*Signal detected*
ID: Bob Libney First Scientist of RD&A departament
Target: Operation in Taus
Libney here to report. As well I know Tony Mitchell need Mount Moffit in Taus. In operation I'll be a captain of Mount Moffit. The way was not so easy. We met some patruls of Gallic Navy. But all is good. We docked at Freeport 6 in Tau-29.
As I know John Palerton is busy for other operation. He will come in Taus so quickly as he can.
ENCRYPTION: High PRIORITY:Medium COMM ID: Charles Manson SUBJECT:Knowing the limits
*secure transmission established*
So recently I have discovered (from numeros experiments and research) the possibility of developing and mounting a Reactionless Drive Core on our various Crafts.
Let's say the idea of a spaceship carying 10 times its empty weight in fuel sickens you. You want the space aboard your space ship to house your colorful crew mates, dazzling weapons, holodecks, and other fun and excitement — not deck after deck full of boring old propellant. And you want to allow for long patrols without having to refuel at every destination. So, you elect to go the route and equip your spaceship with a gravity-manipulation Reactionless Drive that allows her to accelerate without throwing material out of her tailpipe. Problem solved, right?
But hold on. You've also opened up a can of worms.
First, if we allow them to accelerate without pushing anything, they are now violating one of the most basic laws known to physics: the conservation of momentum. In other words, you can't apply a force to an object in one direction without causing an equal-and-opposite force on some other object. Ships fly up because their exhaust flies down. Jumping up pushes the Planet ever-so-slightly downward; falling back to the ground afterward pulls the Planet ever-so-slightly up. By letting our space ships violate this basic law, we're saying that momentum is not always conserved. What other circumstances in our universe will cause momentum not to be conserved?
Second, are you also violating the conservation of energy? A 1000 tonne spaceship traveling 1/10 of the speed of light has a kinetic energy of 450 quintillion Joules, equal to 100,000 megatons of TNT. That energy had to come from somewhere. Did it come from burning some sort of fuel on board your space ship, to power the generators? If you used the thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium as your fuel source, and you managed to hand have a fusion reactor technology that's nearly 100% efficient, you'd have to burn at least 350 tonnes of hydrogen to obtain that much energy, which is a third of your spaceship's own mass. (This isn't as bad a mass-ratio situation as if you'd used a plain-old momentum-conserving fusion rocket, but it's still pretty significant.) And you'll have to burn just as much again to slow your space ship back down at the end of your trip. If this is too much for you, and you decide your reactionless gravity drive simply works by tapping into the magical gravity waves of the universe and surfing along them with only minimal power requirements, then your space ship's kinetic energy is being created ex nihilo. You've got yourself a free energy machine! Just strap your space ship to one end of a long lever, strap the other end to a huge electric generator, and fly in circles. You can generate enough energy to power our entire civilization this way, with no cost in natural resources. This will play absolute havoc with our economy.
Third, if any 1000 tonne space ship can easily accelerate to a tenth of light speed, then every two-bit spaceship owner has in his possession a weapon of mass destruction. Those 100,000 megatons of TNT-equivalent kinetic energy will act like 100,000 megatons of actual TNT if they strike a planet. Want a future populated by plucky tramp space-freighters and sneaky space pirates? It ain't gonna happen if every ship is a Mega Nova Torpedo-on-steroids waiting to happen. Every spacecraft captain will be on too short a leash. Any spacecraft that even looks suspicious will be killed before it can become a threat. (And, yes, all fast-moving spacecraft, and even stationary spacecraft, will eventually be detected — there ain't no Stealth In Space.) Any civilization that doesn't take these precautions won t be a civilization for very long. This might work as a setting for your future totalitarian dystopia, but is hardly the right world for romantic swashbuckling adventures.
The potential damage done to our story by a reactionless drive is just one example of the broader principle. Any technological marvel that sidesteps the real life roadblocks facing space travel has the potential for unintended consequences. Thermonuclear torchships? They've got the same "spaceship = weapon of mass destruction" problem that reactionless drives do, albeit on a more manageable scale.
