Jump (Alliance–Union universe)

Last updated

Jump is a fictional technology used by spacecraft in science fiction author C. J. Cherryh's Alliance-Union universe to travel faster-than-light (FTL). Jump can also be a verb, and is the act of travelling FTL using jump technology.

Fictional technology is technology that does not exist. It may be an idea or design that has not yet been developed, or it may be a fictional device used in a novel.

Spacecraft manned vehicle or unmanned machine designed to fly in outer space

A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, planetary exploration, and transportation of humans and cargo. All spacecraft except single-stage-to-orbit vehicles cannot get into space on their own, and require a launch vehicle.

Science fiction Genre of speculative fiction

Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction, typically dealing with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, and extraterrestrials in fiction. Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific other various innovations, and has been called a "literature of ideas."

Development of FTL travel

In 2220, [1] Estelle Bok, a physicist investigating FTL travel, arrived at Cyteen Station with a group of immigrants. She continued her research there and achieved a major breakthrough in 2230 [2] when she found a loophole allowing the Einsteinian limit to be breached. This enabled her to derive the Bok Equation, the theoretical basis for FTL travel. Cyteen management immediately initiated a program to apply Bok's principle to ship drives, and in 2248 the first FTL probe, Aurora, set out from Cyteen Station to Mariner Station, 6.8 light years [3] away, and back.

Physicist scientist who does research in physics

A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate causes of phenomena, and usually frame their understanding in mathematical terms. Physicists work across a wide range of research fields, spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic and particle physics, through biological physics, to cosmological length scales encompassing the universe as a whole. The field generally includes two types of physicists: experimental physicists who specialize in the observation of physical phenomena and the analysis of experiments, and theoretical physicists who specialize in mathematical modeling of physical systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. Physicists can apply their knowledge towards solving practical problems or to developing new technologies.

<i>Cyteen</i> novel by C. J. Cherryh

Cyteen (1988) science fiction novel by American writer C. J. Cherryh, set in her Alliance-Union universe. The murder of a major Union politician and scientist has deep, long-lasting repercussions. It won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1989.

Immigration Movement of people into another country or region to which they are not native

Immigration is the international movement of people into a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle or reside there, especially as permanent residents or naturalized citizens, or to take up employment as a migrant worker or temporarily as a foreign worker.

As news of the FTL technology spread, ships began arriving at Cyteen Station requesting FTL conversions. However, it was not until 2261 that Earth learned of these developments and attached top priority to acquiring the new technology. When the technology finally reached Pell Station in 2262, Earth began studying it, and launched its first FTL warship in 2266.

Earth Third planet from the Sun in the Solar System

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. According to radiometric dating and other sources of evidence, Earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago. Earth's gravity interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the Moon, Earth's only natural satellite. Earth revolves around the Sun in 365.26 days, a period known as an Earth year. During this time, Earth rotates about its axis about 366.26 times.

<i>Downbelow Station</i> novel by C. J. Cherryh

Downbelow Station is a science fiction novel by American writer C. J. Cherryh, published in 1981 by DAW Books. It won the Hugo Award in 1982, was shortlisted for a Locus Award that same year, and was named by Locus magazine as one of the top 50 science fiction novels of all time in 1987.

Warship ship that is built and primarily intended for combat

A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more manoeuvrable than merchant ships. Unlike a merchant ship, which carries cargo, a warship typically carries only weapons, ammunition and supplies for its crew. Warships usually belong to a navy, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations.

Mechanics of jump

In the Alliance-Union universe faster-than-light (FTL) ships have two major drive systems, slower-than-light (STL) thrusters and FTL jump engines. The jump engines comprise vanes that are attached to the outside of the ship. When the vanes are pulsed, they generate gravity waves which create a field, or "bubble", around the ship that pulls it (and anything else in the field) along the interface between realspace (Einsteinian space) and hyperspace (jumpspace).

Minkowski space mathematical space setting which eases explanation of special relativity

In mathematical physics, Minkowski space is a combination of three-dimensional Euclidean space and time into a four-dimensional manifold where the spacetime interval between any two events is independent of the inertial frame of reference in which they are recorded. Although initially developed by mathematician Hermann Minkowski for Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism, the mathematical structure of Minkowski spacetime was shown to be an immediate consequence of the postulates of special relativity.

