Whyatica
16-04-2006, 23:05
On the seventh planet in a system in a backwater corner of the galaxy, a discovery many Empires take for granted was being found: light speed travel. On the planet Whyatica, the most brilliant scientists on the planet were assembled in one place, the Space Travel Institute, pondering the immortal questions that Whyaticans had been posing for centuries. Life on other planets, the existance of gods, the ever-expanding Universe, questions the entire Whyatican intelligentsia wanted to learn the answer to in their lifetime. They would soon find out the answer to the first question..
Whyatica Space Travel Institute: 12:45 PM
Jonathan McAdeen was one of the head physicists on the Lightspeed Project, and an extremely scary man to be around. He tromped around the STI, barking at subordinates and doing very little comparitive work compared to the younger scientists on the staff. A younger physicist ran up to him from behind and said,
"Mr. McAdeen, I need to know.."
"What do you want?" he roared at the young man, nearly petrifying him in his tracks. He remained quiet, and McAdeen continued to tromp around the facility, looking generally to create trouble. He was the first physicist to make a breakthrough on Cspace as it was commonly called, and he let everyone know it. He stared out a window, where he saw dozens of engineers feverishly working on on the first CSpace vessel, some wanting to get it done to get their names in the paper, some wanted money, and others just wanted to be part of the largest and most important project in Whyatican history. The engineers were running last minute tests, and the computer operators were in the next room running complicated computer simulations, and they all knew in the back of their heads that the computer simulations would be blown as soon as the Cspace ship left the launch silo.
Whyatican Space Travel Institute: 4:30 PM
T-Minus 30 minutes. As the count got closer to 5 PM, time seemed to slow down for the launch crews and ship crew. Captain Zek Jabari of the Whyatican Air Fleet looked particularly nervous, even as the computer simulations came back time and time again with a successful launch and run into Cspace. He never trusted simulations, even as a successful pilot in the Air Force. He had run the mock-up several times with successes, although nobody knew what would actually happen. People took his picture as he wandered the halls of WSTI, and he just ignored them. Assistants offered him coffee, but he denied them every time.
Whyatican Space Travel Institute: 4:55 PM
With the final checks and simulations complete, the crew of the vessel boarded very calmly, although they were about to get the ride of their lives. A selected few photographers sat in a protected area of the launch silo, taking pictures and writing stories about the historic event. They were never told about the increasing worries about time distortion, inertia, space junk, and any of the worries that plagued the top echelons of WSTI. As the silo cover opened up to reveal the blue Whyatican sun, the first stage booster filled the silo with propellant, sending the rocket soaring into the sky..
CS-01: 5:05 PM Whyatica Time
"Crew, what's your condition? Over." Zek said over their lifesuit communications.
"Fine. Over." the First Officer said, grimacing a bit, the inertial dampners having a slight problem controlling the intense Gs of liftoff from Whyatican gravity.
"I'm good. Over." the Engineering Officer said.
"All's well over here, Cap." the Navigation officer said.
The first stage of the CS-01 dropped to Whyatica, and the second stage kicked in, giving them a further boost out of the atmosphere. As the second stage unlocked from the ship, falling to open space, the C-Space "Key" as it was known descended from the cargobay of the vessel. Engaging the main power of the vessel, two microfusion reactors, the lights and life support came on, allowing the crew to breathe freely. Ion drives had just barely been developed in Whyatica, and they kicked in very slowly, moving the ship to a crawl, as most of the power was going to starting the C-Space key.
The ship shuddered and vibrated as the key activated, unlocking the proverbial door to C-Space, a theoretical dimension where space was folded, and if one could approximate the C-Space location to their normal-space location, they could travel faster than light without ever doing so. CS-01's mission was to fly in C-Space for twenty minutes, exit, turn around, re-enter C-Space, and head home.
The proverbial door opened, in a massive flash of colours and light, and the ion drives kicked in and shoved the CS-01 through the open doorway...
