SP6 Setting Technology

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SpacePort 6: Technology

Technology Guidelines *
Weaponry
Gravitics
FTL Drives
FTL Comm
STL Drives
Sensor Technology
Power Technology
Genetic Engineering
Pharmecuticals
Nanotechnology
Computers and Robots

Starred items are part of the SP6 Quick Tour

Technology Guidelines *

Weaponry

Laser weapons (including microwave and x-ray variants)
Particle beam weapons
Plasma weapons
Stunners (lasers or particle weapons equipped to send an electric pulse down the ionized stream created by the main beam weapon)
Railguns or mass drivers (weapons that accelerate a solid slug electromagnetically)
Sonic stunners

Plasma explosives: an intermediate step between conventional and nuclear explosives, plasma explosives release a large amount of heat and are very powerful.
EMP explosives: an offshoot of plasma weapons, EMP weapons do not do much physical damage when they explode. However, they cause a powerul electromagnetic burst that knocks out electronics in the vicinity. A 1 kg EMP grenade will knock out hardened electonics within 10 meters and non-hardened electronics in about 2-3 times that radius. Each 4x mass will about double the effective radius.

Gravitics

gravitic repulsor pods

flitters

Acceleration Cocoon

ununpentium

elerium

Faster Than Light (FTL) Drives

Hyperdrive causes the ship to leave normal space and take a "shortcut" through an alternate universe/dimension/etc. In hyperspace, the ship seems to travel faster-than-light, so that when it emerges in normal space, it has effectively moved at FTL speeds without violating any laws of Newtonian/Einstenium/quantum physics. This type of drive is used in the Star Wars universe, and describes the Babylon 5 and Traveller "Jump" drive (The "jump" here refers to the jump to hyperspace, or as Traveller calls it, "Jumpspace.")
Jump drive has a very simple premise. There are jump points in space which allow ships to travel from one to the other without crossing the space between. There are several variations on this one. Macross/Robotech used the "fold" variation, in which space is folded upon itself and the travelers skip over the intervening space. Stargate used just that, an artificial jump point connecting two planets. Contact is a larger version of this, assuming a network of wormholes created by some precursor race. The Starfire boardgame and Pournelles Co-dominium books (and the later Niven/Pournelle collaborations The Mote in God's Eye and The Gripping Hand) assume that jumps are possible at naturally occuring jump points.
Finally, there's warp drive. This drive creates a field around the ship which warps local space-time, through gravity manipulation or some other means, allowing the vessel to travel FTL. The Alcubierre drive and Star Trek's warp drive are prime examples of this. Another possibility, Blinkwarp, is where the ship makes thousands of small hyperskips each second. This type of drive was covered in the book "A Fire Upon the Deep" by Vernor Vinge, and the 2300AD game by the now defunct GDW.

Q-drive: Q-drive is borrowed from the Guild Space setting for the Starfarer SFRPG. Q-drive is short for "quantum drive," also known as a "tunnel drive," because it involves a concept in quantum mechanics called the "tunnel effect."

UFE drive: This variant of the generic warp drive uses devices called UFEs. UFE stands for Ugicon Field Emitter. Larger ships have built in Ugicon Field Emitters, while smaller ships (such as a 22.5 meter long scoutship) use UFE Pods (external pods which allow small ships to travel at FTL speeds using stock engines).

Graffi Jump Drive: The Graffi jump drive allows them to jump from star to star along "threads" which connect star systems through an alternate universe. By causing a shift in the node at one end of a thread, an osmosis-like process occurs, pulling the ship into "jump-space" and causing it to reappear at the node on the other end of the thread. Many have speculated that this network of threads was constructed by a precursor race, since the threads usually only lead to useful or at least marginally habitable worlds. Graffi can only travel through deep space with the use of STL thrusters.

FTL Communications

Hyperwave was the first method of FTL communications to be discovered, and works by causing "ripples" in hyperspace/Q-space which can be picked up by a large receiving antenna array (if you assume Q-space, the transmitting/recieving array would have to be close to the sun, but on the innermost planet might suffice.- Alan) Hyperwave communication travels at about 1 pc/day, meaning it will take, at most, a few months to get a message across known space.

