Editing Encyclopedia Galactica

{{Book Data
| image = Encyclopedia Galactica.jpg
| title= Encyclopedia Galactica
| series= Original Series reference
| bookno= 1
| episode=
| author=  Bruce Kraus<ref>Due to the nature of Kraus' entry on page 7, it is unknown whether or not the name is a pseudonym.</ref>
| published= September 1979
| isbn= 0525610391
| prev= ''[[The Official Battlestar Galactica Scrapbook]]''
| next= ''none''
| amazon=0525610391
}}
{{shortcut|EG}}
'''''Encyclopedia Galactica: From the Fleet Library aboard the Battlestar Galactica''''' (Windmill Books and E.P. Dutton 1979, ISBN 0525610391), edited by Bruce Kraus, is an encyclopedia of the [[Original Series]].

''Encyclopedia Galactica'' is presently out of print, although copies of it are intremittently available either through Amazon.com or eBay.

Due to its various inaccuracies, misspellings, and contradictory information, it is '''not considered''' a fully canonical [[BW:CJ|source text]] for the Original Series. Battlestar Wiki does aim to note the difference between this text and aired information however, though makes no guarantees on its status in ''Battlestar'' canon.

== Errata ==

A listing of [[m-w:errata|errata]] in the book that deviates from already established canonical material, ordered by appearance. 

* In general, the timeline given in the book does not correspond to the date {{TOS|Starbuck}} gives in "[[The Man with Nine Lives]]" (yahren [[7322]]).<ref>{{cite_book|last=Kraus|first=Bruce|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=1979|title=[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]|publisher=|location=|id=|pages=59}}</ref>
* The book mentions that after serving with distinction in a dozen major engagements during the "[[Thousand-Yahren War|Great War]]," he "returned to '''[[Carillon]]''' a hero," instead of [[Caprica (TOS)|Caprica]].<ref>''Ibid.'' 11.</ref>
* The book mentions that [[Zac]] is short for "Zaccariah," although there is nothing to support this.<ref>''Ibid.'' 12, 57.</ref>
* The book mentions that Adar was born in 6368, but contradicts this date by saying he became a staff assistant to the [[Quorum of Twelve (TOS)|Quorum of Twelve]] in ''5997'', almost 400 years ''before'' he was even born.<ref>''Ibid.'', 12.</ref>
* The picture of the alleged [[Agro Ship]] is actually a picture of the [[Mining Ship]] seen in both the [[Original Series|Original]] and [[Re-imagined Series]].<ref>''Ibid.'' 13.</ref>
* The picture of the [[launch bay]] is referred to as a "ready-room" in the caption for the picture.<ref name="p19">''Ibid.'' 19.</ref>
* The picture of the [[landram]] from [[Saga of a Star World]] is referred to as a shuttlecraft.<ref name="p19"/>
* The caption for a picture of a [[battlestar (TOS)|battlestar]] repeats the error of there only being twelve battlestars before the [[Battle of Cimtar]].<ref name="p19"/>
* The [[Borellian Nomen]] are referred to as "Borallians".<ref>''Ibid.'' 22-23.</ref>
* The [[laser bola]] are referred to as the "Laser-Bolt".<ref>''Ibid.'' 23.</ref>
* The top picture of a [[Borays|Boray]] is, in fact, the appearance of Count [[Iblis]] without special effects.<ref name="p23">''Ibid.'', 23.</ref>
* The Borays are said to be inhabitants of '''[[Equellus]]'''; they are inhabitants of [[Sectar (planet)|Sectar]]. Equellus is the planet that {{TOS|Apollo}} crash-lands on in "[[The Lost Warrior]]".<ref name="p23"/>
* According to Commander [[Cain (TOS)|Cain]]'s entry, he had ''{{TOS|Pegasus}}'' on "ready alert" which prevented his ship from being destroyed during the [[Battle of Cimtar]]. However, Cain was at [[Gamoray]] in an attempt to circumnavigate Cylon forces between Molecay and the Colonies at the time, and did not hear about the attack until well after it happened.<ref name="p25">''Ibid.'', 25.</ref>
* [[Carillon]] is said to have been discovered by human settlers nearly 200 yahren before the fall of the Colonies, but this is inaccurate as the planet was discovered by Baltar's agents; they later reported that the planet held nothing of value, and no humans went there to mine tylium (as claimed in the book).<ref name="p26">''Ibid.'', 26.</ref>
* The word Geminon is misspelled "Geinon".<ref name="p27">''Ibid.'', 27.</ref>
* The "dreadnought" depicted in the book is, in fact, a Cylon [[basestar (TOS)|basestar]] over [[Carillon]] when {{TOS|Apollo}} and {{TOS|Starbuck}} ignite the [[tylium (TOS)|tylium]] during the [[Battle of Carillon]].<ref name="p32">''Ibid.'' 34.</ref> 
* The term "drone" is defined as "compact, pilotless spacecraft" developed by humans. The term "[[List of terms (TOS)|drone]]" as defined in the series refers to robots, like [[Muffit II]]. Additionally, the small gallery of pictures depicting a drone are the [[Cylon Mine]]s in the [[Straits of Madagon]].<ref name="p32"/>
* Count [[Iblis]] is called "Ibley".<ref>''Ibid.'' 39.</ref>