CS-01: 5:25 Whyatica Time
The C-Space door reopened as the computer planned, exactly twenty minutes after entering. The CS-01 cruised out of the doorway, and it shut abruptly behind them. Opening her eyes for the first time since they entered C-Space, the First Officer said, "Where the hell are we, Captain?"
The response was, "I don't know.."
Whyatica Space Travel Institute: 12:45 PM
Jonathan McAdeen was one of the head physicists on the Lightspeed Project, and an extremely scary man to be around. He tromped around the STI, barking at subordinates and doing very little comparitive work compared to the younger scientists on the staff. A younger physicist ran up to him from behind and said,
"Mr. McAdeen, I need to know.."
"What do you want?" he roared at the young man, nearly petrifying him in his tracks. He remained quiet, and McAdeen continued to tromp around the facility, looking generally to create trouble. He was the first physicist to make a breakthrough on Cspace as it was commonly called, and he let everyone know it. He stared out a window, where he saw dozens of engineers feverishly working on on the first CSpace vessel, some wanting to get it done to get their names in the paper, some wanted money, and others just wanted to be part of the largest and most important project in Whyatican history. The engineers were running last minute tests, and the computer operators were in the next room running complicated computer simulations, and they all knew in the back of their heads that the computer simulations would be blown as soon as the Cspace ship left the launch silo.
Whyatican Space Travel Institute: 4:30 PM
T-Minus 30 minutes. As the count got closer to 5 PM, time seemed to slow down for the launch crews and ship crew. Captain Zek Jabari of the Whyatican Air Fleet looked particularly nervous, even as the computer simulations came back time and time again with a successful launch and run into Cspace. He never trusted simulations, even as a successful pilot in the Air Force. He had run the mock-up several times with successes, although nobody knew what would actually happen. People took his picture as he wandered the halls of WSTI, and he just ignored them. Assistants offered him coffee, but he denied them every time.
Whyatican Space Travel Institute: 4:55 PM
With the final checks and simulations complete, the crew of the vessel boarded very calmly, although they were about to get the ride of their lives. A selected few photographers sat in a protected area of the launch silo, taking pictures and writing stories about the historic event. They were never told about the increasing worries about time distortion, inertia, space junk, and any of the worries that plagued the top echelons of WSTI. As the silo cover opened up to reveal the blue Whyatican sun, the first stage booster filled the silo with propellant, sending the rocket soaring into the sky..
CS-01: 5:05 PM Whyatica Time
"Crew, what's your condition? Over." Zek said over their lifesuit communications.
"Fine. Over." the First Officer said, grimacing a bit, the inertial dampners having a slight problem controlling the intense Gs of liftoff from Whyatican gravity.
"I'm good. Over." the Engineering Officer said.
"All's well over here, Cap." the Navigation officer said.
The first stage of the CS-01 dropped to Whyatica, and the second stage kicked in, giving them a further boost out of the atmosphere. As the second stage unlocked from the ship, falling to open space, the C-Space "Key" as it was known descended from the cargobay of the vessel. Engaging the main power of the vessel, two microfusion reactors, the lights and life support came on, allowing the crew to breathe freely. Ion drives had just barely been developed in Whyatica, and they kicked in very slowly, moving the ship to a crawl, as most of the power was going to starting the C-Space key.
The ship shuddered and vibrated as the key activated, unlocking the proverbial door to C-Space, a theoretical dimension where space was folded, and if one could approximate the C-Space location to their normal-space location, they could travel faster than light without ever doing so. CS-01's mission was to fly in C-Space for twenty minutes, exit, turn around, re-enter C-Space, and head home.
The proverbial door opened, in a massive flash of colours and light, and the ion drives kicked in and shoved the CS-01 through the open doorway...
CS-01: 5:25 Whyatica Time
The C-Space door reopened as the computer planned, exactly twenty minutes after entering. The CS-01 cruised out of the doorway, and it shut abruptly behind them. Opening her eyes for the first time since they entered C-Space, the First Officer said, "Where the hell are we, Captain?"
The response was, "I don't know.."