Difference between revisions of "QuasiSpace"

Latest revision as of 21:14, 15 March 2019

QuasiSpace portals transport The Flagship to predetermined locations in HyperSpace.

QuasiSpace (literally resembling or to some degree like Space) is a dimension that forms a space-time analogue to TrueSpace, home to the Arilou Lalee'lay and only recently discovered by Humans during the events of the Star Control II. It is accessible only from HyperSpace, as far as the Humans know, apparently having an analogous relationship to HyperSpace similar to that which HyperSpace has to TrueSpace. HyperSpatial distances are enormously compressed in QuasiSpace; however, HyperSpatial relationships in QuasiSpace are even more distorted than TrueSpatial relationships in HyperSpace. Unlike the vortices between HyperSpace and TrueSpace, there appears to be no correlation between the access points connecting QuasiSpace to HyperSpace nor any natural phenomena like gravity wells. QuasiSpace also provides access to Falayalaralfali (QuasiSpace coordinates 613.4 : 590.0), the homeworld of the Arilou Lalee'lay, which they describe as kept in a giant TrueSpace pocket embedded within QuasiSpace.

Background[edit]

The only Humans to travel extensively in QuasiSpace are The Captain and his crew, who are given free passage by the Arilou as part of their effort to assist the New Alliance of Free Stars in their struggle against the Ur-Quan. Superficial observations of QuasiSpace show it to be similar to HyperSpace, a four-dimensional space-time in which time passes at the same standard rate as in HyperSpace. Unlike HyperSpace, QuasiSpace is filled with broadband radiation that peaks in the green wavelengths of the visible spectrum rather than the red. Against the green background are sudden bursts and explosions, similar to those observed in HyperSpace but appearing black instead of bright white. It is unknown if the dark and bright bursts of energy in QuasiSpace and HyperSpace are related, but the phenomena in HyperSpace are theorized to be manifestations of objects which are moving quickly between adjacent dimensions.¹ It is interesting to note that the color scheme of QuasiSpace, including these energetic bursts, is nearly the exact complement (according to Human visual perception) of HyperSpace's color scheme.

In QuasiSpace, The Flagship's systems appear to respond exactly as they do in HyperSpace, engaging the engines to thrust through QuasiSpace and being dragged to a halt relative to the QuasiSpatial absolute reference frame when thrust ceases. However, although the starship's engines appear to be firing, The Flagship consumes none of its fuel.

The Orz explain that the Arilou are from *outside* and from *above*, while the Orz themselves are from *outside* and from *below*. Most interpret this to mean that *above* refers to QuasiSpace, with *outside* being a general reference to dimensions besides TrueSpace and HyperSpace and *below* being the Orz home dimension. However, since it is very difficult to adequately translate Orz communications and since these words are merely lingual best-fits, it is not certain how QuasiSpace fits into the Orz description of dimensions.

QuasiSpace Portals[edit]

The exact method of creating an artificial portal into QuasiSpace is primarily known by the Arilou. The interdimensional Orz may also have the knowledge but choose to stay away from Arilou-dominated QuasiSpace. The Arilou mention that the method involves Inter-Dimensional Fatigue, which they caution is extremely dangerous and research into this field should not be attempted by the Human race. The only time that they have created a Portal Spawner for use by another race is their donation of one to The Captain during the second Doctrinal Conflict, which is subsequently destroyed along with the rest of The Flagship.

The local region of QuasiSpace features a tight cluster of naturally occuring one-way portals into HyperSpace. However, there is only one naturally-occurring bidirectional portal between QuasiSpace and the Alliance region of the galaxy. This intermittent portal is located in the Chandrasekhar constellation and manifests as a large region of green-glowing space visible from HyperSpace and is mistaken for a variable star by the Spathi. This portal only appears for a period of about three Human days starting on the 17th of any given month, and closing on the 20th, such that its open times occur two-thirds through each month on the Human calendar — a mnemonic The Captain's crew uses to locate the natural portal in their first dealings with the Arilou.

Nearest Portal Map[edit]

This table shows the QuasiSpace locations and HyperSpace endpoints of the 15 unidirectional portals and the single bidirectional portal. The associated map indicates the nearest unidirectional portal exit for any location in HyperSpace.

