The Wellstone (32 page)

Pandanus—(n) A plant genus characterized by woody trunks supported with numerous aerial prop roots. The pandanus palm or textile screw pine produces large, tough leaves whose fibers were widely employed in Polynesian cultures for thatching, rope, wicker, and basketry. When specially prepared, the fiber of white pandanus, or
kie,
can form a soft, silklike cloth.

Photovoltaic—(adj) Capable of generating an electrical voltage across the junction between dissimilar materials, with the input of light energy, through the liberation of bound electrons in a preferred direction. Many natural materials (e.g., silicon) produce minor photovoltaic effects across grain boundaries. However, the much greater efficiency of quantum-well devices such as wellstone makes them preferable for most applications. In many isolated devices, wellstone pseudomaterials
must
be photovoltaic in order to maintain their other properties using ambient radiation.

Pilinisi
—(n) Prince. Traditionally, any Prince of Tonga.

Planet—(n) Any natural satellite of a star whose gravity is sufficient to pull it into spherical shape. Sol system includes hundreds of planets, mainly in the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud.

Planette—(n) Any artificial celestial body consisting of a stony or earthy lithosphere surrounding a core or shell of supercondensed (neutronic) matter. The vast majority of planettes are designed for human habitation, and include Earthlike surface gravity and breathable atmospheres.

Port—(adj or adv) One of the six ordinal directions: along the negative pitch axis, perpendicular to the fore/aft and boots/caps directions.

Pseudoatom—(n) The organization of electrons into Schröedinger orbitals and pseudo-orbitals, made possible with great precision in a designer quantum dot. The properties of pseudoatoms do not necessarily mimic those of natural atoms.

Pseudochemistry—(n) Electron shell interactions taking place among pseudoatoms, or between pseudoatoms and natural atomic matter. Also, the systematic study or exploration of pseudochemical interactions.

Pseudomaterial—(n) Any material composed partly of pseudoatoms and existing within the matrix of a programmable substance such as wellstone. “Pure” pseudomaterials cannot exist, since the nanoelectronics required to generate and maintain them must be atomic in nature.

Quantum dot—(n) A device for constraining the position of one or more charge carriers (e.g., electrons) in all three spatial dimensions, such that quantum (“wavelike”) effects dominate over classical (“particle-like”) effects. Charge carriers trapped in a quantum dot will arrange themselves into standing waveforms analogous to the electron orbitals of an atom. Thus, the waveforms inside a quantum dot may be referred to collectively as a “pseudoatom.”

Raw—(adj) Unfinished. Uncooked. In a natural, unrefined, or crude state. Youthful. Colloquially, fashionable or exquisite.

Restoration, The—(prop n) Interglobal election that established the Queendom of Sol under Tamra I. The term derives from the presumption that monarchy is the “natural” state of human beings, owing to a genetic predisposition.

Sila’a
—(n) A pinpoint fusion generator or “pocket star” consisting of a wellstone-sheathed neutronium core surrounded by gaseous deuterium. From the Tongan
si’i
(small) and
la’aa
(sun).

Sketchplate—(n) A thin, rectangular block or sheet of wellstone sized and preprogrammed for the portable display and input of text, drawings, and physical simulations. Sol—(prop n) Formal name for the Earth’s sun, derived from the Latin. The Greek
Helios
was considered archaic for most Queendom uses.

South—(adj or adv) One of the six cardinal directions: parallel to the negative spin axis of the sun.

Squozen—(adj) Squeezed. Reduced symmetrically in diameter, as with the Squozen Moon. Attributed to Bruno de Towaji.

Starboard—(adj or adv) One of the six ordinal directions: along the positive pitch axis, perpendicular to the fore/aft and boots/caps directions.

Superabsorber—(n) Any material capable of absorbing 100% of incident light in a given wavelength band. The only known universal superabsorber (i.e., functioning at all wavelengths) is the event horizon of a hypermass. (Approximations of 100% absorption are generally referred to as “black.”)

Supercompress (
also
Supercondense)—(v) To compress to the point of proton-electron recombination, i.e., until neutronium is formed. Colloquially, to compress beyond any point the speaker finds impressive. Superferromagnetism—(n) Any ferromagnetism exceeding the field densities possible with atomic matter.

Superreflector—(n) Any material capable of reflecting 100% of incident light in a given wavelength band. No universal superreflectors are known. (Approximations of 100% reflectance are generally referred to as “mirrors.”)

Sweetpaper—(n) An edible composite of polymerized and unpolymerized glucose, most typically served as a garnish.

Ta’e
fakalao
—(adj) Contraband or forbidden by law, as distinct from
tapu
or
taboo
(forbidden by custom or religion).

Tali
fiefia
—Traditional Tongan welcome, widely employed throughout the Queendom. Literally: “joyous reception.”

Tapa—(n) A traditional Polynesian cloth made from the inner bark of the mulberry tree, and decorated in batik floral or faunal patterns using a variety of natural dyes and bleaches. Colloquially, the phrase “tapa pattern” or “tapa style” may refer to any floral print, or to any print in the Tongan or Polynesian style, on any material.