Jump takes place between two massive objects, called jump-points, which are generally stars, brown dwarves, or "rogue planets" sufficiently massive to make "pockmarks" in hyperspace. Prior to jumping, the ship's navigators calculate an outbound vector, targeting the destination jump-point with direction and speed. The ship accelerates along this vector with a long STL burn until it is clear of the current jump-point's gravity well. The jump engines are then engaged and the ship punctures the interface between realspace and enters jumpspace. Provided the proper heading was achieved prior to jump entry, the ship is drawn through jumpspace to the nearest gravity well on the outbound vector, the destination jump-point. Here it re-enters realspace, traveling at the same heading as it was before it entered the jumpspace, but at a velocity which is a large fraction of C (the speed of light). [4] Back in normal space the ship dumps velocity by cycling its vanes to graze the interface, like casting an anchor hyperspace, before the STL thrusters take are used to slow the ship further at system-safe velocities. It is possible to pass through several jump-points without slowing down, but this is risky as it can cause the ship's velocity to become uncontrollable.

Star An astronomical object consisting of a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its own gravity

A star is type of astronomical object consisting of a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its own gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye from Earth during the night, appearing as a multitude of fixed luminous points in the sky due to their immense distance from Earth. Historically, the most prominent stars were grouped into constellations and asterisms, the brightest of which gained proper names. Astronomers have assembled star catalogues that identify the known stars and provide standardized stellar designations. However, most of the estimated 300 sextillion (3×1023) stars in the Universe are invisible to the naked eye from Earth, including all stars outside our galaxy, the Milky Way.

Brown dwarf Type of substellar object larger than a gas giant

A brown dwarf is a type of substellar object occupying the mass range between the heaviest gas giant planets and the lightest stars, having a mass between approximately 13 to 75–80 times that of Jupiter (MJ), or approximately 2.5×1028 kg to about 1.5×1029 kg. Below this range are the sub-brown dwarfs (sometimes referred to as rogue planets), and above it are the lightest red dwarfs (M9 V). Brown dwarfs may be fully convective, with no layers or chemical differentiation by depth.

Speed magnitude of velocity

In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed of an object is the magnitude of its velocity ; it is thus a scalar quantity. The average speed of an object in an interval of time is the distance travelled by the object divided by the duration of the interval; the instantaneous speed is the limit of the average speed as the duration of the time interval approaches zero.

Calculating the correct outbound vector prior to jumping is crucial, and the mass of the ship and its load have to be factored in. The more momentum the ship has in jumpspace, the closer to the destination jump-point it will re-appear. Too much momentum could result in it dropping into realspace too close to, or even inside, the destination mass. The ship can also "overshoot" the jump-point with too much momentum and will then drift through hyperspace until a sufficiently massive object is encountered which could drop it "anywhere" in realspace. Not enough momentum, or targeting an object not massive enough to pull the ship out of hyperspace will also leave the ship drifting. A ship's power-to-mass is significant, allowing an unloaded ship to travel faster in jumpspace than a loaded ship of similar design, even enabling the former to "over-jump" the latter. Warships have high power-to-mass ratios, making them fast despite their size. If another ship happens to be at your ship's re-entry point, both ships will be destroyed.

In theory it is possible to jump "any" distance, but the practical limit is about ten light-years. Calculating trajectories beyond a certain distance become too unreliable because of the unpredictable nature of n-dimensional hyperspace. Over short distances the calculation discrepancies are negligible, but over longer distances, the errors multiply. In addition, there is the interference of nearby stars that are likely to alter the intended trajectory.

Contrary to other "jump technologies", jump in the Alliance-Union universe is not instantaneous. However, just how long a ship actually spends in jumpspace is difficult to gauge because jump-time (also called "no-time") is not real-time. But sufficient time does elapse for minor injuries on "tranked" (tranquilized) crew's bodies to heal and for "night-walkers" to move about the ship. Typically subjective time aboard a ship in jumpspace can vary from a few days to several weeks.

Disappearances

If a ship fails to return to realspace, whether through pilot error, or some other failing, it remains in hyperspace, lost permanently. Only one of Cherryh's novels, Port Eternity (1982), deals with this, although it is unclear when in the Alliance-Union timeline it takes place, except that it is after the establishment of the Alliance and Union and occurs in Union-side space.

The Knnn

The technologically advanced and enigmatic methane-breathing Knnn from Cherryh's Compact space are the only known species that can change a ship's vector during jump. Knnn ships also have the ability to jump together in synchronisation, sometimes up to a dozen at a time. A single jump-field is created around all the ships and they are pulled into hyperspace as a unit. The Knnn sometimes use this ability to transport ships of other species through jumpspace. They cluster around an unsuspecting vessel, create a single jump-field and haul the ship with them.

