Hypersphere (The History of the Galaxy)
Encyclopedia
Hypersphere is a spatial anomaly that exists alongside the "normal" space-time continuum in the The History of the Galaxy
series of novels by Russia
n science fiction
writer Andrey Livadny
. Similar to hyperspace
in the TV series Babylon 5
, hypersphere allows pseudo-FTL
travel.
, when humanity's first extrasolar colony ship vanished near the edge of the Solar system
. Careful readings confirmed that the ship was "sucked" into the hypersphere. It was not long before a generator was invented that "submerged" a craft into the anomaly or, rather, punched a hole between three-dimensional space and hypersphere. Even after successful hyper-probe tests, the nature of hypersphere was barely understood by scientists.
Every large spatial object (i.e. a star or a planet) emits "force-lines" of two kinds: horizontal, which act as connecting lines to other stellar bodies, and vertical, which lead "deeper" into the hypersphere. A ship travelling along a horizontal force-line could rapidly travel to the other end of the line, typically located in another system. While travel is not restricted to these lines, ships can easily get "lost" without a force-line to guide it. As normal stellar objects do not exist in hypersphere, it was, at first, impossible for a ship's crew to determine their "normal space" location from the hypersphere. Ships were, essentially, flying blind, and many were lost to accidents (e.g. "surfacing" inside a star or a planet). Eventually, mass detectors were invented to allow the crews to get a vague idea of what lay on the "outside". These mass detectors worked on a proved hypersphere law: Every horizontal or vertical of hypersphere pressure corresponds to a real object in three-dimensional space, whose mass is directly proportional to the energy potential of its projection in the anomaly.
Communication was also a problem prior to the development of hyper-communicators, and the first extrasolar colonies were left to their own devices. Apparently, any message sent through hypersphere came through without any packet loss
whatsoever.
Human historians determined that 3 million years ago, a joint Insect-Logrian effort, headed by a Logrian scientist named Irshmark, was undertaken to set up a permanent base on the tenth level of hypersphere (i.e. in the center) in order to allow them to travel along the vertical force-lines anywhere in the galaxy. Since there were no stellar bodies in hypersphere, they sent, after many failures, a planet to the tenth level. However, the so-called "First World Project" was cut short by an ancient cataclysm and never resumed.
It has been determined that time flows at a much slower rate in hypersphere, especially in its center. Also, due to the extreme magnetic field and energy "pressure" caused by the imprint of the galaxy at the center, no electrical device can function at the tenth level. However, ships whose electrical systems are replaced with photonic ones should be able to make the trip without any major problems, as long as the pilot lets the ship "fall" along a vertical line (the novel The Dream of the Mind described this as analogous to a hand quickly passing through a flame). The same energy "pressure" also allows people to develop magic-like abilities and even cheat death by having their spirit (heat energy essence) live on after the body is gone.
After the First World was rediscovered by the Confederacy of Suns, the knowledge of it was classified, as it could allow anyone with proper equipment to strike at the very heart of the Confederacy without warning. A small military garrison was sent to the planet, equipped with non-electronic gear to monitor the center of the anomaly. An accidental discovery by a corporate mnemonic (information security officer with several implants in the brain), whose implant sensors were able to pick up idle and active verticals, led to the hypersphere being used more actively, as long as each craft is navigated by a mnemonic. Also, a vertical was discovered that led directly to Logris, allowing a connection from the First World to the Interstar network.
The History of the Galaxy
Expansion: The History of the Galaxy is a science fiction book series by Russian writer Andrey Livadny. With the plot span between 23rd and 39th centuries, it embraces several novels, tales and stories, some of which are within the five collected stories....
series of novels by Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
writer Andrey Livadny
Andrey Livadny
Andrey Lvovich Livadny is a Russian military science fiction writer. His works were first published in 1998 and include several novels as well as a number of tales and short stories. Most of his works are merged into The History of the Galaxy series, which embraces human development over the next...
. Similar to hyperspace
Hyperspace (science fiction)
Hyperspace is a plot device sometimes used in science fiction. It is typically described as an alternative region of space co-existing with our own universe which may be entered using an energy field or other device...
in the TV series Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
, hypersphere allows pseudo-FTL
Faster-than-light
Faster-than-light communications and travel refer to the propagation of information or matter faster than the speed of light....
travel.
Human Discovery
The anomaly was discovered by humans in the 29th century29th century
The 29th century of the anno Domini era will span from January 1, 2801–December 31, 2900 of the Gregorian calendar.-List of the long total solar eclipses:* May 21, 2813 : Solar eclipse, , of saros 170....