QS portal	HS endpoint	HS endpoint description	Label²	color
500.0 : 500.0	043.8 : 637.3	center of Arilou space; bi-directional; open monthly 17th - 20th	A	none
448.0 : 504.0	565.7 : 971.2	far north on the map, near Delta Lyncis	M
458.0 : 492.0	860.7 : 015.1	far southeast on the map	N
466.0 : 514.0	230.2 : 398.8	in the middle of Spathi space	L
468.0 : 464.0	921.0 : 610.4	far east on the map; near Arcturus	J
476.0 : 458.0	409.0 : 774.8	northwest edge of Ur-Quan space	I
476.0 : 496.0	611.6 : 413.1	south edge in Ur-Quan space	K
488.0 : 538.0	973.5 : 315.3	in the middle of Druuge space	P
492.0 : 492.0	005.0 : 164.7	in the middle of Ilwrath space	O
502.0 : 460.0	318.3 : 490.6	between Spathi and ZFP space	F
506.0 : 474.0	190.9 : 092.6	near Earth³	G
516.0 : 466.0	567.3 : 120.7	between VUX, Mycon, and Yehat space	H
520.0 : 514.0	011.1 : 940.9	far northwest on the map, near the Slylandro	B
520.0 : 540.0	584.9 : 621.3	in the middle of Ur-Quan space	C
530.0 : 528.0	775.2 : 890.6	between Supox and Utwig space	D
544.0 : 532.0	036.8 : 633.2	in the middle of Arilou space	E	white

HyperSpace Map with QuasiSpace portal distances

There's a version taking direct travel from Earth into account.

HyperSpace-QuasiSpace Combination Map[edit]

This map shows the QuasiSpace locations and HyperSpace endpoints of the 15 unidirectional portals and the single bidirectional portal (marked as "A" in the map).

Quasispace Map

Notes and references[edit]

¹Star Control II manual, pg. 34 (PC) or pg. 18 (3DO).

²Labels as seen on the "Deluxe Map of HyperSpace"

