...I'd appreciate feedback on it.
Concept: A "speedster" (ref. the Lensman series) which conforms to the Rules of the Handwave.
Specifics: Approximately one-fifth form-fitting spacesuit (with ship controls in the gauntlets and a HUD in the helmet), approximately four-fifths main drive, with small maneuvering drives and a thin layer of 'waved metal or carbon-fibre sheet on the outside to keep everything together (and provide a modicum of armour).
Top Speed: This is where it gets tricky. In Fenspace, the smaller a ship is, the faster it can travel. This would be the smallest class of ship (for a generous definition of "ship") that could possibly be built. It should be faster than 0.1c, but by how much?
Crew: By necessity, one person who doesn't mind being cooped up alone and essentially unable to move for the entirety of a trip. This limits the utility of such a craft to AIs and some biomodded people, except for very short trips.
Weapons, Comm Systems, and Other Frills: Absolutely none. Edit: Except for a short-range radio, so the pilot can contact traffic control. There's no room for them, and the extra weight would slow the ship anyway...
Intended Purpose: Emergency evacuation of ships and space stations that are close to inhabited bodies.
(If it wasn't for the atmosphere problem, this could be used as a Earth/Island shuttle. However, the L5 Warsies and the Stellvians could use these to get to Luna...)
Dramatic Purpose: Getting one of "Noah's angels" from L5 to Phobos before the end of Day 2 of the Con.
Is this "doable" in Fenspace? Does it step on anyone's toes? Am I overestimating the problems that appear to restrict its use to AIs and other people who can remain completely motionless for hours?
-Rob Kelk
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Concept: A "speedster" (ref. the Lensman series) which conforms to the Rules of the Handwave.
Specifics: Approximately one-fifth form-fitting spacesuit (with ship controls in the gauntlets and a HUD in the helmet), approximately four-fifths main drive, with small maneuvering drives and a thin layer of 'waved metal or carbon-fibre sheet on the outside to keep everything together (and provide a modicum of armour).
Top Speed: This is where it gets tricky. In Fenspace, the smaller a ship is, the faster it can travel. This would be the smallest class of ship (for a generous definition of "ship") that could possibly be built. It should be faster than 0.1c, but by how much?
Crew: By necessity, one person who doesn't mind being cooped up alone and essentially unable to move for the entirety of a trip. This limits the utility of such a craft to AIs and some biomodded people, except for very short trips.
Weapons, Comm Systems, and Other Frills: Absolutely none. Edit: Except for a short-range radio, so the pilot can contact traffic control. There's no room for them, and the extra weight would slow the ship anyway...
Intended Purpose: Emergency evacuation of ships and space stations that are close to inhabited bodies.
(If it wasn't for the atmosphere problem, this could be used as a Earth/Island shuttle. However, the L5 Warsies and the Stellvians could use these to get to Luna...)
Dramatic Purpose: Getting one of "Noah's angels" from L5 to Phobos before the end of Day 2 of the Con.
Is this "doable" in Fenspace? Does it step on anyone's toes? Am I overestimating the problems that appear to restrict its use to AIs and other people who can remain completely motionless for hours?
-Rob Kelk
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012