Phase Drive
The Phase Drive is a faster-than-light (FTL) propulsion system that enables travel through *phased space*—a resonant dimensional layer colloquially known as Nilita’fen, or *the Flow of Light*. Unlike localized Transit Window gateways, the Phase Drive generates a self-sustaining corridor that carries a ship across interstellar distances in moments. The most advanced design in current use is the **Meras-type High-Frequency Drive**, first installed aboard the Scavenger DX-1017 in *Story 1: The Phoenix from the Scrapyard*.
Overview
A Phase Drive manipulates gravitational and electromagnetic harmonics to shift a vessel partially out of normal spacetime. Within this layer, light behaves as a compressible medium and distance contracts proportionally to the oscillation frequency of the drive field. The process does not create motion in the classical sense—it relocates the vessel by adjusting its resonance relative to the universe itself.
Early "proto-phase" models were slow and unstable. Dr. **Meras**, an Alliance physicist of Prosian heritage, discovered that operating the field at a **higher oscillation frequency** could vastly increase transit speed and stability—if tuned precisely enough to avoid catastrophic resonance.
The Meras Drive
The Meras Drive represented a generational leap beyond the proto-phase engines of the early Alliance. Key innovations included:
- **High-frequency phase modulation** – permitting faster traversal through Nilita’fen.
- **Adaptive harmonic filters** – dynamically retuning to gravitational gradients.
- **Phase life protection tuning** – shielding biological and non-corporeal entities native to phased space.
When the Alliance discontinued Dr. Meras’s program after unexplained disappearances during testing, one surviving core was decommissioned and later salvaged by Captain Elan Drex and the crew who rebuilt it into the Scavenger DX-1017. This hybridized installation became the prototype for safe, high-frequency phase travel.
Principle of Operation
Phase Drives operate in three synchronized phases:
- **Field Generation** – Oscillation coils establish the phased-space envelope.
- **Transition** – The vessel’s local spacetime curvature collapses into resonance alignment with Nilita’fen.
- **Vectoring** – Navigation systems use Star Naming System (SNS) coordinates to shape the exit vector.
Once phased, the vessel is detached from inertial constraints. Acceleration occurs by shifting harmonic gradients rather than applying thrust.
Interaction with Phase Beings
During early tests, high-frequency oscillations interfered with **Phase Beings**, sentient entities that dwell within Nilita’fen. Encounters reported during Meras’s experiments described luminous silhouettes that reacted violently to untuned drives. To prevent harm, Dr. Meras introduced a **resonant buffer algorithm** that modulated the drive’s energy signature to coexist with these lifeforms. The Scavenger continues to employ this calibration, maintaining harmony with the native inhabitants of phased space.
Crew logs from *The Phoenix from the Scrapyard* confirm that failure to tune the drive properly caused distress among nearby Phase Beings and triggered corridor turbulence until Sariel recalibrated the field harmonics.
Components
Typical components of a Meras-class installation include:
- **High-Frequency Oscillation Core** – Generates the phased field.
- **Containment Lattice** – Preserves hull cohesion during phase transition.
- **Harmonic Dampers** – Absorb resonance spikes from nearby stars or subspace storms.
- **Flux Sinks** – Recover residual energy and reduce radiation drift.
- **Phase Sentience Buffer (PSB)** – Software and crystalline hardware layer protecting Phase Beings from field overlap.
Navigation and Control
Phase navigation relies on the Star Naming System (SNS). Each jump endpoint corresponds to an SNS-verified node, ensuring that entry and exit vectors are safely mapped away from planetary bodies. On the Scavenger, the AI Sariel manages harmonic drift in real time, adjusting for gravitational fluctuations and monitoring for anomalies caused by nearby Phase Beings.
Dangers and Limitations
- **Resonance Collapse** – Loss of field balance ejects the ship from Nilita’fen.
- **Phase Sickness** – Neurological fatigue or hallucinations following exposure.
- **Gravitational Shear** – Field distortion near black holes or neutron stars.
- **Radiation Drain** – Persistent energy leakage requiring shield cycling.
- **Ethical Restrictions** – Drives must maintain Phase Life Protection Tuning by law.
No Phase Drive may engage within 0.2 AU of a gravity well or within 10 million km of a populated world.
Nilita’fen (The Flow of Light)
Nilita’fen derives from the Prosian verb Nilita meaning *Flow* or *Current*, and the connective suffix ’fen meaning *of* or *from*. Within this domain, time appears elastic, and starlight stretches into glowing filaments. Phase Beings appear as motes or silhouettes that move through these luminous currents. Experienced navigators often describe Nilita’fen as *“the sea between stars.”*
Variants
- **Proto-Phase Drive** – Early Alliance models; unstable and slow.
- **Meras-Type Drive** – High-frequency, Phase-Being-safe design used on the Scavenger.
- **Deep-Range Array** – Extended-duration drive for exploration vessels.
- **Tonan Phase Array** – Militarized derivative that led to the Tonan Phase Weapon project.
Relationship to Other Systems
- Star Naming System (SNS) – Provides jump coordinate mapping.
- Transit Window – Employs short-range phase entrainment for local transport.
- Quantum Entrainment Technology (QET) – Used only for communication, not propulsion.
Historical Development
- **Annuli 3349:** Proto-phase experiments begin under Alliance Science Bureau.
- **Annuli 3362:** Dr. Meras demonstrates high-frequency field resonance.
- **Annuli 3368:** Alliance suspends testing after Phase Being incidents.
- **Annuli 3370:** Drive core decommissioned; later purchased by the Scavenger Salvage Group.
- **Annuli 3371:** Installation aboard the Scavenger DX-1017 completed; first safe high-frequency flight achieved.
Technical Data
- **Average Jump Speed:** 0.1–25 light-years/sec (subjective)
- **Power Requirement:** 9–22 TW continuous
- **Maximum Safe Field Duration:** 10 hours
- **Recharge Interval:** 1.5 hours
- **Recommended Gravity Exclusion Zone:** ≥ 0.2 AU
- **Radiation Exposure per Jump:** < 0.05 Sv (shielded)
Trivia
- The Scavenger crew performs a **“Phoenix Toast”** before each jump, commemorating their ship’s rebirth and safe coexistence with Nilita’fen.
- Sariel’s adaptive harmonics routine is still based on Dr. Meras’s original tuning equations.
- Prosian engineers say the drive “sings” when properly calibrated—a harmonic resonance audible only through the hull plating.