NationStates Jolt Archive


The Great Race: After 150 Years, Beta Project is complete

Industrial Experiment
01-03-2005, 23:01
Ruogor Turncut the Third had been but a boy when they had started building Beta Station, the Imperial Dyson Sphere. When he was five and his grandfather, a Viceroy, told him of the great wonderous undertaking the Republic was embarking on, he would never have been able to understand the scale. To him, an AU was a nothingth, a moment in time for a day and age where Spurt-Jump drives could take a ship as massive as the Goliath Dreadnoughts across countless lightyears in a matter of hours and Alpha Station could hurtle a starship virtually anywhere in the universe in a half an hour. It had never occured to him that nothing that big had ever been built -- had ever existed -- outside the supermassive red giants that could be seen as tiny dots in the night sky of many worlds.

He could remember his first trip to Alpha Station, at twelve, on board his father's second command, a Beehive class escort carrier. He had been awed at the sheer size of the thing. He never even bothered to ask how large the object was, just the fact that he had to look through a telescope to see the far side and later learning that everything he saw had occured thirty minutes ago(!) had been nearly too much for his small mind. The shipyard at the center and the worldships they had visited later were almost just as dazzlingly impressive to look at, to remember that it was his people that had built these miracles of engineering.

But now, more than a century later, he was the oldest (mobile) man in the Republic. At almost 160 years, the vast gulf of time that seperated him from any of that had not been able to succeed in accustoming him to the sights he had seen over a life-time spent in space. He had flown with fighter squadrons; even led them. He had captained ships, administered entire fleets. In fact, only a few days after his hundredth birthday, he had been officially promoted to the position of Grand Admiral, a rank only a little more than a dozen other men possessed.

However, in his 122nd year, he had been given his biggest command yet: he was made the officer in charge of Beta Project, the largest undetaking the Republic, no, the living universe as a whole, had ever attempted. Now, it was done, the great day had come. A day his people had waited for for almost a century and a half had finally come...and he would be the one to tell them so.

Right now, he stood in front of a viewport on his newly delivered command ship, the INS Republic, the only Republic class in existance and the only Imperial Navy battleship. The sheer firepower available to him was astounding, but it paled in comparison to the vast metallic sheet lain out in front of him. He knew that even his ship's greatest weapons wouldn't even be able to begin to break just the shields of Beta Station. He also knew that the amount of power backed into the various defensive weapons of Beta Station would be able to wipe his command out of existance before the order to retreat could even jump to his mind.

But he had no reason to fear such an event, this station (Could it even be rightly called a mere station?) was the greatest of his many great accomplishments, and the honor involved in that was yet greater.

After a few more minutes of staring out at the seemingly infinite wall that was before him, a small light began to blink in his peripheral vision; his personal communicator, antiquited even in his childhood, was trying to tell him something.

Activating it, he got the first word in, "This is Admiral Turncut, has the time come?"

The voice on the other end, a young one if Ruogor could trust his senses, replied quickly and concisely nonetheless, "Yes sir, all preperations have been finished and guests and media have all arrived".

"Very well, I shall be down momentarily".

Ruogor turned away from the spectacle laying outside his viewport and headed towards the door, only to be interrupted once more by his comm unit light blinking.

Once more, he activated it, repeating what he had said earlier, "This is Admiral Turncut, the time has come?"

But instead of the boyish voice from before, a decidedly more mature and raspier voice answered, "No, but we have established when it will be. One week Admiral, the Republic has one week".

The initial rebellion in Ruogor's mind was quickly suppressed by his not-so-standard issue bio-implant. All flag officers and many other ranks carried a mildly psychic creature in their frontal lobe that was capable of preventing mind-probes and other, more malicious psychic attempts, but Ruogor's had been changed somewhere during his career. Now, the psychic eminations of the creature were turned inward as much as outward, preventing certain thoughts from taking root and reporting, when it was safe, to those who had made hte modifications.

As Ruogor walked out of his office, a single tear made its way out of his eye and down his cheek, but he didn't notice it and, if he had, he wouldn't have understood it.

