When the Vuduri first arrived, they used their pressure suits to uncrate the tugs, split the cargo containers and created the egress to the Algol as well as the tug hangars. The final piece was the placeholder for the stellar cartography lab.
When this was complete, they marched to what was to be the very center of the base and erected a huge tent pole. They draped a Mylar-like substance from the top and attached it to each of the four half-cylinders then pinned the corners. They used aerogel generators to coat the mylar and create the basic pyramidal structure of the Base.
Finally, they brought out the hangar doors from another cargo section and sealed off any other openings. At this point, they had a structure where they could start moving equipment. After they established the power plant and molecular sequencers, the actual internal construction began.
Tomorrow: aerogel. What the heck is it?
Entry 1-201: July 14, 2013
The Blog turns 200!
Wow and wow. Yesterday was my 200th post on this blog and I still haven't even scratched the surface!
As I mentioned in my previous milestone post, I have been working on the world of the Vuduri since 1973... that's 40 years. So the pile of backstories and information that didn't make it into the books is undented. Looking ahead, I think I have probably another year or two of blog entries before I make it through Rome's Revolution alone!
This continues to be fun and stimulating so right now I do not plan to stop. Thanks for reading and stay tuned.
Mike
Entry 1-202: July 15, 2013
Aerogel
You've heard me mention aerogel numerous times throughout all the books in the Rome's Revolution series. A previous post covered Sklyer Base initial construction with aerogel. So what the heck is it?
Aerogel is very real. Here is a basic description courtesy of Aerogel.org
What, you may ask, is aerogel? Aerogels are the world's lightest solid materials, composed of up to 99.98% air by volume. Aerogels are a diverse class of amazing materials with properties unlike anything else. Transparent superinsulating silica aerogels exhibit the lowest thermal conductivity of any solid known. Ultrahigh surface area carbon aerogels power today's fast-charging supercapacitors. And ultrastrong, bendable x-aerogels are the lowest-density structural materials ever developed.
Welcome to Aerogel.org. Here you will find an encyclopedic reference about aerogels, how-to guides for making aerogels and building a do-it-yourself supercritical dryer, the world's most comprehensive aerogel image gallery, a podcast with the world's leading aerogel scientists, and more.
Aerogel's not just for NASA anymore. Welcome to open-source nanotech.
So the bottom line is it is a very light, very strong material which can be made from silica, polymers and many other substances. Because of its nearly perfect structure, it is great for building a structure which is light weight and airtight.
Oh, yeah, my version of the Vuduri aerogel is also an electro-capacitor and exhibits electroluminescence which means it glows when a charge is put through it. On Skyler Base, it glows white. On Helome, they decided to make it glow blue but then the Vuduri on Helome always were a little different.
So, let's step into the corridor of Skyler Base, made of aerogel and see what we can see.
Entry 1-203: July 16, 2013
Into the corridor
In the original long-form of Rome's Revolution, Rei was escorted out of the airlock turned isolation chamber (which will be covered tomorrow) and into the corridor by some Vuduri guards. In the current form, Rei is escorted out by Rome.
So what did Rei see? Why are there corridors at all? The concentric circle design (again in a future post) was the Vuduri idea of perfection but do they really need ceilings? I am guessing they did. At least in their rooms. They sleep to and there is constant activity within the star-base.
The next question do the corridors look industrial, with spars and crossbeams or more like a conventional hotel? The answer is because they are made of aerogel, they are actually smooth and rounded like large tunnels. Think Star Trek but smoother and no panels.
As I mentioned the other day, their corridors, tunnels (and in fact all their rooms) exhibit electroluminescence so there is no discrete source of illumination. The tunnels are high, maybe 10 foot at the top and curve around so you can never see very far in either direction. In fact, if you were blind-folded and dropped in a corridor somewhere, you wouldn't know where you were without additional information.
My hope was this draws a very futuristic picture and when the movie gets made; the set design should be very easy.
Tomorrow: Rei's iso chamber.
Entry 1-204: July 17, 2013
Rei's Isolation Chamber
(This is part of the continuing series about the design of Skyler Base)
When Rei is first awakened in Rome's Revolution, the Vuduri are not positive that he isn't harboring disease or worse. After all, the Essessoni were responsible for the near-extinction of the human race because of an artificial virus (explained in The Ark Lords). So their solution was to isolate Rei in one of the airlocks which was part of Skyler Base on Dara. Here is a picture of the room: