The Chanur Novels - The Technology of The Compact

The Technology of The Compact

There are three main kinds of space ships in Compact's employ: surface-to-orbit shuttles, miners, and jump ships. The first and the second use only reaction engines for propulsion; shuttles can land on planets while miners and jump ships need space stations to dock. Only the jump ships can cross interstellar distances by using jump drive. They are also the fastest in-system transports because they can move at sub-light speeds without entering a jump. Most of these are traders and freighters; some are heavily armed hunter-ships. The Compact ships do not enter hyperspace proper; they aim at a star and "glide" along the so-called interface between space and hyperspace until the mass at the other end of the jump goal makes them drop out. They exit at light speed and must dump velocity with help of the same jump engine; a ship failing to do so is doomed, and usually a high hazard. There is a limit on maximum jump distance, depending on the ship's drive power and mass; a ship overstretching a jump may "fade", never exiting it. A jump takes several weeks of objective time. Subjectively it can take hours or even several days; this tends to exhaust the body, and the crews need to take rest between jumps. Hani and mahendo'sat stay marginally conscious during jump, but unable to act; usually, they dream. Stsho must drug themselves unconscious to survive jump. Humans can survive it undrugged, but it is a terrible experience to them. No one knows what the other species feel during it, though it is hinted that Kif maintain more of their faculties than hani during jump.

Ships and space stations communicate by radio, which poses time-lag difficulties. To alleviate them somewhat, heavily trafficked systems usually keep buoys near the jump exit points that serve incoming ships with system-wide scan and traffic information, and also mail.

The space stations are universally built as huge doughnuts, the spin maintaining a sort of artificial gravity (the Compact has no other technology that can do it). This poses a difficulty when docking, as the ship must precisely coincide with the quickly rotating station wheel to grapple. When docked, two sets of grapples, its own and the station's, hold it in place and in mutual clinch: a ship can undock forcibly, but that is bound to damage the station and is a criminal offense. The tankers and miners dock at the central hub for materials transfer. Dockside transport is mostly electric carts and trucks of all sizes, but many people go into docks on foot.

Different species build ships in different fashions; the methane-breather ships seem haphazardly constructed to the oxygen breathers. All jump ships have vanes, constructed of modular panels, which form the "hyperspace bubble" needed to cross the interface. For example, The Pride of Chanur begins with the dock grapples at the prow; then follows the habitat with the carousel which rotates during inertial flight to provide gravity. The bridge is also located there. Then come the pressurized and "cold" holds with beds for cargo canisters, loading machinery and a separate cargo access hatch; then the jump drive assembly with three vanes on support columns, with wire struts; and finally, the main-engine for ballistic flight. Hunter ships have less cargo space and more weaponry and crew accommodation, and often have detachable holds.

Weapons include lasers, automatic cannons, and missile batteries for the ship; personal armaments include small beam weapons, pistols, and "AP guns" (which fire explosive shells, not unlike a small grenade launcher). Knives are also mentioned. Hani and kif, as predators, also have sharp retractile claws and sharp teeth. The mahendo'sat have tough, non-retractable claws, which are often used for utilitarian purposes, but using these in a fight is seen as a sign of madness in their culture.