Tazzer—(n) A short-range beam weapon consisting of pulsed, coaxial streams of electrons and metal ions in a guide beam of blue or violet laser light. Tazzers are primarily used to induce temporary incapacity (pain, paralysis, unconsciousness), although lethal versions also exist.

Teleport—(v) To transfer, either instantaneously or at the speed of light, from one location to another. Teleportation can involve either the actual transfer of mass energy, as in a quantum waveform collapse or tunneling event, or alternatively, can involve only the transfer of organizing parameters, which are disrupted at the transmitting location and imposed on an equivalent mass energy at the receiver.

Teleport gun—(n) A short-range beam weapon capable of dispersing the mass in a cone-shaped target region without significant release or expenditure of energy. Teleport guns are notably unreliable, posing a significant risk to users and bystanders alike, and were banned for most uses by Queendom authorities.

Terraform—(v) To make Earthlike. In general, to match the gravity, climate, and atmosphere of a planet or planette to that of Earth, possibly including the imposition of a stable biosphere. Enclosed spaces are “climate-controlled” rather than terraformed.

Timoch—(prop n) Capital city of the Luner nation of Imbria.

Tonga—(n) Former Polynesian kingdom consisting of the Tongatapu, Ha’apai, and Vava’u archipelagoes, and scattered islands occasionally including parts of Samoa and Fiji. Tonga was the only Polynesian nation never to be conquered or colonized by a foreign power, and was the last human monarchy prior to establishment of the Queendom of Sol.

Tongatapu—(n) The largest and most populous island of Tonga; home to its traditional capital at Nuku’alofa.

Train wreck (TW)—(n) A measure of inertial (not gravitational) acceleration, equivalent to 40 gee. In practice, the term is applied only to impulsive accelerations (e.g., collisions, explosions). An unmodified, unprotected human can generally survive a 1 TW impulse lasting several seconds, while 2 TW impulses lasting longer than one second are typically fatal. Survival of millisecond impulses (e.g., vibrational) of up to 4 TW have been recorded. Impact to specific body areas produces highly nonlinear effects, and is rarely recorded or described in this fashion.

Transparent—(adj) Possessing a negligible absorption or reflection spectrum in a particular frequency range (e.g., visible light). Materials with zero absorption and zero index of refraction are referred to as “optical superconductors.” Transparency is distinct from invisibility in that a transparent object cannot be used to conceal another object, whereas an invisible one can. Universal transparency (i.e., across all wavelengths) has never been demonstrated and may be physically impossible.

Transuranic—(adj) Beyond uranium. Used to identify natural atoms or ions containing more than 92 protons, or pseudoatoms containing more than 92 electrons. Because pseudoatoms can contain up to several thousand electrons in a wide variety of symmetries, the vast majority of known pseudoatoms are transuranic.

TV—(n) Abbreviation for “television,” an archaic telecommunications term revived by the second and third generations of the Queendom of Sol. The term generally referred to any broadcast of audiovisual content, although three-dimensional imagery was still frequently referred to as “holie.”

Upsystem—(adj or adv) One of the six cardinal directions: away from the sun in any orientation.

Varna—(prop n) A 640-meter-radius planette constructed in orbit around the Squozen Moon by private investors during the latter years of the Queendom of Sol. Site of the Q1290 Treaty of Varna, granting Right of Return to Barnard refugees.

Wellstone—(n) A substance consisting of fine, semiconductive fibers studded with quantum dots, capable of emulating a broad range of natural, artificial, and hypothetical materials.

Wellwood—(n) An emulation of lignous cellulose (wood), often employed as the default state of wellstone devices.

appendix B

technical notes

This book owes a great deal to the technical support and advice of Hal Clement, Geoffrey A. Landis, Johnathan Sullivan, Ken Wharton, and the Right Reverend Gary E. Snyder. The idea of diamond-encapsulated neutronium originates with Robert L. Forward, although the term “neuble” is unique to this series.

Wellstone

The wellstone of this book’s title is an actual, patent-pending invention, although one that is unlikely to be built or tested in the near future, owing mainly to the nanometer-scale manufacturing tolerances required. Also, for purposes of the story, I’ve taken a rather generous view of the material’s ultimate capabilities.

However, “programmable” substances of much lesser sophistication, but still based on the manipulation of individual electrons in quantum-dot traps, have already been demonstrated in the laboratory. The real-world implications of this are so astounding that I’ve written a nonfiction book on the subject:
Hacking Matter
(Basic Books, Feb. 2003). Readers interested in a quicker and less comprehensive history of the field are encouraged to check out
Wired
magazine’s “Ultimate Alchemy” at
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.10/atoms.htm

Planettes

A spherical planette sized to hold an Earthlike atmosphere indefinitely, at room temperature, would require a surface escape velocity greater than the average (thermal) molecular velocity of the atmosphere. This requires a mass of well over 10
¹⁹
kilograms (0.02% the mass of Earth’s moon), and a diameter of around 20 kilometers, for a surface gravity of 1.0 gee. Paradoxically, lower gravity requires both a larger radius and a larger mass if the high escape velocity is to be preserved.