³Travelling to Sol from this spot in HyperSpace requires 5.5 units of fuel so that the minimum fuel required to return via QuasiSpace to Earth from anywhere is 15.5 fuel units.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Image:SC2_QuasiSpace_Screenshot.png|thumb|QuasiSpace portals transport your ship to predetermined locations in [[HyperSpace]].]]
+[[Image:SC2_QuasiSpace_Screenshot.png|thumb|QuasiSpace portals transport The Flagship to predetermined locations in [[HyperSpace]].]]
-'''QuasiSpace''' is one of the "higher dimensions" that forms a space-time analogue to [[TrueSpace]], home to the [[Arilou Lalee'lay]] and only recently discovered by [[Humans]] during the events of the [[Second War]]. It is only accessible from [[HyperSpace]], leading some to suspect that it bears an analogous relationship to HyperSpace that HyperSpace does to TrueSpace, since HyperSpatial distances are enormously compressed in QuasiSpace. However, HyperSpatial relationships in QuasiSpace are even more distorted than TrueSpatial relationships in HyperSpace, and, unlike with HyperSpace and TrueSpace, there appears to be no correlation between the access points connecting QuasiSpace to HyperSpace and any natural phenomena like gravity wells.
+'''QuasiSpace''' (literally ''resembling or to some degree like Space'') is a dimension that forms a space-time analogue to [[TrueSpace]], home to the [[Arilou Lalee'lay]] and only recently discovered by [[Humans]] during the events of the [[Star Control II]]. It is accessible only from [[HyperSpace]], as far as the Humans know, apparently having an analogous relationship to HyperSpace similar to that which HyperSpace has to TrueSpace. HyperSpatial distances are enormously compressed in QuasiSpace; however, HyperSpatial relationships in QuasiSpace are even more distorted than TrueSpatial relationships in HyperSpace. Unlike the vortices between HyperSpace and TrueSpace, there appears to be no correlation between the access points connecting QuasiSpace to HyperSpace nor any natural phenomena like gravity wells. QuasiSpace also provides access to [[Falayalaralfali]] (QuasiSpace coordinates 613.4 : 590.0), the homeworld of the [[Arilou Lalee'lay]], which they describe as kept in a giant TrueSpace pocket embedded within QuasiSpace.
-The only Human to travel extensively in QuasiSpace was [[Captain Zelnick]] of the [[Vindicator]], who was given free passage through QuasiSpace during the War by the Arilou as part of their effort to assist the [[New Alliance of Free Stars]] in their struggle against the Ur-Quan. During that time a number of strange, seemingly inexplicable and self-contradictory observations were made about the properties of QuasiSpace. Superficial observations of QuasiSpace show it to be similar to HyperSpace, a four-dimensional space-time in which time passed at the same standard rate as in HyperSpace. It was filled with a dense, chaotic permeating medium that appears to glow at a higher temperature than HyperSpace, radiating into the green levels of the visible spectrum rather than the red. However, upon closer examination, the energy formations in QuasiSpace appeared to act very strangely, forming short-lived localized regions of low energy appearing as dark spots on a map rather than forming high-energy flares as HyperSpace does.
+==Background==
+The only Humans to travel extensively in QuasiSpace are [[The Captain]] and his crew, who are given free passage by the Arilou as part of their effort to assist the [[New Alliance of Free Stars]] in their struggle against the [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za|Ur-Quan]]. Superficial observations of QuasiSpace show it to be similar to HyperSpace, a four-dimensional space-time in which time passes at the same standard rate as in HyperSpace. Unlike HyperSpace, QuasiSpace is filled with broadband radiation that peaks in the green wavelengths of the visible spectrum rather than the red. Against the green background are sudden bursts and explosions, similar to those observed in HyperSpace but appearing black instead of bright white. It is unknown if the dark and bright bursts of energy in QuasiSpace and HyperSpace are related, but the phenomena in HyperSpace are theorized to be manifestations of objects which are moving quickly between adjacent dimensions.{{ref|1}} It is interesting to note that the color scheme of QuasiSpace, including these energetic bursts, is nearly the exact complement (according to Human visual perception) of HyperSpace's color scheme.
-Suspicious observers soon realized that observations for a region of QuasiSpace were exactly identical to readings for a similar region of HyperSpace, only all visuals were inverted -- to the ''Human eye''. Humans' visual systems perceive the color green as an opposite to the color red, and QuasiSpace radiated a green color that complemented the red color of HyperSpace to the human eye perfectly; every observed "black hole" and "dark cloud" in QuasiSpace corresponded to a commonly observed energy flare in HyperSpace.
