From: Shawn A Fisher <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 20:00:02 -0500

HYPLIC Thrusters (HYPerspace/Laser Interference Converter) TL8
(Description by John Fosgett)

HYPLIC thrusters are a spinoff of fusion and cold fusion research which
also produced the first FTL drive system. HYPLIC drives operate by
establishing a containment bubble of hyperspace and then attempting to
ignite a thermal fusion reaction within this altered dimensional space. The
resulting interference waves between the lasers and hyperspace waves within
the containment medium cause the fusion fuel to spontaneously disintegrate
as it transitions to an extremely excited energy state. The resulting
byproducts are extremely short lived and localized energy wavefronts which
defy all known mechanisms of control and travel at right angles to the
original interference waves. Overall, the HYPLIC drive is capable of
directly converting mass into energy with about 20% efficiency in most
design models.

While the HYPLIC drive exhibits phenomenal performance, it is not without
its drawbacks and limitations. Use of the HYPLIC in the presence of a
standard atmosphere has proved fruitless, and doing anything useful with
the energy ouputs other than to provide the original thrust has also proven
impossible. The exhaust plume interacts catastrophically with any matter
within a few meters of the drive. These reactions generate substantial
hyperspace compresion waves which feed back into the device and cause the
drives containment bubble to collapse (thus ending the reaction). On the
bright side these energy fronts undergo a complete phase shift and slip
back into hyperspace after travelling a short distance (rendering the
exhaust harmless).

Due to its unique nature, HYPLIC drives can be built in any size. Although
the exhaust cannot be controlled (and thus vectored) it is possible to
physically point the drive in any desired direction to simulate a vectored
thrust drive.

HYPLIC Drives mass 0.015 lbs per lb thrust. Cost is $50*thrust. Consume
0.015kW power per lb thrust for the ignition lasers and require 0.001
gallons of cryogenic hydrogen per hour per lb of thrust.  They are 50lbs/cf.