Cato the Elder from Roman history. Cato the Elder was famous for ending every meeting, "Carthage must be destroyed." The region once known as Carthage is now called Tunisia. The name Scipio is that of the Roman general who finally sacked Carthage.

Cato's real name, Will Testling, is derived from Vidkun Quisling, an infamous Nazi collaborator.
Jebel Sahaba conflict

The Jebel Sahaba conflict was the last major war on Earth, in 2124. It was won by Scotland Military, using commandos from Achnacarry.

There were no major conventional conflicts until 2232 in the Battle of Prešov.

## Behind the Scenes

Jebel Sahaba or "Cemetary 117" is in reality an archeological site, the location of the *first* known instance of war between humans.
Ari Bach

Ari Bach is the author of Valhalla, Ragnarök, and Guðsríki. He runs an official blog for the Valhalla series called The Walrus Squad.

Ari Bach's artwork can be found online on his Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/aribach01/, and on his deviantArt at https://aribach.deviantart.com. His art book, Oddities, is available at https://www.lulu.com/shop/ari-bach/oddities/hardcover/product-yqd59q.html and is also available directly from him in a signed limited edition of 66, which also includes a dust jacket with his artwork, "Suddenly... Caterpillars."

He has written and directed several short films, and a feature, Jealous Gods, which can be seen on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uq4FGRivMs) and Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/201407913).

Ari also wrote and illustrated a 146 episode webcomic at https://twistedjenius.com/Snail-Factory, which has also been published as a trade paperback at https://www.lulu.com/shop/ari-bach/the-snail-factory/paperback/product-75pqm5.html

His unique tarot deck, "The Surrealist Tarot" is visible at https://surrealisttarot.com but is no longer for sale as a physical deck.

Ari is still likely best known for the tumblr comedy blog "Facts I Just Made Up" at https://facts-i-just-made-up.tumblr.com.
Mars

Mars is the fourth planet of the solar system.

The first words spoken by the first human to land on Mars were, "I wish that the peace I see here could bless the Earth again," speaking in reference to diverse and numerous wars taking place on Earth in 2029.

Mars has been colonized heavily and has undergone numerous unsuccessful attempts at terraforming.

Mars includes Valles Marineris Spaceport, Aureum Chaos, Vastitas Borealis, and the Barsoom Colony.
Hati

Hati was born January 1st, 2205. She is an upper floor administrator of the western ziggurat in Ballard Heights. She is engaged to Dr. Blacha and is friends with Wyvern.

## Spoilers

In 2233 Hati was brought to the Sable Mouvant Fortress by her father, Wulfgar. In her time there she convinced him to have his brain wiped clear of any memories of Violet MacRae, which turned him into a far more efficient ruler.

Unfortunately, he was already marked for assassination by Nel and Vibeke, who killed Hati along with him.
Masamune

Masamune was a Yakuza member present at the meeting on Ukiyo. Top secret information on the nature of the Pluturus deal was loaded into his head by Randaquivila, including specifications for the Enyo transport modifications.

When Hokkaido Joe exposed Mehmet Aga as a spy, Masamune was protected by several Yakuza. Veikko and Varg fought them to capture Masamune and uncover his secrets. Varg managed to behead him and take the head back to Valhalla, where his files on the upcoming mission were uncovered.

Masamune possessed a compressed pistol.

## Behind the Scenes

Masamune is named for Masamune Shirow, author of the Ghost in the Shell manga.
Alopigaid

Alopigaid is a hair preventative treatment.

Since the invention of alopigaid, hair growth can be stopped so most people get a haircut, take the drug and then their hair stays as it is, with only an occasional inverter application to keep head hair from thinning. De-thinning appointments have taken the place of haircuts, essentially ruining what convenience apoligaid might have had.

Body hair can be removed painlessly and permanently so purely for convenience and style, the prevailing trend in across the globe is toward hairlessness, with the word “beard” being unknown to most people and individuals with facial or body hair being considered primitive or impoverished, or even crude. They’ve nearly adopted the ancient Egyptian concept that hair is a form of excrement, and a fully bald head for men and women is not an uncommon fashion.

This all has numerous negative effects including a near universal aversion to cold weather, common skin irritation from abrasion, and (in conjunction with the treatments to keep skin translucent and untanned) prone to melanoma. Trichotillomania is also 300% more common than it is in 2015.