== Other items ==

These are items that cannot fit in any other location, due to the lack of [[canon]]icy. 

* {{inlineref|Age of the Philosophers}}: an era of the [[#Second Millennium|Second Millennium]], likely similar to the [[w:Renaissance|Renaissance]] period of Earth's history, when the [[#Books of the Lords of Kobol|Books of the Lords of Kobol]] were written.<ref name="p20">''Ibid.'', 20.</ref>
* {{inlineref|antiscientific period}}: the period where the Colonials rejected technology after the exodus from {{TOS|Kobol}}.<ref name="p24">''Ibid.'', 24.</ref>
* {{inlineref|Astralon}}: high-velocity particles, similar to [[w:meteoroid|meteoroids]] and micro-meteoroids, that are grouped together like a cloud. Armored battle craft are shielded from astralons, but they can cause damage to unshielded civilian vehicles, compromising the hull and ship's atmosphere. Smaller astralons are said to be undetectable by low-power [[scanner]]s.<ref>''Ibid.'', 14.</ref>
* ''{{inlineref|Bellerephon}}'': [[Battlestar (TOS)|battlestar]] on which [[Tigh (TOS)|Colonel Tigh]] served with distinction before his transfer to the ''{{TOS|Galactica}}'' in 6560. Tigh also served aboard the ''{{TOS|Atlantia}}'' during his rise through the ranks after being commissioned a [[Colonial Warrior|Warrior]] on the field of battle for outstanding heroism during the [[Tauron]] campaign in 6525.<ref name="p542">''Ibid.'', 54.</ref>
* {{inlineref|Books of the Lords of Kobol}}: semi-mystical books complimenting the [[Book of the Word]], chronicling the events of the exodus from {{TOS|Kobol}}. They were composed during the [[#Second Millennium|Second Milennium]]'s "[[#Age of the Philosophers|Age of the Philosophers]]". The written style is described as "uneven and various," with "beautiful poems telling the loss and separation of the final days [... interspersed] with stark lists of individuals and their possessions".  In comparison to the Book of the Word, the later Books contain "proverbs and parables" that have nebulous and varied meanings depending on the person reading the text. This so-called ambiguity "cannot be held to be a flaw," for it "reflects the greater uncertainty about the universe and the fate of humankind felt during the last days of Kobol".<br/>After the establishment of the Colonies, the books became influential in creating the many religious sects, mainly because of Kobol's destruction due to science and technology. These sects created "elaborate mathematical interpretations of particular words, even particular sequences of symbols," believing that the fate of the entire universe was coded into the Books, and that it was the "mission of humankind" to decipher them. A majority of these sects died out by the [[Seventh Millennium]].<ref>''Ibid.'', 20-21.</ref>
* {{inlineref|Buzzer}}: While we know canonically that [[homemade buzzer]] can and has been made locally on one planet, the book says that "buzzer" is the general term for a variety of alcoholic beverages native to the "outer Colonial provinces," essentially a form of [[w:moonshine|moonshine]] made of local plant life and "usually aged less than one yahren". Additionally, "excessive consumption" of this substance is a "serious medical and social problem in these lonely outposts, though no cure has been found".<ref name="p25"/>
* {{inlineref|Caprica City}}: a city on [[Caprica (TOS)|Caprica]] where {{TOS|Boomer}} was raised.<ref name="p22">''Ibid.'', 20-21.</ref>
