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Starpod
- Dorothy's Vision (mentioned)
- Lone Trail
The fake sky, or poetically called the "Starpod",[1] is a "wall" (more appropriately "barrier") that surrounds the world of Arknights. It is the main subject of Lone Trail after being previously alluded to at the end of Dorothy's Vision.
Overview[edit]
| An excerpt from the frontspice of the 1059 issue of the "Astrology Journal of the Royal Victorian Academy of Sciences"[2] |
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Since we first lay on our lawn and let the night sky pour our field of vision, the debate about the sky above has never stopped. In the past thousands of years, generations of scholars have burned away their lives and wisdom, exhausted their lifetime efforts, but they still couldn't read this ancient and silent mystery. |
Existing at the altitude between 6,152.31 m to 6,972 m above sea level, placing it around Terra's troposphere, the Starpod is made up of dispersed high-energy particles creating an invisible barrier that tears apart any object attempting to pass through it by destabilizing their integrity and causing Arts devices to fail.[3] Contrary to popular belief, the Starpod is not a fully equally distributed barrier; it has no coherence, and projection of the barrier differs from regions to regions, meaning its thickness can be distinctively varied.[4]
It is impossible for the current Terran technology to penetrate the Starpod. Doing so would require an astronomical amount of energy — equal to that provided by the entire Terra and outside of Originium's limits.[5] Even if the Starpod is ever broken, the damage is temporary and the barrier will regenerate within as long a few years to as short as within days.[6][7]
The presence of the Starpod has a major ramification on Terra's technological development. In terms of aerodynamics, it prevents the Terrans from achieving high-altitude and orbital flight as well as spaceflight. Consequently, it keeps their aircrafts from operating beyond low and medium altitudes, and Terrans have to rely on VTOLs, drones, and helicopters for aerial transportion.[8]
Astronomy and space science suffer the greatest from underdevelopment of all fields of science as a consequence of the Starpod's presence. The barrier's energy particles and differences of thickness cause gravitational lensing that deflects starlight, making it difficult for the Terrans to accurately observe celestial bodies due to their displaced orbits on their apparent places.[9][10] Consequently, the "star drift" occurs in the Terran night sky: a phenomenon coined by astrologers describing the irregular, unpredictable, intractable, and drastic retrograde and prograde motions of celestial bodies ― being some of the worst even compared with Earth's[4] ― except the Twin Moons that are more closer to the planet. In a particular rare occurrence known as the "drift-freeze", the stars will even stay still at their apparent places within a very short time period, usually not more than a week, and without any sign beforehand. The distorted star motion caused by the Starpod also arouse heated debates among scientists and astrologers over the true nature of a night sky: whether the stars are really "disordered" or whether all the celestial bodies do have fixed orbits whose disorder is moreso caused by outer factors.[11]
Scientific research[edit]
Discovery[edit]
The proposal of the Starpod theory has been around since the 11th century thanks to technological advancement and inventions of simple aircrafts, but its discovery is as recent as a few decades. In the year 1075, the Wright couples, the parents of Rhine Lab director Kristen Wright conducted a test flight in attempt to pinpoint the Starpod's boundary by flying upon a high-altitude aircraft, aiming to reach beyond the barrier, but it predictably results in their demise.[3][12][13] Nevertheless, their sacrifice were monumental to scientists which demarcates the boundary of Terra's sky.
