Yeah, but they're not the only people in the universe. I probably would have done better to show that the conversation was really only two analysts, that it was the exception, and that there were probably two or three hundred analysts on board the station at the time. The likelihood of this view does increase though, if a long time, a hundred or more years, passes and there is no further shivan incursion; but there will be some who believe it at first due to the sheer size of the invading fleet.
Btw, for the next part, I'm well aware that the science in the next part makes no sense. It's freespace, after all.
PART 2:
Time: 6 Days after Capella Supernova, Place: Beta Aquilae system, GTVA special joint Assembly meeting, Beta Aquilae III
Dr. Mina Hargrove gives a report on the secondary technologies which could be derived from the Knossos Device. “Finally, the formation of the subspace node required precision measurements of its own function and of subspace itself. Portal creation is a very exact science, which required sensitive measurements to be successful.
We found that there were eight detection instruments on the inner ring of the Knossos Device. Three of these were for the monitoring of the rotation, two for the monitoring of its position in relation to the star, and three for the detection of subspace anomalies. The five that monitored the device’s position and orientation were actually primitive according to our capital ship sensor arrays.
They lacked Beryllium-Cobalt emitters, and instead used a very specific Cobalt-Germanium alloy, which, by definition, must emit a slightly larger spectrum of energy per band used, reducing the accuracy of the measurements obtained. It seems they either lacked the raw materials for Beryllium emitters or by circumstance never discovered the technology. Cobalt-Germanium emitters are used on some high-profile Vasudan civilian craft, so its application is not new to us.
However, the remaining three detection devices are actually very special. They are made out of alloy thought not to have a use in scan science: cesium-rubidium. We have never used this alloy because of its volatility, and its apparent lack of application.
These cesium-rubidium devices did not need emitters, but instead detected natural phenomena. Due to the particular structure of the alloy used, the molecules give off certain radiation frequencies in the presence of certain subspace-related phenomena. These phenomena are gravitational waves, temporary subspace portals, and most importantly, jump nodes.
The current method of Jump node detection occurs for nodes that are sufficiently close enough to their parent star to affect the path of stellar radiation. The Strikehaser limit is the point at which such radiation is so sparse that its redirection is not detectable by our scanners, about 1.5 billion miles away from a Sol-type star. With this new technology we can detect jump nodes up to the short jump limit approximately 2.5 billion miles away from a sol-type star. The only trouble is that these jump nodes could only be detected from a certain distance away. This distance cannot be known until we attempt to harness the technology ourselves, but a good estimate –“
Vega representative Xian Chi interrupts her, “Hold on, Dr. Hargrove. You mean that this will lead to the discovery of new jump nodes?”
Dr. Hargrove considers the question and then looks away from Representative Chi. “Jump nodes beyond 1.5 billion miles are rare but possible. The estimated distance for detection –”
Representative Chi interrupts again, “So you don’t know.”
Dr. Hargrove sighs slightly and looks back at representative Chi, “There is no data that such nodes exist. However, their existence would provide an explanation for the sudden and untraceable appearance of the shivans, and for the lack of ruins for ancient species.”
Secretary-General Roman Gronchi, “Dr. Hargrove, this news is both welcome and unwelcome. Is it then possible that the shivans are attacking Earth right now using jump nodes that we have never been able to discover?”
Dr. Hargrove, “The knossos portal has changed everything we know about subspace. We can theoretically create and detect subspace portals that never before existed. A shivan attack on earth can come through either of these methods, but so can a return to earth.”
The entire assembly remains silent. Admiral Petrarch, in attendance, breaks the silence, “Representatives of the GTVA, the shivan threat is not one to be underestimated. We made that mistake many times in the past few months, but I believe that through them we have gained something much more valuable. From our odyssey into hell, we have returned with a gift, and it is my sincerest wish that this portal be constructed with the greatest urgency, and that contact be reestablished with our home system, if for no other reason than to assure the safety of our long-lost home.”
Emperor Khonsu II, [translation] “I concur with Admiral Petrarch. This portal must be created to prevent the destruction of another populace, but there must also be a search for new jump nodes, to protect ourselves. These new subspace scanners must be designed, mass produced, and deployed. If the Security Council will agree, I propose that we create a new initiative to explore and colonize all new reachable systems from our realm of space.”
After a brief silence, Dr. Hargrove, a little flustered that the Vasudan Emperor has decided to comment, attempts to finish her report, “Esteemed Emperor, you must understand, these are short-range detection devices. It would take decades to scan that much space.”
Emperor Khonsu, “Then we must begin now and find ways to make it more efficient. Great tasks are not accomplished with timidity.”
