Today I thought I would post some information behind the technology used in my current series, X-Calibur.
Please
note, this is Science Fiction and is not intended to suggest that
any of this is possible. It may even contradict current theories
around Relativity and Quantum Mechanics! It is only for those of you
who want to read more into the stories and understand the rules of
how my
universe works...
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence is intelligence exhibited by machines or
software. From the point of view of the X-Calibur universe, it is
used to describe truly sentient machines, that is intelligent
thinking machines that are also conscious and self aware.
Perhaps the most famous AI introduced so far is Merlin, the damaged
American-European Alliance Mainframe that has come to believe it is
the computerised consciousness of the mythological wizard. He is
software, able to move between different hardware at will (such as
the Tor, Arthur's ship the Vanguard or the Hive ship itself).
As well as Merlin, the Teleri have also admitted to using a variety
of AI's on their ships. These help coordinate the communications
between remote pilots and the small fighter craft they control, or
regulate the relevant information displayed for the bridge officers
to interpret and act upon. They are not known to act autonomously and
move between ships or systems at will.
Propulsion
The ships in both the Mori and Teleri fleets use a 'Gravity Engine'
for propulsion. The gravity engine allows for sub-light speed travel
as well as 'jump' travel, that is travelling large distances in the
blink of an eye.
Both species have learnt to manipulate gravity, not only using it to
provide artificial gravity to the various levels on their ship, but
also use it to distort spacetime in order to move. They do this using
a fictional ore called gralitanium (the same material Adam 359 and
Orlac 552 were required to mine on the asteroid tethered beneath the
Hive ship in X-Calibur: The Return).
Once refined, the ore has unique properties that allow the
manipulation of gravity. For sub-light travel, the gravity engines
distort local spacetime, causing ripples (gravitational waves) in the
surrounding space. The ships then 'ride' these ripples like a ship on
the ocean.
For jump travel, the gravity engines manipulate spacetime to the
point where it bends, connecting two points of the universe by an
Einstein-Rosen bridge, or wormhole. This allows almost instantaneous
travel between two points, one greatly distant from the other.
As part of the universe I have created, I have imposed two
restrictions on this system. The first is the maximum distance of any
wormhole travel (which I set arbitrarily at 18 light years), and the
second is the recharge time between jumps (which I set at 8 hours).
The reasons for this are purely for the story, there is no
'scientific' basis.
If the characters could jump instantly from one side of the galaxy to
the other, then jump back again if they got into trouble, it reduces
the element of danger. Instead, by making a long journey take time,
and then the characters being stuck wherever they end up for at least
8 hours, I hope it adds an element of suspense whenever they travel
to a distant region of space. It also allows for some bonding and
conversation between the characters on those long trips!
Energy
The Mori rely on nuclear fusion to power their weapons, ships and
equipment. Nuclear fusion is the process where two atoms collide at
high speed and fuse, forming a new element and releasing energy in
the process. The Mori have learned to do this in a controlled manner,
using fusion cells small enough to fit in even the smallest of plasma
pistols.
The Teleri, on the other hand, long since did away with nuclear
fusion. They then used local geothermal energy in their underground
cities, with disastrous results as you will discover in X-Calibur:
The Descent! For the last two thousand years or so, the Teleri have
learnt to harness zero point energy (more specifically quantum vacuum zero-point energy).
Zero point energy is a feature quantum mechanics, and is the lowest
possible energy a quantum mechanical system may have, resulting in
motion even at absolute zero. Currently, the ability to harness zero
point energy is thought to be impossible, though research is ongoing!
Weapons
There are a variety of weapons used by various people in the
X-Calibur universe. The Mori typically prefer plasma based weapons.
Plasma is a high energy ionised gas, here produced by the fusion
reactors, and directed towards a target. The Mori have plasma weapons
of various sizes, from the small plasma pistols to the enormous
plasma weapons mounted on the cruisers and even the Hive ships
themselves.
The Teleri, on the other hand, employ a variety of weapons. Having
stopped employing nuclear fusion, plasma weapons are rarely seen.
Instead, they have adopted other offensive materials to defend
themselves from the Mori.
