Broadspace or “The Continuum” is the space between the simulacra/habitats. The size and extent of Broadspace is unknown. Since we cannot talk about “scope” regarding broadspace, it seems plausible that Broadspace is much smaller than the “Hubble” Space of the Carbon World Universe. But, on the other hand, since Broadspace is a construct, with theoretically no “end” or restriction, it could be a million times larger than the Carbon World universe. No one knows where or how far away the Guardian of the Source(GotS) may have placed hidden and secret areas of Broadspace. One thing should be clear: the known reaches of Broadspace are much faster to travel through than the Carbon World’s solar system. A Broadspace Vessel doesn’t need years or hundreds of years to reach a certain goal. For example, the journey from Nedara to “the Interface” Simulacron “Area 23” would take less than a day. The farthest known Simulacron, called “Aurus” within the Aurora Sector, will take about a month to travel to. So, the distances are quite comparable to overseas journeys in the old days of sailing ships of the Carbon World.
But there are faraway places – Exile Simulacra – which would take a whole lifetime to reach. This is by design. And there may be thousands of other smaller or larger Simulacra of different shapes and composition. Only the GotS knows for sure.
Note: The sight of Broadspace itself has proven to be severely detrimental to an ordinary human mind. Fortunately a rare but hearty few have been discovered who have the ability to navigate the rigors of Broadspace travel without the damaging consequences. (See The Pilots.)
The Light Universe can be viewed as a living organism, in which the Simulacra themselves appear as nerve centers and nodes. Embedded in Broadspace, lights of various hues and forms appear. As mentioned previously, there are Simulacra of different sizes and shapes – the most common is the spherical shape. The diameter of the Nedara Simulacron is measured at about 20,000 miles, and a habitable area of 26 million square kilometers (about the size of the Carbon World’s USSR plus Europe). A1 Simulacra can have a diameter of up to 200,000 miles (eg. Atalanta, the water reservoir of the known universe). The exact diameter can only be estimated, as Simulacra expand and contract, depending on weather conditions.
Construction of a simulacron
G3 Simulacra are spherical and divided into 2 hemispheres. In the upper hemisphere are all-weather scripts, in the lower one, (the so-called “underground,”) there are up to 3 other habitable levels, including one that houses the machines required to operate the simulacron. In the underground levels, there are usually large caverns with their own weather systems, and uninhabitable areas, which have been barely explored. Many have their own forms of life.
In the center lies a protected core, which contains a field generator. This generator produces a stable Core Conversion Energy (CCE) field that surrounds the entire outer hemisphere which protects the inhabitants from the sight of Broadspace. This core is similar in function to the rotating iron core of a planet that generates a magnetic field. Due to fluctuations in the field strength in the SimCore, shining phenomena in the sky, which resemble the earthly Aurora Borealis, occur. The SimCore consumes more than half of the total CCE of a simulacron.
On the lowest levels, there are exits to the “Outer Rim”, border areas, that emigrate from the Simulacron. Life takes place mainly on the surface, exactly in the middle of a simulacron, which would be comparable to the static scene within a snow globe.
Is there life in Broadspace?
While this may be possible, it would be located at the Outer Rim and some areas beyond. Here, a strange cobweb of strings, known as the “Network” exists, which can be explored in protective suits for a few miles, but beyond it lies the pure Broadspace, the crossing of which is impossible without special ships.
Features of Broadspace
In contrast to the “open space” of the Carbon World, there are no binding forces in Broadspace. Gravity as we understand it is therefore not a physical law in the Light Universe and is not considered a property of bodies. Therefore, simulacra do not move toward or away from each other. Scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers have always had a hard time describing and exploring the characteristics of the world around them as have their counterparts in the Carbon World. Where a Galileo could calculate and interpret the movement of heavenly bodies in the Carbon World in order to draw conclusions about the properties of the planet Earth (eg, that it revolves around a sun) and other scientists like Albert Einstein after him could postulate the curvature of space and time by the influence of the gravitational force, early explorers of the Light Universe were in a more complicated situation.
The observable phenomena of simulacra have always left little scope for the derivation of regularities, especially since these could change under the influence of their Scripts at any time (see “Structure and Functioning of a Simulacron”). The properties of Broadspace were unequivocally difficult to investigate since Broadspace is simply not observable from the vital surface of a Simulacron. No telescope is able to penetrate the protective layers of the upper hemisphere. It took the discovery of the ports in the underground before the first Mentals learned about the existence of Broadspace.
Nonagrams and Cataracts
Seen from the viewpoint of an observer within a simulacron, there seems to be an empty space through light points, so the view is very similar to the image that a Carbonite (a human from the Carbon Universe) knows when observing the “starry sky”. But in contrast to the starry sky of the Carbon World, the light spots in Broadspace track no predictable orbits, because they oscillate more or less arbitrarily back and forth or occasionally expand slightly. These light points are called cataracts – concentration points of particularly high energy and density, which lie at the nodes of nonagonal structures, the so-called “chambers.”
Meanwhile, we know, that a myriad of strings cover the “empty” space, which we call “axons”. They are covered by a gleaming substance called “Luxonium” which is a very raw form of pure or Proto CCE. Big companies, mainly from the Sempai Cluster, are planning harvester ships to obtain huge portions of this substance. But the bigger a Broadspace Vessel is, the more it consumes of this Luxonium with their converters, so it’s still a matter of math, whether such an endeavor will make any profit.
