The Vorkosigan Companion - Lillian Stewart Carl [132]
After Millisor is killed, Terrence comes to Athos to be alternate parent to Ethan's children that he intends to father by the EQ-1 line, and earn enough parent credits himself to father his own offspring by Janine's ovarian material. During his first trip to the Cetagandan Empire, Miles overhears Millisor getting permission to pursue Terrence, and sends Elli Quinn to Kline Station to investigate. Doctor Hugh Canaba has a sample of Terrence's genetic material, including his telepathy complex. It is one of the samples that Miles has to get out of Taura on Jackson's Whole. (C, EA, L)
Celestial Garden:
The Imperial residence on Cetaganda, called Xanadu by the galactics. It is covered in a six-kilometer-wide force dome, surrounded by a kilometer-wide park, then a circular street, then another park, then an ordinary street, with eight boulevards radiating outward like wheel spokes, putting the garden right in the center of the city. There are more gardens inside, with white-jade paved paths for vehicles and guests. Pavilions are scattered throughout the grounds, with simple, tasteful furnishings, including live plants, flowers, and small fountains. The connecting halls are acoustically designed to be hushed overall, yet also carry occupants' voices clearly to each other. In the middle of the dome area are several elaborate towers. Its servants dress in gray and white. Miles, Ivan, and Vorob'yev attend several functions there during the Empress's funeral ceremonies, including the presenting of funeral gifts and the viewing of the body in state, where Miles sees the dead Ba Lura behind the display bier. (C)
Celestial Lady:
An alternate title for the Cetagandan Empress, used mainly by servants. (C)
Celestial Master:
An alternate title for the Cetagandan Emperor, used mainly by servants. (C)
Cenotaph:
A monument honoring the dead who are destroyed or buried elsewhere, often used to commemorate war deaths. Ky Tung suggests they will use one to remember him when he is pulverized to dust fighting the Cetagandans at Vervain. (VG)
Cetagandan Empire:
The Cetagandan Empire consists of eight developed planets, and an equal fringe of allied and puppet dependencies; its homeworld is Eta Ceta IV, with several other planets considered satrapies, which are ruled by governors. Cetagandans use face paint to denote their rank and clan, which is falling out of favor with the younger generations. They apparently have high artistic tastes, but consider biological childbirth distasteful. They have a complicated system of power involving the ghem and haut castes. The ghem and haut are biological engineers without peer, as evidenced by the otherworldly beauty of their women, but the haut only work in human genetics. Exceptional scientist/artists of the ghem caste are rewarded for their genengineering efforts by having their creations incorporated into the Celestial Garden.
During Piotr Vorkosigan's time, Cetaganda invaded Barrayar, and spent twenty years trying to subjugate the planet. Wanting to control a jump point to the Hegan Hub by conquering Vervain, they suborned Vervain's mercenary hireling Cavilo, who was going to let them in and plunder the planet during the invasion. Held off by the Dendarii and Vervani defense ships, and defeated by the arrival of the Prince Serg, they retreat back to their home space.
During his first visit to Eta Ceta IV, Miles stops a plot to create a war between Barrayar and Cetaganda, and saves the Empire from being taken over by Governor Ilsum Kety, who is holding a copy of the haut gene-bank hostage. He visits the Empire again after being infected with deadly parasites by the renegade ba that had stolen a haut-lord gene bank. (BI, C, DI, VG)
Cetagandan ghem-warriors:
Two dozen mercenaries from that planet are recruited by Bel Thorne, Baz Jesek, and Arde Mayhew for the Dendarii