** See: [[Caprica City]] for the [[Re-imagined Series]]' city of the same name.
* {{inlineref|Colonial Code}}: the legal framework governing Colonial society, which was swiftly modified following the [[Encyclopedia Galactica#Cybernetic Revolt|Cybernetic Revolt]] in [[5160]] to prohibit the integration of sophisticated artificial intelligence with mobile mechanical devices. This modification prevented humans from suffering the same grim fate that befell the first [[Cylons (TOS)|Cylons]]: destruction by their own creations. Rare exceptions to this code include the android [[daggit]] [[Muffit II|Muffey]], built out of sympathy for the loss during [[Battle of Cimtar|the destruction]] of [[Caprica (TOS)|Caprica]].<ref name="p493">''Ibid.'', 49.</ref>
* {{inlineref|Cybernetic Revolt}}: an uprising that occurred in yahren [[5160]] during the [[Scientific Renaissance]], which paralyzed the Colonial economy for over a yahren. The revolt shattered the dream of a "Golden Age" when all of society's boring, repetitive jobs could be done by intelligent machines, and led to swift modifications of the [[Colonial Code]] to prohibit the integration of sophisticated artificial intelligence with mobile mechanical devices.<ref name="p49">''Ibid.'', 49.</ref>
* {{inlineref|Cygnus}}: an asteroid containing an outpost of the [[Picon (TOS)|Picon]] colony, in addition to a [[tylium (TOS)|tylium]] mine owned by {{TOS|Baltar}}'s family. It was captured by the [[Cylons (TOS)|Cylons]] a century before the [[Battle of Cimtar]] and held for five [[yahren]] until the Colonials retook it. Baltar later turned Cygnus' tylium mine operation into the "largest intercolonial Tylium trading firm in the Galaxy".<ref name="p16">''Ibid.'', 16.</ref>
* {{inlineref|Cylon Madness}}: a severe psychological condition that afflicted the survivors of the [[Final Destruction]] during the hopeless period following the [[Battle of Cimtar]]. This intense depression and despair threatened to overwhelm the human survivors until the social game of [[Triad (TOS)|Triad]] was introduced aboard the ''[[Galactica (TOS)|Galactica]]''. The game provided something for people to look forward to and helped save many from the psychological devastation. Cylon Madness represented one of the most significant mental health challenges faced by the [[The Fleet (TOS)|Fleet]] in the aftermath of the near-extinction of humanity.<ref name="p54">''Ibid.'', 54.</ref>
* {{inlineref|Dreadnought}}: Dreadnoughts are vast [[Cylons (TOS)|Cylon]] warships packed with weapons systems and landing troops, whose sole function is planetary destruction. They have no counterparts in the Colonial fleet. Dreadnoughts are neither highly maneuverable nor well-armed defensively. They are usually brought up from the rear after a sector's space defenses have been entirely subdued by previous attack. The defense of a Dreadnought in hostile space requires two Cylon [[Basestar (TOS)|Baseships]].<ref name="p34">'''Ibid.'', 34.</ref>
* {{inlineref|Eagle Squadron}}: a legendary {{TOS|Viper}} squadron assigned to battlestar ''[[#Prometheus|Prometheus]]''. Prior to assuming command of ''{{TOS|Pegasus}}'', Cain led this squadron, gaining "intercolonial fame" by doing so.<ref name="p26">''Ibid.'', 26.</ref>
* {{inlineref|Era of Darkness}}: the time period that followed the settlement of the [[The Twelve Colonies of Man|Twelve Colonies]] after the humans' exodus from {{TOS|Kobol}}. During this period, technology pertaining to interstellar travel and other higher-end electronic science were forgotten, for these were blamed for the fall of Kobol. As a result, each colony was cut off from the others, and the humans reverted to a "simpler, agricultural way of life". This is stated to have lasted for as long as two millennia.<ref name="p27">''Ibid.'', 27.</ref>
