How would interdiction of Spaceships be possible?
How would interdiction of Spaceships be possible?
Hello Sci-fi fans and writers, I hope that this here is the correct spot to ask this question regarding a conundrum I have come about during my work on a sci-fi short Story.
Outline
In said Short Story, I have some people (Agents) chasing after some other people (Heroes). The heroes stumbled upon some critical information that could damage the faction (Bad Guy) that employs the chasing party. The information got intercepted in time, but to make sure that the information wouldn't be leaked again, they would need to silence the heroes.
Technology
In space there are two modes of flight: conventional reaction based propulsion and a higher speed propulsion which uses a so-called jump drive which flings the spaceship along a predetermined trajectory at high sub-light speeds (max speeds would be 0.5c). There is near instantaneous communications, but you would need to be in coverage of the network itself, which is flaky at best.
Conundrum
So how would agents be able to intercept / interdict the heroes in a plausible fashion? Would it be reasonable to have a micro wormhole generator or some other way to deploy gravimetric wells, which would destabilize the entire star system? Would it be anticlimactic to just have the agents wait for the heroes to finish their jump, as they would know where they would drop out?
I would love to hear opinions and suggestions from you.
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This is the sort of thing I would ask @nyrath about. I don't know if a mention like that can summon him.
I love to think of fanciful physics for astronautics, and I think audiences like it best when the system is self-consistent. It's very hard to design systems that don't lead to contradictions or paradoxes. In a way I think it's like designing a playable game.
@swope @DmMacniel
Alas, I am not on Lemmy, so I never saw the original post.In this case, I again note that the important thing is to focus on Effects, not Causes.
http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/fasterlight.php#id--Establishing_Limits
The desired Effect is "intercept / interdict the heroes".
The proposed Cause of "deploy gravimetric wells" seems to have too many unintended consequences. For starters it can destroy planets.Perhaps some technobabble that slows down the protagonist's ship engine?
I am honored! I'll take a look on your document.
And yeah gravimetric wells are a bit overkill.
Another user suggested, as the travel sequence is on rails, that sending projectiles or other kind of weaponry toward them from the other side would be a suitable idea.
I started following @nyrath on Google+, and followed him as a refugee to Twitter. I lost track of him when I abandoned Twitter (mostly) after the Muskageddon. I escaped Reddit recently and happened to find him again.
Now I have this idea for space settlers jumping from one corporate colony to another as their once-visionary founders turn to squeezing profit from their tenants.
@swope @nyrath @DmMacniel Collapsing corporate space colonies seems really underexplored, but very cyberpunk, theme
@simonbp @swope @nyrath @DmMacniel
Story concepts:
Giganaire buys space colony and cuts costs, killing himself and everyone on the colony because he used air filters made from toilet paper.
Giganaire buys space colony and fires 3/4 of the maintenance staff, claiming they weren't doing a good enough job, but does not replace them.
Hey, this is fun!
@darrelplant @simonbp @swope @DmMacniel
The stories almost write themselves, don't they?
@DmMacniel @simonbp @swope @nyrath
Strains credulity even for speculative fiction.
@darrelplant @DmMacniel @simonbp @swope
Truth is stranger than fiction, because fiction has to make sense
There is actually a real world analog to that...
http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/colonysite.php#shanty1
What was the purpose of parking near each other? It doesn't seem like the crews could cross over to the other ships.
Nice. I also recently (2 weeks ago) moved away from Reddit, as I don't agree with the self-proclaimed King.
Now I have this idea for space settlers jumping from one corporate colony to another as their once-visionary founders turn to squeezing profit from their tenants.
That's actually sounding like a great plot :)
But what is the analogue to the Fediverse in this metphor?
Some sort of space raft where a bunch of new small habitats glom together like a 3D shanty town?
(My website needs an index)
Or like a boomtown? (Scroll down to BOOMTOWN 2)
http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/colonysite.php#wikiboom
Boomtown would certainly be a more optimistic metaphor, but are people mainly pushed or pulled to boomtowns?
Fediverse seems to be mostly people who were repelled by something, and the people who are drawn to it aren't really hoping to make a fortune off being here.
There's probably a Project Rho page about this specific thing, but I haven't been able to find it.
Aha! I was wrong. I do have a section about shanty towns
http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/colonysite.php#refugee
I don't where I got that from, but how about a megastructure made out of several dozens/hundreds of smaller crafts that docked together. Everyone is free to leave on their own and be independent, but together they are forming several reachable communities.