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In a great room, one larger than most people would feel comfortable in if it were empty, Grand Admiral Ruogor Turncut stood in front of a podium facing a crowd of thousands. Media people form all over the Republic and officials from the highest echelons were represented there, along with countless thousands of Navy personnel who had own the lottery to witness this event personally.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the great Human Imperial Republic and the rest of the Galaxy at large, one hundred and fifty years ago, in the year 4027, a speech was made to your parents and grandparents. This speech announces the intention of the Republic to build something greater than itself, to create a legacy. This idea was the basis for something that had never been done before, something that would forever place the Republic in the annals of history as the first".

"But the first to do what, you ask? This question, of course, has already been answered, but I feel it bears repeating".

"The Human Imperial Republic, one hundred and fifty years ago, embarked on a contruction job on a scale never before attempted, engineering above and beyond what was thought possible: megascale engineering. We intended to build ourselves a Dyson Sphere. For various reasons, we told ourselves, this will help the Republic. Utilitarianisticly, it would allow us nearly infinite inhabitable space and a large amount of power. Idealisticly, it would catapult us into, as far as we are aware, an exlcusive club: Type II civilizations. We will utilize the complete power of the star that it is built around. Also, we'll just have done it. It's an accomplishment abnove and beyond the possible".

"Now, with the infinite granduer that accompanies the statement, I must tell you something".

"We've done it".

With that, the formerly white wall behind Ruogor darkened completely and slowly faded into a view from a camera mounted on the outside of the sphere that was Beta Station, a view of the fleet that Ruogor commanded and would represent the tomorrow that the Republic was leaping into, as it was made up of three of the newest ships in the Navy.

http://a.1asphost.com/Plushie/Beta%20Project%20Fleet.PNG
INS BB-01 Republic, Republic class battleship
INS BC-D61 Leviathan, Leviathan class battlecruiser
INS BC-D62 Repulse, Leviathan class battlecruiser
INS DD-J79 Warbird, Beehive class escort carrier
INS DD-J80 Groundbreaker, Beehive class escort carrier
INS DD-J81 Weaver, Beehive class escort carrier
INS DD-J82 Tripoli, Beehive class escort carrier

The pod that held the camera began to float away from the wall of Beta Station, up towards the fleet that hovered over it, panning down to face the dyson sphere as it went upwards. After a minute of sweeping views of the admittedly small portion that one could see, the pod finally reached a position parallel to the wall it had come from. Not looking at the display behind him, Ruogor still knew what was about to happen.

Sudden acceleration took the crowd by surprise as the pod activated its miniature spurt-jump engine, pulling away fromt he dyson sphere for a few long seconds until it ceased to fill the camera's view, instead becoming a great circle in the sky. This view stayed for a full ten seconds, wowing the crowd, and then the computer effects took over.

A red glow started in the very center of the disk, until it overlayed it entirely, a view of the red star that now resided at the central point of a giant metal cocoon, soon to be populated by trillions of Imperial citizens.

"This, ladies and gentlemen, is the principium".
Industrial Experiment
02-03-2005, 00:00
OoC: I AM NOT LETTING THIS DIE AN IGNORED DEATH
Industrial Experiment
02-03-2005, 00:13
...
Weyr
02-03-2005, 00:44
Somewhere withinthe massive spire of The Tower, molecular gears clicked, and a few entries were added the vast stacks of knowledge that were assembled there, in slowly-turning cylinders. Once, not so long ago, someone might have noticed this change, might have decided it was important enough to bear closer investigation. It was not every day that one built a whole new artificial world. But it was now, and not then.

Tthe Kingdom was caught in its own death throes, all interst turned inwards, though perhaps some trader would find a profit in the news.
Industrial Experiment
02-03-2005, 02:45
Well, there's something...why do I seem to get mostly ignored though?
Witzgall
02-03-2005, 02:50
OOC: Everyone's threads die usually. You're lucky to get more than 5 posts if it isn't an Open RP or a Character RP. Most people don't do research threads, either. But alot of peoples' threads die or get bumped off of the first page, or just get overlooked. But... *claps*. Nice.
Industrial Experiment
02-03-2005, 02:52
Um, this is quite open. I'd think people would want to at least comment on something this big, especially as I got quite a few comments on the original thread.