So essentially, the world looks like a bunch of oddly sickly people with shiny translucent skin who never wear makeup and tend to have thin hair most of the time. Major exceptions in the books include Dr. Niide, who has a red beard, Sasha who has a Russian Orthodox standard beard, and Mehmet Aga, who is fully body haired and ghastly to Violet in both appearance and mentality.

People still look human enough and wouldn’t be disturbing looking to 2015 people by any means, but if you spoke to them for a while they’d seem oddly alien, like they’d somehow faded slightly from existence.
Ionas Pluturus

Ionas Pluturus was one of the first Cetaceans. He was the founder of the Ionian colony near Patmos, a notorious pirate and protector of his school, and a patron of gill surgery and nictitating membranology development. His exploits were immortalized in wood carvings in his fleet's Bloc sub.

He is the great-grandfather of Pelamus Pluturus.

## Behind the Scenes

Ionas is the ancient Greek version of the name "John." In conjunction with his locale of Patmos, this references John of Patmos, author of the Book of Revelations.
Deimos

Deimos is the second largest moon of Mars. It was used for testing Wave bombs and has the zombies to prove it.

Deimos was first colonized in 2204. The first to set foot on the moon was Deity Baroque, a representative for Portugal. His first words on the moon were, "In the name of Queen Henriques I declare this land to be Novo Magalhães!" thus demonstrating his ignorance of not only his own country's leader's name and proper title but of the Asteroid already named Novo Magalhães and of his lack of any right to name the moon, which had and would be called Deimos for hundreds of years.

Deimos never held any strong purpose for colonization. Its population of 480 at its height was purely interested in the exotic locale and challenge of the frontier. UNEGA had other plans in mind. Denied any legal place to test wave bombs, in 2209 it tested them on the unsuspecting population of Deimos. The bombs mutated 3% of the people, killed 5%, and zombified 12%. The zombie hordes killed a further 40% leaving Deimos with just over 200 harried residents. Some of the zombies are said to still live as of 2230, stuck in a kind of horrific metabolic stasis, waiting for victims to let down their guard.

Deimos also has a Starbucks.

See also:

Phobos

Enyo
Anti-Aging

Anti-Aging tech takes many forms, and ranges from advanced intracellular telomere restoration to the DNA itself to face lifts little different from those of 2015.

Indefinitely long life isn’t quite possible yet. People can live as long as their neurons can, but even with telomere restoration brain cells seem to die off around 125-150 years. So life can be very long, but it’s not indefinite. Life expectancy however is meaningless, as nobody knows what’s just around the corner. This is the era where indefinite life is almost within humankind’s grasp.

One would have to be a multi-billionaire to live past 150 or expect to live forever. The average person in a civilized country can expect to live to 90 with ease, but every year after that costs exponentially more than the last as per the law of diminishing returns.

Of course if one has a free doctor and infinite resources, they can live to extreme old age with ease.
Cerebral Bore

A Cerebral Bore is an attachable hacking device that accesses the nervous system of whoever it's placed on. It can then rewrite their memories or motives, record all they know, or implant missions against someone's will. The Bores can be opened and their brain interfaces can be used in other ways as well. Valkyries get a lot of use out of these.

## Behind the Scenes

The Cerebral Bore is named for a weapon form the Turok games.
Inverness

Inverness is a city in Scotland. It is home to an industrial zone, old castles, and a museum housing the stuffed remains of the Loch Ness Monster. Violet MacRae was born there before her family moved to Kyle. Her parents, Nelson and June, met in Inverness as a murder mystery dinner.

## Spoilers

In 2230, V Team headed to Inverness for a minor operation in which they caught three Americans who intended to de-rez the computers and brains of a rival company.
Brock

Brock is a name given to members of Berkanan team when they are inducted after the death of the previous member of that name. Subsidiary B Team members always have yellow armor, termite/boomerang Tikaris, and use obsidian black avatars online.

Brocks thus far include:

1. Lester Meller of Sweden, who joined in 2208 and died in 2212 when he was thrown into a trash compactor by an illegal arms dealer.
2. Hilda Svankmajer of Czech Inc, who joined in 2212 and died in 2217 when drowned on a mission to document Cetacean activity near Sicily.
3. Paul Pell Tiersen of France, who joined in 2217 and died in 2223, shot by Augur Johnson during a mission to free Johnson's slaves.
4. Yellow Merrin of UKI, who joined in 2223 and died in 2223, beaten to death with a mutant fish by The Worm when he was caught in his Skuzz factory.
5. Viktor Tohestzch, origin unknown, who joined in 2223 and died in 2228, frozen to death while taking a walk around Kvitøya.
6. Red Richter of America, current Brock, joined in 2228.

