Sarah McKillup's elog

6.4.2045 I have taken a job in the Experimental Engineering Department aboard Thaumas I. I wish to leave a chronicle of my efforts, so I have created this elog. I will be working on devices designed to give off no electromagnetic emissions, in anticipation of complications such devices could pose in the face of an enemy capable of detecting such emissions better than we are able to conceal them. This will mean a departure from electronic technology, and a return to mechanical design and engineering paradigms. To this end, I have commenced studying clockwork mechanics for the first time in many years.

6.6.2045 Walter Lewis has agreed to participate in psychotronic experiments aimed at enhancing his natural abilities. Walter is able to cognitively pull mass through higher dimensions at macroscopic scales. In effect, he is able to move between points in space without taking a path through the lower three dimensions. His ability in no way interacts with the temporal dimension of spacetime thus, while his movement appears instantaneous, it is not. The trip through the fifth and sixth dimensions takes 5.6704 picoseconds. This time never varies, regardless of the distance between his departure and arrival points in observable spacetime. The biochemical trigger for the trip takes an additional 78.664 milliseconds. I do not believe there is a way to speed the trip time, though the biochemical trigger time can be reduced through Yurua-14 enhancements.

Lewis's ability is limited in the total distance he can travel. He cannot jump more than 10 yards through space. If supplemented with Yurua-12, he can jump as much as 500 yards. I believe that with an appropriate psychotronic device, such as a helmet insert or even a neural implant, Lewis will be able to make jumps up to 500 miles if both Yurua-12 and a helmet were used in conjunction. It may also be possible to design larger devices to be housed in Thaumas facilities that would amplify his abilities to the point that he can move a sufficient distance to go between the facilities.

At present, the only method of powering psychotronic prototypes is electronic. I will try to merge clockwork technology with the psychotronic devices to render them undetectable.

6.7.2045 I have successfully engineered a micro-flywheel prototype from a hyperdense ferromagnetic ceramic composite. The wheel can be suspended in a vacuum chamber with an osmium inner wall lining. I believe that a layer of iron applied externally to the osmium inner wall in an appropriate fashion will prevent any magnetic fields from leaking out of the housing of the vacuum chamber.

6.8.2045 The micro-flywheel prototype is a success, though there is room for further miniaturization. I have successfully achieved a spinup speed of 0.45c. If I can achieve a spinup speed of 0.8c or greater, then subsequent frictional energy with helium gas should be sufficient to create a fusible plasma. Tiny amounts of helium introduced into the flywheel's vacuum chamber should absorb enough kinetic energy to achieve this. Lead shielding around the vacuum encasement, and ferromagnetic containment and funneling of the energy produced should power all of a vessel's systems. If the design can be micronized significantly, it can be put to use in portable devices.

6.9.2045 It has come to my attention that several persons who wished to join the volunteer defense forces were unable to pass Halon's cadet entrance swim test. I will henceforth be giving swim lessons at the C-2 recreation pool on deck 11. Beginners' classes will be at 7:00 p.m., and intermediate classes will be held at 8:00 p.m. Furthermore, I have created a supplementary VR swim tutor, available at Mediabay 6.

6.10.2045 Mads Larsen in Machine Shop 2 has proven to be exceptional in both speed and competence. He helped me manufacture a prototype hyperdense lead flywheel storage device. We have dubbed it the superflywheel. An array of wheels will be housed externally to the micro-flywheel vacuum chamber, and will store energy released from fusion nano-bursts. These wheels will, in turn, power all of a vessel's mechanical systems. In effect, it is a mechanical battery. We have begun basic design work on an amphibious submersible. The submersible will be coated with the same sea mineral composite of which the Thaumas stations are built. It will be similarly indistinguishable from the ocean floor when scanned from above the water.