Stargate

Stargates, also termed interstellar tunnels, use massive amounts of solar power to warp spacetime in order to literally reduce the distance between two such devices. While similar in concept to a wormhole, they do not bypass any intervening spacetime, and the gates are forced to remain nearly at rest with respect to one another. The only motion they undergo is modification to accommodate changes in distance and vector between two stars.

Like hyperspace points, in order to function, they need to be 'anchored' to a large mass - about a third of that needed for a hyperspacial anchor, or a little over half a solar mass. The first such gates had a maximum reach of a bit over four parsecs when formed, though later, more refined models can stretch close to twelve. Once so anchored, and the necessary energy densities established, a proper stargate will become a stable feature of the stars it binds. It will expand and contract to accommodate true velocity between the two, and actually work slightly to retard this motion.

Physically, the tunnel itself is exceedingly tiny when viewed from the outside - smaller than an atom, it is actually possible for ships to fly through it. The inside, on the other hand, is several kilometers in diameter, though the actual depth is only a few millimeters. The physical hulls of each gate are joined together on the inside, to help prevent collisions and to maintain the field.

A hemispherical cap covers each mouth, maintaining the 'spacial bleed' region surrounding each, which performs the reverse of what the stargate does - increasing the volume of space in a region between the gate and its host star. Thus, in order to make a superluminal transit between two stars, a ship cannot fly straight through, but must instead weave through in an s-pattern.

Once established, a well-built gate will use its altering of spacetime geometry to reinforce it - making them extremely difficult to destroy as immense tidal forces rip apart kinetic projectiles and redshift light to 'safer' values. Most stargates are not destroyed in combat, but rather by stellar motion bringing the path of two stargates to cross each other. This creates a violent reaction similar to a matter-antimatter one, releasing the immense energies used in their construction. Because of this, engineers are rarely too zealous about making the web of stargates 'too thick'.

If a star's motion should take it outside the gates' mutual range, their deactivation is usually much less dramatic, with the energy slowly being released over the course of several years on each side. The gate can then be used to link to a new star, deconstructed for raw materials, etc. On the other end, gates being actively linked are also generally quite visible, as the host star's light is usually focussed into such a tight beam that it fluoresces the interplanetary medium.

Pre-Purge Gates

Only two sorts of hyperspace jump points can be considered permanent - those anchored to a large neutron star or quark star, and those anchored to a black hole. For the renlai and soronen, this was no big deal - the former built the system and the latter eventually figured out how to exploit it.

For the Three Empires, this meant that their growth was entirely dependent on what the First cared to provide to them, which was merely the means to relink stargates to nearby star systems, along with access to several jump points so that they could coordinate assaults on newborn cerevate races should they find them. While extremely generous of them, they never properly understood how these mechanisms worked, and could not grow beyond the limits of those gates that they were able to activate.

Even still, this left them in control of millions of stars. Even before the Purge, they were constantly near fracture, only blind theocracy holding them together.

Human Gates

Humans began constructing their stargates in waves. The first wave went to the nearest eight 'major' stars, of around .6 Solar masses and higher.

• Alpha Centauri (4.36) - The first gate constructed, activated in 2212 by the Centaurus Mission. It is sometimes called the Centaurus Gate.
  • First-wave gates to Lacaille 8760, Sirius, and Epsilon Indi.
• Sirius (8.58) - The second gate constructed, fully active in 2216 through the Sirius Mission. Sirius has both fully active gates not linked to Sol - to Procyon, activated in 2219, and Alpha Centauri, activated in 2221.
  • First-wave gates to Alpha Centauri, Procyon, Epsilon Eridani, and Tau Ceti.
  • Second-wave gate to Omicron Eridani.
• Epsilon Eridani (10.32) - Activated in 2218, by the Eridanus Mission.
  • This system has two first-wave gates, to Procyon and Sirius.
  • Second-wave gates to 82 Eridani, Van Maanen's Star, and Omicron Eridani.
• Procyon (11.40) - Host to the Procyon Concord, this gate was actually completed and fully active in 2216, before Epsilon Eridani's was.
  • First-wave gates to Sirius and Epsilon Eridani.
  • Second-wave gates to Omicron Eridani and Groombridge 1618.
• 61 Cygni (11.40) - Activated in 2220, by the Cygnus Mission.
  • Second-wave gates lead to Altair, Alsafi, Eta Cassiopei, Van Maanen's Star, and 70 Ophiuchi.
• Epsilon Indi (11.82) - Fully on-line in 2221, by the Indus Mission.
  • First-wave gates to Alpha Centauri, Lacaille 8760, and Tau Ceti.
  • Second-wave gates to Gliese 783, and Delta Pavonis.
• Tau Ceti (11.88) - On-line in 2221, by the Ceti Mission.
  • First-wave gates to Epsilon Eridani, Epsilon Indi, Lacaille 8760, and Sirius.
  • Second-wave gate to Omicron Eridani, Van Maanen's Star.
• Lacaille 8760 (12.87) - Activated in 2223, by the Microscopium Mission.
  • First-wave gate to Alpha Centauri, Epsilon Indi, Tau Ceti.
  • Second-wave gates to Altair, Delta Pavonis, Gliese 783.

Additional second-wave gates:

• 36 Ophiuchi, linked through Gliese 783
• Gliese 570, linked through 36 Ophiuchi

Inside the Solar System, the eight gates were locked some distance outside Neptune's orbit. Since the Diaspora and the formation of the dreadskearns, it is still possible to use these 'gates' - or at least what they've become - to cross to the others. Most generally prefer not to run the gauntlet and take other routes, instead. The drastically increased mass of the hellskearn has kept the first and second-wave gates within range, though several crossings have required management.