Jumper render

[Graham Kennedy]

The very first object created by humanity that broke the light speed barrier. The Jumper was a test rig, unmanned, only capable of going at just over the speed of light for a matter of a few seconds at first, rising to a few minutes over time. It wasn't really meant to "push the envelope" so much as gather data on FTL flight and develop methods of maintaining controlled flight.

The ring system is the most primitive FTL drive, and usually the first that any given species will invent. Speeds available are limited to around 1 - 20 x c. Sail ships are much faster, with speeds ranging from 20-100 x c for a twin sail ship, up to as high as 350 x c for big six or eight sail ships. Midspace drives are enormously faster still, with speeds ranging up into the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands x c.

Jumper was quite a little thing; I found an astronaut figure online somewhere so I stuck him into the last pic to give a sense of scale.

[McAvoy]

Those supports seem to very skinny. I guess the rings are self contained?

[Graham Kennedy]

The bronze supports, you mean? They are pretty skinny, but if you look you can see there are two sets of connecting struts supporting each ring against acceleration.

Not sure what you mean by "self contained". The rings are essentially the "engines" - well, more accurately the fusion reactor is the engine, and the rings are the "paddle wheels". (The FTL drive systems progression goes rings = paddle wheels, sails = propellers, midspace drive = something like those underwater supercavitating rockets)

[McAvoy]

When I said that I meant the skinny supports not the bronze center shaft.

I didn't see how big the center shaft was compared to a man so I thought they were self contained units.

[Graham Kennedy]

This is completely unmanned. It's essentially just an engine, power system, and sensor pod on the front. Nobody sits inside any part of it.

[McAvoy]

Not what I meant but whatever.

[Graham Kennedy]

Sorry, apparently I'm not understanding you.

[McAvoy]

OK. I thought the whole thing was smaller. So I though between the skinny supports and the bronze center shaft being so skinny that there was so way you can fit stuff in them, that each ring was a self contained unit.

[Graham Kennedy]

Ah, no.