SporeWiki
Register
Advertisement
Cold Relay

A functional Cold Relay

The Borealis Grid is an engineered layer of hyperspace that exists only in the space that is part of the Borealis Galaxy. This layer of hyperspace provides many benefits to the galaxy, via a system of stabilised hypermatter and Chronoscopic structures that exist along straight paths through hyperspace. Its functions include transportation (via the Cold Relays), distribution of power, information, and Chronoscopic, and as a weapon (by creating hyperspace compression waves). It is currently maintained by the Kormacvar Legacy.

History[]

The Grid was created during the Golden Age of the Kormacvar Empire, for the purpose of efficiency and control over the galaxy, designed to be under the constant maintenance of a race of Caretakers. While details of the Grid's creation are lost to time, it has been unearthed that the Grid was created in collaboration with the Vyro'Narza. Thanks to it, the Kormacvar's influence over the galaxy grew even firmer, estabilishing them as the greatest power to ever exist in it.

The Kormacvar Empire eventually fell to a long invasion by the Grox Empire, with their invasion force strengthening themselves by utilizing the Grid for their own purposes. At the twilight of the war between the two races, the Kormacvar Warmaster Regnatus traveled to the Grid Core and used its most experimental and forbidden powers to ascend into godhood, which led to both the Grox invasion force and the Grid itself to fall under his direct control.

Regnatus remained in control of the Grid for the next five billion years, using it to gain an almost omniscient-level of knowledge of the galaxy's deveopment. Upon his death near the end of the Second Borealis Galactic War, control over the Grid Core fell to the Mechanic, the leader of the Caretakers and the nascent Kormacvar Legacy, who now strived to return it to its proper functions.

Notable technology[]

Cold Relay network[]

The Cold Relay network is a network of Grid relays, which are stabilised hypermatter and Chronoscopic structures existing at all parts of hyperspace as well as in realspace. In realspace, their goal is distribute the power and perform maintenance from hyperspace, as well as to allow galactic travel at faster-than-light speeds by creating slipstream through hyperspace (for ships with Cold Relay drives).

Grox Relay

A Grox Relay

Cold Relay travel work by creating slipstream. The slipstream is a narrowly-focused, directed field that is initiated by manipulating the fabric of the space-time continuum at the quantum level using the starship's navigational deflector array. It works by focusing a quantum field through a deflector dish to generate massive changes in local space curvature. This creates a hyperspace tunnel, which is projected ahead of the vessel. Once a ship has entered this tunnel, the forces inside propel it at incredible speed. In order to maintain the slipstream, a ship has to constantly modify the quantum field with a deflector dish, but incredibly advanced AI are required to do so. In Borealis, however, slipstream is made faster by usage of manipulating 'Cold Conduits', allowing them to travel at 450 light years within minutes.

A rare interaction between stars in the target region of the galaxy creates these FTL 'conduits' between each star. They are hard to locate every time, so the relays pinpoint where they are, and create a hyperspace tunnel with slipstream to the exact location. And because stars move, the relays move the conduits with them, so they aren't destroyed. The conduits also exist within the Cold Relays; it is very vague as to what the conduits exactly are. It is for this reason that Borealis' slipstream is more unique and more potent than travel of other galaxies.

Power distribution via the Cold Relays can work in multiple ways; one is wireless energy transferred using low-frequency beams, another is through extracting hypermatter from the Relays. As the Relays in hyperspace are capable of extracting hypermatter from the hyperspace, this hypermatter can be used as a powerful source of energy, and thanks to the Cold Relay's intricate engineering, is of a bountiful supply and is very efficient.

The Relays also emit energy through low-frequency laser beams, allowing for the energy to be wireless. Due to careful engineering and large amounts of beams, a lot of energy can be received; inefficiencies with time taken to transfer the energy are non-existent as the Relay is constantly pumping out energy through hundreds of beams. As the layer of hyperspace was artificially created by Vyro'Narza, the hypermatter is in limitless supply for reasons unknown (presumably related to Chronoscopic); the Grid couldn't run out of energy at any point.

Many races can extract hypermatter straight from the Relays themselves. Also, races with zero point extraction technology can extract the energy the Cold Relays emit. This means they can have a greater control of how much energy they receive. However, it also opens opportunities for pirates to, if they were strong enough to control the Relay despite its defences, prevent other races from gaining their desired amounts of energy.

Cold Relays cover different regions of space. Type 1 is largest, Type 4 is smallest.

