Basic Terms

Architect: Term for a member of the civlization that built the Iterators.

Benefactor: (uncertain about this rn) A term for wealthy Architects that contribute to the development of Iterator Projects. (?) Alternatively, a term for Architects of high social standing that are well-regarded.
Local Group: A collection of several Iterators (and their respective Cities), generally within the same "Sector." Position within a Sector is denoted by one or two smaller letters corresponding to cardinal direction. (c for center, s for south, ne for northeast, etc) They have their own hierarchies, and their members, both Iteraotr and Citizen, tend to work together. The number of Iterators in a LG varies. The House(s) and Cities of each Local Group cooperate with one another in various fashions. Comprised of Local Councils. (???)
Example: Silent Valley Local Group (Sector S2), Everlasting Lotus Waters (S2e)

Group Senior: The eldest member of a Local Group. Takes on administrative and managerial duties in regards to its other members, to varying degrees. Depends on the House(s) behind the members of said Local Group.
Example: Everlasting Lotus Waters

Group Supervisor: A member of the Local Group who takes on the responsibilities of the Group Senior despite not being the eldest unit. Generally given in circumstances where a Group Senior is unable to effectively perform their duties or due to outside influence ("Wealthy House Said So").
I'm like 90% sure I subconsciously lifted this from Daszombes's Iterator Logs so Obligatory Plug
Ex: Perpetual Umbra

Administrative Representative: A individual that communicates between an Iterator's Administrative Team and the corresponding Iterator. Administrative teams vary in size and roles, from technicians to policy-makers. Iterators with only one active Administrative Team member may refer to said individual as "Administrator". For No Cost Too Great, this is the case.
Ex: NCTG (PU, TWR, SLS, FB)

Creator: An uncommon title for an Individual primarily responsible for the creation of an Iterator Unit. Most Iterator Projects necessitate the cooperation of multiple individuals, so reserving this title for one person is rather egotistical. (Since MIP Units are so much smaller in scale, it's... slightly less haughty for NCTG to adopt this title.)

House (i.e. House Of Progress): A political and cultural faction officially recognized by the Global Council. Iterators (and their Cities) are credited to the House(s) responsible for their creation, though their official affiliation may lie with a different House or even multiple Houses. The dominant Affiliation is generally responsible for management / governance, and their influence is the strongest. Houses may have multiple Iterators, and they may be within the same or different Local Groups.
- MIP Units are always at least partially affiliated with the House Of Progress.
- Iterator with a differing Affiliation: "Iterator Project Sand-Smoothed Reckoning, Of the House of Progress, Gift to the World From the House of Radiance..."
- Iterator with multiple Affiliations: "Iterator Project Everlasting Lotus Waters, Of the House of Still Waters and the House of Progress, Gift to the World From the House of Still Waters...

The Great Problem: A "problem" that seeks a solution to finding a way to ascend every living being, including the Lesser Beings of the world that lack the natural capacity for enlightenment. Iterators were (at least originally) created to solve it.

The Global Council: The highest political authority. Representative assembly elected from constituent Houses. Maintains political infrastructure throughout all Local Groups (enforcing ownership of Cities, etc.) and focuses on other large-scale concerns. For example, the Council was responsible for overseeing public mass-ascension.

Councillor: An acting member of the Global Council.

The Ethics Committe: Legal infrastructure of the Global Council. Most legal matters are handled on a Local Group or level (Local Ethics Committee), but particularly pressing issues may be held to a higher accountability.

Void Fluid Research Committee: Oversees and sponsors research related to Void Fluid and the Void Sea. Works on a global level, with outreach to various Local Groups. Has been known to help certain controversial Projects get past the Ethics Committees (on the grounds that one that does not properly understand their field cannot properly determine its ethicality).

Thank you Ark and Corvus for helping me with worldbuilding.

MIP Terms

Director: The Director of the Mobile Iterator Project. They orchestrate and organize its members and goals. "Director" is a title of respect, and MIP Units generally address No Cost Too Great with this honorific. (It's catchier than saying Mx. Cost, so even people unrelated to the Project will often refer to them as "the Director".

Assistant: Title for MIP Units that have managerial responsibilities and carry out the Director's will. They are right under the Director in the MIP Unit hieararchy. These Units have certain administrative privileges over other MIP Units (and each other), and they are directly overseen by No Cost Too Great themself.

Implement: A fancy title for Units that serve the Mobile Iterator Project in their duties. Like employees, basically. For example, Plume Of Embers is involved in manufacturing merchandise, and Seafoam, Glimmering In Sunlight serves as the Head of Security. They are beneath Assistants in the hierarchy, but above regular MIP Units.

MIP Unit: Mobile Iterator Units specifically constructed under the Mobile Iterator Project. Not to be confused with other Mobile Iterators or Standard Iterators with mobile puppets. MIP Units are their own classification of purposed organism, though they may also be classified as a specific subset of "Mobile Iterator" under Iterator classification standards. Bootlegged productions are illegal. (You can view their general schematics here )

Personality Donor: Every MIP Unit (except TWR) is built from a personality base made up of qualia and memories donated by specific architects. These are referred to as Personality Donors, though their identities are kept private out of respect to all parties involved.