, when humanity's first extrasolar colony ship vanished near the edge of the Solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
. Careful readings confirmed that the ship was "sucked" into the hypersphere. It was not long before a generator was invented that "submerged" a craft into the anomaly or, rather, punched a hole between three-dimensional space and hypersphere. Even after successful hyper-probe tests, the nature of hypersphere was barely understood by scientists.
Every large spatial object (i.e. a star or a planet) emits "force-lines" of two kinds: horizontal, which act as connecting lines to other stellar bodies, and vertical, which lead "deeper" into the hypersphere. A ship travelling along a horizontal force-line could rapidly travel to the other end of the line, typically located in another system. While travel is not restricted to these lines, ships can easily get "lost" without a force-line to guide it. As normal stellar objects do not exist in hypersphere, it was, at first, impossible for a ship's crew to determine their "normal space" location from the hypersphere. Ships were, essentially, flying blind, and many were lost to accidents (e.g. "surfacing" inside a star or a planet). Eventually, mass detectors were invented to allow the crews to get a vague idea of what lay on the "outside". These mass detectors worked on a proved hypersphere law: Every horizontal or vertical of hypersphere pressure corresponds to a real object in three-dimensional space, whose mass is directly proportional to the energy potential of its projection in the anomaly.
Communication was also a problem prior to the development of hyper-communicators, and the first extrasolar colonies were left to their own devices. Apparently, any message sent through hypersphere came through without any packet loss
Packet loss
Packet loss occurs when one or more packets of data travelling across a computer network fail to reach their destination. Packet loss is distinguished as one of the three main error types encountered in digital communications; the other two being bit error and spurious packets caused due to noise.-...
whatsoever.
Alien Use of Hypersphere
After humanity encountered other alien races, they discovered that human methods of travel were the most efficient. Neither the Insects nor the Logrians ever managed to invent hyperdrives that could fit on a ship. Instead, they used large hyper-gates to allow their ships to travel from one to another. This, unfortunately, required them to travel to a destination at sub-light speeds, at first, to set up a gate. There were, however, advantages to using hyper-gates instead of ships - hyper-gates could be built planetside and allow passengers to transport from planet to planet without ships. Also, many of the hazards of travelling on a ship through Hypersphere are eliminated by the use of gates, as the person or ship entering a gate then travels along a set path leading to the target gate.Structure of Hypersphere
Hypersphere consists of 10 energy levels (or layers). The levels were calculated by the scientists who first came up with equations describing the anomaly. As mentioned above, vertical lines go "deeper" into the hypersphere. However, travelling in other energy levels requires powerful shields due to the extreme energy "pressure" on the craft. On the other hand, travel time shortens with each level. Most ships, including warships, travel on the first level, rarely on the second. Unmanned cargo ships are capable of surviving a trip through the third level. Only top-class probes with enhanced shields are capable of travelling through the fourth level unharmed.Human historians determined that 3 million years ago, a joint Insect-Logrian effort, headed by a Logrian scientist named Irshmark, was undertaken to set up a permanent base on the tenth level of hypersphere (i.e. in the center) in order to allow them to travel along the vertical force-lines anywhere in the galaxy. Since there were no stellar bodies in hypersphere, they sent, after many failures, a planet to the tenth level. However, the so-called "First World Project" was cut short by an ancient cataclysm and never resumed.
It has been determined that time flows at a much slower rate in hypersphere, especially in its center. Also, due to the extreme magnetic field and energy "pressure" caused by the imprint of the galaxy at the center, no electrical device can function at the tenth level. However, ships whose electrical systems are replaced with photonic ones should be able to make the trip without any major problems, as long as the pilot lets the ship "fall" along a vertical line (the novel The Dream of the Mind described this as analogous to a hand quickly passing through a flame). The same energy "pressure" also allows people to develop magic-like abilities and even cheat death by having their spirit (heat energy essence) live on after the body is gone.
After the First World was rediscovered by the Confederacy of Suns, the knowledge of it was classified, as it could allow anyone with proper equipment to strike at the very heart of the Confederacy without warning. A small military garrison was sent to the planet, equipped with non-electronic gear to monitor the center of the anomaly. An accidental discovery by a corporate mnemonic (information security officer with several implants in the brain), whose implant sensors were able to pick up idle and active verticals, led to the hypersphere being used more actively, as long as each craft is navigated by a mnemonic. Also, a vertical was discovered that led directly to Logris, allowing a connection from the First World to the Interstar network.