Kal
Whispers
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
If the stories are to be believed, a great civilisation sought to defy time itself in the distant past. By way of engineering so far beyond the galactic standard as to seem almost magical, an incomprehensibly long yet comparatively slim cylinder composed of seemingly indestructible alloys was plunged into a black hole while somehow remaining intact. The interior is as vibrant as any planetary surface but undeniably odd.
Time and space fluctuates and contorts under the presence of the nearby black hole and whatever alien mechanisms counteract it; anomalies are common, making journeys unpredictable and flight into the structure's depths risky beyond belief - made worse by sensory interference.
Just as strangely, time seems to pass slower relative to the rest of the galaxy the deeper one goes. A month in Port Venture might be two outside, a month in Midway a decade, and a month deeper still a lifetime or ten. For this reason expeditions into the Maw of Infinity are unfeasible on concept alone; even if the journey is survivable and return possible, the civilisation that sent them might have faded into history before they return.
- Intent: A time-defying but oddly slim megastructure 'diving' into a black hole.
- Image Credit: The Verge by Rafael Vallaparde (Artist Source).
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: N/A
- Astronomical Location Name: Gateway to Infinity
- Classification: Black Hole Megastructure / Temporal Anomaly
- Location: Some distance from the end of the Corellian Trade Spine.
- Rotational Period: N/A, experienced 'days' varies from biome to biome.
- Orbital Period: N/A, the Gateway appears to extend past the event horizon.
- Size: Massive; a 'mere' dozen kilometres in diameter but 'unfathomably long'.
- Affiliation: N/A; by its very nature, the Gateway to Infinity is seemingly unconquerable.
- Population: Sparse; pockets of civilisation dot the Gateway, including species believed extinct.
- Demographics: Human, Rakata, Taung, Primordial Columni (functional legs), and a wide variety of others.
- Accessibility: The Gateway is somewhat remote, but not difficult to find per se. For whatever reason, it appears indistinguishable from most black holes on anything but optical sensors, making measurements difficult and finding it without knowing its approximate location unlikely. It can be difficult to safely approach the 'gaping mouth' of the megastructure, but most vessels should be able to weather the gravitic currents.
- Description: The Gateway to Infinity is a slim but excessively long cylinder composed of a thin but seemingly indestructible bluish-grey alloy supporting a surprisingly vibrant biosphere on its interior. The interior is usually unaffected by the immense pull of the black hole, but spatial and especially temporal anomalies are relatively commonplace - distance is malleable and beings may grow younger or older inexplicably. The further 'down' one goes, the slower time passes relative to the outside world. A month in Midway can be a decade in the outside world.
- The Mouth of Infinity: The very edge of the Gateway opens into space, its gravity and atmosphere ending at a seemingly arbitrary point. Due to the sensory anomalies present, it is unknown how this phenomenon is maintained - some sort of exotic shielding may be involved. If this is the case, this shield is not calibrated to repel invaders - vessels can safely and easily fly into the mouth and land in Port Venture.
- Port Venture: Located about forty kilometres 'deep', Port Venture is the largest (known) settlement in the Gateway and the deepest point to which safe passage by starship is possible. Beyond this point, spatial anomalies are too common for most to take the risk. Local time is about half the speed of outside time, allowing residents and visitors to come and go in a semi-normal manner. The settlement spreads across the entire diameter of the Gateway - a repulsortram dubbed 'the Ring' eternally runs across the entire inner diameter of the Gateway.
- The Frozen Moment: Some distance from Port Venture can be found a moment frozen in time - within the anomalous region an entire host of Rakatan warriors can be seen fighting what looks like Killiks. The perimeter of the area is dotted with objects and the occasional person to have entered its area of influence. It may be possible to pull out beings trapped at the edges, but to do so is rather risky, to put it mildly.
- Midway 'City': Midway City is neither in the middle of the Gateway nor a proper city, but the name has stuck nonetheless; its residents are an odd bunch from a variety of times, as every year here is (roughly) a century in the outside galaxy. Some are scholars, some have nowhere else to go, and some are fugitives waiting for the memory of their misdeeds to pass into the annals of history so that they may start anew.
- The Well of Years: Past even Midpoint is rumoured to lie a 'Fountain of Youth' or more commonly 'Well of Years'. The rumours disagree on whether it simply reverses age or bestows ageless health (but not true immortality) upon those lucky few to find it. Either way, most seekers never find what they are looking for - a few return in all their youthful splendour, but some find the years catching up to them as soon as they attempt to leave the Gateway. There are beings in Midway who claim to be immortal unless they leave, but this is difficult to test.
- The Hidden Haven: Deeper still is rumoured to lie an ageless paradise for the boldest of seekers, a wondrous place in which peace eternal can be found. For obvious reasons, no one would want to leave. Rumours disagree on whether the builders of this strange wonder yet linger in this fantastical place or whether they have ventured deeper yet in pursuit of some sort of timeless ascension / true immortality. Some claim that this 'Haven' is meant to survive the heat death of the universe and the birth of the next through some unknown mechanism.
- The Maw of Infinity: At the very end of the Gateway to Infinity must lie the black hole which it leads into, but some have speculated that something else can be found beyond the event horizon. That the entire Gateway is but a vessel through which the mortal form can survive the transition into a higher form of existence - most scoff at such claims, for none who set out to verify them have ever returned.
If the stories are to be believed, a great civilisation sought to defy time itself in the distant past. By way of engineering so far beyond the galactic standard as to seem almost magical, an incomprehensibly long yet comparatively slim cylinder composed of seemingly indestructible alloys was plunged into a black hole while somehow remaining intact. The interior is as vibrant as any planetary surface but undeniably odd.
Time and space fluctuates and contorts under the presence of the nearby black hole and whatever alien mechanisms counteract it; anomalies are common, making journeys unpredictable and flight into the structure's depths risky beyond belief - made worse by sensory interference.
Just as strangely, time seems to pass slower relative to the rest of the galaxy the deeper one goes. A month in Port Venture might be two outside, a month in Midway a decade, and a month deeper still a lifetime or ten. For this reason expeditions into the Maw of Infinity are unfeasible on concept alone; even if the journey is survivable and return possible, the civilisation that sent them might have faded into history before they return.
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