Volantor

A volantor was a type of advanced, jet-assisted, flight-capable passenger car. It was used most prominently on Yellowstone and a few other planets. They were elegant vehicles, capable of operating both on roadways and within aerial transport corridors of cities, such as Chasm City on Yellowstone.

Volantors were fairly ubiquitous on Yellowstone during the Belle Epoque, before the Melding Plague, and even by the standards of local society, seen as something of a status symbol. They were virtually unheard of in the decades following the damage dealt by the nano-plague to settlements on the planet and within its orbit. Many citizens in Chasm City reverted to more simpler ground vehicles for transport, or switched to cable-cars capable of navigating the Canopy.

Some past owners of volantors included Richard Swift and Roland Childe.

Description

TBA

Appearances

• Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days novella anthology (2003)
  • Diamond Dogs - first chapter of the story
• Chasm City (2001) - mentioned

Notes

• The term for the vehicle is influenced by the Francophone cultural elements of Demarchist Yellowstone. Volantor loosely translates to "flyer", from the French term volant, used mainly as an adjective for "flying".
• In French and some other European languages, volant is also a noun for "steering wheel", making for an extra connection of the name with the automotive background of the vehicle.
• The volantors are Reynolds' take on the popular science fiction concept of the flying car, which has seen occassional real world development in the form of various prototypes. The volantors of the Revelation Space universe seem somewhat similar to the "spinners" of the Blade Runner film series, albeit more opulent and advanced in appearance, both inside and outside.

RS Glossary entry

Volantor: Personal transatmospheric vehicle.
- description from the official RS glossary