THE JUMPGATE DEFINITIVE GUIDE - Tripod

1.5. Capital ships... I know there out there! If we find some can I pilot one?
Capital ships are outside current technology because of the way jump drives
work. Jump drives emit a field of gravitons that focus the jump. This field can only
be extended around a limited area making large ships impossible to send
through a jump gate. Although a capital ship that never left a sector is possible,
there has never been a pressing need for one. (And no company wishes to
finance the manufacture of a ship with a limited use).
1.6. Can pilots travel jump gates without being genetically modified, say by
some outside force?
There has never been a recorded instance of this happening.
Of course you can send anyone or anything through a jumpgate... if you like the
smell of charred meat, and don´t mind having your brain explode over your
cockpit.
1.7. How come space has drag?
Space doesn’t. Ships experience something similar to "drag" as a result of the
gravitons emitted by their engines. Graviton particles limit forward momentum.
1.8. What is the average level of technology, planetside?
Obviously there are differences between the factions. Generally speaking the
level of technology is what one would expect to be found toward the end of the
21st century (nano-implants, reto-viral engineering, etc) with some exceptions.
On Solrain, for example, there is a planetary transportation system that is precollapse.
The material the tubes are made out of is an unknown substance that
can´t be cut with even the most powerful of energy tools. There are many
aspects of planetary life that utilize pre-collapse technology. There are other
technologies that are so old, such as the internal combustion engine, that the
workings of them really aren´t understood... although amature hobbiests will try
to work with them.
Every planet has it´s own information network, but interfacing with this network
varies from one culture to the next. The Solrain use nano-implants to stay
connected, while the Quantar utilize "digi-pads". Each planetary network has
access to the subspace network, but access to the subspace network is too
expensive for daily use by individuals.
1.9. Why is there sound in outer space?
There isn´t! The sounds being heard by pilots are actually the output of a
sophisticated computer system which is translating graviton emissions into a
format humans can more readily react to and understand, similar to how radar
converts electromagnetic waves into a format we can grasp. Since missile
launches trigger certain predictable graviton emissions, as do explosions, as do
engine thrusts, these emissions in turn become predictable sounds. A standard
in all TRI ships, many pilots opt to replace the TRI-issued graviton-to-sound
translations with customized alternatives.
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