Broadspace Vessels and their Pilots
As mankind did in the Carbon World, the inhabitants of Nedara dreamed of traveling Broadspace. And just like in the Carbon World, it took ages to put the first boots on foreign ground. Presently Nedara boasts Broadspace Vessels; ships capable of crossing the dangerous chambers of Broadspace, following the axons from cataract to cataract, trying to provide a proper cartography with which to make this weird space a bit more familiar.
Note: We will discuss Nedara Ship Classes in a future edition of the Hawkverse.
Broadspace Vessels are quite similar to Carbon World Spacecraft. The fast short-distance gliders resemble NASA’s space shuttle, while the larger ones look a lot like modern submarines. Vessels range in size from 3-Men Cruisers to the 100 troop battleships especially preferred by Draconis, which are capable of firing CCE torpedos against hostile ships. Every vessel contains a special core housing a Luxonium Converter, a mechanism that converts raw Luxonium into usable pure CCE. Every Broadspace Vessel resonates with a very special sound specific to each ship that the Pilots refer to as “the ships melody.” Every Pilot who has ever traveled within a Broadspace Vessel can identify a ship by its resonance. This is part of their romantic attitude towards Broadspace piloting.
Pilots are very special in the Light Universe and Nedara. Just as Initiators do, they have a very special skill set, which enables them to comfortably navigate through Broadspace without incident. These skills are extremely rare. Because of this, Broadspace Pilots are greatly coveted by every Cluster fleet. Since they are a privileged few, they are respected and flattered by their Commands and allowed a certain leeway to bend the rules regarding military discipline. This normally appears in their adopted hairstyles, speech patterns, and manner of dress, oftentimes similar to those belonging to Nedara’s counterculture. While intelligent, they are generally “easy going” in nature, with a devil-may-care attitude, and often sport a roguish appearance.
Many myths and legends are attributed to Broadspace Pilots, including the origin of the “tears” they have under their eyes: tiny holes with which they are able to attach the filaments that connect them to the ships navigation system. One of these legends states that at a time deemed fit by the will of the GotS, a child would be born with this augmentation naturally occurring. Since the advent of Broadspace travel, this has happened only five times, the first being a pilot by the name of Byron Hicks of Aeternus forty five years ago. He and the others not only showed an affinity for Broadspace piloting but seemed to thrive on it. Naturally, a boy or girl born with these “Tears of the Pilot” certainly doesn’t need to waste time on life planning.
With these special birth occurrences being so rare, and in the rush to acquire as many Broadspace Pilots as possible, each Cluster (with the exception of the Doromanbay and the Delphi Society) sponsored an initiative to find candidates to engage in trial simulations to test their suitability for Broadspace Piloting. It was a dangerous and risky undertaking, since for most humans, a single view of Broadspace, whether shielded or unshielded, confounds the electrical signals to the brain. Broadspace exposure induces nausea, severe sweating, extreme anxiety, palpitations of the heart, and in some cases, nerve paralysis. Prolonged viewing induces dementia, hallucinations, madness, and death.
Over the decades, many brave (or foolhardy) men and women who considered themselves experts in flitter or aircraft piloting flocked to testing centers, hoping to qualify to be among the chosen few. While thousands of candidates have made the attempt, less than 2% have demonstrated the skills necessary to advance into the Pilot ranks. Most of those who “washed out” had to endure months of physical and mental rehabilitation after the experience. Some have actually died in the Pilot’s Chair, succumbing to convulsions or cardiac arrest, while others emerged in a permanently comatose state, requiring hospice care until the day of their death.
The few candidates who do advance are equipped with the necessary augmentation of the Pilot’s Tears to allow them to connect to a Broadspace ship’s port array. Currently, successful Pilot candidates from the Aeternus Cluster are granted a Script from Galathea, the Revered Mother of the T’haire Generis which painlessly fuses inputs into their upper cheekbones below the eye sockets. Due to their distrust of the Revered Mother, the Draconians take a more direct approach by subjecting their candidates to the rigors of Lacrimal bone surgery. Because of their more secretive nature, it is currently unclear as to which path the Sempai Cluster’s Pilots take.
So what exactly is the special ability of a Pilot? To put it simply, a Pilot is a person who can gaze upon Broadspace without having their mind or body affected by it. It requires a fierce mental determination coupled with adaptability and an almost Zen-like demeanor. This go-with-the-flow attitude is common among Pilots, who accept their role with a certain humility, making them the most affable people in their respective fleets.
Upon closer inspection, even a Pilot cannot look directly into the raw form of Broadspace as it appears to the naked eye. They need to perform a special process called the “Knock Down Procedure” on their viewscreen which wipes out all the colors of broadspace, reducing them down to a monochrome view. So for most Pilots, Broadspace appears blue, while some see it in crimson or violet, and others prefer a simple grayscale. After this procedure, which is done all alone in the small cockpit of the ship, strictly separated from the rest of the crew, a Pilot can see the axons and safely follow them from point to point to both nearby and far-reaching simulacra.
To be continued.
Co. by Rael Wissdorf 2010
With Contributions from Nicholas Hede and Frank J. Williams III
Edited by Frank J. Williams III 2017