Power Generation
Until twenty years ago, the only practical means of
producing power in Cydoria was through human effort, windmills, water wheels,
or draft animals. Uruta possesses no fossil fuels. Relatively small amounts of
combustible oils were obtained from whales or grass seeds. Cydorian scientists
had produced a few wood-powered steam-engines, but for the most part these were
considered impractical novelties. The ancient artifacts of the Sdara Vatra
seemed to work on their own limitless internal power supply and these were
understood only by the reclusive and secretive thaumaturges of the Order of
Karak or especially learned university scholars. There was, therefore, simply
no incentive to produce internal combustion engines.
Contact with the Rhakadian Empire of Malus introduced many
new technologies, but most of these required some sort of power source to
operate. As part of their commercial arrangement, the Rhakadian Empire provided
the cities of the Vrildarian League with advanced energy generation facilities.
These power generators broadcast their energy throughout the city without the
need for a distribution network of conductive wires. Energy generation plants
are immediately identifiable by the large conical power transmitters on their
roofs.
In addition, efficient internal combustion engines, fueled
by oils from grass seeds and cellulose, and chemically-based portable fuel
cells were supplied to the Vrildarians for use in aero-ships, mobile
fortresses, and remote military and industrial facilities.
Torium Power Cores
The primary means of generating energy to power Rhakadian
technology is the torium power core. The torium core draws electricity from vacuum
energy, free energy trapped within the very fabric of the universe. A
cylindrical core made of metallic torium is surrounded by a heavy ring of
nanocrystalline silicon. After an initial input of electricity to “prime the
pump”, the torium generates a matching amount of electricity, creating
electromotive force from vacuum energy even after the initial source of
electricity is removed. The resulting electrical current can be harnessed to
power electrically-powered devices.
The larger the torium core, the greater the electric
current. A one-ton small electric
generator powered by a torium core the size of a brick can generate up to a
megawatt of electricity, sufficient to drive four two-hundred horsepower
aero-ship propulsion engines, while a
one-thousand-ton generator the size of a building can supply over a
thousand megawatts, enough to power an industrialized city like Norukar or
Vrildar. Generally, a generator will produce one kilowatt per kilogram or one
megawatt per ton.
Torium cores produce
free electricity at a constant rate essentially indefinitely. Overloading a
generator with more input energy than the torium core can safely generate will
cause the core to burn out, rendering it inert and useless. For example priming
a one-megawatt torium generator with two megawatts of electricity from an
external source will destroy the torium core.
The energy output of a torium power core can fluctuate due
to certain environmental conditions. Solar flare activity, regions of strong
electromagnetic interference, and regional fluctuations in gravity can affect
the output wattage of the generator, causing lights to flare or dim and motors
to rev or slow.
Torium Power Cores are large power generators that generate
electricity without fuel. These devices are highly restricted. Unauthorized
operation of a Torium Power Core is a crime punishable by execution. These
devices are not intended for ownership by a character but are listed here for
purposes of comparison only.
SIZ
|
Size
|
Powers
|
Value
|
40
|
Small
vehicle, palette of freight, 1t
|
Aero-ship,
armored mobile-fortress
|
Restricted
|
75
|
Room,
shipping container, 10t
|
factory,
large aero-ship
|
Restricted
|
137
|
Small
Building, 100t
|
Small
city, industrial uses
|
Restricted
|
286
|
Large
building, 1000t
|
Large
Cydorian city
|
Restricted
|
Broadcast Power
The energy created by large central torium generators is, in
turn, distributed throughout an area using broadcast power. Broadcast power
transmits energy safely through the air from a spherical central broadcasting
antenna perched atop tall conical towers. Receiver units transform the
broadcast energy into useable electricity. The larger the electricity demand,
the larger the receiver unit. A small hand-held receiver can supply a few
kilowatts of energy, enough to power home appliances or small electronic
devices. A large building-sized receiver can supply hundreds of megawatts for
industrial applications.
The range of the largest power transmitters is about five
kilometers, with most broadcasting to a range of about a kilometer. This
broadcast energy is converted into usable electricity by receiver units.
Receiver units range from the size of a small hand-held battery to power
portable equipment to room-sized converters capable of providing massive
amounts of power to industrial applications. These receivers, in turn, power
the lights, heating elements, pumps, and electric motors of the city.
For most devices, power is transmitted from broadcast power
stations and turned into useable electricity using receiving units. Broadcast power
receivers vary in size and capability. A small receiver, a cylinder or flat bar
the size of a finger, is sufficient to power most portable hand-hand devices
and weapons. A vehicle can be powered by a receiver the size of a brick.
SIZ
|
Size
|
Powers
|
Value
|
1
|
AA
battery, pack of gum
|
Hand-held
device, computer
|
Average
|
1
|
Baseball,
6V battery, candy bar, 1kg
|
A cyberslave
or cyberdroid, plasma hand-weapon
|
Average
|
4
|
Brick, 12V
car battery, 10kg
|
A small
vehicle, plasma cannon
|
Expensive
|
8
|
Backpack,
suitcase, 50kg
|
Shop,
laboratory
|
Expensive
|
16
|
Bale of
hay, standard shipping box,100kg
|
Small
building
|
Priceless
|
40
|
Small
vehicle, palette of freight, 1t
|
Large
building
|
Restricted
|
75
|
Room,
shipping container, 10t
|
Large
factory, industrial uses
|
Restricted
|
Electrochemical Voltaic Fuel Cell
A less expensive alternative to the torium core generator is
the electrochemical voltaic fuel cell. Fuel cells are heavy-duty rechargeable
batteries. Fuel cells can be recharged simply by entering the range of a
broadcast power station. Most long-range vehicles that are expected to travel
away from broadcast power are driven by fuel cells. Many less expensive
aero-ships forego expensive torium core generators in favor of affordable fuel
cells to power their electric engines. A typical aero-ship driven by fuel cells
usually has just enough charge to travel thousand kilometers.