* {{inlineref|Fifth Millennium}}: the time period when the [[Caprica (TOS)|Caprica]]ns led the colonies into the scientific renaissance, well after the [[#Era of Darkness|Era of Darkness]].<ref name="p27"/> 
* {{inlineref|Final Destruction}}: a name of the final, decisive Cylon strike against the [[The Twelve Colonies of Man|Twelve Colonies of Man]].<ref name="p35">'''Ibid.'', 35.</ref>  The canonical name for it is the [[Battle of Cimtar]].
* {{inlineref|Intercolonial Kennel Association}}: an organization that officially recognized different breeds of [[daggit]]s across the [[The Twelve Colonies of Man|Twelve Colonies]]. Each of the Colonies developed its own varieties of daggits over thousands of yahren, and by the time of the [[#Final Destruction|Final Destruction]], over two thousand different breeds were officially recognized by this association.<ref name="p33">''Ibid.'', 33.</ref>
* {{inlineref|Intercolonial Strategic Council}}: the body governing the Colonial war effort against the Cylons during the Thousand-Yahren War. Commander [[Cain (TOS)|Cain]] dominated this council for years before [[Battle of Molecay|his debacle]] at [[Molecay]].<ref name="p25"/>
* {{inlineref|Interstellar Age}}: presumably the age that humanity rediscovered interstellar travel.<ref name="p22"/>
* {{inlineref|Long Peace}}: a 500-yahren period of "unparalleled prosperity" after the rediscovery of interstellar travel amongst the colonies; this occurred prior to the onset of the [[Thousand Yahren War]].<ref name="p28">''Ibid.'', 28.</ref>
* {{inlineref|nutron cased laser torpedo}}: a Cylon weapon included in the [[basestar (TOS)|basestar]]'s armament; upon detonating, it not only inflicts physical damage, but also emits rays that break down the cellular structure of both food and human tissue, likely similar to [[pluton poisoning]].<ref name="p19"/>
* {{inlineref|Pan-Colonial Unification Party}}: a social and political movement that sought to unify the Colonies under one government politically, economically, and militarily; it was prominent on the colonies on Picon and [[Virgon (TOS)|Virgon]]. [[Adar (TOS)|Adar]] worked to develop this party on Virgon, which ushered him into a role of president of this organization and later the presidency of the [[Quorum of Twelve (TOS)|Quorum of Twelve]].<ref>''Ibid.'', 12.</ref> Baltar also generously contributed to this party and was influencial (sic) in bringing the party to power on his own colony of Picon.<ref name="p16"/>
* {{inlineref|Pluton}}: A poisonous substance generated from fall-out of [[Encyclopedia Galactica#nutron cased laser torpedo|Nutron Elements]] which contaminates food.<ref name="p462">'''Ibid.'', 46.</ref>
* {{inlineref|Praesidium}}: the central governing body of the Colony of [[Caprica (TOS)|Caprica]]. During the [[Era of Darkness]], it was an annual meeting of the Caprican [[Buritician|buriticians]] (sic) where disputes were settled and taxes were set amid great festivities and revelry. As the [[Scientific Renaissance]] progressed, government by the elite was no longer tolerated. The Praesidium was progressively expanded until its members represented all segments of society. The privileges of the buriticians were gradually reduced until, by the time of the Great War, they had an automatic right to only three out of 300 seats.  