Cyberpunk Glossary
Index of slang, technologies, organizations, and other terms that appear in the novel "No Rest 4 Wicked Botniks" and other stories in the shared "Boilerplate" fictional universe
GLOSSARY
For NO REST 4 WICKED BOTNIKS and related works
AI - 1. Artificial intelligence. 2. More specifically, an AI that has not attained SI. See SI below.
Android - an anatomically correct humanoid robot with vat-grown limbs and skin, synthetic bones, and a cutting-edge computer for a brain, which makes for a much thicker, more dense, but pliable metallic skull. An android’s heart, while functioning like a human hearts, is also hardware for their security software, which is pumped with the blood in neuro-code to prevent the android from going rogue. An android’s ribs are therefore far more elaborate and durable than any human’s.
Andy - android (derogatory slang)
Andy candy - 1. A female-modeled android prostitute 2. Sexual intercourse with any type of android.
Andy dandy - an android gigolo
Arty - a robot, especially one with SI. Note: arty is short for ‘artificial’, and the term was once slightly derogatory. Now it is considered a neutral if informal descriptive term, much like ‘gay’.)
The Atlantic Union - A country comprised of a dozen Northeast American states: Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. The Atlantic Union considers itself the true successor to the United States of America and thus uses a lot of its old iconography.
“Bin it” - “Shut up.”
Badger - a badger is a police officer (guy with a badge) [with as many connotations as words and phrases like “cop” and the “the fuzz” have]
Bamma Dollars - a joking term for the dollar currency of The Atlantic Union
Barber - hitman or outfit killer (euphemism)
The Big Envy - See NV City below.
Bluebacks - a nickname for the blue cash of the Lonestar Republic. The currency is officially called Stars.
Boot - cop (with connotations like “pig”)
Botnik - A robot without SI. See SI below.
Brat - Meric slang for Bratva
Bratva - Russian organized crime. See Nevada Bratva.
Bulldog - 1. Cop (like “bulls”) 2. any muscle/thug/enforcer
Bullet man - outfit killer (hitter)
Bulletsy - 1. chancey/risky/dicey 2. sloppy/haphazard
Bulwark - originally a specific form of network firewall (the TI Bulwark), it is now more commonly a reference to any security hardware or advanced security software.
Calexica - A post-American country comprised of Southern California, a piece of Baja California (Mexico), and small territory in Nevada.
Can opener - robotics technician/analyst (with connotations like “shrink”)
Codejacker - Hacker. See Slicer below.
Collapse - the collapse of the United States of America. Like the fall of Rome, the exact event, date, and causes of the American Collapse are still debated by historians.
Commie Cola - a soda mixed with a shot of vodka and sheen. Also known as an Overdrive, tiger blood, or win-sauce. See Sheen below.
Detroitus - 1. any trash/junk/crap 2. scavenged goods 3. a pejorative term for the lowest class or another race [ala “the trash” & “the garbage”] 4. rubble/debris [original meaning, taken from the Michigan Crater]
Dumb - derogatory slang for an AI that is not capable of SI.
Envy City - See NV City below.
Fridge - 1. derogatory slang for a botnik 2. Inflammatory insult against an SI.
Gippy (up) - To scavenge or jury-rig
Harakiri box - Nickname for the extremely cramped living quarters typical of a lower-deck Nihon Hotel room and the space of similar establishments.
Hat maker - See haberdasher.
Haberdasher - Black market robotics modifier
HKD - an abbreviation of “Hong Kong Dollars,” the most valued currency in the world as of No Rest 4 Wicked Botnicks, higher even than Yenbucks.
Hoyleside - The large territory in NV City controlled by the Natives gang. Its name is taken from Harry Hoyle, the old gangster that still rules it.
Irish - Meric slang for booze
KIBOSH - fake acronym for “KIll Bitches On SigHt”, a tongue-in-cheek Meric synonym for LOSS.
The Lonestar Republic - The post-American country comprised of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. Mississippi and Alabama were only recently purchased by the LSR from New Dixie.
LOSS - “Liquidate On Sight Sanctions”, essentially a police license to kill. Formerly granted to the SEPTIC squad in NV City. now Typically used by W.O.L.F. tactical squads.
LSR - See The Lonestar Republic.
Meric - Post-American English
Michigan Crater - The name given to Detroit and surrounding areas that were in the blast radius of a terrorist nuclear detonation
Milk bar - Meric slang for a strip club
Moscowtown - A quarter of NV City with a large Russian population. Ruled over by the Nevada Bratva.
Natives - 1. Term that describes white people of heritage American descent. 2. The name for one of the largest gangs in NV City. As their name suggests, most of the members are white and have a long American family history. The part of NV City controlled by the Natives is called Hoyleside.
