by Simon Coates
Construction of Type 5 Spacestation
The following is the general timescale to the construction of a Type 5. It usually involves many contractors, with a bewildering variety of skills, from materials engineers, general construction workers, spaceship transport pilots, logistical experts, and so on. The general construction of smaller spacestations is the same, the main difference being that the build time is shorter. Any Type 5 spacestation is by far the largest man-made item ever constructed by humans, taking around a decade to complete from the initial design to opening to the public.
Months 0-12 (one year) : Initial plans drawn up regarding design and size of station.
13-24 (two years) : Tendering of main contracts. Detailed investigation into materials availability.
25-48 (4 years) : Initial construction of outer shell of spacestation.
49-60 (5 years) : Finalisation of outer shell. Installation of inner skin and artificial gravity system.
61-72 (6 years) : Construction of essential resources – nuclear powerplant, transport infrastructure, etc.
73-108 (9 years) : Building of retail/residential/industrial units.
109-120 (10 years) : Finalisation of construction. Opens to the public.
Economics and Currency
The currency used by all humans is the credit and cent, where 100 cents = 1 credit. Usually denoted as Cr (credit) and ce (cents); to avoid confusion the shorter version of credit is written with a capital C. Also, the price if stating credits has Cr denoted before the price, whereas cents has ‘ce’ written after. As a basic guide as to what the value of credits is, the following are typical values of various items purchased at the end of the 23rd century:
Small chocolate bar = 50 ce.
Pre-made lunch – two sandwiches, packet of crisps, drink = Cr 3.50.
Pair of trousers = Cr 20.
Pre-owned spaceship = Cr 20,000.
Average yearly salary for an employee in a full-time job = Cr 22,500.
Four bedroomed house = Cr 175,000.
Domestic Power
In order for everyday life to take place for humans on the Earth, the Moon, Mars and the various spacestations, a critical aspect is being able to provide enough domestic power to allow these areas to operate. When fossil fuels ceased to be a viable fuel for everyday life in the 21st century, massive investment was made into alternative energy sources, resulting in wide-scale development into nuclear and solar power. To this day, these power systems are used as the main power suppliers for human activity, along with wind and wave power where the geographical and climate allows. The government department responsible for this area is the Ministry of Power.
For spaceship engines, solar and nuclear power is used, with their powerplants miniaturised to fit inside the hull of a spacecraft. The main differences between the two systems for engines is that solar is generally quieter and ultimately more powerful, whereas a nuclear power system is a bit cheaper. For travel to outer planets, nuclear power is more efficient due to the distance to the Sun being greater, so solar power is less effective.
Power stations are strategically placed on the planets and moons where necessary. Nuclear waste is transported by waste ships and ejected towards the Sun so it is harmlessly destroyed. On the Moon and Earth, solar power is more common, whereas power stations on Mars are all nuclear due to the planet being further away from the Sun. Each area on the Earth/Moon/Mars has its own power company. Power stations on space stations usually belong to the areas which have the main contract for overall responsibility for the spacestation construction.
23rd Century Household Pets
Humans have for many centuries kept household pets, which evolved from the idea of animals being used for a specific task to the concept of companionship. In current times, advances in technology have made robotic pets possible, allowing more people to have pets who would not normally have one.
People living in busy industrial areas for example would not be able to keep a dog or cat due to lack of exercise space, or people with busy lives would find that pets would be kept on their own for long periods of time which would be cruel to the animal.
With robotics, those problems are now no longer an issue. Today, people owning dogs are just as likely to have a robotic dog than a real dog. The advantages of a robotic version over a real animal are as follows:
- The pet does not need to have exercise;
- It does not leave any mess;
- It never dies;
- It can be programmed to behave in a certain way, so items such as furniture will not be damaged by the pet;
- It stays in its most attractive form. Generally, puppies are seen as very cute, but of course a real puppy grows into a dog - with a robotic version they stay as a puppy.
The technology inside a robotic pet is phenomenal. With current robotics developed to a very advanced level, movements of limbs and features of the animal are very life-life. Each pet is built around a skeleton giving it form, with the fur giving a very real consistency and providing the robot the feel of the real animal. Inside each robot there are thousands of sensors and tiny motors to control each little movement, with subtleties of movement giving the impression that the robot is a real animal. The main senses of a real animal also work in a robot version. It has optical eyes and can recognise people, working ears to recognise sounds, so it will react to its name. Also it is programmed to act exactly like a real animal, so will lay down to sleep for a certain length of time, with it having a working 'breathing' system it looks like it is asleep as the body moves up and down, just like a real animal. Even top animal experts cannot tell the difference between a real animal and a robotic version, looking at them for a length of time.
The robotic animals are powered by ingesting special food in the way a real animal will eat; the material taken in by the robot is converted into power for its internal batteries.
The robotic animals have proven to be extremely popular, with owners becoming as attached to them as they would do with real animals, however as expected there are people who still prefer real animals as they grow old which a robot never does, and obviously due it simply being a real animal rather than a robot.
Holidays