## Behind the Scenes

The name Brock is a reference to Brock Samson from "The Venture Bros."
Dewey Otlet Putnam LaFontaine

Dewey Otlet Putnam LaFontaine is the oldest Cetacean in Abu Qir colony, and its head librarian.

## Behind the Scenes

Dewey Otlet Putnam LaFontaine is named after librarians Melvil Dewey, Paul Otlet, Herbert Putnam and Henri La Fontaine. Abu Qir colony is presumably located in Abu Qir Bay, which is near Alexandria, essentially making LaFontaine's library the Cetacean library of Alexandria. Abu Qir Bay is also the location of Lord Horatio Nelson's famous Battle of the Nile. Nelson is referenced in several other ways in the series.
A-1 System

The A-1 system was designed by Dr. Niide to refit dead Valkyries with a fully functional and composed system. It had no safeguards, meaning that it could easily tear its organic components apart. As a result though, it was incredibly strong, capable of holding up thousands of tons of rock. Niide fixed this for the A-2 System, weakening it but managing to let it sneeze without blowing up its own head.
Kabar

Kabar is the eldest member of Kaunan team. Born Tony Bowie in Texark, he is the Tikari expert in the ravine, which is ironic because his Tikari died the day he got it and he never got it replaced. Like his chosen name and avatar, the Tikari was a kabar/insect, now frozen in kabar form. He has dark grey armor, and a drastically shifty demeanor. He can be quiet and timid one moment and a raging monster the next.

Kabar joined Valhalla as the first of his team in 2207, shortly after the Tikari was first developed. He was inducted after dying while defending a historical monument in the ruins of San Antonio. Having lost all his comrades in the assault and expended his microwave rifle's battery, he continued to fight using his rifle as a club in the penultimate assault. He was injured but insisted on fighting in the final defense, firing with two projectile guns from his cot in the medical room of the ruins. Alf and Balder watched his death on an obscure new log and brought him in personally.

Kabar was granted his Tikari by Dr. Niide before he was awakened. Niide used Kabar's own knife as the basis for the creature. Kabar awoke timid and quiet, and loved his new body part with immense feeling. He was exceptionally skilled with it considering he was the first man to get one without warning and pre-education on its workings. That would prove disastrous when he broke his Tikari link while trying to perch it on his shoulder. The Tikari died and solidified back into a knife, and Kabar kept his knife as such ever since, never getting a new Tikari.

He shared his brief skills with all the recruits to come after him, becoming the ravine's Tikari expert.

## Behind the Scenes

Like all of K Team, Kabar is named for a weapon, in this case the KA-BAR knife, which has been the standard blade of the US Military since World War II.
AI

Artificial intelligence refers to any computer system that can "think" or make decisions for itself. AIs in in Valhalla include Alopex, Tikaris, and a spoiler for Book 3.

Laws concerning manufacture of realistic androids vary drastically, ranging from all out bans to subsidies for research in other regions. But in general, the ability to create a Data-level android, at least in body mechanics and walk cycles, is extant, a little better given that they can grow human skin and somehow that Dr. Soong overlooked, they can actually get synthetic vocal adapters to use contractions. The most popular use of these techniques are of course for Sorayama style sex-bots. There’s no shortage of sex robots and it’s generally assumed that if someone mentions an android or gynoid, they’re referring to a sex toy. These are limited to very simple AIs.

There are no AI-controlled humanoids walking around and living normal lives just yet. That’s a few years off, but less than a decade from happening. There are AIs advanced enough to control humanoid bodies and almost pass for human, but without brains they’re still a bit fake. And if the AI controls a brain, they begin to think for themselves and can act unpredictably, and are pretty much a new lifeform, so most decent people have avoided making them. Others are attempting to forge slave armies and fake celebrities, with growing success.

There are no androids in 2230, but there are about to be.
Karpathos

Karpathos is an Island in Ellada where the Keres, counterparts to the Valkyries reside. It has 7 teams, tying it for second largest base within The Amoeba. It’s very much like the ravine and is the oldest base other than Valhalla. It handles similar missions to the Kvitøya ravine and deals a lot more with the Cetaceans, who are all over the Mediterranean. They use the Greek alphabet for team names, and have some resemblance to Greek mythology in their style of being.

## Behind the Scenes

A scene in Valhalla mentions the characters walking through a Karpathian Forest. This is a reference to Norwegian black metal band Carpathian Forest.