Title: The Koiverse Dictionary - Timekeeping
Author: Koi Lungfish
Disclaimer: Based on characters and situations from The Transformers ((c)
1986 Hasbro, Ltd). Used without permission. Text (c) 2005-2006, Koi Lung Fish (Mark of
Lung. All Rights Reserved.)
Subject: A dictionary of terms, places and things from the Koiverse. Some of these things are canon and have been given expanded definitions; most of them are my creations. If you would like to use one of my terms, please ask first [or at least credit me]; if you're not sure if a term is canon or fan-created, feel free to ask.
Ascension Day
[Autobot]: Vornly celebration of the date on which Optimus Prime was elevated to full Primacy and officially accepted as the supreme spiritual leader of the Primordialists. In the Autobot calendar, this astrocycle falls after Calibrating 2-4-14; in the Decepticon calendar, this astrocycle is Readying for Battle 3-2-13. Although this date was a civilian public holiday, only Primordialists celebrated it. Before Optimus Prime's elevation, Ascension Day was on a different date and celebrated the elevation of Sentinel Prime. In KV 817.405, Ascension Day was observed on Earth [Earth date 2004 AD].
Astrocycle
[general]: Cybertronian time unit; the time taken for Cybertron to complete one rotation around its axis; the Cybertronian day. 1 astrocycle is 20 joors long. In Earth time, this is 138 hours or almost 6 days.
Astrosecond
[general]: A Cybertron time-unit. One astrosecond is 1/1000th of a breem, or 0.498 seconds Earth-time. Also called a decicyle.
Breem
[general]: Cybertronian time unit roughly equivalent to a minute. 1 breem is 1000 astroseconds long. In Earth-time, this is 8.3 minutes.
Calendar, Autobot
[general]: The Autobot calendar numbers the astrocycles in a vorn. The vorn begins on a single astrocycle not part of any other division, called Day Zero, or New Vorn Day and closes on a standalone astrocycle called Void. The remaining 5257 astrocycles are divided into 9 diuns: Awakening, Calibrating, Identifying, Analysing, Deliberating, Deciding, Acting, Assessing, and Fulfilling. Each diun is comprised of 6 triuns, each triun of 6 tetruns and each tetrun of 3 quintuns. The astrocycles of a tetrun are numbered 1-15. A zero day precedes each diun, triun and tetrun. There are also ten more zero days, which are public holidays such as Liberation Day. The first astrocycle of the vorn is Day Zero; the first counted astrocycle is Awakening 1-1-1, the fifth astrocycle of the vorn. The last astrocycle of the vorn is Void; the last counted astrocycle is Fulfilling 6-6-15.
Calendar, Decepticon
[general]: The Decepticon calendar numbers the astrocycle in a vorn. The Decepticon calendar does away with all zero days and divides the vorn into nine diuns of 540 astrocycles plus one monun of 399 astrocycles. Each diun in the Decepticon calendar is named: Arising, Readying for Battle, Sighting Enemies, Seeking Weakness, Planning Attack, Taking Position, Striking Violently, Murdering Survivors and Victory. The monun is named the Spoils; it is also sometimes called the Runt or the Heap. The first astrocycle of the vorn is Arising 1-1-1; the last astrocycle of the vorn is Spoils 5-3-9.
Chiloivorn
[general]: Cybertronian time unit of 100,000,000 vorns [8,333,333,333 Earth years]; a time unit used mainly by astronomers and astrophysicists.
Commemoration Day
[Autobot]: Vornly day of remembrance for those Autobots who died during the Second War. According to the Autobot calendar, this astrocycle falls after Acting 1-2-9; according to the Decepticon calendar, this astrocycle is Striking Violently 4-2-8. This date was a public holiday during the Golden Age, when it was originally a date of planet-wide remembrance and mourning. As the Golden Age progressed, it became increasingly less a date of memorial and more a date characterized by general festivities and protests, both peaceful and violent, from various sections of society. Second War veterans felt that the day set aside for the memories of their fallen comrades was being abused for inappropriate levity, and the Legascion felt that their fallen were being excluded. Many Autobots felt commemoration of death and war was distasteful.