+In QuasiSpace, [[The Flagship]]'s systems appear to respond exactly as they do in HyperSpace, engaging the engines to thrust through QuasiSpace and being dragged to a halt relative to the QuasiSpatial absolute reference frame when thrust ceases. However, although the starship's engines appear to be firing, The Flagship consumes none of its fuel.
-More bizarre than this was the behavior of the Vindicator's own systems in QuasiSpace. The Vindicator's systems appeared to respond exactly as they did in HyperSpace, expending energy to accelerate through the QuasiSpatial medium and being dragged to a halt relative to the QuasiSpatial absolute reference frame when acceleration ceased. However, upon closer examination the Vindicator's engineers found that, although the Vindicator's engines appeared to be firing, the Vindicator was consuming none of its fuel.
+The [[Orz]] explain that the Arilou are from *outside* and from *above*, while the Orz themselves are from *outside* and from [[*below*]]. Most interpret this to mean that *above* refers to QuasiSpace, with *outside* being a general reference to dimensions besides TrueSpace and HyperSpace and *below* being the Orz home dimension. However, since it is very difficult to adequately translate [[Orz communications]] and since these words are merely lingual best-fits, it is not certain how QuasiSpace fits into the Orz description of dimensions.
-All of these considerations, along with the Arilou's use of the English term "QuasiSpace" in describing their home dimension ("that which appears like space but is not") support the theory that the physical appearance of QuasiSpace was an illusion, generated either by the minds of the Vindicator's crew or somehow created by the Arilou, and that the real structure of QuasiSpace obeys no physical laws and is some sort of purely "mental", "spiritual" or "pattern-based" dimension.
+== QuasiSpace Portals ==
+The exact method of creating an artificial [[portal]] into QuasiSpace is primarily known by the Arilou. The interdimensional Orz may also have the knowledge but choose to stay away from Arilou-dominated QuasiSpace. The Arilou mention that the method involves [[Inter-Dimensional Fatigue]], which they caution is extremely dangerous and research into this field should not be attempted by the Human race. The only time that they have created a [[Portal Spawner]] for use by another race is their donation of one to The Captain during the second [[Doctrinal Conflict]], which is subsequently destroyed along with the rest of The Flagship.
+The local region of QuasiSpace features a tight cluster of naturally occuring one-way portals into [[HyperSpace]]. However, there is only one naturally-occurring bidirectional portal between QuasiSpace and the Alliance region of the galaxy. This intermittent portal is located in the Chandrasekhar constellation and manifests as a large region of green-glowing space visible from HyperSpace and is mistaken for a variable star by the [[Spathi]]. This portal only appears for a period of about three Human days starting on the 17th of any given month, and closing on the 20th, such that its open times occur two-thirds through each month on the Human calendar &mdash; a mnemonic The Captain's crew uses to locate the natural portal in their first dealings with the Arilou.
+=== Nearest Portal Map ===
-QuasiSpace provides access to [[Falayalaralfali]], the home planet of the [[Arilou Lalee'lay]], according to them moved from TrueSpace and kept in a giant TrueSpace pocket similar to a [[HyperSpace|Hyperdrive]] bubble by some unknown technology. The creation of overlapping regions of QuasiSpace and HyperSpace appears to be a much more difficult, complex process than overlapping TrueSpace and HyperSpace, involving augmenting normal Hyperdrive with a more subtle form of manipulation of space-time known as "Dimensional Fatigue", a term coined by the [[Androsynth]].  DF appears to create a deeper, more basic change in local physical constants that allows dimensions even more disparate from each other than TrueSpace and HyperSpace to overlap.
+This table shows the QuasiSpace locations and [[HyperSpace]] endpoints of the 15 unidirectional portals and the single bidirectional portal. The associated map indicates the nearest unidirectional portal exit for any location in HyperSpace.
+{|border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"
+|-
+!QS portal!!HS endpoint!!HS endpoint description!!Label{{ref|2}}!!color
+|-
+|500.0 : 500.0||043.8 : 637.3||center of [[Arilou]] space; bi-directional; open monthly 17th - 20th||A||none
+|-
+|448.0 : 504.0||565.7 : 971.2||far north on the map, near [[Delta Lyncis]]||M||bgcolor=#000080|
+|-
+|458.0 : 492.0||860.7 : 015.1||far southeast on the map||N||bgcolor=#008000|
+|-
+|466.0 : 514.0||230.2 : 398.8||in the middle of [[Spathi]] space||L||bgcolor=#008080|
+|-
+|468.0 : 464.0||921.0 : 610.4||far east on the map; near [[Arcturus]]||J||bgcolor=#ff9933|
+|-
+|476.0 : 458.0||409.0 : 774.8||northwest edge of [[Ur-Quan]] space||I||bgcolor=#800080|
