Metabolic Suspension Capsule
Missionaries of the Bright Way ply the yawning gulf between stars in search of other sophonts. FTL communication has existed for dozens of millennia, but FTL travel remains illusive, though they can achieve speeds that are a significant fraction of c. While they're very long-lived compared to humans, with an average lifespan of 724 years, they still need a way to live long enough to survive interstellar STL missions.
Monkey foxes are incapable of losing consciousness without dying, so hibernation is out. Their solution is to halt metabolism while keeping the brain and nervous system active using Science™. This Science™ is provided by neurogel, a substance that acts as an interface between the brain and the ship's systems without any implants. Neurogel is also a liquid breathing medium for when metabolism starts up again, and a cushion against the high G-forces encountered at quasiluminal speeds.
A Matrix-like virtual environment called the simulacrum is presented to the suspended missionary to prevent them from going mad due to the lack of sensory input. Their subjective time perception is also accelerated to make the mission appear to pass in weeks rather than centuries or millennia.
"But Anchorite," I hear you cry, "Wouldn't a full-immersion VR system that also halts aging be subject to flagrant abuse?" Why yes, yes it is. There is an entire subculture of junkies called "gel-heads" who engage in recreational suspension. Oh, and did I mention the simulacrum is stupidly addictive. Addicts can become neurologically dependent on the sim to survive. Potential missionaries are rigorously screened and undertake a regime of prayer and meditation to keep their minds anchored in reality. Your average gel-head has neither the training or discipline, and cumulative exposure eventually leads to dissociation, where the suspended person forgets their life outside the sim.
Jan 04 · 4 months ago · 👍 The_Jackal · 🤘 1
4 Comments ↓
🗡️ The_Jackal · Jan 04 at 18:38:
This actually feels pretty unique to compsted to some of the other stuff I've seen online related to worldbuilding. Good job!
Nice. With apologies for the digression: FTL communication in SF always makes me wonder -- can it somehow be squared with special relativity without breaking causality (see "Tachyonic antitelephone")? Is there a plausible loophole, some way Lorentz invariance could break down without contradicting observations?
📻 Anchorite [OP] · Jan 05 at 23:50:
@mbays That's way outside my wheelhouse. I love math but math doesn't love me. I use Science™ as a catch-all for stuff I know is highly dubious.
📻 Anchorite [OP] · Jan 05 at 23:54:
and I pressed enter before I was finished. The way FTL communication works, it uses a kind of subspace called the Underlay. Although the speed is instant, the bandwidth is extremely limited. Interplanetary communication looks like 80s BBs's or Gopher, even while planet-wide internetworks are as media-rich as you expect. I might post a story in the sci-fi subspace that goes into more detail.