  • Type 1 - Travel between galactic arms
  • Type 2 - Travel between sectors
  • Type 3 - Travel between regions of space within sectors
  • Type 4 - Travel between star systems

So, if someone wanted to reach Planet Groodrub in the Ottzello Sector, and was located in Arm A, they would take the fastest route to the sector's Type 1 Cold Relay, and travel to the Arm of Knowledge. From there, they would take a Type 2 Relay to get to the Ottzello Sector, and then take a Type 3 Relay to the region which contained the Groodrub system. From that region of space, they'd take the Type 4 Relay to the Ottzello Sector. Travel would not be manual; the traveller using Cold Relays would activate the ship's Cold Relay drive, input a destination star system, and the would calculate the route to the system via each Cold Relay.

The lower the type, the smaller the Cold Relay will be. So a type 4 relay will create a much more focused tunnel, but cannot achieve this at long distances like the type 1s are capable of.

The Cold Relays are almost impenetrable fortresses. The Relays themselves can't be damaged, possibly due to deflector shields and a metal that seems near indestructible, although many have theorised that it is due to the fact the Relays in realspace are projections of their hyperspace versions. It is fact, however, that repair systems being shared between the two make them more resilient and can mean a realspace Cold Relay can be recreated by its hyperspace variation.

The Relays also have turbolaser cannon defences, which they use on anything that they see as a threat. When the Cold Relays are under a serious threat, they divert all power distribution to the weapons defences, and block the travel access except to defence reinforcements. The hypermatter that was used for power distribution is instead used in cannons, and with their Chronoscopic technology, can use spacetime weapons as defences; creating spacetime defects allow unimaginable effects that can do anything from causing wormholes to turning enemies into sheep.

Gridfire[]

Not to be confused with the same Gridifre used around the rest of the Universe, Borealis Gridfire uses the Grid as a defence.

Gridfire protection is used to protect against any extra-galactic weapons that can harm the Grid or the galaxy. Anything fired from outside the galaxy targeting Borealis is swallowed up by the hyperspace layer via Cold Relays in realspace, and thus, is nullified before it can cause any serious damage. This forces oppressors to enter the galaxy and use the weapon, which means that Gridfire Weakening comes into play.

Typical Gridfire defence is when the Grid can be used to weaken enemies. It is used to target anything that threatens the Galaxy; as no one can attack the galaxy without entering the galaxy, and to enter it is entering the space of the Grid.

Gridfire is used to protect against extradimensional threats to the galaxy. This means that anything extradimensional is compressed into the third dimension via hyperspace through unknown (possibly Taldar-origin) means. This technology was developed specifically to combat Essentials and Ultraterrestrials, weakening them so conventional weapons can more easily destroy them.

A form of Gridfire using subsapce compression is by sending a hyperspace compression wave through the Grid that can be designed to target anything in the Grid. For example, it could be used to destroy life, to destroy a certain type of machine, or the entire galaxy itself. This is known as Ultima Gridfire.

However, due to the defence and security systems as well as the vast amounts of restriction protocols, even if someone was to gain access to the weapon, it would be almost impossible to actually use unless they could prove that it wasn't just for their own personal gain.

Grid Centers[]

Grid Centers are artificial planets that in most cases support life, and exist in each Galactic subsector. From these centers, the Grid for the subsector is controlled and monitored by Caretakers. These have control over all Cold Relays in the subsector. The main Grid Core exists at the very core of the galaxy and controls the Grid throughout all of Borealis; this center isn't a planet, and is invisible to outsiders. Like the Cold Relays, they have a hyperspace version that is linked with their projected realspace version; the main center at the galactic core has no realspace version, and access from realspace is prohibited in most cases.

Grid Ascension[]

The most obscure technology in the Grid, this involves a sapient mind merging themselves with the Grid Core, achieving a form of technological ascension. It was developed in secret by the more shady among the Kormacvar Emperors, who sought to use it to achieve godhood, though it was never fully finished. The Emperors who attempted going through Grid Ascension were instead driven mad due to an inability to comprehend their new state of existence before the Vyro'Narza purged them out of the system and punished them for their hubris.

Regnatus was the first individual to survive Grid Ascension and avoid the Vyro'Narza's notice, which led him to effectively become an Ultraterrestrial. After his death, the Mechanic went through the same process, specifically sponsored by the Vyro'Narza to act as the Grid's central intelligence.

Notes[]

Colonization is currently CLOSED

Bold indicates particularly important topics

Italic indicates fiction made by users other than Borealis's creator
Information
Nations and Races of Borealis
Historical Events
Notable Figures
Advertisement