Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Me, too.Hey, wadda ya want?I'm a product of the TV I watch.
Hehehe.
Jump Rats
- Thread starter sabredog
- Start date
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Another possible Jump phenomenon: Jump borers.
Just as ship borers in the seas of ancient Earth bored into the hulls of wooden ships, weakening the wood, so Jump borers corrode pits and holes into the surface of a starship.
It's not really known if the effects are produced by something in jump space, or merely by the effect of the jump bubble, but the effect is very real. After a jump, the hull of a ship will have small corroded pits or even neat little holes (also corroded) in it. None of these holes goes too deep, but it does eventually weaken the hull - particularly if too many accumulate in one area.
Use of special materials on the outer layer of the hull can prevent most problems. And, fortunately, they don't like the taste of lanthanum (assuming it is critters). Unfortunately, they have been known to bore their holes right next to the lanthanum grid, sometimes cutting partway into it. It has caused occasional failures when trying to enter jump.
Those who think it is a creature believe that - just like its Terran aquatic counterpart - it is a filter feeder: feeding off the hydrogen and energy of the jump bubble. Though jump physics scientists scoff at this idea, claiming it is merely a result of flaws in the jump matrix causing hull erosion, old space hands insist they have seen the borers on exterior visual sensors during jump.
Some folks say the borers drop off when the ship exits jump space, and reattach to the next ship that enters. Others insist the borers remain when the ship returns to normal space, but are undetectable, remaining in some sort of jump phase with the ship. They claim the only way to scrub the borers off is to skim a stellar corona, or dive into a gas giant. (There are claims that a plasma rifle played over the skin of the ship will work, as well.)
No matter the cause, hulls should be inspected frequently, as the defects can cause loss of protection from inter-planetary material bombardment, as well as armor effects against weaponry.
Just as ship borers in the seas of ancient Earth bored into the hulls of wooden ships, weakening the wood, so Jump borers corrode pits and holes into the surface of a starship.
It's not really known if the effects are produced by something in jump space, or merely by the effect of the jump bubble, but the effect is very real. After a jump, the hull of a ship will have small corroded pits or even neat little holes (also corroded) in it. None of these holes goes too deep, but it does eventually weaken the hull - particularly if too many accumulate in one area.
Use of special materials on the outer layer of the hull can prevent most problems. And, fortunately, they don't like the taste of lanthanum (assuming it is critters). Unfortunately, they have been known to bore their holes right next to the lanthanum grid, sometimes cutting partway into it. It has caused occasional failures when trying to enter jump.
Those who think it is a creature believe that - just like its Terran aquatic counterpart - it is a filter feeder: feeding off the hydrogen and energy of the jump bubble. Though jump physics scientists scoff at this idea, claiming it is merely a result of flaws in the jump matrix causing hull erosion, old space hands insist they have seen the borers on exterior visual sensors during jump.
Some folks say the borers drop off when the ship exits jump space, and reattach to the next ship that enters. Others insist the borers remain when the ship returns to normal space, but are undetectable, remaining in some sort of jump phase with the ship. They claim the only way to scrub the borers off is to skim a stellar corona, or dive into a gas giant. (There are claims that a plasma rifle played over the skin of the ship will work, as well.)
No matter the cause, hulls should be inspected frequently, as the defects can cause loss of protection from inter-planetary material bombardment, as well as armor effects against weaponry.
I like the borer idea.
I would relegate them to certain areas in the sector, like maybe around systems with a certain kind of gas giant and they attach themselves while the ship scoops. Then while in jump they are happily chewing away on the hull while safely carried along in the jump bubble. When the ship drops out of jump and either enters an atmosphere or scoops again the critters fall away. Kind of like what happens with animals transported in ships today when the vessel takes on and dumps ballast in ports.
This would make for some scenarios of well-maintained ports periodically inspecting incoming ship hulls for the beasts and requiring cleaning the hull before entering the traffic lanes, and some ports that are places that you just know might mean you need to scour the hull later if you scoop there or land.
If they lived in space around certain nebulae (maybe the clouds have something in them that they eat and breed in) then jump transit through that area will be how you pick them up. It could be why there are stories of monsters in the nebulae that eat ships. Crews about to make the jump through the area attach strips of the borer's favorite metals to the outside of the ship for them to eat those instead of bore through the ship.
I would relegate them to certain areas in the sector, like maybe around systems with a certain kind of gas giant and they attach themselves while the ship scoops. Then while in jump they are happily chewing away on the hull while safely carried along in the jump bubble. When the ship drops out of jump and either enters an atmosphere or scoops again the critters fall away. Kind of like what happens with animals transported in ships today when the vessel takes on and dumps ballast in ports.
This would make for some scenarios of well-maintained ports periodically inspecting incoming ship hulls for the beasts and requiring cleaning the hull before entering the traffic lanes, and some ports that are places that you just know might mean you need to scour the hull later if you scoop there or land.
If they lived in space around certain nebulae (maybe the clouds have something in them that they eat and breed in) then jump transit through that area will be how you pick them up. It could be why there are stories of monsters in the nebulae that eat ships. Crews about to make the jump through the area attach strips of the borer's favorite metals to the outside of the ship for them to eat those instead of bore through the ship.
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Oh, but those would be *space* borers, not *jump* borers!
Those are much too easy to confirm the existence of. The jump borer is one of those legendary things that everyone just *knows* the spacers are full of it, or they're pulling your leg. The scientists all insist it can't be true, and must be some natural phenomenon. But, the spacers know... they're out there.
Those are much too easy to confirm the existence of. The jump borer is one of those legendary things that everyone just *knows* the spacers are full of it, or they're pulling your leg. The scientists all insist it can't be true, and must be some natural phenomenon. But, the spacers know... they're out there.
Timerover51
SOC-14 5K
I forgot the Riim, from A. E. van Vogt's "Voyage of the Space Beagle", which could project telepathic images across interstellar space, with deleterious results to the crew of the Space Beagle.
They say that - sometimes, over the radio, while you're in jump - you can just barely hear the distress signals of ships that were reported lost in jump space long ago.
...and it is said that sometimes the collision alarm goes off right before those plaintive cries for help ghost over the comms. Yet, no collision happens but the crew swear they can feel a cold draft pass through the ship.
that's a lot of power. presumably this consumed power goes somewhere? or is it stored ... like ... fat or something?
might be nice to have a few pet jump rats available for emergency power ....
"scotty! what's left!"
"just the battery sir, I can have the jump rats hooked up in a few minutes!"
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
And what about the predator that consumes jump rats or space borers...
This is why the theory exists that Jump Rats are really just the tips of the feeder appendages (or similar) that "protrude" into real space, and are part of some larger animal. The power is either going to something like that or is burned by the Jump Rat so it can stay in real space.
Also, Jump Rats don't manifest for long, and there is no guarantee the current rat observed is the same one that reappeared 20cm away from the last one you saw right before vanishing to avoid your shotgun blast or thrown chair. They cannot be caught, tagged, marked, or have features unique to individual rats. This is another thing that supports both theories.
They are an enigma of Jump Space seemingly designed by some higher intelligence to specifically vex ship crews for no discernible reason other than to harass them at random.
kilemall
SOC-14 5K
There is the Game of Rat and Dragon by Cordwainer Smith.
Interstellar jump is known as planoforming, and while planoforming unknown entities come to attack humans on ships, driving them mad.
Cats are used against them.
So yes there ARE jump cats against rats!
The story, online.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29614
Interstellar jump is known as planoforming, and while planoforming unknown entities come to attack humans on ships, driving them mad.
Cats are used against them.
So yes there ARE jump cats against rats!
The story, online.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29614
