Godular
05-11-2004, 03:12
As a result of an accident in one of the H.E. Technical University labs several years ago, Godulan scientists were made aware of a particularly lucrative plane of existence which, after documenting its many intriguing properties, have come to name "ProtoSpace"
It is not so much a plane of existence in and of itself as it is the space between dimensions. Indeed, it is the very force that holds the various realities together.
It would seem that this ProtoSpace is only slightly displaced from all other realities that are presently known and documented, enabling a relatively easy transition between one and the other. So little energy is required, in fact, that the trouble isn't in generating the portal, but in making sure the volatile nature of Protospace doesn't blow up in your face due to even the slightest power surge. While kinetic energy has no impact upon the environment of Protospace, it seems that extreme heat and electrical current cause extremely energetic reaction in the form of a sizeable explosion proportionate to the amount of energy input.
This is due primarily to the most lucrative aspect of ProtoSpace: Protomatter. It would seem that with a properly controlled energy input beneath the critical energy that would cause the aforementioned explosion, one can actually craft a short-lived analog of realspace matter. For example, if one were to introduce enough energy to a contained space, one could cause the Protomatter inside that space to actually convert into a particular element, such as hydrogen or lead, depending on the amount of energy input. This temporary material only has a lifespan of but a few minutes.
But, as we have learned, a few minutes is long enough to be useful.
It would further seem that a sizeable enough ship can maintain a consistent connection to Protospace, enabling it to effectively refuel itself as much as it needs to in order to operate at optimum conditions.
Secondly, it would also seem that, while incapable of mass-producing specific munitions, one could turn this into a disastrously powerful kinetic weapon consisting of a mass driver and a Kinetic Lance Generator. Rate of fire is slow, as the Mass Driver would need time to generate this "Kinetic Lance" (nothing more than a 500 Kg iron spike), which is by no means a swift process. Doubtless one can see the applications of this technology in respect to orbital bombardments.
Propelled at hypersonic velocities in space, a Protospace Enabled Mass Driver has the potential to break through even the heaviest armors.
Being that it is a relatively low-energy method to enter another plane of existence, we have also discovered uses in defensive technology, in that a Protospace portal can be maneuvered to capture various projectiles such as missiles and kinetic lances, or even intersperse itself in the path of blasterfire, causing the previously mentioned energetic response. This technology has already seen use in Godulan operations, as it was the first derivation to be discovered. The effective range the portal can be maneuvered has yet to be determined, but as yet we have found that the only limit to its range seems to be line-of-sight.
It has also been discovered that while realspace cannot affect Protospace, and vice versa, mass signatures remain detectable between the two, enabling ships in Protospace to detect the mass signature of planets, stars, enemy ships, or other celestial phenomena, although one cannot tell the exact nature of the object detected until one shifts into the plane the other occupies. What this means is that Protospace actually works as its own version of a Cloaking device, with the simple problem that we can't do anything but look at realspace ships, and they can only return the favor in a like manner, until the ship in protospace reverts into realspace with the purpose of communications or attack.
So, in essence, the Godulan discovery, and subsequent mastery of, Protospace has provided the following:
1) A reliable method of interdimensional travel
-"ProtoShift"
2) A temporary, yet effective refueling capacity
3) Regenerable Ammunition for heavy cannonry
-"Virtual Matter"
4) A defensive direct fire interdiction mechanism with nasty implications to those who use energy weapons
-"VoidShield"
We have also discovered, in our work with respect to interdimensional media, both a particularly interesting method of locomotion, and a devastating direct-fire weapon.
It would seem that with simple manipulation of energies, one can create a small distortion in space-time that has no other effect than accelerating anything on the edge of the field. It has been considered by the Scientists who studied it to be roughly equivalent to a sublight version of warp drive, without that annoying weakness of having outboard weapons that glow like bull's eyes. One of the more surprising aspects of this particular method of locomotion is that it does not matter what medium the generating object is in. The drive works whether one is operating in atmospheric or vacuum environments, although performance is greatly enhanced in Vacuum. The drive also works as its own inertial damper, as it accelerates everything evenly, creating a sense of freefall for those within the generating object.
And last but not least, our little baby. With a particularly large input of energy, one can create a monodirectional wave that hurtles forward until it strikes a drastic change in material, I.E. the wave propagates forward until it strikes the hull of a spacefaring vessel. When this boundary is encountered, the disruption to the wave causes it to violently disrupt the spacetime around it, causing massive damage to the target. Rate of fire is slightly slower than conventional Blaster technologies, but the cannons that generate these waves cause significantly greater damage and with a larger area of effect, as the disruption radiates outward for several meters before the disruptive energy is rendered too low to be damaging. The effect of this wave appears to be proportional to the amount of energy used in generating the burst, in such a manner that fighters and capitol ships can fire the same type of cannon (different sizes of course) to drastically divergent effect.
Also, in essence, we have effectively mastered the usage of:
-Distortion Drive: Sublight mobility that enables extreme maneuverability, its own inertial damper, and extreme speeds in vacuum
-Spatial Flux Cannons (Flux Cannons for short): Line of sight weapons of surprisingly high-yield firepower.
Now that this research field has finally been completed, we can finally devote our energies to Metallurgy and other space technologies, along with populating our new homeworld.
/ooc I dedicated 30 RL days to researching all this, so I can only hope that this was a worthwile investment. For those curious about how the VoidShield works, if one has read any of the New Jedi Order StarWars books, and seen how the Yuuzhan Vong shielding works (singularities that zip about sucking up blasterfire), its a lot like that.
Questions comments?