Creation of Prima
[Autobot]: Vornly celebration of the date on which - according to the Great Texts of Skybreak - Prima, the first Cybertronian, demerged from the metal of Cybertron. In the Autobot calendar, this astrocycle falls after Awakening 6-4-4; according to the Decepticon calendar, this astrocycle is Readying for Battle 1-1-2. Although this date was a public holiday during the Golden Age, only Primordialists celebrated it. In KV 817.405, Ascension Day was observed on Earth [Earth date 2000 AD].
Cycle
[general]: Cybertronian time unit, in Earth equivalent somewhere between an minute and an hour. 1 cycle is 10 breems or 10,000 astroseconds long. In Earth time, this is 83 minutes.
Dekavorn
[general]: Cybertronian time unit of 10 vorns [833 Earth years].
Dekilovorn
[general]: Cybertronian time unit of 10,000,000 vorns [833,333,333 Earth years].
Diun
[general]: Cybertronian time unit, in Earth equivalent somewhere between a month and a year. 1 diun is 6 triuns long [540 astrocycles]. In Earth time, this is about 8 years and 6 months. In the Autobot calendar, each diun begins with a zero day.
Foundation Day
[Autobot]: Vornly celebration of the date on which - according to Sigmite texts - the Builders forged the first Cybertronians. According to the Autobot calendar, this astrocycle falls after Fulfilling 3-6-7; according to the Decepticon calendar, this astrocycle is Spoils 2-1-8. Although this date was a public holiday during the Golden Age, only Sigmites celebrated it, and during the middle Golden Age, celebrations were often marred by civil unrest and sometimes even violence between Primordialists and Sigmites. In KV 817.404, Ascension Day was observed on Earth [Earth date 1987 AD].
Gigavorn
[general]: Cybertronian time unit of 1,000,000,000 vorns [833,333,333,333 Earth years]; a time unit mainly used by quantum mathematicians and universal physicists.
Hekavorn
[general]: Cybertronian time unit of 100 vorns [8,333 Earth years].
Joor
[general]:
Cybertronian time unit, roughly equivalent to an hour. 1 joor is 5 cycles or 50 breems long. In Earth time, this is 415 minutes or 6 hours 55 minutes. Also megacycle. The time in joors is expressed as in four-figure numerals, with the first two figures being the "hour" in joors and the second two figures being the time in breems. There are 20 joors in a Cybertronian day.
Some important times of the Cybertronian day:
0000 joors; Cybertronian "midnight." 0000 joors is based on the average time of sunset in Nova Craxis, the timekeeping centre of Cybertron. "Joors Nova" is the Cybertronian equivalent of Earth's "Greenwich meantime." 0000 joors is the standard time for the change from day-to-night shifts amongst Cybertronian civilians, mostly based on the fact that the majority of workers at solar powerplants were let off at this time.
0700 joors; average time at which Firstmoon rises and Secondmoon sets over Nova Craxis. 0700 joors is the standard time for reveille in the Decepticon army - the rough equivalent of getting out of bed at 2.30 am Earth-time.
0800 joors; standard time for energon boosting in the Decepticon army. The rough equivalent of getting breakfast at 3 am Earth-time. Decepticons on duty go onto step-down duty at this time; those Decepticons who were on reveille at 0700 joors now go on duty.
0900 joors: standard time for reveille in the Autobot army; the rough equivalent of getting out of bed at 5 am Earth-time.
1000 joors; standard time for night-to-day shift changes in the Autobot army and amongst Cybertronian civilians, based on average time for sunrise. Most solar powerplants came back into daytime mode with sunrise and powerplant workers were expected to arrive before this happened. In the Decepticon army, this is considered the time at which Autobot and civilian targets are at their most vulnerable, with the night-shift eager to rest and the day-shift not yet fully ready, and night-calibrated sensor systems still recalibrating to the rising sun to provide cover for an advance. Unsurprisingly, the tendency of Decepticons to rise at lunar dawn and be fuelled by 0800 joors is designed to allow them to be ready to launch an attack on a target several hics away at sunrise.
1500 joors; average time for midday on Cybertron. Amongst civilian Cybertronians, especially in the equatorial region, usually the time of day to retreat indoors and take a short break, as Cybertronian midday can get extremely hot. The Autobot army takes no such breaks. Reveille for Decepticons on step-down duty is at this time.