After the discovery of the Starpod's border, further attempts have been made to exceed the limit, but all of them have ended in utter faliure due to the Starpod's unstable condition. The last attempt was a Leithanian Arts Detector Orb that crashes after flying around 500m above sea level, and since then, the Terrans completely abandoned their interest to fly beyond the Starpod.[6][14]
Hypotheses[edit]
Since the proposal of the Starpod theory and its discovery, scientists have disagreements over its origin and functions. There are several well-known proposed hypotheses regarding the Starpod in the science community:
- "Originium insulator hypothesis": As the most prevailing theory, it suggests that the Starpod is formed by Catastrophe clouds lying at 6,000m above sea level based on measurements made by Catastrophe Messengers and Originium environmentalists using multi-array laser rangefinders. While this is backed by several evidences, Originium particles can be found past the Starpod, hence Originium is not the major cause.[3][14]
- "Organic isolator theory": Proposed by Kazimierzian scientists, it hypothesizes that the Starpod itself is literally organic and alive, although it was confirmed that the Starpod is inorganic.[3]
- "Paradox of adaptivity breakdown": First proposed by Professor Sinnach Weber of Wilhem-Herzog University, it hypothesizes that the Starpod could possibly be an endless void of Originium "ocean" lying beyond the planet. This is based on observations by some Leithanian scholars when they found out that Originium equipment shuts down and malfunctions on certain high-elevated regions that are close to the Starpod such as Mount Karlan. Hence, this not only suggests that the "disordered" stars are just mere explotions inside the void, but also it could best explain the origin of Originium as extraterrestrial substance. Nevertheless, academicians strongly refute it due to the uneven spread of Originium on the planet and the presence of the three Originium Prime Veins.[14][15]
- "Parthian Maximus": Another proposed theory regarding the Starpod mentioned briefly.[14]
Historical accounts[edit]
Various legends and records exist depicting humans' attempt to conquer the sky and fly beyond the Starpod, but they are too exaggerated and bizarre to be quickly accepted as historical facts. One of these accounts is the Yanese legend of Hsi-o/Xi'e the "Dusk Beauty," a woman who relied on ancient Originium Arts to lift herself to the Twin Moons and touch the sky in order to search for her deceased lover. Many historians believe that this legend is the first recorded instance regarding human' contact with the Starpod.[3]
Post-1099 research[edit]
In 1096, R.L.'s expedition team led by Nasti Lunorey discovered the Hall of Stasis, a complex of Sarcophagi below Trimounts tended by Friston the Preserver. After seeking his knowledge regarding the Starpod for two years, Kristen managed to plot out a plan to penetrate it: the Hall's Sarcophagi would power up the S.H.A.F.T. and relay it into the H.A.M.H.R.R. on the Galleria Stellaria as part of Rhine Lab's "Horizon Arc Project," and the Galleria would then fire off a hyperbeam at the Starpod which theoretically should be enough to pierce the Starpod. Upon the execution of the plan despite some interference, the hyperbeam fired by the H.A.M.H.R.R. momentarily created a disruption on the Starpod's thinest layer, resulting in aurora-like phenomenon visible across Terra, before creating a large gap or "hole" in the sky, a phenomenon later known as the 1099 "Trimount Arc" in history.
Even though the outcome of the "Trimount Arc" resulted in the depowered Galleria Stellaria forever drifting in outer space, the gap in the Starpod created by Kristen allows the Terrans to finally study the actual night sky for the first time in history, ushering a new era in the Terran astronomy. Not only it unveiled the true appearance of the Twin Moons, but also scientists could now observe the stars in ease without fuzzing over their disordered orbits.
Because Mount Karlan of Kjerag, the highest mountain on Terra, is the only known location that is nearest to the Starpod, there have been proposals to build an observation center on its peak.[3] Its Originium-free zones and a lack of Catasthrophe record for the past two centuries suggest that it is an ideal spot to conduct research regarding the sky without the aid of flying devices.[7] On the other hand, scientists have to first negotiate with the local priests who strongly oppose bringing up science equipment onto their sacred mountain. In the aftermath of Lake Silberneherze incident, R.L succeded in negotiating with Karlan Trade and became the first science institution to build a research station there, aiming to replicate the Trimount launching near the mountain summit.[16] In the meantime, R.I. continues to lobby for governmental support of the project while at the same time keeping with their latest updates.[7]
Origin[edit]
The Starpod is in reality one of the creations of the alien, space-faring "Predecessors" who once colonized the Terran planet but now went extinct after a certain "disaster from above". It has its origin from the outside of the Terran planet, making it more as an extraterrestrial containment purposely surrounding the planet.[4]
The Starpod could have unknown twofold purposes. It is possible that it could keep Terra safe from the hands of the Observers. Alternatively, the Starpod could be meant to contain Originium in the planet, as in a possible alternative timeline, it managed to break through the Starpod and assimilates other planets and lifeforms beyond Terra.[17]
Because of the Starpod's role, Kal'tsit expresses strong concern Kristen Wright's "Horizon Arc Project" knowing that it would bring a potential apocalypse to the planet, and the aftermath of the incident makes her uncertained regarding the Terrans' unprepared future.
References[edit]
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