Nevada Bratva - Russian organized crime operating in Nevada, The Arizona Republic, and Calexica. The Nevada Bratva is especially prevalent in NV City, where they control a large territory nicknamed Moscowtown, of which The Zadnitsa is a part.
New Dixie - Post-American country formed from a few Old South states: Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Until recently, Mississippi and Alabama were members of New Dixie, but the government faced a serious financial crisis and ending up selling both states to The Lonestar Republic.
NV City - A city-state megalopolis in the Mojave Desert. The city is an international trading hub known for its criminal elements and loose laws around gambling, sex, drugs, robotics, and recreational violence. As its name implies, NV City was originally a part of Nevada before it was able to achieve its indepence. NV City is important because it is centrally located to connect all of the “Mojave nations,” i.e. parts of the former states of California, Arizona, and Nevada. The nicknames for this Vegas-like hub are Envy City and the Big Envy.
Pelosis - Calexican cash, pink in color.
Privateer - freelance slicer commissioned off the record by a government or megacorporation to compromise enemy security, initiate network attacks, steal data, etc.
Plain Meric - a nickname for Meric
Pre-Collapse - Before the American Collapse, when the US still existed.
Putins - Nickname for Russian cash, red in color
Rab - very offensive Meric slang for “robot”
RAPID - Remote Access Protocol for Internetworking Devices. Essentially, “connect your device to X or Y network and sync?”
RARE - RAchel Rosen Empathy test, used to determine a fully functioning SI, and to check for rogue behaviors.
Round - how much a currency amounts to in Yenbucks, for example 300 round.
Rowboat - slang / military code for “robot”
SEPTIC - the old Calexican and Nevadan “Summary Execution Paramilitary TactICs” (paramilitary SWAT-like assassin squad). Disbanded 18 years prior to No Rest 4 Wicked Botniks. SEPTIC has largely been replaced by WOLF.
Sheen - street name for a powerful amphetamine, like meth, but far worse
SI -
1. See Synthetic Identity and Synthetic Intellect. 2. Any AI that possesses SI: a sufficiently advanced robot, android, or digital interface to be thought of as near-human or super-human.
Soylent - slang adjective for an SI.
Spider - SPIDer - “Secure Process Identifier”, used by slicers/hackers.
Stars - The official name for the currency of the post-American country of greater Texas, AKA the Lonestar Republic. Stars are valued below HKD and Yenbucks, but they are the most valuable post-American mainland currency, above Pelosis and Bamma Dollars, as well as Putins and several other foreign currency.
Synthetic Identity - 1. the technical status of genuine legal personhood for an android or advanced robot or computer system. Related to, but not synonymous with, Synthetic Intellect.
Synthetic Intellect - the technical capacity of a computer program, advanced robot, or android for self-awareness, original thought, self-expression, and self-determination.
Slice - to hack
Slicer - a hacker
Texas - See The Lonestar Republic.
Tokyo dough - money, specifically Yenbucks (i.e. “New New Yen,” or NNY$).
WOLF - Someone who works for WOLF Tactical Solutions, or such a team.
WOLF Tactical Solutions - A mega-corp that other corporations, nations, and even local police forces hire as third party paramilitary swat teams for the most dangerous and difficult tactical missions. W.O.L.F. stands for “Warrant-Oblique Lethal Force”.
Wolves - 1. see “WOLF” above. 2. a general term for heavily armed and armored government or corporate personnel.
Vam - to leave / leave quickly [Meric slang, shortened from Spanish “vámonos” (or English “vamoose”), pronounced like “scram”]
“Vam it” - phrase used like “slam it”.
“Vam on” - 1. hurry 2. continue 3. “Keep doing what you’re doing”
Vato Guapos - The most prominent Mexican and Hispanic gang in NV City. While the Vato Guapos call themselves a cartel, their organization is considered relatively small, weak, and unimportant by the other criminal outfits of the city. Their name contributes to this reputation, because it means “Handsome men” or “pretty boys”.
Vice - 1. the traditional meaning of the word vice. 2. an abbreviation for “device”.
Yak/Yaks - Slang for Yakuza.
Yakuza - Japanese criminal organizations that control a sizable territory in NV City, including much of the Downtown District. The Five Clans are Goto, Kobayashi, Koga, Nakada, and Tsutsui.
Yenbuck - New New Yen, the official currency of Japan and its Asian territories on the mainland and elsewhere. Backed by the International Trading Organization (ITO), and the World Banking Comglomerate (WBC), New New Yen has close to the most value of any Earth currency, second only to Hong Kong Dollars, (HKD).
Zadnitsa - Russian slang for “Asshole”. See The Zadnitsa.
The Zadnitsa - The worst slum in Moscowtown (the territory in NV City controlled by the Nevada Bratva)
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