1600 joors; standard time for Decepticons to change shifts. Those Decepticons who came on duty at 0700 joors now go onto step-down duty. Those Decepticons who were on reveille at 1500 joors now come on duty.
Kilovorn
[general]:
Cybertronian time unit of 1,000 vorns [83,333 Earth years]. The 'long count' of Cybertron is measured in kilovorns. The kilovorn calendar is based on a start date some 818,000 vorns ago [approximately 70 million Earth-years ago]. Historians of the early Brass Age have agreed that this date was chosen by the Council of Cybertron, and most agree that the date is supposed to represent the time when, according to the Great Texts of Skybreak, Primus merged with Cybertron. Others, however, believe that the date represents the first activation of Vector Sigma; others still believe that it marks the first arrival of the Builders, or even the ignition of the Creation Matrix. Technogeologists examining Cybertron's rocky core have identified an energy-impact strata dating to KV -27 [approx. 70 million years ago] which is frequently cited as physical evidence of Primus' arrival. Fragmentary records from the Brass Age cite data recovered from Vector Sigma dating from as far back as KV -2 [approx. 68 million years ago], but this is by no means to be taken as meaning that Vector Sigma was first activated on this date. It is entirely possible Vector Sigma is far older or far younger than this.
The date in decivorns is written as a three-figure number, preceded by the definer KV. The "short count" of Cybertron is measured in vorns within each kilovorn. It is written after the KV separated by a stop. Example: KV 716.234 [234th vorn of the 716th kilovorn]. Cybertronians will generally give their age in kilovorns; thus, in the present time, Starscream would consider his age to be 118. However, Decepticons do not count time spend deactivated; thus, Starscream would consider his age to be 70.
Liberation Day
[Autobot]: Vornly celebration of the declaration of victory at the end of the First War. According to the Autobot calendar, this astrocycle falls after Deliberating 6-3-19; according to the Decepticon calendar, this astrocycle is Taking Position 2-6-2. This date was a public holiday during the Brass Age, when it was a date of commemoration for the fallen of the First War, and during the Golden Age, when it became a general holiday.
Lighting of the Flame
[Autobot]: Vornly celebration of the date on Prime Nova took a fragment from the Matrix and used it to create the Matrix Flame. According to the Autobot calendar, this astrocycle falls after Identifying 5-6-13; according to the Decepticon calendar, this astrocycle is Seeking Weakness 1-3-5. This date was a public holiday during the Golden Age, and was celebrated with a significant festival; it is a date of particular significance and for the Acolytes of the Flame.
Megacycle
[general]: Cybertronian time unit, roughly equivalent to an hour. 1 megacycle is 5 cycles or 50 breems long. In Earth time, this is 415 minutes or 6 hours 55 minutes.
Megavorn
[general]: Cybertronian time unit of 1,000,000 vorns [83,333,333 Earth years].
Monun
[Decepticon]: The Decepticon "extra month" used to account for the 399 zero days in the Autobot calendar. The monun is counted as being 5 triuns, with the third tetrun of the last triun lasting only 9 astrocycles.
Muroivorn
[general]: Cybertronian time unit of 10,000 vorns [833,333 Earth years].
New Vorn
[general]: The rough Cybertronian equivalent of New Year's Day. Cybertron's orbit around Homestar and its day-night cycle took ten orbits to synchronize [one vorn], which lead to the use of vorns for reckoning time in the same way that humans reckon time using years. The New Vorn commemorates the synchronizing date. During the Golden Age, it was celebrated with a public holiday and festival. In KV 817.405, Ascension Day was observed on Earth [Earth date 1992 AD].
Orn
[general]: Cybertron's lunar month; the time taken for Cybertron's moons to synchronise in orbit. When the lunar month was defined at the beginning of recorded history, it took a diun for Cybertron's seven natural moons to sychronize, which lead to the use of the lunar synchronizing to mark the beginning of the new diun. Since the Oblivicus Incident, the lunar orbits of the remaining three moons now take approximately 5 triuns to synchronize; the new lunar "month" was called an orn.
Poloivorn
[general]: Cybertronian time unit of 100,000 vorns [8,333,333 Earth years].
