Nanomachines: One of the very common forms of Applied Phlebotinium in the Empire, and the Worlds in general. However, this being at least firm SF, they don’t cause physically implausible superpowers – and in general obey the laws of physics – do require energy sources (be it chemical or external power
2+6:36 – CMS Istry’s Bargain Procurer-class freighter; standard berthing; perishable-cargo priority. 2+14:48 – CMS Booze and Ores Skoufer-class smeltership; bulk discharge berthing. Please assign to bay 17-A; rock dust gets everywhere and 17-A is already overdue for cleaning. – Elin Vidrine, Cargomaster 2+20:00 – CMS Fimry Dancer
Naming Your Colony World: Examples of most of them exist in various places, although the Imperial Grand Survey works really hard to discourage people from naming anything New Anything, to the point of refusing to register the names, on the grounds that in deep time, eventually naming things New New
Named After Their Planet: Mostly averted. While the galari are from Galáré, those names were created by the explorers who met them, since the galari themselves don’t use spoken language in any sort of phonemic sense. Similar considerations explain the myneni from Mynár, inasmuch as mynenio is an almost
A Mythology is True: Well, it is now. See Deus Est Machina, Outgrown Those Silly Superstitions.
Here, have a spec sheet… (certain items omitted pending further detail work). DRAKE-CLASS FRIGATE Operated by: Empire of the Star & client-states (export model only). Type: Frigate, General Operations Construction: Cilmínar Spaceworks Length: 370m (primary hull 170m, engineering bus 200m) Beam: [xxxxx] Loaded mass: [xxxxx] Gravity-well capable: Yes. Atmosphere-capable: Yes,
My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Seemingly averted because, so far as you can tell, all the Imperials really are that way. (The explanation they would give, stripped of technical and polite terminology both, boils down to “We’re just obsessively inclined to believe that we are certain things, and
James Sterrett asks: I gather that storage of consumables for the crew is in the external tankage, on the theory that a penetrating strike is a kill and thus there’s no point protecting stuff for survivors to use to survive/repair the ship? Well, all the tankage is under
A reader recently asked the relevant question: how do they stabilize the muons in muon metals, muons not being known for their stability, and when binding metals together, not exactly capable of being stabilized by moving at very high fractions of c, either? Well, that would be space magic! (Alas.
My Sensors Indicate You Want To Tap That: Well, yes, because sensor technology – including the inborn kind – is very, very good. Even better than most people’s ability to control their kinesic tells or remember to run their face-saving programs. Fortunately, being members of an extremely polite society, Imperials are
My Country Right Or Wrong: Subverted somewhat, inasmuch as not merely the right but also the obligation to overthrow any Imperial government which defaults from the Contract or the Charter is not merely a theoretical issue, but what they teach in civics class in much the same way as in
Today’s vexing aesthetic physics of handwavium problem: INASMUCH as the energy levels and resulting orbitals of muon-proton atoms are completely different from those of electron-proton atoms – WELL, obviously, or what would be the point in making muon metals in the first place – AND INASMUCH as this makes muon-photon interactions