MIP Development Center: The building in which MIP Units are assembled, activated, and developed. This building also serves as a center to interface with clients, and it is split into several wings depending on the function. (Conferencing Wing, General Development Wing, Administrative Wing) The building is located in Sand-Smoothed Reckoning's Mesa City.

Group Assignment: The process by which MIP Units are assigned to support Local Groups. Once they receive a Group Assignment, MIP Units receive specialized education and/or training to suit the needs of their respective Groups. They also spend time introducing themselves to their groupmates and familiarizing themselves with their respective Houses and Administrators. Once this process has been completed, a MIP Unit reaches Local Group Integration and officially leaves the Development Center. Certain units (Assistants and FB) must receive delayed Group Assignments due to extenuating circumstances.
Ex: Seafoam, Glimmering In Sunlight (Local Group L7), Plume Of Embers (Local Group R2)

Time Notation

Generally, my timestuff works with tenths and fifths, given the religious significance of 10 (Highest Karmic State) and 5 (The Five Urges). I also base stuff around wheels due to the Cycle's nature as something that is ever-turning.

Cycle: In Iterator/Architect scale, this is somewhat close in significance to a day, probably. I'm not making conversions to human time, sorry.
- Notation: [0000.001]

Micro-Cycle: A finer unit of measurement for time. 10 of these within a cycle. not sure how to notate this lol.

Shift: 200 cycles. Kind of equal to a month in significance? 5 Shifts in a Revolution.
- Notation: [0000.200]

Revolution: 1000 cycles. Equivalent in significance to a year, but it's definitely much longer. I envision the timescale this world operates off of as much larger than our own.
- Notation: [0001.000]

Dynasty: 100 Revolutions. I lifted this term from the pearls in-game, but it was probably something different. Lowkey considering making this longer but idk.
- Notation: [0100.000]

Important Events

Listed for timeline convenience.

Mobile Iterator Project First Official Presentation: [1509.099]
Mobile Iterator Project Final Unit Activation: [~1545]
Mobile Iterator Project Final Unit Integration: [1549.564]
New Iterator Production End: [1578.000]
Final Iterator Activated: [~1583]
Initiation of Public Mass-Ascension: [~1586.100]
Final Public Ascension: [~1589]
Conclusion of the Architect Civilizaton: [~1590]

Iterator Classifications

Construction / Species

Iterator: Superstructure is a necessary component of the design. (Sometimes called "Standard Iterators").
Mobile Iterators: "Iterator" Units made without the Superstructure as a core component of the design. May have smaller structures that mimic Iterator superstructures. Sometimes considered as a different classification of purposed organism.

Roles

Orthodox: Primary focus is Iteration (Great Problem). "Proper" Iterators.
ex: Looks To The Moon, Sand-Smoothed Reckoning
Utility/Utilitarian: Primary focus is providing some sort of service or utility, with a lesser focus on Iteration. These units still have the capacity to Iterate as a forward-facing measure for an inevitable public mass ascension.
Ex: Everlasting Lotus Waters (Medical Facility)
Unconvential: Units with a primary focus that does not fit either of these categories.

Additional Classifications

City-Handler: An Iterator of any role that is legally permitted to host a City.
Ex: Looks To The Moon

Waves/Generations: Waves are overarching categories that vary in length. Generally end on a new Dynasty. Each Wave is separated into Generations, and each Generation is a Dynasty (100 revolutions) long. Inspired by Sol prismsoup. (link) Waves and Gens help give a sense of timescale, though there is an air of superiority around those of the first Wave, as it is seen as more "proper" than the others.

Classification Example: (MIP AU) Iterator Project Looks To The Moon, Orthodox City-Handler. Wave 1, Generation 4.

Shortened Classification Example: (MIP AU) Looks To The Moon, Orthodox City-Handler. Wave 1.

Wave / Generation Timescale

This calendar was created with the Void Fluid Revolution. I'm not 100% sure about this (it seems perhaps too long) so it might be subject to changes haha. I'm very sorry if it changes later. Please help me I don't know what I am doing. sorry. add image here. also I made Gens the Small Thing to mix things up and cause chaos so that ideally fanon can be. whatever. 👍🫡 Wave is Big Thing! Gen is small thing. fix later
Prototypes: ~0200 - 0300
A special wave, sometimes lumped in with Wave 1 as a "Generation 0".
Wave 1: 0300 - 0800
Five Glorious Generations. Each Wave was initially planned to have Five Gens, but this did not pan out.
Wave 2: 0800 - 1000
Two Gens; a pefectly respectable wave. Cut off so Wave 3 could start on 1000. Progress plateaued for a while as there was more focus on meeting uniform standards.
Wave 3: 1000 - 1100
One Generation. Rapid advancements and shifting viewpoints at the tail end of the first wave signaled an abrupt turnover. There were debates about merging this with the Waves that preceded / followed it, but it was decided to be too much hassle. Often overlooked. Sand-Smoothed Reckoning was constructed within this time period.
Wave 4: 1100 - 1400
Three Generations. The next "Proper" Wave.
Wave 5: 1400 - 1583
Two Gens. (Or, close to that, at least) Some people like to lump this in with Wave Four, but those people are annoying elitists. This Wave isn't very highly regarded, but there was some fascinating experimentation near the end. The Mobile Iterator Project began around the start of the Second Generation.