Quintun
[general]: Cybertronian time unit, roughly equivalent to a week. 1 quintun is 5 astrocycles. In Earth time, this is about 28 days. In the calendar, the quintuns are grouped in threes as tetruns; the astrocycles of a tetrun are numbered from 1 to 15.
Recommunication
[Decepticon]: The date of the first communication from Megatron on Earth to Shockwave on Cybertron after The Nemesis was lost. Occurred in KV 817.404 [Earth-date 1984].
Remembrance Day
[Autobot]: Vornly day of remembrance for those Autobots who died during the First War. According to the Autobot calendar, this astrocycle falls after Assessing 2-5-6; according to the Decepticon calendar, this astrocycle falls on Murdering Survivors 6-2-15. During the Brass Age, this day was a public holiday and date of planet-wide memorial services. During the Golden Age, it became a day of general memorial for the dead, and the most common date for Sigmite funerals.
Terracycle
[general]: One rotation of Earth/one Earth day/24 Earth hours.
Teravorn
[general]: Cybertronian time unit of 1,000,000,000,000 vorns [83,333,333,333,333 Earth years].
Tetrun
[general]: Cybertronian time unit, in Earth equivalent somewhere between a week and a month. 1 tetrun is 3 quintuns [15 astrocycles]. In Earth time, this is about 12 weeks. In the Autobot calendar, each tetrun begins with a zero day.
Triun
[general]: Cybertronian time unit, in Earth equivalent something similar to a month. 1 triun is 6 tetruns long [90 astrocycles]. In Earth time, this is about 17 months. In the Autobot calendar, each triun begins with a zero day.
Veteran's Day
[Autobot]: Vornly day of appreciation and thanks, originally to celebrate the veterans of the First War, and later also the veterans of the Second War. According to the Autobot calendar, this astrocycle falls after Assessing 1-3-9; according to the Decepticon calendar, this astrocycle is Murdering Survivors 4-6-8. During the Golden Age, this date began as a day of thanksgiving when Second War veterans were publicly praised for their efforts to preserve the Autobot way. As the Golden Age passed, many Autobots began to feel disgruntled that "old-timers" were still being praised for deeds long past, long before they themselves were created. This lead to feelings of under-appreciation amongst the Second War veterans, who still comprised the major part of Cybertron's defence forces and who were engaged intermittently during the early Golden Age in military action against xenos forces. Since the beginning of the Third War and the upswing in the numbers of war veterans in the population, not to mention the percentage of the Autobot population under arms, Veteran's Day has become a day of hope and celebration for those who have been fighting - often for their entire lives - and for the giving of thanks to the remaining Second War veterans for the courage and leadership they have provided to the Autobot army.
Victory Day
[Autobot]: Vornly celebration of the date of the Second Surrender, the official ending of the Second War. According to the Autobot calendar, this astrocycle falls after Fulfilling 6-4-14; according to the Decepticon calendar, this astrocycle is Spoils 5-1-5. During the Golden Age, this date was a public holiday and general celebration; however, during any period of social tension and unrest, the celebrations were almost invariably marred by violence from disgruntled and socially deprived Liegeless.
Vorn
[general]: The Cybertronian "year." One vorn is ten orbits of Cybertron, or 5259 astrocycles. One vorn lasts 83 Earth-years. Each vorn is divided into nine diuns of 540 astrocycles; Autobots and Decepticons use different calendars to account for the extra 399 astrocycles per vorn. The date of an individual astrocycle in a vorn is written in the format "name of diun"-"number of triun"-"number of tetrun"-"number of astrocycle." Thus the third astrocycle of the second quintun of the fourth tetrun of the sixth triun of the fifth diun would be, in the Autobot calendar, Deliberating 6-4-17; according to the Decepticon calendar, it would be Planning Attack 6-4-17. However, because the Decepticon calendar does not count zero days, Planning Attack 6-4-17 would be considerably earlier than Deliberating 6-4-17.
Zero day
[Autobot]: In the Autobot calendar, an astrocycle not given a number. For example, the zero day preceding the first tetrun of the second triun of the diun Analyzing would be numbered Analyzing 2-0; the next astrocycle after this would be Analyzing 2-1-1. During the Brass Age and Golden Age, civilians did not work on zero days, making them the rough equivalent of a weekend or public holiday.