@DmMacniel @nyrath If smaller vehicles can move faster in jump, the bad guys could simple shoot a missile at them. They could watch as it slowly but inexorably closed the distance…
Yeah, another trick to creating a self-consistent spaceflight framework for storytelling is somehow keeping humans in the mix.
Indeed, sure some would find it interesting when faceless ships fight each other in excruciating technical details, but showing the people on those ships gives those fights way more gravitas. Daniel Orrett over at Spacedock gave some great analysis regarding this in their video "how to write a Space Battle": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3jzNHwJ0Nc (1:38)
I think it would be more dramatically interesting if we could figure out some situation that made the pursuit more like a James Bond 007 automobile chase.
I like the idea of the Agents knowing to some degree when and where the Heroes are going to arrive. Played right it could add a lot of tension. If jump-drive has a predetermined destination I imagine that once it kicks in your ship is locked into its path--only being able to be knocked from it or, as you suggest , something is done to slow the Heroe's ship.
How it could work dramatically: the Heroes slip away from the Agents using the jump-drive. The Agents quickly activate some device (a pulsing buoy, technobabble) in the last place the ship was seen. It lets off three thumps in every direction. The Agent's ships rock back with each pulse after which they retrieve the buoy. A little dialogue about waiting for the pulses to dissipate before engaging their own jump-drive ("we don't want to get caught in the pulse's wake") and they're off.
Cut to the Heroes ship in the jump-space: They think they've made a quick escape but the ship stumbles and an alarm goes off. A quick look at their instruments tells them the ship is dropping speed. This happens twice more-the three pulses catching up to them-each time slowing them not quite out of jump-space but enough to know they're heading into the trouble they thought they's just outrun.
This could be used in universe as a something that is rarely deployed because it does affect every ship that engaged jump-drive in that area within a certain timeframe (pick your area of effect and time factors for best storytelling) so it's quite a statement as to how badly the Agents want to thwart the heroes. When the 'pulse buoy' is used, yes, you may slow them down but you may have also affected local commerce, local military and even other Agents in the area by using it. It's effective but costly. You've just broadcast your location and the desperation of your goals to everyone in that area.
Reading this it's easy to think about the #StarWars Interdictor-class Star Destroyer :
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Interdictor-class_Star_Destroyer
In #Traveller #RPG the referee should think about if the buoy can be carried inside a ship or it can be used only by space stations and other technical issues (energy costs, how many times can be used, etc.)
Now that's a great idea, if the buoy can't be transported on a chase ship, space stations only. Making it not always available adds to the drama and keeps it from just being deployed over and over again regardless of its local impact. Even better if only one faction has access to it.
Raising even more concerns and questions when it's used. Very good.
That's some great idea and tech you got there! Also great storytelling.
I like science fiction that has limitations even if it's not based on 'realistic' science. Internal consistency and accepting the obvious extrapolations of any invented technology has to be in place for it to not just feel like magic or deus ex machina. I've found that it usually has the bonus of adding to the dramatic possibilities of the story.
@nyrath @swope @DmMacniel
Seems to me, rather than trying to come up with elaborate trapping mechanisms, maybe set some limits on the jump drive itself. Like:* It is difficult to hide vehicle's jump trajectory.
* Once in jump, a course is locked, can't be changed (or not without consequence like burning out the drive).
* Observers can easily determine the endpoint of a jump and notify local authorities to intercept.
* Recuperation is needed before next jump.My previous ideas about the jump drive is the following:
- It needs time to spool up. And you need to be at a certain velocity, achievable via Main Engines, before the Jump Drive can engage.
- The Jump Drive takes over Main Engines, so no steering mid-flight even to the slightest degree (Perhaps this could be overridden)
- It is On Rail, e.g. you can't change trajectory mid-flight and would need to shut the drive off prematurely
- The Jump Drive needs to "cool down" before being used again.
Additional Ideas would be:
- As the Jump Drive allows the Ship to travel at sublight speeds, it would still be detectable and observed from the outside.
- The Ship is still in normal space.
I agree with you, that if a science fiction author cannot keep things strictly scientific, the next best thing is to make it internally self-consistent. Yes, this is a challenge. Larry Niven found that out.
I suppose that inventing a new self-consistent model of physics that is consistent with real-world data is not really that different from what professional theoretical physicists are doing.
I seem to recall Larry Niven grumbling about his invention, the stasis field. Originally made to solve a minor scientific problem in one story. Turned out to be far too useful. Subsequent stories had to have their problems vetted to ensure they were not trivially solved by the stasis field
Why my biggest gripe with the new star wars was that now relativistic missiles are a thing. Breaks the whole universe. Who needs a death star when you can just point a ship at a planet and blast into it at 0.99c