Reality Skimming
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Reality skimming (also known as rel-skimming) is the faster-than-light
solution for space travel which underpins the economy and culture of the
Okal Rel Universe. In fact it is no accident that rel is derived
from first syllable in English of reality skimming.
Real World Inspiration for Rel-Skimming
Special relativity equations become undefined (i.e. denominator becomes
zero) as acceleration nudges an object toward the speed of light. In the
ordinary 4d reality (3 spatial dimensions plus time) for which special
relativity accounts, this means that the object become infinitely heavy
and that time for the traveler in such a ship becomes infinitely slow
relative to an outside observer whose inertial frame is at rest with respect
to the ship. This makes the light barrier more challenging than the sound
barrier, which was always known to be theoretically possible to exceed
prior to its fall to supersonic aircraft.
Recent developments in cosmology suggest that the universe -- in some
mathematical sense inaccessible to human intuition -- is actually 10 dimensional.
That is, there is rather promising math that "works" if you assume 10
dimensions instead of 4. Whether true of not it makes for science fictional
possibilities.
Reality skimming exploits the unknown properties of the unknown,
"extra" dimensions. It is these dimensions which pilots experience
as gap.
Mechanics of Rel-Skimming
A rel-skimming ship draws power from the binding force of the
space-time continuum. Around jumps and large masses the space-time
continuum can be turbulent, but for the most part the ship can use the
energy of the universe itself to draw what may as well be infinite power.
In fact the problem is taking only as much as you can stand. Pilots who
lose their grip are boosted into an infinite future at infinite
velocity -- in part to pay back the time debt of more successful space-farers.
A pilot rel-skims by phasing into gap using a combination
of instinct (for guidance) and the distortion creation field referred
to as a rel-ship's phase splicer.
Instinct is a key factor. Both entering gap and more particularly
emerging from it again, are functions of self-conscious sentience matched
with a good grip.
A pilot's grip is the intensity of his or her sense of being alive
in a particular place and time. A willful, passionate, excessive person
-- like your typical highborn sevolite -- is therefore apt to be a better
pilot than someone even a little vague or apathetic about existence.
Acceleration (both thrust and direction) while in real space determines
the displacement of a ship between phase-out and phase-in as it "stitches"
its way through space. Think of the way that the steering wheel and gas
pedal of a car determine its trajectory. This acceleration felt by the
pilot is therefore proportional to the net displacement of the ship, although
not itself sufficient to account for it. Since it is what the pilot (and
any passenger) feels, real space acceleration is called the subjective
acceleration of a rel-ship. Sevolites are made to sustain higher
g forces than ordinary humans because of the demands of subjective
acceleration.
Subjective acceleration sets the direction and net displacement of a
rel-ship, but the mix determines how it is paid for. The
coin paid is in exposure to either shimmer or gap.
Dangers of Reality Skimming
More gap means a greater distance is spanned in each manifestation
of a rel-ship. The danger is to the pilot's sanity and grip.
Overexposure leads to giddiness (space drunk) through depression, delusions,
post-flight coma episodes or in-flight disappearances. Gap does
not affect the physiology of the brain except through side effects. It
corrodes the grip. Gelacks believe that soul is responsible for
resisting gap.
Gap exposure can be reduced by increasing shimmer (and
visa versa). Shimmer is the frequency of manifestations or phase-ins
-- typically many times a second. A pilot does not experience shimmer
as a strobe effect because gap is timeless. Hence the pilot cannot
consciously experience gap exposure. The total subjective time
of a trip is knitted up out of all the little stretches of time in real
space between the phase-in of one stitch and the phase-out into gap
again. But while the pilot experiences a continuous reality, in fact he
or she is appearing in space briefly at some subjective velocity and then
disappearing again. Good space lanes, then, must be particularly barren.
The harder the vacuum the better. Since no vacuum is perfect,however,
shimmer amounts to a constant, sub-molecular strafing of particles
and the occasional bit of dust. Large objects can be repelled or dodged
(depending on the size) but a pilot will sometimes be killed by a stray
shard of something which was in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time.
Fortunately there is an awful lot of nothing out in space for long, long
stretches. Heavily traveled space lanes have been cleared over the centuries
by the sweeping of passing ships repelling drifting dust as they materialize,
and occasionally by purposeful effort.
Shimmer exposure is the primary reason for Sevolites being regenerative.
Human pilots suffer cumulative damage to the nervous system and organs
which results in early disability and death.
The most feared danger of rel-skimming is time slip.
Warfare while Reality Skimming
Only Sevolites indulge in "shakeups" which are purposeful attempts
to wrench another person's ship out of the reality skimming "medium"
or cause it to break up. Since a pilot dominates any reality skimming
unit traveling with exactly the same mix and skim factor as him or herself,
pilots can throw one another off by "wake-locking". A wake-lock
can be friendly if intended to pull you along or help you navigate a new
jump. People don't "tow" each other using wake-lock, however,
because it is too dangerous. And it is no good for dragging in a wounded
ship because both ships must be skimming for one to capture the other.
Crossing wakes is another way to shake an opponent up. The stress can
crack a ship or dunk a pilot. Dunk is a slang term for succumbing
to time slip and/or oblivion.
