Of Treasons Born (27 page)

Appendix:

Some Notes on Time, Gravity, and the Imperial Naval Academy

The Lunan Empire and the Republic of Syndon operate on decimal (Base 10) not duodecimal (Base 12) time. The standard Lunan day, which is derived from our Terran day, is divided up into twenty hours, not twenty-four. Each hour is divided up into one hundred minutes, and each minute into one hundred seconds. Hence, in our present-day duodecimal time, the day is divided up into 24 x 60 x 60 seconds—we'll call them Terran seconds—whereas in York's time and place that same day is divided up into 20 x 100 x 100 seconds—for clarity we'll call them Lunan seconds. So 86,400 (24 x 60 x 60) Terran seconds is equal to 200,000 (20 x 100 x 100) Lunan seconds, which means:

1 Lunan second = 0.4320 Terran second.

Or, one Lunan second is a little less than half a Terran second. The table below compares hours, minutes, and seconds for the two timing systems.

 

 

This is why the math may not appear to add up. During York's pod training, when Straight poses the question of:

• Enemy warship at 100,000,000 kilometers,
  
• Spitting transition shells at 100 lights, doing the math in our Terran system of units, and given that light travels at 299,792.458 kilometers per second in a vacuum, yields a result of 3.34 Terran seconds, which is 7.72 Lunan seconds.
  

That's why York's answer is, “A little under eight seconds,” not, “A little over three seconds.”

In 1861 and 1862, James Clerk Maxwell published an early form of a set of partial differential equations that became the foundation for electromagnetic field theory, which details the interaction between electric and magnetic fields. To this day, Maxwell's equations, as they came to be known, are still the most elegant solution to an understanding of light and radio waves. But they cover only the interaction between electric and magnetic fields, with no consideration given to gravitational fields, though there is a wealth of experimental data that proves all three do interact. Albert Einstein spent the last thirty years of his life in a failed attempt to do the same for all three, which is referred to as the unified field theory.

In this story of the far distant future, scientists have long ago solved the problem of classical unified field theory. This so enhanced their understanding of the interaction of electric, magnetic, and gravitational fields that they gained extensive control of gravity, and quickly developed the means of artificially generating thousands of G's of acceleration. But the human body cannot withstand such forces for even a tiny fraction of a second, and even a large steel beam would fail dramatically, so all systems must be compensated internally.

It has been demonstrated that the human body can withstand accelerations of close to one hundred G's for a fraction of a second, if strapped into an acceleration seat and carefully protected. When one takes an elevator in York's time, it rockets upward at a hundred G's, taking its occupants up many floors in the blink of an eye. But if they are to survive the journey without broken bones and other ill effects, there must be an internal, opposing acceleration so they feel the force of only one G. And inside a ship or pod or turret, strapping in to an acceleration seat is simply a precaution against weightless maneuvering. At a thousand G's or more, without internal compensation there wouldn't be anything left of the seat's occupant but bug-squish.

The Imperial Naval Academy of York's time is
very loosely
based on the U.S. Naval Academy. The author freely selected certain aspects of the culture and traditions of the USNA and ignored others. The Imperial Naval Academy is corrupt, rife with privilege, and hampered by a class system that stifles equality and opportunity, while the USNA is a storied institution that strives to teach young men and women the highest qualities of leadership and honor. There have been mistakes and scandals at the USNA, for no institution of that size can be perfect. In fact, it should be noted that all branches of the military, as well as most civilian institutions, are still struggling with important issues like sexual equality and equal pay. But the U.S. Naval Academy's few missteps should not be compared to the widespread culture of corruption at the Imperial Naval Academy.

About the Author

J. L. Doty is the author of eight science fiction and fantasy novels.­ A scientist with a PhD in electrical engineering, he became a self-publishing success and was able to quit his day job as a lackey for the bourgeois capitalist establishment to work as a full-time writer. Doty writes epic fantasy, hard science fiction, and contemporary urban fantasy, frequently with strong young-adult themes. His novels include
Child of the Sword
,
A Choice of Treasons
, and
When Dead Ain't Dead Enough
. Born in Seattle, Doty lived most of his life in California but now resides in Arizona with his wife Karen and their three cats.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016 by J. L. Doty

Cover design by Michel Vrana

ISBN 978-1-5040-1206-5

Published in 2016 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

180 Maiden Lane

New York, NY 10038

www.openroadmedia.com

Videos, Archival Documents,
and
New Releases

Sign up for the Open Road Media newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign up now at

www.openroadmedia.com/newsletters