The atmospheres of planettes like Varna and Camp Friendly are not stable over geologic time, nor even probably over thousands of years, without a replenishment mechanism or possibly a mechanism for keeping the upper atmosphere very cold. Make no mistake: these are technological artifacts, like buildings, and will not persist forever without stewardship.

Lune, the Goliath of planettes, does not have this problem, and will keep its atmosphere indefinitely. With a radius of 707 km, a surface gravity of 1.0 gee, and an unaltered mass of 7.3×10
²²
kg, Lune’s escape velocity is a whopping 3.72 kilometers per second (versus 11.9 km/s for Earth). The delta-velocity necessary to reach Varna— in an orbit 50,000 km high—from Lune’s surface is very close to the escape velocity:

V = (2μ/707E3 − μ/25350E3)
^0.5
= 3,697 m/s

Fortunately, this is achievable through low-tech means, as we shall see in the next volume.

Note that Lune’s sphere of influence—the maximum radius of a stable circular orbit—is just over 65,000 km. Past this point, the gravity of Earth (even murdered Earth) will perturb the orbit of an orbiting object over time, until the object either crashes, is ejected from the Earth-moon system, or becomes a stable satellite of Earth. Of the eight planettes orbiting Lune, Varna is the most remote.

The dimensions of Lune give it a surface area of 6.28 million square kilometers—about 17% of its original area, or 1.7% of Earth’s. This is slightly smaller than the continent of Australia, and while it includes ocean as well as land surfaces, it does create a plausible home for hundreds of millions of human beings even at sub-Queendom technology levels.

Fetula
(Star Sail) and
Sila’a
(Pocket Star)

Camp Friendly’s “star” is a pinpoint fusion generator consisting of a wellstone-sheathed core of industrial neubles surrounded by gaseous deuterium in a state of continuous hot fusion. Orbiting the planette at a distance of 47,500 kilometers and with a period of 24 hours, it requires a total power output of 3.1×10
¹³
watts in order to provide Earthlike insolation to the planette.

When focused into a laser beam and shone on a perfect, 1 km
²
light sail, this radiation produces the following maximum forces:

In fact, these forces are so high that for the first seconds of the journey it is necessary to throttle the sail’s reflectivity in order to avoid crushing the cabin and its passengers. Pushing the star sail ( fetula) using starlight alone is rather more difficult. The energy flux from starlight is approximately 1E−5 w/m
²
. If the sail is 100% transparent in one direction and 100% reflective in the other, the resulting force is:

Not much, but it does add up over time. If the sail were able to reflect high-energy cosmic rays, with a flux of 2E−4 W/m
²
, then its maneuvering ability would be about twenty times greater.

Tongan Culture

Some readers may note that I’ve taken liberties—or Bascal and Conrad have—with the Polynesian fairy tales. Two of three are not from Tonga at all, but from other parts of the South Pacific, and all have been modified to fit your screen.

Similarly, the prince’s boastful accounting of Tongan navigational prowess—while accurate—properly belongs to the entire Polynesian culture. Excellent references on this include Bryan Sykes’
The Seven Daughters of Eve
, Jared Diamond’s
Guns, Germs, and Steel
, and the Lonely Planet travel guide for Tonga, which includes a surprising wealth of historical detail. An excellent English-Tongan dictionary is published by Friendly Isles Press (no known affiliation with the Friendly Products Corporation).

(On a related note, the Latin word
viriditas
, or “greenness,” generally connotes inexperience rather than vigor— an irony of which Bascal Edward is unaware at the time of the Children’s Revolt.)

The Cyades

Approximating each body of the near-contact comet pair as a clathrate sphere 100 km in diameter, with the approximate density of liquid water (typical for methane hydrates), yields a mass of 5.2e17 kg (or half a million neubles’ worth) apiece. Orbiting their mutual center of mass with an apoapsis of 500 km and periapsis of 50 km (just close enough to collide), the two bodies will complete a revolution in 3.7e9 seconds, or 118 years.

Decelerating with Magnets

The force of a magnet on a ferromagnetic material (such as iron or neutronium) drops off with the square of the distance between them, and is a function of the magnet’s residual flux density. The strongest fixed magnets in existence at the time of this writing are alloys of iron, boron, and the rare-earth (lanthanide) element neodymium, with residual flux densities of 13,300 gauss.

The acceleration profile described in this story requires a fixed magnet approximately 100 times more powerful than the NdFeB—speculative but not implausible given the nature of quantum-dot materials.

Observing the Neutronium Barge Telescopically

As any astronomer will tell you, light waves can’t be magnified forever. Over large distances, the resolving power of a telescope is constrained by the limit of diffraction, where the light breaks down into interference patterns rather than images. This is a function of wavelength, lens diameter, and range. At a distance of 0.2 AU, the smallest feature resolvable by a 200-meter lens in visible light is around 94 meters, or one-tenth of the barge’s diameter.