Lewis Sphere

Lewis Spheres are the spaceships used by humanity in their galactic war against The Enemy and its Eggs. They are manufactured at and launched from the Tower of Light. Lewis Spheres are named for Walter Lewis, a twenty-first century psi, and the only psi to date to demonstrate teleportation abilities. Lewis Spheres are so named because they incorporate Lewis's form of teleportation into their biocomputers, allowing the spheres to cover vast interstellar distances in an instant.

Each Lewis Sphere is a crystalline sphere 12 yards in diameter. The outer shell is composed of a nano-diamondoid composite and, when in operation, it is sheathed in a barrier screen. The exact capabilities of the Lewis Spheres are undisclosed, though they carry armaments capable of destroying Eggs and are sufficiently shielded against stellar radiation and other cosmic hazards to keep the passengers safe. Their teleportation distance is limited by the sphere's power system, the specifics of which are also undisclosed. In addition to teleportation, they are capable of contragrav (UT 223) flight and spaceflight. They can achieve contragrav flight speeds of 1,500 mph and spaceflight speeds of 0.1 c. Lewis Spheres are not linked to Infinite Echo and have undisclosed communication and computational capabilities.

Lewis Sphere operation is achieved through a psionic symbiotic connection between each sphere's pilot and its internal biocomputer, a genetically modified ayahuasca vine. The operator mentally links with the vine-computer and controls all aspects of the sphere. An operational Lewis Sphere comprises the crystalline shell, the bottom third filled with decontaminated, microbial-enriched, nano-enhanced Yuruan soil, and a flowering ayahuasca vine that is latticed in a network along the interior of the sphere. A small pond, roughly two yards in diameter sits in the middle of the sphere, surrounded by stones on which the operator and any passengers can sit.

At any given time, up to four Lewis Spheres can be docked or under construction at the Tower of Light.

Pilots

Lewis Sphere pilots are known as the Children of Light. Each pilot is keyed to a specific ayahuasca vine. Pilots are engineered and bred along with the ayahuasca seeds that will be used for their sphere's computer. The Children of Light live in The Upper of the Tower of Light, sequestered from other groups. Active pilots are young, in their late teens, and have an ascetic look and lifestyle. Retired pilots take up other positions in the Shiva Space Technology division. At any given time there are approximately 100 active-duty Lewis Sphere pilots. They speak Gaelic (Irish Gaelic) and Korean.