Skimming is only possible, at all, in clear space lanes of hard vacuum.
The more dust or gas molecules around the worse the effects of shimmer.
So driving an opponent into unknown territory can be a very hostile act.
Okal Rel forbids destruction of habitat, including space stations, on
pain of being ganged up on by highborn Sevildom.
Time Slip
A pilot compensates for "cheating" special relativity by dumping time
debt in gap. But if they lose their grip even a little,
they will slip ahead in time relative to the stationary universe through
which they pass.
Great
pilots have an internal sense of time and space so accurate that they
can make long flights without time slipping at all. Contests exist
in which they try themselves against a space station clock, trying to
make a round trip to a known destination and back in a fixed time. Pilots
who can reliably do that are called clock setters, and help stations keep
on court time.
Time slip, in keeping with the laws of special relativity, is
always forward never back. So time travel in the Okal Rel Universe is
still a one way trip.
It is common for pilots to time slip a little. Not to time slip at all
is exception. Survivability drops off sharply as the amount of time slip
expands though. A pilot might time slip up to a few hours or even a day
or two and still arrive without making the history books on Monitum. The
odds of coming back fall off very fast after that. Exceptional time slip
cases are most likely to happen near a jump. Ameron time slips 200 years
when his pilot dies making a jump. Ameron's grip -- although he is in
other ways a poor pilot -- pulls him through that close call. Amel time
slips 6 months during the Nesak War and is given up as lost after
a week or two. The longer the disappearance, the weaker the odds of coming
back.
Distance in Rel-Skimming Terms
Distance is spoken of in terms of a travel-time standard. This begs the
question "at what subjective acceleration" since how fast you go determines
how soon you arrive (unless you time slip). The standard used is 1 Earth
gravity's acceleration for one hour. (Of course you will cover much more
than you would if you were not rel-skimming, because subjective acceleration
is merely proportional to actual displacement.)
Gelacks call the standard unit of travel time a skim'fac which
is derived from the ancient English "Standard Displacement Skim Factor"
still used by the Reetions although they tend to abbreviate it to "so
many standards" or "SDs".
Here's how it works.
The distance you travel in one hour doing 1 g subjective acceleration
(regardless of the mix used) is 1 skim'fac.
If you were to travel the same distance in 1/2 that time, you would be
doing 2 skim'facs -- again, regardless of the mix. The gist of the usage
is that you are going n times as fast as the standard if you are doing
n skim'facs.
Rel-Skimming Tolerance
Tolerance varies between individuals, and may be better for one component
of the "mix" than another as well. Horth Nersal prefers the tighter control
and greater mental clarity of using high shimmer. Amel Dem'Vrel can tolerate
record high gap when inspired.
Whatever the preference for how you take your lumps, there are upper
limits on even exceptional individuals, set by birth rank.
Commoner pilots, including Reetions, are advised to fly at 1 skim'fac
and not more than an hour at a time. Longer trips are taken in stages
with rest stops on conveniently placed space stations. If they have to
do more than that, nothing above 3 skim'facs is possible and that only
for very short durations.
Nobleborn Sevolites are tougher than commoners and routinely weather
3 or 4 hour trips at 2 skim'facs. They can engage in space melees, called
shakeups, and might do 5 skim'facs in a hair-raising maneuver.
Highborn Sevolites are the superstars in the cockpit, possessing the
extreme adaptations to g-forces, shimmer damage and gap-stress which let
them stay in flight 10 hours at a time and cruise at 4 skim'facs when
they're feeling cocky. Traveling at 2 skim'facs for 3 or 4 hours would
be tough going but not pushing the upper limits of survivability as it
would be for a nobleborn. Doing 6 skim'facs in combat is not comfortable
but possible for the better highborn pilots. Horth Nersal, the awe inspiring
admiral of the Dragon Fleet, is notorious for pulling 8 skim'facs for
short bursts in a real tight spot. Amel is reported as "pulling clear
at more than 7 flat out" when he disappears in Holy War, fleeing highborn
Nesak pursuers. Such things are not done except in dire circumstances.
Within birth ranks, the more sevolite you are the better but the net
result is still a dice role. Pureblood Ev'rel hated flying although her
sons excel as pilots. Whether she had pilot potential was never properly
explored. Highlords Horth Nersal and Ayrium D'Ander are exceptionally
good, tough pilots without being Pureblood.
See the article on sevolite physiology for the physical underpinning
of the nobleborn and highborn distinction if interested. In a nutshell,
although slightly less than half sevolite by genotype, a highlord can
still have as sevolite a phenotype as a Pureblood.
Reetion Usage
Reality skimming is known to the Reetions by its the technical
name trans-dimensional phase strobing
Although Reetions have many more safety precautions and rules surrounding
TDPS than Gelacks do concerning rel-skimming, both are the same method
of faster than light travel. It was the development of TDPS technology
on Earth which led to the colonization of the Reetion Reaches. After contact
was lost with the Reetion Reaches due to a natural disaster, Earth succumbed
to the temptation to bioengineer a race of humans particularly well adapted
to reality skimming before trying again.
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