Tachyon communication is a recent discovery. Tachyons travel at extremely fast speeds, and reach their destination almost instantly, but the signal degrades very rapidly, making it almost impossible to get a signal farther than a fraction of a parsec. To transmit messages long distances, the Interstellar Communications Network (ICNet, "Icenet") was constructed connecting the more highly populated worlds. This is a series of tachyon transmitters which relay signals picked up from one transmitter onto the next. In this way, planets which are a part of the net get virtually instantaneous communication with all other planets. Transceivers on the fringes of the net are equipped with hyperwave transceivers to allow communication between the net and those outside it. Also, a starship which is close enough to a transmitter (which is anywhere, if it is inside the space the network covers), can send and receive signals normally.

Slower Than Light (STL) Drives

Gravamps and crawlers are psuedo-reactionless drives that I made up because I don't buy true reactionless drives - plus I they have more flavor than true reactionless drives.

Gravamps work on a theory similar to Robert Lazar's purported alien drive theory. Basically, it purports that since gravity occurs in waves, you can create a phase shifted wave that will counter gravity. On the surface of a world, if you could counter gravity, your own inertia from the rotation of the world would tend to throw you off the world--unless the world was tidal locked, but it still makes it easier to lift off a world.

The crawler operates on the fact that magnetic forces are orders of magnitude stronger than gravitic forces. A crawler grabs the magnetic field lines of a world's magnetosphere and uses them to maneuver at very high rates of acceleration--much higher than is possible with gravamps. However, they're nearly useless in deep space and require the use of acceleration cocoons. Again, this isn't a true reactionless drive, as you are using the world as a reaction mass.

Finally, there are fusion/ion drives. This drive uses a fusion reaction to superheat and ionize hydrogen gas, and electrostatic and electromagnetic coils to direct and further accelerate superheated hydrogen. This would be the least efficient drive, as it requires the use of reaction mass internal to the ship - but is best for maneuvering in deep space.

Sensor Technology

The first is security eyes. These are broad spectrum visual and motion detectors, which allow station security to monitor activities within the city area.
The second application is known as a tasa, from the acronym TASA. TASA stands for: Tracking Assistance Sensor Array. The most important aspect of the system is that it is streamlined to give its user quick reaction time.

The final application is not a sensory device at all, but a stealth device, called an EM field or EM Cloak. This device uses a complicated array of electromagnetic fields to route visual light around the user, effectively cloaking him. More complicated versions can also reroute other types of electromagnetic radiation, making it useful for other types of scanning devices. However, more complicated scanners will notice warping of the image and bleeding IR signatures, making this device less than perfect.

Power Technology

Genetic Engineering

Pharmaceuticals

Hypnotics: Modern day hypnotics just induce a state of drowsiness, or sleep. They can, in large doses put a person into something like a hypnotic state.

PSI Suppressors and Deadeners: These were used in one thread by kidnappers and station security. They suppress the psi ability through strictly chemical means. They probably suppress the production of certain enzymes, turning off the psi ability. Psi deadeners are labeled sequentially: PSI4, PSI5, and PSI6. These aren't merely levels of potency, but classifications on whom the drug is designed who be effective against:

Weaker versions of Psi Deadeners also exist called Psi Suppressors. These were once called Psi 1 through 3, but unlike psi suppressors, were merely various potency of the same or very similar drugs. Other than the nausea, aches, headaches and dehydration mentioned for psi deadeners, they also have an effect which dulls the mind, as is experienced during cold and flu.

Memory enhancers: TriphidC, works by stimulating the brain into producing more of the chemicals that allow us to store and retrieve memories, including those from short term storage. Unfortunately, it stimulates all memories and can cause cascade memory recalls to happen, where they literally flood the subject with memories all at once. This can be very emotionally debilitating, and has been known to cause minor psychological problems.

Nanotechnology

From a Changeling Star

Computers and Robotics