Navigation to other Planets

Contents | Glossary | << Previous Chapter | Next Chapter >>

Which is a speculative work raising matters for consideration in Navigating through the Void of space when travelling to other worlds.

Travel to Thunor

Whereas there is an analogue world to Alusia, and on there they regularly travel via Cavorite vessel to Thunor that they call Ares, and having visited Ares via portal myself and discussed this matter with them in some detail, it seems to me that it is highly feasible to travel to Thunor directly through the Aether void between worlds, without the use of portals.

Propulsion

And the means of this journey would be as above, that being a Cavorite ship which can by continually deflecting itself from the Sun, steadily push faster and faster towards the other reaches of the Aether, until a wise captain chooses to attract itself to the Sun again, slowing its passage sufficiently that they may land on rather than pass through any planet that lies on their path.

And journeys across a great deal of Alusia, including passage to Seagate from Insel de Freiheit via the North Pole being 8,800 miles, and more than halfway around Ares that is Thunor being over 6,000 miles, have shown a capacity of acceleration by attracting or repulsing the Sun of perhaps 40 miles per hour, or a little more if the air blows with the ship. This power allowed to run through the Void without the air pushing back on the ship may result in 1,200 miles per hour increase each day. And the further the ship gets to Thunor the less this force would be for theory shows that the force decreases with distance, so the ship would need to change to attract the Sun less that half way across, or risk going past Thunor at some awful speed and out into the Deep Aether Void, and yet the change in speed on Ares being Thunor was nearly the same as on Alusia, giving hope this would not be a great factor.

And in so much as tentative journeys, although confined to the breathable atmosphere below 20 thousand feet in altitude, have shown by attracting or repulsing the ship from Alusia an acceleration of 30 feet per second until slowed by the howling of the wind in the rigging, and there being no wind or air in the Aether, it seems that the initial part of the voyage, and the final part near Thunor, would provide an extra degree of acceleration, and a leeway for imprecision in the middle of the journey.

Steering

In that the first part of the journey would be repelling the ship from Alusia for a day, then from the Sun for some months, it would be prone to the slightest initial deviation, and with no air or coax the ship leeward, the deviation would become an unalterable course. And in that the second part of the journey would be attracting the ship back towards the Sun to slow our outwards speed, again no course correction would be possible there being no objects except the Sun with a notable effect on the ship. And in the final part being repelling the ship from the planet we plan to berth at, any initial deviation or failure to allow for the passage of the planet during our journey, or any miscalculation of the time taken to travel this vast distance may mean the planet is not directly in front of us, and as repelling from the planet will multiply and further any deviation, we are almost bound to miss the planet altogether unless we can slow our outwards speed faster than we gain lateral speed, and then make landfall from beside the planet rather than directly from the Sun. And in that there are so many uncertainties and unknowns in calculating the rate of travel, or even the distance to the planet, it seems more than likely that the ship would miss Thunor altogether, it being directed outwards towards an expected position.

And against this picture of risk and danger is that the Imperial Navy of this other world regularly sends vast fleets of ships, many with rather sub-standard commanders, across the void between their Home world and Ares being Thunor. And knowing that this journey takes but six months and is travelled every two years when the planets align and are only 50 million miles apart, it seems that these doubts are easily overcome with a little planning and confidence.

Crew

Obviously, an all-volunteer crew would be required. Given the close confines of an air-tight vessel for up to a year, with no opportunity respite from each other, a healthy toleration and even respect for each other is essential. In addition, the Navigation, Cook, and Healer roles, being the only essential roles, would need to be duplicated, and three sets of watches would be required. It seems that a crew of six would be minimal, with two or three Master Navigators, and two or three competent Healers included. At least one crew member with ability to portal from a void to more pleasant climes would enhance both the chance of survival and the morale of the crew greatly.

Supplies

In that the ship must be able to travel to Thunor, and return to Alusia, with the crew and Master all well, supplies sufficient for the return journey must be provided. And if this journey is of six months either way, then the food requirement is 500 pounds per man and the liquid 1 tonne per man, being no more than 10% spirits and 25% wine. Wherefore a skeleton crew of 6 would require 8 tonnes of water and 2 tonnes of food. All cooking and heating would be magical, for firewood or coal for this extended period would be excessive, as well as creating problems with air.

Air

It is said that the quantity of air used up or made bad is 10 pounds of air per day per man being 1 ½ tonnes of air per man in a year. It is well known that air cannot be transported in such massive quantities, it being easier to create an air spring, this requiring an item, for no Air mage should be locked in a small wooden vessel surrounded by the Aether Void for a year on end, and neither should any crew be subjected to said Air Mage. As a temporary or desperation measure it would be possible to turn some of the supply of water into air every few hours, this being practical except that the casting of Transmutation 10 times a day runs a risk of calamity, and also that the stale air building up over months may damage ship and crew.

Addressing Concerns Raised

Some concerns have been raised by my gentle readers, to which I endeavour to reply:

Light

We could use magic (permanent firelights) for reading, but starlight will be sufficient for most purposes (and more romantic!).

Heat/Cooling

As the Aether is without Fire or Ice, it should be a pleasant neutral temperature. We can bring woolen jerseys if it gets nippy, but body heat is likely to suffice. If it gets too hot, we can create ice.

Newtonium

The proposed ship is not powered by Newtonium but Cavorite, the author having a ready supply of the latter. One would need to write a separate article based on Newtonium's putative propulsive powers.

Steering

This is a major concern, and whether we should aim for Thunor, or where it might be in some time, given that we do not know how long our journey will take, is a matter for serious consideration. Discussion with the Imperial Navy who regularly undertakes this journey on another place is perhaps the wisest recourse, but I might just give it a go in the meantime. Perhaps a trip to the Moon would iron out any wrinkles with steering, overheating, air supplies leaking through the tarred wooden hull, etc., and prove easier to raise a volunteer crew for.

Waste

Good thinking. We should include a servant on the crew, whose jobs will include tidying up, getting rid of spoilt food, and cleaning the Bethel bottles & bedpans. Very civilised. Throwing the rubbish over the side, while inelegant, shouldn't cause too many problems.

Crew Location

I can't help detecting a misapprehension by some readers. The ship's hull won't be completely air-tight, being wood & tar, but that's needed to let the bad air out and to stop it getting too stuffy. Anyway, I don't plan to spend much the time in the cabin, as it will get awfully crowded, and I will need to be on the Poop desk to take readings, and to change course. I expect we will all spend most of our time on the deck when not sleeping. Being shut up in a sealed wooden box for 6 hours sounds fatal - 6 months would be madness. Or have I missed something?

Other Matters

None yet come to mind.