Dr. Gregory A. Moore

[PliantReality]

Log Entry 40108817

I have managed to - with some difficulty, but ultimate success - map out a considerable portion of the Ommicron systems. Granted, the entirety of the systems is beyond my capabilities, but I found the jumpholes I was interested in.

On a more interesting note, I spent some time near New Berlin, gathering data from the unstable jumphole leading to Sigma-13. It was truly a work in both frustration and futility - had it not been for the help of the Rheinland Military, I might've gotten no scans whatsoever.

Still, what I did find was more than interesting. For quite some time it has been a matter of contention amongst scientists whether or not the Sigma jumphole may be classified 'stable'. On the one side are the purists and number-crunchers who hold the fluctuating and patternless shifts in its electrical and magnetic internal structure as evidence that it is unstable.

On the other side are the pragmatics who point to its frequent use by pirates, Das Wilde, and smugglers as evidence that it is apparently stable enough.

The debate is largely ignored by academia at large, but has been the catalyst for at least two bouts of passionate pugilism to my observation.

So it is with some hesitancy that I tender forth my own observations on the matter and attempt to allay, ameliorate, or in some way explain the apparent dichotomy.

The issue is not necessarily simple, and I would've tossed out my gathered data had it not been for the stabilizer issues of a nearby Battleship.

Consider this. The usual analogy of what is a stable and unstable jumphole is as follows; a stable jumphole has an internalized magnetic and electrical structure which inhibits its terminus from overlapping its genesis. The implication is that an unstable jumphole has NO internalized magnetic or electrical structure, and thus, its terminus and genesis DO overlap.

The paradox with Sigma is this - despite having no internalized electro-magnetic structure, the jumphole has clearly defined terminus and genesis. Does this break the established definitions? Strictly, yes, but I hope to redefine them herein and submit them to satisfaction eventually.

While the Sigma-13 hole might, perhaps, be anomalous it follows thus...
- The unstable internal electro-magnetic mechanisms are in a constant state of flux. Compared to the smooth and defined lines of a Bretonia ship, for example, by comparison the Sigma hole is a rolling ball of debris.
- The genesis (start) of the hole and the terminus (end) of the whole are defined and never overlap; overlap results in what is commonly referred to as 'winking', though more technically the process is called 'electro-magnetic striation patterning'. A ship caught in a jumpholes 'wink' is. Well. Destroyed does not encompass the entirety of what happens, but will suffice for now.
- Therefore, it may be said that, rather than a rolling ball of debris, the Sigma hole is something of a slinky with a semi-flexible pole stuck through it. The overall pattern and direction of its internal structure is almost of no consequence, since the semi-flexible pole keeps the ends from ever crossing.
- This may or may not ameliorate the debate over wether the Sigma hole is stable or unstable, since it both fits and breaks both definitions.

I am, unfortunately, intellectually spent from collating that data. I shall explicate more on this all later.

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Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace.