Python Reactor

Invented by Dr. Rupert Python, the Python Reacor is the standad method of faster-than-light propulsion employed by the Gudersnipe Foundation.

The Reactor itself uses multiple stages to produce Python particles (discovered by Dr. Python), which are employed in the creation of the energy mantle which allows for FTL.

FTL Jump Stages

Going from sub-light to faster-than-light requires the ship to "jump", accelerating rapidly from the maximum normal-space speed(around 70 PSL) to several times faster than the speed of light. This requires a series of events to happen in very precise order.

• 1. After plotting a course, the ship accelerates along it to it's maximum-possible sublight speed(not to be confused with it's Acceleration curve.

• 2. The Phython Reactor produces the energy mantle

• 3. The Gravity Field Generator(GFG) ramps output, reducing the ship's mass and increasing acceleration.

• 4. A burst of Pythons is released, either through the ship's N-space drive or through a special "jump" drive.

• 5. At the same time as the Python Burst, the GFGs reach their peek and reduce the ship's mass to 0, resulting in a sudden burst of extreme acceleration.

• 6. During the acceleration burst, the energy mantle moves the ship partially out of normal space.

• 7. The N-space drives kick in, and the ship is now traveling faster than light.

If everything goes right, the ship will accelerate from around 70 PSL to 2 or 3 times the speed of light in an instant. Compensation from inertial dampers is also critical, and must be precisely timed with the GFG output or the crew will end up as greasy little smears on the back wall of the ship.

Large vessels, such as capitol ships and large commercial carriers, are extremely vulnerable during the first stage. The ship must accelerate along a very straight, predictable trajectory. For some civilian ships, this stage may take several hours.

In general, a minimum velocity of fifty PSL is required to imitate a jump, though the transition is much smoother at higher speeds. The Star Hammer 90 PSL+ transitions from top speed to FTL so smoothly most passengers do not even notice.

Components

Python Reactor

The Python Reactor is the heart of the standard FTL drive. Many races and civilizations have created their own variations, but the principles are the same. The reactor serves a number of functions. It does not generate electrical power.

Photonic Core

At the heart of the Python Reactor is the Photonic Core. This key component is made from exotic, extremely high-density materials and is, in simplest terms, a giant light bulb. The core produces large amounts of photons, and among the photons is a sub atomic particle called a Python. Pythons are capable of traveling faster than light.

Energy from the photonic core is routed through the photon traps, which filter out the photons and leave mostly Pythons. A purity rating of 80% is the absolute minimum for a successful jump, 90% is generally recommended. High-preformance, well-tuned engines can reach 95. The Star Hammer used a unique, multi-spatial trap, and is the only known FTL drive to produce 100% pure Python particles.

Unused photons are routed back into the photonic core, where they react to produce additional pythons.

Energy Mantle

The energy mantle is projected by the Python Reactor, and is itself composed of Python Particles. The interactions between the ship and the mantle are very complicated and multi-dimensional:

• The mantle "breaks" the hyperspace tension in the same way birds flying information rely on the lead bird to help overcome air resistance. This allows both for faster speeds and lower power consumption on the N-space drive.

• As the ship continues to accelerate, the mantle begins to "draw" the ship along after it, providing even higher speeds, greater efficiency, and, at maximum performance, allowing a ship to shut down it's N-space drive all together(this level is typically only achieved during inter-galactic journeys).

• The mantle also provides a sort of cushion or buffer between the ship and the higher planes of space, protecting the crew during the journey, and providing one of the most important safety functions of the entire drive system.

Jump Drive

The biggest obstacle to reaching FTL is crossing the stop-light barrier(the speed of light). An Ion vacuum drive, the most common form of normal-space propulsion, has an upward speed limit of about 70 PSL, not enough to reach the stop-light barrier. The velocity is ultimately limited by how fast a ship can "throw" particles out the other direction. Once the speed at which exhaust is leaving the back of a ship equals it's forward velocity, it can no longer accelerate.

This is where Python Particles produced in the python reactor come into play. Python particles travel faster than the speed of light, but, like photons, have no resting mass. The Jump Drive channels pythons from the reactor, mixed with drive plasma, out the back of the ship, resulting in a massive burst of acceleration.

Dedicated Jump Drive

Dedicated drives are required on high-performance ships needing to make rapid FTL jumps, or ships who's N-space drives do not work on a compatible principle(such as those using gravitational mass-displacement); or on drives that cannot reach at least 50 PSL nativly.

In principle, a jump drive works similarly to a Deuterium Drive. Drive plasma(sometimes dry plasma, in extremely high-performance applications) is mixed with a large mass of pythons and diverted out the back of the ship. Jump drives are typically designed to create a single, high-powered, short direction pulse, as this is all that is needed to cross the stop-light barrier.

Hybrid Jump Drive

In a hybrid drive, the ship's ion-vacuum or similar normal-space engines double as a jump drive. The principles are all the same, just directing pythons into plasma combination stage of the engine. Hybdrid drives are required on smaller ships which do not have the capacity for a secondary, dedicated jump drive.

This method is not preferred because it places exceptionally high stress on the engines, shortening engine lifespan, and increasing the risk of accidents and failures. A hybridized jump drive/N-space drive engine is typically regarded as having about 1/4th the operational lifespan of an N-only counterpart.

Despite this, numerous commercial spacecraft on a scale that would necessitate a dedicated drive are still constructed with hybrid drives. This is done as a cost-cutting measure, and is most often seen on pleasure craft where a low initial investment is desirable over a longer operational lifespan(Within Joint Space, Furkea Meraki is a particularly notorious offender).

Stop-Light Engines

When the time comes to drop out of FTL, the ship will make use of a stop-light engine(most ships have at least two, for redundancy).

Since a ship cannot reach FTL without the aid of the energy mantle, any disruption in the FTL drive would cause it to immediately slow to 99.999~ PSL. The stop-light engines use python particles from the reactor to slow the ship in the same way the jump drive accelerates it(it is possible, but not recommended, to employ the jump-drive as a stop-light engine).

A stop-light engine typically has three modes: normal stop, emergency stop, and safe slow.

• Normal Stop is typical operation, the command has been given to leave FTL and the engines are brought online at the right interval to slow the ship to it's typical cruising speed. In some applications, the stop-light engine one slows the ship to around 70 PSL, and the N-space drive does the rest.
• Emergency Stop assumes a serious engine problem or eminent reactor failure, and an immediate slow to near zero velocity is required. This is extremely taxing on the components, and is considered an emergency function.
• Safe Slow is used in a wide-ranging failure, and assumes other supporting systems such as the inertial dampers, cannot be trusted. It is also an emergency function. In this case, the engines work with both the python reactor and the N-space drive to slowly and safely bring the ship to a stop.

Safety

Traveling beyond the speed of light, while necessary to cross the distances between stars, is not inherently safe. All safety measures, save for the mantle, or engineered and subject to failure.