In time of war, however, the power of the buriticians was effectively enhanced. For the duration of such crisis, three-leader ruling councils wielded the power of the entire Praesidium. These were composed of a commoner, a military leader and a buritician. Since the buritician class also provided many military leaders, it effectively controlled the Colony in wartime. Because of the length of the [[Great Cylon War]], this system was abandoned, and after [[5770]] the 300-member Praesidium was reinstated. The Caprican Praesidium ceded the vast reserve on which the [[Academy]] stood to the [[Quorum of Twelve (TOS)|Quorum of the Twelve]] when cooperation was needed to develop a military force capable of repelling the Cylon attack.<ref name="p46">''Ibid.'', 46.</ref>
* {{inlineref|preciptum layer}}: any mass of heavy-element matter in deep space, which can be the result of such natural processes as the gravitational decay of an asteroid, or may be the waste product of certain kinds of primitive space drive engines. They do not present a major hazard to navigation since (although light cannot pass through them) [[scanners]] can analyze them fully.<ref name="p47">'''Ibid.'', 47.</ref>
* ''{{inlineref|Prometheus}}'': [[battlestar (TOS)|battlestar]] that [[Cain (TOS)|Cain]] served on as leader of [[#Eagle Squadron|Eagle Squadron]].<ref name="p26" />
* {{inlineref|Scientific Renaissance}}: period in Colonial history dealing with the rediscovery and advancement of science.<ref name="p28"/>
* {{inlineref|Second Millennium}}: the second millennium of time, insinuated to be 2,000 years (or more) after the exodus from Kobol; a [[#Age of the Philosophers|period]] during this time saw the creation of the [[#Books of the Lords of Kobol|Books of the Lords of Kobol]].<ref name="p20"/> 
* {{inlineref|Tauron Center for Science and the Arts}}: an educational institution that included a Physics Department where Dr. [[Ravashol]] worked as "the brooding genius" before designing and constructing his [[Ravashol pulsar|powerful communication device]] on the asteroid [[Arcta]].<ref name="p492">''Ibid.'', 49.</ref> 
* {{inlineref|ultra-light drive}}: advanced propulsion technology that enables spacecraft to achieve velocities approaching the speed of light through manipulation of matter and energy at the subatomic level. The drives were first successfully developed and implemented in yahren 4980, marking the beginning of the [[Long Peace]]. They operate by converting [[solium]] fuel through controlled fusion processes that create directed energy streams, allowing vessels to manipulate space-time itself for near-instantaneous acceleration without crushing g-forces. The technology revolutionized intercolonial travel, reducing journey times from [[yahren]] to mere [[centon]]s, and proved crucial during the [[Thousand-Yahren War]] for rapid redeployment of Colonial forces. Ultra-light drives are primarily installed aboard [[battlestar (TOS)|battlestar]]s due to their immense power requirements.<ref name="p59">''Ibid.'', 59.</ref>
* {{inlineref|University of Picon}}: an educational institution on [[Picon (TOS)|Picon]] where {{TOS|Baltar}} studied "political economy".<ref name="p16"/>

== External links ==

* [http://www.battlestarpegasus.com/publications/Encyclopedia_Galactica.pdf ''Encyclopedia Galactica''] in PDF format, original JPEGs scanned by jjrakman at [http://www.colonialfleets.com ColonialFleets.com].

==References==
: ''Please note that page numbers reflect the numbering in the PDF file that is linked above, and not in the actual encyclopedia itself, as the pages are not individually numbered in the actual book.''

{{reflist}}

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[[Category: Behind the Scenes]]
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