How to speak Mission and Grok

How to speak Mission and Grok: a lexicon

The children have devised a private language known as ‘Grok’, which they speak among themselves. Grok is an amalgam of Hindi, Spanish, Mandarin and other less obvious sources, and represents a rebellion of sorts against the iron discipline of the Mission. The Mission has also developed its own technical language, and there are many unfamiliar terms from the world of the books.
The following is a brief lexicon, which may be added to as the series progresses…

a
A5 – fifth planet orbiting Alpha B, site of the Dome and expedition planetfall
aj – today or now
alph – the sun or Alpha B
alph gran – Alpha A
amike – friend or ally
arth – any small Centauran animal (NB all Centauran animals are either invertebrates or wormlike)
as – sit
asta – star or constellation
avidar – goodbye

b
bat – speak or talk to
bunk – the children’s private cabins

c
chaan – need
chai – food or drink
char – four
chikan – meat (artificially produced or printed)
chod, chodan – slang term for sexual intercourse
chota – small
como – like
con – with
coo – good
crusty – pseudo-crustacean, the dominant animal species on Alpha 5
chut, chutan – an oath or a term of abuse, the female sexual organ

d
de – we or us
dek – see
Dome – the base, home, or safety (as in ‘me wis me dome’)
Domeside – inside (the Dome)
do – two
do ha – bad luck
don – give
dor – sleep
dos – ten (NB also means must or be obliged to…)
do ze or dosi – thank you

e
Earthcomm – communication with Earth
Earthcomm downlink – the main part of the Probe which remains in orbit around A5
Earthside – back on Earth, the Mission Planners
Earthsister (or brother) – the young person back on Earth who contacts you
en – nine
es – this or it
eso – that
Event (the) – technical term for the phenomenon known as light-out

f
’face – short for interface, means by which children communicate or connect to Earthcomm and Dome AI
fem – girl or female (often used as a greeting)
ferm – hot

g
gat – firearm or weapon
gran – big
Grok – the slang language of the children
gusta – love

h
habla or hab – have
hap – maybe or perhaps
hatch-mate – the hom or fem born at the same time, who you may pair with
hem – half
hom – boy or male ( often used as a greeting)

i
interface – see ‘face

j
jan – go
jo – why
joo – play
jun – far

k
kal – cold
kan – do
kapla – success or good fortune
kase – OK
ke – what, how, where or which
kel – tomorrow or yesterday (kel-min = yesterday, kel-ploo = tomorrow)
ken – know
ke jan – where are you going?
ke jun – how far is it?
ke tru – what have you found?
ke us – how are you?
ke zu – what’s happening?
klik – a kilometre or one thousand
kowfee – coffee

l
late – see you
las – less
lev – stand up or lift
light-out or the light – time when both Alphas are in the sky, and the children stay in the Dome for safety
’lock – the entrance to the Dome
luks – day or light
lute – fight

m
mar – sea or lake (nearest surface water is forty kliks from the Dome reachable only by rova)
mas – more
me – I, me or my
mek – reach or attain
Mission – anything to do with the expedition (by derivation anything official)
Mission AI – the self-aware machine intelligence that runs the Mission
mo – walk
moy – very

n
na – no
nad – nothing
namas – hello
nang – can (i.e. me nang trav Domeside)
nar – night or darkness
nars – nursemaid
nat – no thanks
neg – snow
nim – cloud
Nurse – one of the nursemaids, the children’s guardians and protectors

o
oc – eight
oh – oxygen or air
oh te – water
on – one
On Mission – outside the Dome, on expedition business
Out – same as On Mission

p
paa – get
packet – compressed transmission from Earth
pan – five
para – before or by the time of
pas – near, or by
planetside – outside the Dome, or on the planet’s surface
plis – please
ploot – rain (as in ‘ploot planetside’), or to cry
pod – Centauran pseudo-tree
print – to replicate or manufacture via 3D printing
Probe – the starship which brought the Mission to Alpha 5
prod, prodan – a term of abuse, the male sexual organ
prox – Proxima Centauri, the system’s smallest star
pseudo-shrub – the ground-hugging varient on Alphane ‘plant life’

r
ret – ridge or peak
rova – any land vehicle

s
seb – seven
sen – hundred
shish – to teach, or a teacher
sis – six

t
ta – thanks
techmate – colleague, teammate, co-worker
tee – three
ting – thing, object or concept
tote – carry
trav – work
tru – search or find

u

us – you, we or us

v
val – bad
vam – run or hurry
ver – true

w
wis – wish

y
ya – yes
yo – you
yung – use

z
zu – make or do