The first of these is the Ion Cannon, a beam weapon which fires a
stream of ions (atoms or molecules with an electrical charge) at a
target. They are powerful, able to fire in short bursts or a
continuous beam, and highly destructive. The rifle Triltan carries
with her beneath the frozen planet is ion based.
The
second weapon seen on the Teleri vessels is the Rail Gun (or
Railgun). Rail guns are electrically powered, electromagnetic
projectile launchers. The rails accelerate the projectile to
hypervelocity speeds, firing it at a target like a bullet from a gun
(only much much
faster). The projectile then tears through the hull, causing
considerable damage.
The third weapons employed by the Teleri are Antimatter Missiles.
Antimatter is a material composed of antiparticles, that is particles
which have the same mass as ordinary matter but the opposite charge.
When a particle and antiparticle collide, both particles are
annihilated, resulting in the production of huge amounts of energy.
The final weapon, only found on the largest of the Teleri ships, in a
Singularity Cannon. A singularity is a point in spacetime in which
gravitational forces are so large, they cause matter to have an
infinite density and zero volume. Though not quite infinite in
density or zero in volume, the projectiles fired by a singularity
cannon cause such large disruptions in gravitational waves that they
can tear even the largest of ships apart.
Communication
Unlike current-day communication, which is limited by the speed of
light, the species in X-Calibur need to be able to communicate over
long distances instantly. Radio waves wouldn't cut it (taking 100
years for the signal to reach the target 100 light years away), so
instead they have developed systems based on the principles of
quantum entanglement.
Quantum entanglement refers to pairs or groups of particles which
interact in such a way that the quantum state of each particle cannot
be described independently. As such, what happens to one particle
will be reflected in anther particle in the same quantum state,
regardless of the distance between them (made possible by the
time-dilation effects of special relativity).
As such, Arthur can call up Caran Doc or Gar-Wan for advice, even
when on the other side of the galaxy!
Energy Shields
Energy shields remain solely in the realm of science fiction. Though
research is ongoing, looking primarily at bubbles of supercharged
plasma, the type of energy shields found within the X-Calibur
universe have no real basis in current physics.
Suffice to say, the 'energy' surrounds the craft (or individual/small
team in the case of the Teleri) to form a barrier which protects
against physical damage, as well as energy weapons and radiation.
They also manage to contain an atmosphere, as seen on the energy
shield surrounding the tethered asteroid.
As in most science fiction, when a shield takes damage the
effectiveness of it slowly depletes until it collapses altogether,
leaving the ship vulnerable to attack. Shields take time to
'recharge' until they again protect the vessel from further damage.
Cybernetics
While humans and the Mori were looking to the stars, hoping to leave
behind the confines of their planet and solar systems, the Teleri had
little interest in what was happening 'out there'. The primary focus
of their scientific study related to understanding the universe, not
exploring it, and developing technology which would improve the lives
of every Teleri.
Of course, readers will know that Ajoch objected the that notion,
resulting in a split in Teleri society, but those who moved below
ground continued to explore the field. The scientists quickly came to
believe that for the Teleri to truly utilise technology, they would
have to embrace it in such a way that biology and technology became
indistinguishable. That then developed into extensive research into
Cybernetics, or Wetware.
The example seen so far is the 'capsule', a small device implanted
behind the ear. This is implanted into all Teleri at birth (those who
don't follow Ajoch's teachings anyway), and allows the brain to
connect directly to a computer.
The capsule is composed of a central processing unit, utilising
wireless communication, as well as hundreds of tiny tendrils which
worm their way into the brain. They then attach themselves to various
regions of the brain, including the visual cortex, auditory nerves,
sensory and motor cortices and the amygdala (where memories are
processed).
The benefits of the capsule are multiple. As well as allowing for
translation between languages and wireless communication, the
connections in the visual cortex allow for real-time targeting
reticles and detailed overlays (put simply, a HUD). The connections
to the sensory and motor cortices allow manipulation of stimuli (eg
blocking out pain) or enhanced movements (eg faster reflexes), and
the connections to the amygdala allow for uploading and downloading
of large amounts of data (memories or information from a connected
computer) – a bit like walking around with the entire internet
inside your brain!
Is there anything I've missed that you'd like to know more about? Message me or comment in the section below!
