Obscure Information

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Revision as of 17:19, 6 February 2020 by StarSumiaki (talk | contribs)

This article exists as a quick reference for obscure information about various comic series in the form of questions and answers. The point of this article is to enable readers to quickly find canon information that may not be explicitly pointed out in comic pages, may not be properly documented on this wiki, or otherwise may be difficult to check.

Magi Soldat

Planets, Ships, Space Travel

Where is Iaden?

The planet Iaden is located in Messier 81, a galaxy approximately 12 million light-years from Earth.

How does Dilalin travel from Iaden to Earth?

Dilalin's ship, the Niylinel, possesses FTL (Faster Than Light) transit capabilities. It travels from one point in our universe to another by jumping through tunnels through subspace. These jumps take exponentially less time than traveling through regular space at the speed of light.

How do subspace jumps exceed the speed of light?

They technically don't. A unique property of subspace enables bending the actual fabric of subspace-time itself and "warping" it around a ship. This process is less of a "movement" and more of a "displacement". The displacement of subspace around matter isn't bound by the speed limit of matter through subspace. It can be likened to Star Trek's warp travel but only when in subspace.

How fast do ships "displace" through subspace?

The rate of displacement is proportional to the strength of the spacial field (i.e., warp field) generated by the ship utilizing the tunnel. Typically, the length of tunnel and strength of field are calculated together such that the jump displacement itself is functionally instantaneous.

How are subspace tunnels created?

Interactions between rare subatomic particles can open a temporary hole between our "regular" space and subspace. These particles must be created on-demand in particle accelerators (aka colliders). A tunnel is established by performing this interaction twice: once in space and again a calculated distance into subspace. Some large ships do this all on their own. Many smaller ships make use of "subspace gates" that do the work for them.

Why don't ships travel through subspace in a 'normal' fashion? Why instantaneous jumps?

A ship can travel through subspace on standard sub-light engine propulsion or even with a very weak spacial field, but this would defeat the point of entering subspace. A ship displacing at a reasonable FTL velocity would be maneuvering far too quickly to navigate effectively as no computer can calculate quickly enough to make adjustments. Since the gravitational pull of celestial objects in regular space also affects the underlying region of subspace in the form of "gravitational turbulence", reckless subspace travel risks damaging ships or exposing them to undesirable time dilation effects.

Jumping through tunnels also means knowing what is on the other side of the tunnel, and ensuring the exit point is clear of unexpected debris or other objects.

Where is Dilalin's ship?

The Niylinel is hiding behind Jupiter, avoiding the prying eyes of human astronomers.

How do people get to and from Dilalin's ship?

Same method ships use to travel between points in space: subspace tunnels. This method of transit is meant for even shorter distances than Jupiter-Earth, but it is still doable. This version of the process involves extra steps to compensate for both entry and exit point moving relative to one another, and to safeguard the individuals in transit. These extra steps are referred to colloquially as "locking" the tunnel.

Characters

Why does Dilalin speak weirdly?

She doesn't know Japanese (which is rendered in English for the reader). Her ship assists her in translating between her own language and Japanese using machine learning but such a technology is never perfect.

How does Dilalin fly?

Her body is small and light enough to use an anti-gravity technology colloquially referred to as "flight rings". They're a form of technology that lacks a lot of practical application due to energy and weight constraints, but happens to be perfectly suited for keeping small things aloft.

What does Dilalin eat when she's shown eating?

Effectively an MRE (Meal Ready to Eat). It's semi-gelatinous and scientifically designed to provide all the nutrients she needs. It apparently tastes like a medley of various ripe fruits.

Why does Dilalin eat food on a skewer? Why is the skewer so big?

It's the one common utensil in Iadena culture. They prefer food to be presented in a manageable form that can be eaten by hand, drunk, or skewered. It's big because Lin is small.

Are all of Dilalin's people tiny?

No.

Why does Kaemi speak weirdly?

Kaemi speaks in a different dialect than the local Hokkaido-ben dialect spoken by others. There is no canon specific dialect, but it loosely draws a few elements from certain stereotypes such as "rural" touhoku-ben and "brash" kansai-ben. I.e., she's just informal and rude.

TVTropes has a useful primer on Japanese dialects.

Why does Kaemi call Itsumi "Ami"? Why does she call Dilalin "Blue"?

Kaemi has difficulties understanding relationship standings with people, and so prefers to forgo honorifics and even names entirely, and instead use her own terms. "Ami" is simply French for "friend". She calls Dilalin "Blue" because Dilalin's hair is blue.

Plot

Why was the plot maguffin taken to Earth?

Humans radiate an energy signature that masks the energy signature of the plot maguffin (the singularity fragment). Incidentally, that energy signature correlates with latent, dormant exotic abilities that, for all intents and purposes, can be called magic.

What is Kaemi's exotic ability? Why does she struggle with it?

Currently unknown. Because it's currently unknown.

Why is Itsumi's power easily figured out? Why does she seem very good at using it?

Her power had a tell when it awoke. It was extrapolated from there. She isn't good at it, but she does have her attire visor and link with Dilalin's ship to help her.

Why did Itsumi make her second spear out of asphalt?

That's the only abundant material she had other than sidewalk concrete. She was provided the metals for her first spear by Dilalin.

What happened to the first spear, anyway?

It was recovered after the battle. Reduce, reuse, recycle.

Plot Maguffin

What is the God Singularity?

The God Singularity is a physical celestial object that produces an unlimited amount of energy. The composition of the singularity and the process through which the energy is produced are undetectable and possibly unknowable, indicating the singularity may be anomalous to the universe. The singularity may be fragmented and recombined seamlessly, with each fragment retaining the same energy producing functionality. The bandwidth of a fragment of the singularity is proportional to the mass of the fragment. The actual output measurement of the singularity is classified but considered to be in the gigawatt hour (terajoule) range.

Where is the God Singularity?

The actual location of the God Singularity is classified, but is touted as being "in the center of the universe". It is protected by an Iadena military fleet.