My only problem is ALL my big threads seem to get one or two comments after five bumps and die.
Witzgall
02-03-2005, 02:55
No no, I'm saying stuff that says "Open RP" in the title or something. Put a link to this thread in the other, maybe that will work.
Ramissle
02-03-2005, 02:56
OOC: I remember when you started to build it. It was a LONG time ago. Maybe you should have posted more on the first thread, with the 99/150 thing. People would be more interested. Anyways, I can't really say much, because I'm modern tech, but it is nice that it's finished. Congrats. I would have never done that long to build it.
Central Facehuggeria
02-03-2005, 03:06
Perhaps it seems like it's being ignored because people are actually ignoring it? I mean, dyson spheres are something that only civilizations that are obscenely advanced and wealthy can make. Do you have a pangalactic empire? That's the kind of resources you would need.

And to construct a Dyson sphere would take far more than a petty few centuries. It would take millenia, at a minimum if you're using conventional construction techniques. NS players like big ships and such, but a Dyson sphere is just going overboard.
Industrial Experiment
02-03-2005, 04:28
Perhaps it seems like it's being ignored because people are actually ignoring it? I mean, dyson spheres are something that only civilizations that are obscenely advanced and wealthy can make. Do you have a pangalactic empire? That's the kind of resources you would need.

And to construct a Dyson sphere would take far more than a petty few centuries. It would take millenia, at a minimum if you're using conventional construction techniques. NS players like big ships and such, but a Dyson sphere is just going overboard.

You know, this sounds familiar...

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=361999

I already had plenty of people tell me this isn't "possible" or "feasible". As far as I'm concerned, getting Xess on my side is all that matters, seeing as he's one of two actual physicists I know of here.
Kyanges
02-03-2005, 04:33
You know, this sounds familiar...

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=361999

I already had plenty of people tell me this isn't "possible" or "feasible". As far as I'm concerned, getting Xess on my side is all that matters, seeing as he's one of two actual physicists I know of here.

(OOC: Ah, I remember that thread. I'm not sure about other people's opinions about this, but I'm all for it. Besides, now you've got me thinking about one. In any case, congratulations.)
Izistan
02-03-2005, 04:47
OOC: Awesome. Thats really only how I can discribe a Dyson Sphere. And you've armed it, so it would be a extremely hard target to attack(which is all good of course). Anyway, I like it.
Germanische Zustande
02-03-2005, 05:28
Congratulations, IE, and Happy Birthday.

If you continue to face those naysayers who are incredibly negative and closed-minded head on, there may be some hope for this game.

(Plus, if you can stand up to 'em, I can certainly try)
The Wraith Hive
02-03-2005, 05:44
OOC: For those of you who are dissin' on Dyson Sphere builders...shut up! We have no idea of how long it will take to build a Dyson Sphere with future-industrial capabilities! Just look back at 1900 and see they were saying we would be doing by 2000! The future is too hard to predict, and therefore almost anything should go on this site.

Provided, of course, it doesn't GodMod a nation.
Siesatia
02-03-2005, 05:58
Actually, a dysons sphere, in my opinion, is a fair waste of resources. A blow from a powerful weapon, such as a Planet killer, or even a Mass Inverter, will cause it to rip itself apart from the stress. And then you have issues of Resources. Not to mention the manpower. They're just... Unfeasable. Build ships, or planetary shells if you must.
The Wraith Hive
02-03-2005, 06:03
Actually, a dysons sphere, in my opinion, is a fair waste of resources. A blow from a powerful weapon, such as a Planet killer, or even a Mass Inverter, will cause it to rip itself apart from the stress. And then you have issues of Resources. Not to mention the manpower. They're just... Unfeasable. Build ships, or planetary shells if you must.

OOC: Uh...they're not weapons. They're massive solar-collecters that trap the energy from the sun, effectively bringing a civlization to a Class II rating (but, ya'll are a LONG ways off from a Class III). The fact they added weapons onto it is superflerous.
Siesatia
02-03-2005, 06:05
OOC: Uh...they're not weapons. They're massive solar-collecters that trap the energy from the sun, effectively bringing a civlization to a Class II rating (but, ya'll are a LONG ways off from a Class III). The fact they added weapons onto it is superflerous.

I never said they were weapons. I said they were vulnerable to them. If his country is attacked, it leaves them in an interesting position to attack the sphere.

And where do these Class ratings come from, any link or thread please?
The Wraith Hive
02-03-2005, 06:09
I never said they were weapons. I said they were vulnerable to them. If his country is attacked, it leaves them in an interesting position to attack the sphere.

And where do these Class ratings come from, any link or thread please?