So what do we do when we need our pilots to be able to move between the stars faster-than-light, or teleport, or do any of the other myriad things that our current best guesses at the law of nature say are impossible? You set the technology up in such a way as to limit the damage to our civilization . Maybe your Deflector Shields are magnetic, and can only affect charged particles and ferromagnetic metals — and your spaceship needs to open up holes in its shields to shoot iron slugs or particle beams at an enemy. Maybe the high speeds needed to traverse interplanetary distances in days or hours are imparted not by our space freighter's own engines, but by planetside pushers that will only push it onto a predictable course, thereby eliminating the threat of rogue spaceship commanders turning their vehicles into WMDs. Maybe the violations of the Laws of Thermodynamics needed to make stealth In space work are curtailed in some way that prevents us from getting useful energy out of any warm object.
ENCRYPTION: High PRIORITY:Medium COMM ID: Charles Manson SUBJECTemonstration of Smallsat Networks
*secure transmission established*
The Demonstration of Smallsat Networks (DSN) mission will deploy a swarm of eight cubesats into a loose formation orbiting approximately 400 kilometers above planet Manhattan. DSN will demonstrate the potential value of multiple small satellites as tools for a wide array of scientific, commercial, and academic space research. Other goals of the project include reducing the cost and time required to design and build small spacecraft as well as testing new software applications.
Each DSN satellite is about 10 by 10 by 15 cm (or 4 x 4 x 6 inches) in size and weighs approximately 2 kg (5 lbs). This size is equivalent to 1.5 cubesat units. Each satellite carries an identical sensor to measure space radiation in Manhattan orbit. The continuous sensor data from each of the satellites in their separate locations can be collected and combined to provide a much more complete picture of the space environment than possible with the current satellites.
The DSN mission will demonstrate new communications capabilities, including satellites sending data, as far as the Omicron systems. This allows for flexible and simplified spacecraft operations with more rapid return of scientific data.
The launch of tens, or even hundreds of networked satellites could enable unprecedented capabilities in communications, computing, and scientific/security observation in Liberty space to benefit the future operations of both the Department of Tactical Operations and the Department of Homeland Security.
The DSN project is managed and conducted by the team from the Department of RD&A at the Kuskokwim.Bay research lab. Team members on the DSN project are the captain of the research lab John Palerton and me Charles Manson. I will be providing the radiation sensors Mr. Plerton will be providing the ground tracking station and operations.
If this turns out to be a success it could greatly improve the effectiveness of our Agents and the range of High Commands ability of control all operations.
ENCRYPTION: High PRIORITY:Medium COMM ID: Charles Manson
SUBJECTemonstration of Smallsat Networks (Success)
*secure transmission established*
Our latest discovery, from the Demonstration of Smallsat Networks (DSN) research operation, turned out to be a great success.
The team of researchers led by Me and Specialist agent John Plerton have successfully demonstrated a perfect connection between the swarm of the cubesats, which in turn developed into a superconducting heterodyne receiver with an unprecedented high sensitivity at 4,7 THz in frequency or 63 micrometers in wavelength. The so called super-terahertz heterodyne receiver is able to operate at the exact frequency that is needed to enable the long range cubesats.
This is very good news for Us since we need to study the lines from different astronomic sources to trace star and planet formation and galactic evolution. It is also an important milestone in the development of the technology for the other departments of the Liberty Security Force.
The heterodyne receiver can convert a (high-frequency) signal from space into a lower frequency without losing any information. This mixing of frequencies makes the reception clearer and the signal from space can be amplified better. The heterodyne receiver can offer line detection with a nearly quantum noise limited sensitivity and an unparalleled high spectral resolution. The new superconducting heterodyne receiver is based on a novel solid-state terahertz quantum cascade laser to generate the local signal that is to be mixed with the signal from space (local oscillator, operating at 4,7 THz). A superconducting hot electron bolometer is used as a mixing detector..
A terahertz quantum cascade laser (QCL) is actually a tiny semiconductor chip that is based on a repeated stack of semiconductor multiple quantum well heterostructures, where laser emission is achieved through the use of intersubband transitions. Although a QCL has been demonstrated as a local oscillator in the Kuskokwim.Bay lab before, it is the first time that the QCL is applied at 4,7 THz with an exact targeting frequency. The new QCL is based on a so-called third-order distributed feedback grating design. The grating has a double purpose in realizing both controllable single-frequency emission and a good output beam.
The key results were obtained at Kuskokwim.Bay lab by the group of young scientists from the Department of RD&A. This joint effort was coordinated by Charles Manson and John Palerton.