Effects of jump

Time dilation

One of the relativistic effects of jump is time dilation, that is, time slows down for objects in motion relative to those at rest, and the faster the object moves, the more pronounced the effect. Crew that spend much of their time aboard spaceships that jump frequently age slower than space station personnel and this gives rise to the notion of "ship-time" and "station-time" (or "Universal time"). A navigator on a merchant ship may be 30 years old ship-time, but considerably older in terms of station-time. To resolve this dilemma, a person's "true age" is calculated with medical computers using parameters such as what ships he or she has been on, what routes these ships took, and what load they carried.

Disorientation

Jump is a disorientating experience for those using it, although the degree of discomfort varies depending on the species. Most humans experience extreme psychological distress, potentially resulting in madness, and need to "trank down" or tranquilize themselves prior to each jump. The oxygen-breathing species native to Cherryh's Compact space, with the exception of the Stsho, do not require drugs during jump as their bodies naturally enter a deep sleep. However, some species in the Alliance-Union universe can function normally during jump and require little to no assistance.

For humans, the jump from realspace to hyperspace is perceived as the ship (and themselves) coming apart, and it became necessary to develop "trank-packs" that administer tranquilizers to the crews of FTL ships prior to jumping. Tranking down puts the crew into a quasi-sleep state for the duration of the jump, leaving them only marginally aware of their surroundings. "Nutri-packs" were also developed to provide essential sustenance for the crew upon waking after system re-entry, as jumps can sometimes last up to a few weeks of "no-time", leaving them extremely hungry, thirsty and nauseated.

Ships with tranked crews are always at their most vulnerable when they drop back into realspace. The crew is groggy and slow reacting to the current status of their ship and the possible presence of other ships in the vicinity.

Night-walkers

A "night-walker" is someone from a species that normally sleep during jump (naturally or via trank) who have learnt to function normally while in jump-time. They embrace this alternate reality, with all its unworldly shapes and sounds, and believe there are new "worlds" to be found out there. New jump-points and routes are often discovered by night-walkers. Notable night-walkers in Cherryh's Alliance-Union universe include Chur Anify (hani) in Chanur's Homecoming (1986), Hallan Meras (hani) in Chanur's Legacy (1992), and Capella (human) in Tripoint (1994).

Night-walkers who are also navigators, like Capella, are valued because they are awake on re-entry into realspace and can therefore react quicker than crew still recovering from trank. They can also sometimes "hear" potential problems while in hyperspace, for example the presence of an enemy ship. However, they can't navigate the ship, as their computers do not work in hyperspace. But aside from just listening, they sometimes amuse themselves by wandering around the ship and entering tranked crewmates' rooms.

See also

Related Research Articles

C. J. Cherryh United States science fiction and fantasy author

Carolyn Janice Cherry, better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is an American writer of speculative fiction. She has written more than 80 books since the mid-1970s, including the Hugo Award-winning novels Downbelow Station (1981) and Cyteen (1988), both set in her Alliance-Union universe. She is known for "world building," depicting fictional realms with great realism supported by vast research in history, language, psychology, and archeology. Her series of fantasy novels set in the Alliance-Union universe, the Morgaine Stories, have sold in excess of 3 million copies.

The Chanur novels book series by C.J. Cherryh

The Chanur novels is a series of five science fiction novels, forming three separate stories, written by American author C. J. Cherryh and published by DAW Books between 1981 and 1992. The first novel in the series is The Pride of Chanur (1981), which was nominated for both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1983. The Pride of Chanur, originally a stand-alone story, was followed by the Chanur's Venture trilogy, Chanur's Venture (1984), which was shortlisted for a Locus Award in 1985; The Kif Strike Back (1985) and Chanur's Homecoming (1986). These were followed by a later sequel, Chanur's Legacy (1992). The five novels were also published in two omnibus editions: the first three in The Chanur Saga in 2000 and the next two in Chanur's Endgame in 2007.

Hyperdrive is a name given to certain methods of traveling faster-than-light (FTL) in science fiction. Related concepts are jump drive and warp drive.