Civilization levels were created by Russian astronomer Nikolai Karashev to describe extra-terrestrial civilizations. There are three levels:

I) Use just about all the energy their planet can safely produce and have usually started to expand off-world.

II) Use all the energy they can get from their star - about 10 billion times the amount used by Type I civilizations. They may need to create a Dyson Sphere to gater it.

III) Are galacic in scope, using the energies of thousands or millions of stars. Therefore, a non-galactic spanning civilization can still build Dyson spheres. Usually a Type III civilization taps energy from ppulsars, black holes, or even galactic cores.
Siesatia
02-03-2005, 06:18
Oh, I forgot about that, I thought this was a specially made NS list. My nation fits into the 2nd category. Harvesting power directly from uninhabited system suns, by taking plasma from them, returning them to orbital plasma refieneries, and using it for power.
Now, we also take power from the Space-Time Continueum. But that project isn't quite at 100% efficiency yet.
Sharina
02-03-2005, 06:19
OOC:

I remember this Dyson Sphere project, and I remember commenting a few times in the "construction" thread.

Glad to see that the Dyson Sphere is completed! Congrats! :D


BTW, I'm at the border between MT and post-MT. I'm having some thoughts of starting semi-FT soon. Hopefully by then, our two nations can make contact IC'ly. :)
Central Facehuggeria
03-03-2005, 03:56
Provided, of course, it doesn't GodMod a nation.

Which is the problem. If a nation tries to claim the sheer resourcing and industrial capability to create something like this within a hundred and fifty years, what is to prevent them from creating a thousand warships in that time? A million? Billions? It sets an OOC precedent.


You know, this sounds familiar...

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=361999

I already had plenty of people tell me this isn't "possible" or "feasible". As far as I'm concerned, getting Xess on my side is all that matters, seeing as he's one of two actual physicists I know of here.

And yet in that linked thread, you did not actually post very many rebuttals to the points brought up there. The same points I am now bringing up. In that thread Xess did not tell where you could get the sheer amount of resources (specifically the super strong materials necessary for the thing's superstructure) you would need. And that, along with the engineering difficulties that are inherent in something as big and complex as a Dyson Sphere are what cause me to say that this is a godmod.

Now, where did you get the resources necessary to make this thing? And how did you manage to create something an AU across in only a bit more than a century? I'd really like to know. If you can rebuke my points, please do so.

I object to this entirely on OOC principles. I know it's freeform RP and all, but honestly this is going overboard. It sets a dangerous precedent for other players to emulate, bringing FT to a whole new level of rediculous overpowered wanking. It's okay when the poor RPers try something like this because they are easily ignored. But you, you're a good RPer. When someone like you tries something like this, it lends legitimacy to that brand of lunacy.
Industrial Experiment
03-03-2005, 04:33
Which is the problem. If a nation tries to claim the sheer resourcing and industrial capability to create something like this within a hundred and fifty years, what is to prevent them from creating a thousand warships in that time? A million? Billions? It sets an OOC precedent.



And yet in that linked thread, you did not actually post very many rebuttals to the points brought up there. The same points I am now bringing up. In that thread Xess did not tell where you could get the sheer amount of resources (specifically the super strong materials necessary for the thing's superstructure) you would need. And that, along with the engineering difficulties that are inherent in something as big and complex as a Dyson Sphere are what cause me to say that this is a godmod.

Now, where did you get the resources necessary to make this thing? And how did you manage to create something an AU across in only a bit more than a century? I'd really like to know. If you can rebuke my points, please do so.

I object to this entirely on OOC principles. I know it's freeform RP and all, but honestly this is going overboard. It sets a dangerous precedent for other players to emulate, bringing FT to a whole new level of rediculous overpowered wanking. It's okay when the poor RPers try something like this because they are easily ignored. But you, you're a good RPer. When someone like you tries something like this, it lends legitimacy to that brand of lunacy.


The 150 years thing was more a matter of me not being willing to wait over the course of two or three years. Chances are, I won't be posting here in two or three years. In truth, this won't matter all that

As to a precedent...well, as I see it, the better RPer always wins, so fleet size only matters when people are building billions of ships, in which case they're ignored anyway. Anyone with the intelligence to RP decently knows about restraint.
Industrial Experiment
03-03-2005, 04:35
By the way, though, in retrospect, I would not mind in the least if you ignored this. The opening post in this thread was downright horrible.