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Zeppy · 10-01-2011, 04:16 PM,

'So'¦ do we know how these things work yet?' asks Joel.

Jack, George and Joel are standing once again in the Graf Zeppelin's labs. On the table are three cylinders apparently made of highly reinforced glass; hovering in each cylinder is a Daam K'Vosh energy storage crystal suspended by a small, directionalized gravitational manipulator.

George shrugs apologetically, 'we think so but I don't think it would make much sense to you Joel.'

Joel raises one eyebrow and looks at George, 'I may not be as smart as you or Jack but I'm not exactly dumb either.'

George shrugs again and takes on a lecturing tone, 'through means yet unknown to us, the crystals appear to shunt energy that they absorb into an artificially created pocket of space/time. This energy is not in actuality 'stored' but is rather used to excite this region of space/time and thus stave off and reverse the effects of entropy, halting its eventual collapse; the energy that is extracted from the crystal is actually zero-point-energy from this artificial space/time. When the artificial pocket of space/time reaches a certain point of entropic decay a failsafe kicks in, stopping anyone from drawing more power from the crystal and thus slowing the collapse of this artificial pocket to a near standstill.'

Joel nods slowly, 'okay'¦ does that mean that there is no limit to how much energy we can extract from it as long as we give an equal amount over time?'

George shakes his head, 'no, there is a limit to how much we can excite the artificial pocket before it grows too powerful to contain. The Daam K'Vosh appear to have implemented extensive failsafe protocols into the crystals to stop this from happening', George grimaces, 'it would be very'¦ unhealthy'¦ for everyone if a foreign space/time instantaneously merged with our own.'

'How unhealthy?'

'We don't know for sure but all the possibilities are bad; there could be catastrophic consequences for the flow of time, having two completely different timelines merge into one, if that's even possible, would seriously mess things up.'

'Seriously mess things up? That's what you call it?'

'There would also be issues with space as well, though that wouldn't be as bad as the issues you would experience with time. There's also the issue of the exotic particles created by zero-point-energy extraction, they would be released into this space/time.'

'So basically what you're saying is'¦ don't leave the batteries on charge over night?'

'No, actually I would encourage that we'¦ leave the batteries on charge whenever we get the chance. Although the crystal's maximum capacity is absolutely enormous it will also take a very long time to get it to that maximum capacity. The crystal's failsafe systems will stop the absorption of energy long before it is at risk of a containment failure.'

Joel sighs, 'so instead of a risk of implosion we are now at risk of reality shattering cataclysm?'

George looks slightly uncomfortable, 'well yes and no'¦ as I said, the Daam K'Vosh failsafes automatically stop any intake of energy long before the crystal is at risk of failure. Furthermore the effects of the space/time intersection would not span all or reality, the size of the artificial region is not infinite like our own space/time and therefore neither would be the size of the intersection. The spatial distortions will be limited to the physical size of the artificial region, both temporal and spatial distortions will only last until the artificial region experiences enough entropic decay to allow it to be contained again.'

Joel nods slowly, 'okay then, on a more practical note, have you figured out how I'm supposed to interface it with the Graf Zeppelin's core?'

Jack speaks up, 'they absorb energy though the crystal itself, not just electrical energy though, it seems that they absorb and convert almost every type of energy we can think of.' Jack pulls a data pad out of his pocket and reads over it, 'We've tested everything from heat energy to kinetic energy. Although the most efficient transfer rate of energy transfer is still direct electrical energy.'

Joel nods thoughtfully, 'okay and how do we draw energy from it?'

'At the top of each crystal is a golden metal node, this node circles a five millimetre wide hole that goes almost all the way through the crystal. Inserting a superconducting spike through there should allow us to tap the crystal's reserves with minimal power bleed off, although we will probably have to devise a more streamlined solution later.'

Joel nods, 'okay, I think that's everything, shall we get to work then?'

Jack nods and picks up one of the glass cylinders carefully, 'let's get stuck into it'.

Reseach into the Kansas sector

Research into the Privas Planetary Cluster

Research into Alien "Trade Lanes"

A new ship, Jack Denton's time on Freeport 11

The JHC Drive

An Unscheduled Vacation of Sorts

The above are meant to be read in order, if you jump in at "A new ship" you are going to be lost.

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