P.S. it is beginning to come as endlessly aggravating when I do up a lengthy post such as this one, only to have to copy/paste and log back on because the server has kicked me out due to inactivity. GRRRR!
It is not so much a plane of existence in and of itself as it is the space between dimensions. Indeed, it is the very force that holds the various realities together.
It would seem that this ProtoSpace is only slightly displaced from all other realities that are presently known and documented, enabling a relatively easy transition between one and the other. So little energy is required, in fact, that the trouble isn't in generating the portal, but in making sure the volatile nature of Protospace doesn't blow up in your face due to even the slightest power surge. While kinetic energy has no impact upon the environment of Protospace, it seems that extreme heat and electrical current cause extremely energetic reaction in the form of a sizeable explosion proportionate to the amount of energy input.
This is due primarily to the most lucrative aspect of ProtoSpace: Protomatter. It would seem that with a properly controlled energy input beneath the critical energy that would cause the aforementioned explosion, one can actually craft a short-lived analog of realspace matter. For example, if one were to introduce enough energy to a contained space, one could cause the Protomatter inside that space to actually convert into a particular element, such as hydrogen or lead, depending on the amount of energy input. This temporary material only has a lifespan of but a few minutes.
But, as we have learned, a few minutes is long enough to be useful.
It would further seem that a sizeable enough ship can maintain a consistent connection to Protospace, enabling it to effectively refuel itself as much as it needs to in order to operate at optimum conditions.
Secondly, it would also seem that, while incapable of mass-producing specific munitions, one could turn this into a disastrously powerful kinetic weapon consisting of a mass driver and a Kinetic Lance Generator. Rate of fire is slow, as the Mass Driver would need time to generate this "Kinetic Lance" (nothing more than a 500 Kg iron spike), which is by no means a swift process. Doubtless one can see the applications of this technology in respect to orbital bombardments.
Propelled at hypersonic velocities in space, a Protospace Enabled Mass Driver has the potential to break through even the heaviest armors.
Being that it is a relatively low-energy method to enter another plane of existence, we have also discovered uses in defensive technology, in that a Protospace portal can be maneuvered to capture various projectiles such as missiles and kinetic lances, or even intersperse itself in the path of blasterfire, causing the previously mentioned energetic response. This technology has already seen use in Godulan operations, as it was the first derivation to be discovered. The effective range the portal can be maneuvered has yet to be determined, but as yet we have found that the only limit to its range seems to be line-of-sight.
It has also been discovered that while realspace cannot affect Protospace, and vice versa, mass signatures remain detectable between the two, enabling ships in Protospace to detect the mass signature of planets, stars, enemy ships, or other celestial phenomena, although one cannot tell the exact nature of the object detected until one shifts into the plane the other occupies. What this means is that Protospace actually works as its own version of a Cloaking device, with the simple problem that we can't do anything but look at realspace ships, and they can only return the favor in a like manner, until the ship in protospace reverts into realspace with the purpose of communications or attack.
So, in essence, the Godulan discovery, and subsequent mastery of, Protospace has provided the following:
1) A reliable method of interdimensional travel
-"ProtoShift"
2) A temporary, yet effective refueling capacity
3) Regenerable Ammunition for heavy cannonry
-"Virtual Matter"
4) A defensive direct fire interdiction mechanism with nasty implications to those who use energy weapons
-"VoidShield"
We have also discovered, in our work with respect to interdimensional media, both a particularly interesting method of locomotion, and a devastating direct-fire weapon.
It would seem that with simple manipulation of energies, one can create a small distortion in space-time that has no other effect than accelerating anything on the edge of the field. It has been considered by the Scientists who studied it to be roughly equivalent to a sublight version of warp drive, without that annoying weakness of having outboard weapons that glow like bull's eyes. One of the more surprising aspects of this particular method of locomotion is that it does not matter what medium the generating object is in. The drive works whether one is operating in atmospheric or vacuum environments, although performance is greatly enhanced in Vacuum. The drive also works as its own inertial damper, as it accelerates everything evenly, creating a sense of freefall for those within the generating object.
And last but not least, our little baby. With a particularly large input of energy, one can create a monodirectional wave that hurtles forward until it strikes a drastic change in material, I.E. the wave propagates forward until it strikes the hull of a spacefaring vessel. When this boundary is encountered, the disruption to the wave causes it to violently disrupt the spacetime around it, causing massive damage to the target. Rate of fire is slightly slower than conventional Blaster technologies, but the cannons that generate these waves cause significantly greater damage and with a larger area of effect, as the disruption radiates outward for several meters before the disruptive energy is rendered too low to be damaging. The effect of this wave appears to be proportional to the amount of energy used in generating the burst, in such a manner that fighters and capitol ships can fire the same type of cannon (different sizes of course) to drastically divergent effect.
Also, in essence, we have effectively mastered the usage of:
-Distortion Drive: Sublight mobility that enables extreme maneuverability, its own inertial damper, and extreme speeds in vacuum
-Spatial Flux Cannons (Flux Cannons for short): Line of sight weapons of surprisingly high-yield firepower.
Now that this research field has finally been completed, we can finally devote our energies to Metallurgy and other space technologies, along with populating our new homeworld.
/ooc I dedicated 30 RL days to researching all this, so I can only hope that this was a worthwile investment. For those curious about how the VoidShield works, if one has read any of the New Jedi Order StarWars books, and seen how the Yuuzhan Vong shielding works (singularities that zip about sucking up blasterfire), its a lot like that.
Questions comments?
P.S. it is beginning to come as endlessly aggravating when I do up a lengthy post such as this one, only to have to copy/paste and log back on because the server has kicked me out due to inactivity. GRRRR!