COMM ID:Major General Tony Mitchell, Associate Director TARGET ID:LSF Personnel SUBJECT:Breach of Protocol ENCRYPTION:High PRIORITY:CRITICAL
Mitchell here,
I'll keep this plain and simple. You are all agents operating under the Liberty Security Force as such you handle classified and critical intelligence, our Protocols make sure everything is done perfectly, without leaks. Which is why our protocols are followed by the letter and define the way you do your duty, they are above the law.
But you all know this already, it's why you're here. But I've been getting report of increased protocol breaches from our operatives, operatives who think they can handle and blabber information above their pay-grade. So I'll make this very clear. Section 7 does not exist to the public, nor to anyone outside the Agency. Nor to any of you unless it is required.
Any breach of classification protocols to any but specifically rumored information pertaining to Section 7 will result in your person subjected to treason, which will therefore result in the termination of your bio-mass.
*Signal detected*
ID: Bob Libney First Scientist of RD&A departament
Target: Prototype codes
Greetings.
As we and everyone knows, we are fighting against power, which we can't destroy so light. Yes I am speaking about the Nomads. When I was just scientist in Cambridge I opened one circumstance. Everyone thinks that the Nomads are organic ships and plants. It's not right. They are plasma ships with organic structure. Their internal energy is very great that our installations for electricity will seem a small share among it. Well, about prototype.
As we knows all batteries is possible to discharge. I offer do it with the Nomads. Prototypes will use theys artifacts as power source. This weapon isn't tachyon, neutron or some which we got used to see.
First research was unsuccessful. We don't have enough commodity. So I'll request it for TacOps.
List:
-Artifacts x 10
-Bio-Neural Processors x 50
-Basic Alloy x 270
-Counterfeit Software x 4
-Derelict Nomad Artifact x 2
-High-Temperature Alloy x 200
-Hydrocarbons x 20
-Iridium x 100
-Aluminium x 100
-Optical Chips x 10
-Optronics x 30
-Plutonium x 10
-Platinum x40
-Robotics x 20
-Super Alloy x10
-Nomad Battleship Remains x2
-Nomad Gunboat Remains x 2
-Nomad Fighter Remains x 2
-Nomad Power Cell x 1
It's very big list, but we need it all. For first work. That's all what I can tell for now.
Mount Miffit come to Ellesmere to Eureka Research Station.
COMM ID: Captain Elijah Brand, Chief Coordinator of Tactical Operations TARGET ID: Bob Libney of RD&A SUBJECT:Materials ENCRYPTION:High PRIORITY:High
Brand here,
Interesting list, doctor. I will order a few wings of TacOps agents to see to it that these materials are collected and sent your way as soon as possible. They will report to you once any materials have been collected.
TacOps is always happy to help when it comes to the eradication of the Nomads.
ENCRYPTION: High PRIORITY:Medium COMM ID: Charles Manson
SUBJECT:Observability
Since the lack of scientists in the Department Of RD&A (as you may all know) we are a bit overwhelmed from the amount of work we are currently in. And until we get our research works to a more manageable scale we would require additional help from the Department of TacOps, since you frequently have covert operations within the systems we are interested In researching and tracking data.
We would like to ask you to take additional observation research while operating in those systems and transfer the reports to the Department Of RD&A for assessments and further research into the data received.
Observation is our main inability at the moment, since In control theory, observability is a measure for how well internal states of a system can be inferred by knowledge of its external outputs. The observability and controllability of a system are mathematical duals. Less formally, this means that from the system's outputs it is possible to determine the behaviour of the entire system.
I'm forwarding this directly to the Secretary of TacOps Elijah Brand.
Mr.Brand please take your time and understand our need of cooperation with the fine Agents at your Department.
I'm looking forward for your response.
COMM ID: Captain Elijah Brand, Chief Coordinator of Tactical Operations TARGET ID: Charles Manson of RD&A SUBJECT:Observation ENCRYPTION:High PRIORITY:High
Brand here,
Nice to hear from you Specialist. You are correct, the department of Tactical Operations doe's indeed have eyes everywhere. The agents that work under TacOps are obviously trained to be elite soldiers rather than scientists, nevertheless I do believe we are more than capable of providing you with the information you request.
I will issue an order stating that any and all observations that may be of use to the RD&A department are sent directly to you.
If there are any systems in particular you are interested in, please do not hesitate to mention them. Any systems you name will be giving top priority.