message 0631

• What kind of drive do Cherryh's spaceships have?

;Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1993 11:36:26 +0100
;From: Markus Stumptner <mst@vexpert.dbai.tuwien.ac.at>
;Subject: cherryhlist

>Quotes from ML show that - at least on merchanters - the boost/dump
>affects mostly (only?) the nervous system. About the vanes, I just
>wondered why they are spread out at all. You could have vanes along
>the hull and turn the whole ship just before jump.

If you have some kind of perturbations (gravitational or whatever)
near the vanes when using them for a jump, then you would not
want them close to the hull.

The point is that with the very limited knowledge we have, it is
fairly easy to find another addition to the theory that will justify
things as they are presented in the books.  I don't think we should
carry this too far.  After all, the drive with them vanes is no less 
magic from the POV of physics than the postulated rider drive without
them.  Of course we all know that the vanes are in the books because 
they make the ships look neat - more technical than just a cylinder-
shape - and the riders have no vanes because they're supposed to 
look sleek and mean.  :-)

	Markus