A Fuel Cell is a more mobile alternative to the broadcast
power. Although they are larger, they do not need to be within range of a
broadcast power transmitter. However, a fuel cell eventually loses its charge.
Fuel cells can be recharged in two to sixteen (2d8) hours using a broadcast
power receiver. Fuel cells are usually installed on long-range vehicles and
aero-ships. Cyberdroids are also powered by a SIZ 4 fuel cell.
SIZ
|
Size
|
Powers
|
Value
|
1
|
Baseball,
6V battery, bar of chocolate, 1kg
|
Hand-held
device, computer
|
Average
|
4
|
Brick, 12V
car battery, 10kg
|
A cyberslave
or cyberdroid, plasma hand-weapon
|
Expensive
|
8
|
Backpack,
suitcase, 50kg
|
A small
vehicle, plasma cannon
|
Expensive
|
16
|
Bale of
hay, standard shipping box,100kg
|
Shop,
laboratory
|
Priceless
|
40
|
Small
vehicle, palette of freight, 1t
|
Small
building
|
Restricted
|
75
|
Room,
shipping container, 10t
|
Aero-ship
|
Restricted
|
Internal Combustion Engines
Because the
atmosphere of the planet Malus is poor in oxygen and lacks fossil fuels, the
Rhakadians developed little in the way of internal combustion engines. The
internal combustion engines used on Uruta are primarily of Phanosian design.
Phanosian internal combustion engines are designed to operate on fuels derived
from the grass seeds and cellulose. Compared to fuel cells and torium power
cores, internal combustion engines are loud, smelly, and dirty. They require
difficult-to-produce and relatively rare fuel. As such, internal combustion engines
are generally only found in remote settlements that cannot afford a torium
power core. Such settlements grow their own grass for fuel and broadcast the
power out to one hundred meters. Since internal combustion engines are not of
Rhakadian design, they are considered contraband by the Vrildarian Inquisition.
SIZ
|
Size
|
Powers
|
Value
|
1
|
Baseball, 6V battery, bar of chocolate,
1kg
|
Hand-held device, computer
|
Inexpensive
|
4
|
Brick, 12V car battery, 10kg
|
A cyberslave or cyberdroid, plasma
hand-weapon
|
Average
|
8
|
Backpack, suitcase, 50kg
|
A small vehicle, plasma cannon
|
Average
|
16
|
Bale of hay, standard shipping box,100kg
|
Shop, laboratory, village
|
Expensive
|
40
|
Small vehicle, palette of freight, 1t
|
Small building, town, Aeroship
|
Priceless
|
75
|
Room, shipping container, 10t
|
Large building, small city
|
Restricted
|
The Energy Economy
All torium core electric generators and fuel cells are
manufactured by the Rhakadian Empire which uses them to power their mining
operations and industrial facilities. Many are traded in exchange for access to
mine Uruta’s resources. The Rhakadians provide no more than a two hundred fifty
generators of various sizes and five hundred fuel cells a year. Of these, two
hundred are assigned to the Vrildarian military while the remaining fifty are
awarded to nobles as gifts from the Emperor. In addition, The Phanosians
supplied nearly a thousand to the Coalition of Timan before the Ill-fated War.
At least half of these have been found and confiscated by the Vrildarian
inquisition. Illegal smuggling since the war also introduces another fifty
generators to Uruta a year. The end result is that there are roughly seven
thousand five hundred torium core electric generators on Uruta.
Owner
|
Approximate Number of Generators
|
Use
|
Rhadkadian
Empire
|
100
|
A few
large industrial-sized generators to power their mining and refining
operations and several dozen medium-sized generators on aero-ships and land-vehicles
|
Vrildarian
military
|
4000
|
A few
large industrial-sized generators to power the larger military bases; many
medium-sized generators to power smaller bases, aero-ships, and armored
mobile-fortresses; many man-portable units for recharging plasma weapons
|
Vrildarian
nobility
|
1000
|
A few
large industrial-sized generators to power the large cities and industrial
facilities of the east; several hundred medium-sized generators to power
aero-ships, and a few remote
settlements and agricultural colonies; a few dozen small man-portable units
for personal noble use
|
Demetrian
Resistance
|
300
|
A few
dozen medium-sized generators to power aero-ships; over two hundred easily
hidden man-portable units for recharging plasma weapons or powering small
secret hideouts
|
Dazumi
Pirates
|
200
|
A handful
of large generators to power secret bases; several medium-sized generators to
power aero-ships; a few easily hidden man-portable units for recharging
plasma weapons
|
Other
|
500
|
Predominantly
small-to-medium-sized generators, easily hidden, to power villages,
farmsteads, or secret Techno-mystic laboratories
|
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