The Emissaries did not answer hailing calls. Their journey should have been quick. The Spacetime Folding System should have driven them quickly to their destination, a planet that seemed to be suitable for the peoples of Urnati to start over. And then, the ship just disappeared. No explosion was detected, and no emergency beacon was deployed.
Their last known location was documented, and the Urnati World Council decided that a rescue mission be mounted. But this would require building a new ship and an updated propulsion system in case there had been a failure of the original SFS.
Work began in 3360, with a target completion date of 3367. Designs would need to be revised, prototypes built, and systems tested. The propulsion system would incorporate the use of antimatter, controlled by electromagnetic fields, shaping the powerful matter/antimatter collisions into a propulsive force. Once at an adequate speed, the fields would harness the reactions to enable a spacetime fold, or warp bubble as some called it, enabling the ship to travel vast interstellar distances in the blink of an eye.
In 3365, a prototype of the v2.0 SFS was being readied at a research facility in the Muioqa Desert. A containment facility had been constructed to hold antimatter in a suspended state. The amount held was massive for the project. A two-story building, roughly cubical, held tons of antimatter. However, this facility was kept secret due to the immense danger to which the populace would be exposed.
On 7.11.3365, an alarm went off in the facility. One of the containment circuits was reaching an overheat level. Temperatures that summer had reached unexpected highs in the desert and the cooling systems that kept the EM field generators cool was beginning to fail. With as much antimatter in one place as this facility held, a failure would be catastrophic. The fields could not simply be shut down, as they would release the antimatter. At a minimum, this would set them back five years to collect as much antimatter. At worst…
In a frantic effort to bring the temps down, a younger engineer came upon the idea of simply pouring liquid nitrogen into the cooling towers. This would have the effect of supercooling the heat-exchange coils and bringing the temperatures back to safe levels while they came up with a more permanent solution.
A large canister of liquid nitrogen was hoisted above the cooling tower, and pouring the coolant into the tower began. But in their haste, one of the chains used to hoist the canister was improperly secured. As they tipped the canister, the chain slipped a short distance but did not fall. The change in angle, however, caused the coolant to pour down the inside of the containment structure. Instead of a controlled pour onto the coils, liquid nitrogen pooled at the bottom of the containment vessel and directly onto the searing hot cooling coils.
The temperature difference created small fissures in the coils that went unseen by the engineers. And for a few minutes, the temperatures came down. But as soon as the nitrogen pool evaporated, temperatures in the coils began rising again. The increasing pressure from the coolant mixture in the coils began widening the fissures, and within a few minutes, the cooling system failed.
Once the system failed, the electromagnetic field generators followed suit. No longer contained, the antimatter collided with the matter in the facility.
The explosion was massive, beyond anything ever imagined. The initial shock wave and winds scoured the land for hundreds of miles, followed by firestorms traveling hundreds of miles per hour. Anything in the shock wave path was pulverized or flattened. Those within 15 miles of the blast were the most fortunate. They were vaporized instantly. Far less fortunate were those farther out. Many were burned by the raging fires driven by the winds. Others found a slower death, succumbing to the radiation emitted by the blast.
Yet others survived the blast and the radiation, only to find their DNA changed. They developed tumors, growths, and deformities. This included wildlife.
Not even the geology of Urnati was immune to the effects. The blast crater was now the home of molten rock and sand, which cooled to a dark, glass-like substance. The seismic effects were enough to create massive miles-wide fissures in the desert, and new fault lines were created from the extreme stress on the rocks. The earthquakes and seismic events would continue for decades.
Meanwhile, the rest of Urnati was plunged back into a forgotten age. They came to depend on technology for virtually every part of their lives. The blast, however, created a technology-melting electromagnetic pulse that destroyed virtually anything with a wire, battery, or circuit, frying them beyond repair. This included all the world's generators. They had no power, not anywhere on the planet. And yet, the worst was still to come.
Within a week of the blast, the tremendous tonnage of dirt and debris launched into the air and became a blanket around the planet, blocking the sun. Temperatures began to drop quickly. Urnati descended into a 30-year-long winter. Those who had survived the initial blast now needed to figure out to survive the cold, not knowing how long it would last. No power for heat and the temperatures outside could kill in mere minutes.
In the end, 85% of all life on Urnati perished by one means or another. Flora, fauna, everything. Many of the species that survived ended up mutating. Those with the greatest chance of survival were those who found a way to live underground or in some heavily sheltered location.
