Continuum Biological Registry
OrganizationsThe Continuum Biological Registry (CBR) is the primary standards authority for biological classification in the Continuum Universes. It maintains canonical taxonomy (from domains to species analogues), assigns Universal Registry Codes, and publishes revision standards used by Continuum scientists, archivists, and interworld cataloguers.
In Continuum documentation, the CBR is frequently cited as the classification authority within taxon records (for example, in the classification_author field of {{Taxon}}-style infoboxes).
Mandate and scope
The CBR exists to solve an awkward multiversal problem: when life can be carbon-based, lithoid, photonic, aetheric, or something even weirder, “just use Earth taxonomy” stops working fast.
Core responsibilities include:
- Maintaining a stable, cross-domain classification framework for life across worlds and cosmological contexts.
- Standardizing names, rank usage, and criteria for defining taxa that do not map cleanly to Carbonian biology.
- Tracking biosignatures and life-pattern identifiers for field researchers and archivists.
- Publishing official revisions and deprecation notes when classifications change.
Universal Registry Codes
The CBR assigns a Universal Registry Code to taxonomic entries to keep references unambiguous across worlds, languages, and local naming traditions.
While formats vary by era and discipline, most codes follow a structured pattern that encodes:
- the domain (or equivalent “life-form substrate”)
- the rank (kingdom/phylum/etc.)
- an abbreviated taxon identifier
- optional revision markers
Examples seen in Continuum taxonomy records include codes such as:
- CB-001 (Carbonia domain taxon identifier pattern)
- LX-K-… (Luxiva domain, Kingdom-level pattern)
These identifiers are used in archives, bestiaries, survey logs, and automated indexing systems where plain names are too collision-prone.
Governance and revision process
Taxonomy within the Continuum is treated as living infrastructure: stable enough to rely on, flexible enough to survive new discoveries.
The CBR is overseen by rotating Revision Councils (e.g., the 3rd Revision Council), which:
review proposals for new taxa, mergers, splits, and rank changes
set criteria for evidentiary thresholds (morphology, behavior, biosignature coherence, reproduction modes, etc.)
publish revision notes to maintain backwards compatibility for older records
Major revisions typically include transition guidance (synonyms, deprecated names, and code remapping) to prevent archival chaos.