“Who can know what we lost on Earth? What great works of science? Art? Literature? Poetry? What Histories and Philosophies have been expunged from our minds, in the apparitions' great success?

It is impossible to say. We cannot know the extent of what it is that we don't know, but if any were to be able to enumerate it it would be the crew of the former Memorandum - one of the few largest ships to make the great journey to Terra Libre. From this ship, what could be recovered was transferred to ships throughout the fleet as temporary storage to form the framework for new knowledge to be discovered and rediscovered. Naturally this not complete: it never could be. Yet, the Haywood volumes provide, to this day, the most comprehensive course of study on Terra Libre - at the time of writing the Haywood Estate is in the process of producing the 4th Edition volumes.”

— Excerpt from From Earth to Terra Libre, 2538

“The Memorandum has passed on; it is not, and will never be, what is was. I would like to say that my attempts to create these volumes are my own humble efforts, but that would be a lie on every account. Firstly, and most importantly, this was not a venture I embarked upon alone; this proverbial margin is too narrow to contain the names of them all, but no doubt that they are all excellent, and listed in the acknowledgements. Secondly any attempts to replicate the Memorandum could hardly be described as 'humble', and finally this was much less of an effort than a delight.

Inside these pages you will find an overview of the sum of human knowledge. A word to the wary, these are best not read uninterrupted: they act more as reference, with my own notes, than a sequential system…”

— Excerpt from the foreword to Memorandum, 3rd Ed.