Their last known location was documented, and the Urnati World Council decided that a rescue mission be mounted. But this would require building a new ship and an updated propulsion system in case there had been a failure of the original SFS.
Work began in 3360, with a target completion date of 3367. Designs would need to be revised, prototypes built, and systems tested. The propulsion system would incorporate the use of antimatter, controlled by electromagnetic fields, shaping the powerful matter/antimatter collisions into a propulsive force. Once at an adequate speed, the fields would harness the reactions to enable a spacetime fold, or warp bubble as some called it, enabling the ship to travel vast interstellar distances in the blink of an eye.
In 3365, a prototype of the v2.0 SFS was being readied at a research facility in the Muioqa Desert. A containment facility had been constructed to hold antimatter in a suspended state. The amount held was massive for the project. A two-story building, roughly cubical, held tons of antimatter. However, this facility was kept secret due to the immense danger to which the populace would be exposed.
On 7.11.3365, an alarm went off in the facility. One of the containment circuits was reaching an overheat level. Temperatures that summer had reached unexpected highs in the desert and the cooling systems that kept the EM field generators cool was beginning to fail. With as much antimatter in one place as this facility held, a failure would be catastrophic. The fields could not simply be shut down, as they would release the antimatter. At a minimum, this would set them back five years to collect as much antimatter. At worst…
In a frantic effort to bring the temps down, a younger engineer came upon the idea of simply pouring liquid nitrogen into the cooling towers. This would have the effect of supercooling the heat-exchange coils and bringing the temperatures back to safe levels while they came up with a more permanent solution.
A large canister of liquid nitrogen was hoisted above the cooling tower, and pouring the coolant into the tower began. But in their haste, one of the chains used to hoist the canister was improperly secured. As they tipped the canister, the chain slipped a short distance but did not fall. The change in angle, however, caused the coolant to pour down the inside of the containment structure. Instead of a controlled pour onto the coils, liquid nitrogen pooled at the bottom of the containment vessel and directly onto the searing hot cooling coils.
The temperature difference created small fissures in the coils that went unseen by the engineers. And for a few minutes, the temperatures came down. But as soon as the nitrogen pool evaporated, temperatures in the coils began rising again. The increasing pressure from the coolant mixture in the coils began widening the fissures, and within a few minutes, the cooling system failed.
Once the system failed, the electromagnetic field generators followed suit. No longer contained, the antimatter collided with the matter in the facility.
The explosion was massive, beyond anything ever imagined. The initial shock wave and winds scoured the land for hundreds of miles, followed by firestorms traveling hundreds of miles per hour. Anything in the shock wave path was pulverized or flattened. Those within 15 miles of the blast were the most fortunate. They were vaporized instantly. Far less fortunate were those farther out. Many were burned by the raging fires driven by the winds. Others found a slower death, succumbing to the radiation emitted by the blast.
Yet others survived the blast and the radiation, only to find their DNA changed. They developed tumors, growths, and deformities. This included wildlife.
Not even the geology of Urnati was immune to the effects. The blast crater was now the home of molten rock and sand, which cooled to a dark, glass-like substance. The seismic effects were enough to create massive miles-wide fissures in the desert, and new fault lines were created from the extreme stress on the rocks. The earthquakes and seismic events would continue for decades.
Meanwhile, the rest of Urnati was plunged back into a forgotten age. They came to depend on technology for virtually every part of their lives. The blast, however, created a technology-melting electromagnetic pulse that destroyed virtually anything with a wire, battery, or circuit, frying them beyond repair. This included all the world's generators. They had no power, not anywhere on the planet. And yet, the worst was still to come.
Within a week of the blast, the tremendous tonnage of dirt and debris launched into the air and became a blanket around the planet, blocking the sun. Temperatures began to drop quickly. Urnati descended into a 30-year-long winter. Those who had survived the initial blast now needed to figure out to survive the cold, not knowing how long it would last. No power for heat and the temperatures outside could kill in mere minutes.
In the end, 85% of all life on Urnati perished by one means or another. Flora, fauna, everything. Many of the species that survived ended up mutating. Those with the greatest chance of survival were those who found a way to live underground or in some heavily sheltered location.
TYPE OF EVENT
Catastrophic
Date of Event
11 Zakimelemo 3365