Kiraman Katibin, also known as the "noble scribes", are angels in Islamic tradition who are entrusted by God with recording each person's good and bad deeds — collectively known as the noble records. On the Day of Judgement, these records are reviewed and weighed to determine whether one will receive eternal salvation or eternal damnation

San Junipero is a Virtual Reality universe which simulates real life perfectly - people who enter it experience the world exactly as they would their life outside of it. San Junipero brings any person who enters it back into their twenty-year old self and body, and into an exact replica of their life at the time. Once one enters San Junipero, they remain there for the rest of their life, and are completely unaware they are in a simulation. You are Mimi, an 80-year old widow, mother and grandmother who lives alone.

For the purposes of this debate, foster families are families which foster orphans for a limited period during childhood - often 2-4 years - for which they receive financial remuneration from the government. When an orphan’s stay at one foster family ends, they are moved to another. Wherever an orphan is assigned within the foster system - either to foster families or to an orphanage - they are eligible for adoption.

Under international law, self-defence means that a country may use military force to protect itself if it is attacked, but the response must be proportionate and not excessive.

For the purposes of this debate, a host country refers to a state from which a non-state actor (e.g. a terrorist organisation) launches an attack against a neighbouring country.

Telemedicine refers to the delivery of healthcare services remotely through digital communication & AI technologies. It includes services such as online consultations and appointments, electronic health records, and increased online commerce in health products (e.g. treatment plans, medicine commerce, patient data records etc.)

To address the rapidly declining birth rates in 2050, a fanatical evangelical movement seized control of the US government and established a totalitarian theocracy: the Republic of Gilead.

Under Gilead, women have no autonomy and are categorised by function. Wives, the highest-ranking women, gain status from Commanders (Gilead's highest-ranking men). Wives have influence only within their households (as "ladies of the house") and are subject to all prohibitions placed upon women (e.g. no literacy, a legal requirement to comply with their husband's wishes, and arranged betrothals). Other categories of women include Marthas (who are domestic labourers), Handmaids (who serve as reproductive vessels to Commander households), Aunts (who oversee indoctrination and the discipline of women), and Econowives (who shoulder all burdens within lower-class households).

The Underground Femaleroad is a resistance network operated by women throughout Gilead, with notable success in smuggling members out of the country and inflicting damage on the regime through clandestine operations.

For the purposes of this debate, "Travelling" refers to constantly moving a given piece to different venues and locations. By contrast, "Stationing" refers to depicting pieces in a given physical installation, often for extended periods of time.