Entry #28
Filename: CityBuilders.jpg
Created by: Erik Flom
E-Mail: Erik@ELFWorks.com
Web-Site: http://www.ELFWorks.com
Artist's Comments
"CityBuilder RamShip"
(HDTV resolution [yes, one of many...]: 1280x720pixels, 16:9 aspect
ratio)
Ever wonder what happened to the CityBuilders who stole those attitude
jets from Larry Niven's Ringworld? So did I......
Here is a frame showing a CityBuilder Ramship traveling to a passing
stellar cluster. In the distance, you can see the Ringworld that was
once their home. Traveling at sub-light velocities, their ship won't
make landfall for the next 40 years.
Ignorant of the mechanics of Hyperspace and artificial gravity, the
CityBuilders dreamed of a way to venture beyond the thin ribbon that was
once their world. Generations yearned for the chance to see the 'Great
Arch' from outside the ecliptic plane.
Finally, one generation found that they could cannibalize the
Ringworld's attitude jets to create a ship that would carry them out,
beyond the edge of their 'Known Space'. The ships were a variant of the
Bussard RamJet concept - rather than carry their own fuel, hydrogen from
open space was gathered up in vast nets of magnetic flux. The
super-conducting magnets of the Ringworld's attitude system made perfect
focusing coils to gather the tenuous hydrogen from millions of
kilometers of open space. These random nuclei were then compressed along
the body of the ship to create a charged plasma exhaust. (Note the glow
of the excited hydrogen nuclei forming a wake around the bow of the
ship.)
In this shot, we see a small probe ship returning from a routine
scouting mission to the Ramship. Its shadow can be seen, cast across the
forward meteoroid shield of the Ramship. (Due to the intense magnetic
turbulence caused by the Ramscoops, the only way to land on the the ship
is to fly far ahead of the ship's magnetic nets, and then fall into the
docking bay as the ship catches up.)
The objects were built back on an '040 Amiga, and recently dusted off
for my second demo reel. Tweaked for this contest, they are now
submitted for your approval.
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