+|-
+|476.0 : 496.0||611.6 : 413.1||south edge in [[Ur-Quan]] space||K||bgcolor=#808000|
+|-
+|488.0 : 538.0||973.5 : 315.3||in the middle of [[Druuge]] space||P||bgcolor=#c0c0c0|
+|-
+|492.0 : 492.0||005.0 : 164.7||in the middle of [[Ilwrath]] space||O||bgcolor=#808080|
+|-
+|502.0 : 460.0||318.3 : 490.6||between [[Spathi]] and [[ZFP]] space||F||bgcolor=#0000ff|
+|-
+|506.0 : 474.0||190.9 : 092.6||near [[Earth]]{{ref|3}}||G||bgcolor=#ffff00|
+|-
+|516.0 : 466.0||567.3 : 120.7||between [[VUX]], [[Mycon]], and [[Yehat]] space||H||bgcolor=#00ffff|
+|-
+|520.0 : 514.0||011.1 : 940.9||far northwest on the map, near the [[Slylandro]]||B||bgcolor=#00ff00|
+|-
+|520.0 : 540.0||584.9 : 621.3||in the middle of [[Ur-Quan]] space||C||bgcolor=#ff0000|
+|-
+|530.0 : 528.0||775.2 : 890.6||between [[Supox]] and [[Utwig]] space||D||bgcolor=#ff00ff|
+|-
+|544.0 : 532.0||036.8 : 633.2||in the middle of [[Arilou]] space||E||bgcolor=#ffffff|white
+|}
-Apparently Dimensional Fatigue is easier to achieve in QuasiSpace than HyperSpace. The local region of QuasiSpace features a very tight cluster of several portals into [[HyperSpace]], probably all close together because they were all formed by the same Dimensional Fatigue event. However, there is only one portal to QuasiSpace from [[HyperSpace]] in our region of space. This portal is located in the the Chandrasekhar constellation; it manifests as a large region of green-glowing space visible from HyperSpace and mistaken for a variable star by the [[Spathi]], as it only appears for a period of about three Human days on a roughly thirty-day cycle, such that its open times occur near the end of each month on the Human calendar -- a mnemonic Zelnick's crew used to locate the natural portal in their first dealings with the Arilou. Apart from this "natural" portal, QuasiSpace can only be accessed via a [[QuasiSpace Portal Spawner]]. Only the Arilou are known to possess this technology; the only time they have created a Portal Spawner for another race's use was their donation of one to Zelnick during the War, which was subsequently destroyed along with the rest of the Vindicator.
+{|
+|-
+|[[Image:Quasispace_Map_Original_Med.png|Original Quasispace Map]]
+|[[Image:Uqm-hyperspace-2xZoom-8xFSAA.png|HyperSpace Map with QuasiSpace portal distances]]<br />There's a [[:Image:Uqm-hyperspace-4xZoom-16xFSAA-earth.png|version]] taking direct travel from Earth into account.
+|}
+=== HyperSpace-QuasiSpace Combination Map ===
+This map shows the QuasiSpace locations and [[HyperSpace]] endpoints of the 15 unidirectional portals and the single bidirectional portal (marked as "A" in the map).
-== QuasiSpace Portals ==
+[[Image:qspace.gif|thumb|none|800px|Quasispace Map]]
+==Notes and references==
+{{note|1}}''[[Star Control II]] manual, pg. 34 (PC) or pg. 18 (3DO).''
+{{note|2}}''Labels as seen on the "Deluxe Map of HyperSpace"''
+{{note|3}}''Travelling to [[Sol]] from this spot in HyperSpace requires 5.5 units of fuel so that the minimum fuel required to return via QuasiSpace to Earth from anywhere is 15.5 fuel units.''
-This table shows the QuasiSpace locations and [[HyperSpace]] endpoints of the 15 uni-directional portals and the single bi-directional portal.
+[[Category:Navigation]]
-<table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0">
+[[Category: Dimensions]]
-<tr><th>QS portal</th><th>HS endpoint</th><th>HS endpoint description</th></tr>
+[[Category: Arilou Lalee'lay]]
-<tr><td>500.0, 500.0</td><td>43.8, 637.2</td><td>center of [[Arilou]] space; bi-directional;</br> open monthly 17th - 20th </td></tr>
-<tr><td>476.0, 458.0</td><td>409.1, 774.8</td><td>northwest edge in [[Ur-Quan]] space</td></tr>
-<tr><td>502.0, 460.0</td><td>318.4, 490.6</td><td>between [[Spathi]] and [[ZFP]] space</td></tr>
-<tr><td>468.0, 464.0</td><td>921.1, 610.4</td><td>far west on the map; near [[Arcturus]]</td></tr>
-<tr><td>516.0, 466.0</td><td>567.3, 120.7</td><td>between [[VUX]], [[Mycon]], and [[Yehat]] space</td></tr>
-<tr><td>506.0, 474.0</td><td>191.0,  92.6</td><td>near [[Earth]]</td></tr>
-<tr><td>458.0, 492.0</td><td>860.7,  15.1</td><td>far southeast on the map</td></tr>
-<tr><td>492.0, 492.0</td><td>5.0,   164.7</td><td>in the middle of [[Ilwrath]] space</td></tr>
-<tr><td>476.0, 496.0</td><td>611.7, 413.1</td><td>south edge in [[Ur-Quan]] space</td></tr>
-<tr><td>448.0, 504.0</td><td>565.8, 971.2</td><td>far north on the map</td></tr>
-<tr><td>466.0, 514.0</td><td>230.2, 398.8</td><td>in the middle of [[Spathi]] space</td></tr>
-<tr><td>520.0, 514.0</td><td>11.2,  940.9</td><td>far northwest on the map, near the [[Slylandro]]</td></tr>
-<tr><td>530.0, 528.0</td><td>775.2, 890.6</td><td>between [[Supox]] and [[Utwig]] space</td></tr>
-<tr><td>544.0, 532.0</td><td>36.8,  633.2</td><td>in the middle of [[Arilou]] space</td></tr>
-<tr><td>488.0, 538.0</td><td>973.5, 315.3</td><td>in the middle of [[Druuge]] space</td></tr>
-<tr><td>520.0, 540.0</td><td>585.0, 621.3</td><td>in the middle of [[Ur-Quan]] space</td></tr>
-</table>