Cruciform

The cruciform is a symbiote discovered on the planet Hyperion. A group called the Bikura found the cruciform and used them for resurrection, but they had the unfortunate side effects of irreversible brain damage and disappearance of sex organs. Only the church held the secret of successfully resurrected an individual fully intact, and this secret became the source of their power. The church offered physical immortality to converts. When death is imminent, the cruciform does not seem an unfair trade. The church only required one year of service from the convert for every ten years of life. Aenea reveals at the end of the novel, that the cruciform was created by the evil Core, and planted on Hyperion to be discovered and abused by the church.

River Tethys

The River Tethys connected hundreds of rivers on hundreds of waterways. Pleasure boats and trade ships entered a river...