A jump drive is a speculative method of traveling faster than light (FTL) in science fiction. Related superluminal concepts are hyperdrive, warp drive and interstellar teleporter. The key characteristic of a jump drive is that it allows a starship to be instantaneously teleported between two points. A jump drive is supposed to make a spaceship go from one point in space to another point, which may be several light years away, in a single instant. Like time travel, a jump drive is often taken for granted in science fiction, but very few science fiction works talk about the mechanics behind a jump drive. There are vague indications of the involvement of tachyons and the space-time continuum in some works.

Hyperspace is a superluminal method of traveling used in science fiction. It is typically described as an alternative "sub-region" of space co-existing with our own universe which may be entered using an energy field or other device. As seen in most fiction hyperspace is most succinctly described as a "somewhere else" within which the laws of general and special relativity decidedly do not apply – especially with respect to the speed of light being the cosmic speed limit. Entering and exiting said "elsewhere" thus directly enables travel near or faster than the speed of light – almost universally with the aid of extremely advanced technology. "Through hyper-space, that unimagineable region that was neither space nor time, matter nor energy, something nor nothing, one could traverse the length of the Galaxy in the interval between two neighboring instants of time."

The Alliance–Union universe is a fictional universe created by American writer C. J. Cherryh. It is the setting for a future history series extending from the 21st century out into the far future.

C. J. Cherryh bibliography Works by C. J. Cherryh

American writer C. J. Cherryh's career began with publication of her first books in 1976, Gate of Ivrel and Brothers of Earth. She has been a prolific science fiction and fantasy author since then, publishing over 80 novels, short-story compilations, with continuing production as her blog attests. Ms. Cherryh has received the Hugo and Locus Awards for some of her novels.

<i>Alternate Realities</i> (Cherryh) book by C.J. Cherryh

Alternate Realities is a 2000 omnibus collection of three short science fiction novels by American writer author C. J. Cherryh: Wave Without a Shore (1981), Port Eternity (1982), and Voyager in Night (1984). All three novels are set in Cherryh's Alliance-Union universe and share a common theme of people encountering and coping with a reality different from their own.

<i>Forty Thousand in Gehenna</i> novel by C.J. Cherryh

Forty Thousand in Gehenna, alternately 40,000 in Gehenna, is a 1983 science fiction novel by American writer C. J. Cherryh. It is set in her Alliance-Union universe between 2354 and 2658, and is one of the few works in that universe to portray the Union side; other exceptions include Cyteen (1988) and Regenesis (2009).

Azi are a fictional type of human clones invented by science fiction and fantasy author C. J. Cherryh. They appear in various books in her Alliance-Union universe. "Azi" is an acronym for "artificial zygote insemination". The subject is treated at length in Cherryh's 1989 novel Cyteen and its 2009 sequel, Regenesis.

<i>Rimrunners</i> book by C.J. Cherryh

Rimrunners is a science fiction novel by American writer C. J. Cherryh, set in her Alliance-Union universe, in which humanity has split into three major power blocs: Union, the Merchanter's Alliance and Earth. Chronologically, the book follows immediately after the author's Downbelow Station and is one of Cherryh's series of "Merchanter" novels.

<i>Merchanters Luck</i> book by C.J. Cherryh

Merchanter's Luck is a science fiction novel by American writer C. J. Cherryh. It is set in the author's Alliance-Union universe, in which humanity has split into three major power blocs: Union, the Merchanter's Alliance and Earth. In the context of the Alliance-Union universe, the book is one of Cherryh's Merchanter novels.

<i>Tripoint</i> (novel) book by C.J. Cherryh

Tripoint is a science fiction novel by the United States science fiction and fantasy author C. J. Cherryh, first published by Warner Books in September 1994. It is one of Cherryh's Merchanter novels and is set in the author's Alliance-Union universe.

Several themes recur throughout the works of American science fiction and fantasy author C. J. Cherryh.

<i>Regenesis</i> (novel) book by C.J. Cherryh

Regenesis (2009) is a science fiction novel by American writer C. J. Cherryh, set in her Alliance-Union universe. It is a sequel to Cherryh's Cyteen, and was published in hardcover by DAW Books in January 2009. The teenage clone of a top scientist and political leader unravels the decades-old murder of her "genemother", while also dealing with threats to her own welfare.

Interstellar travel is a common feature of fiction such as science fiction and fantasy.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ C.J. Cherryh. "Alliance/Union Chronology".
  2. ↑ C.J. Cherryh. "Alliance/Union Chronology (part 6)".
  3. ↑ "CJC Starstations and Colonies: Cyteen". SolStation.com. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
  4. ↑ Cherryh, C.J. (1982) Merchanter's Luck p. 43 & 44.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.