“…there is a very highly regimented and fixed hierarchy or “class system” for all IS-BEs throughout the “Old Empire”, and The Domain, as follows:
The highest class are “free” IS-BEs. That is, they are not restricted to the use of any type of body and may come and go at will, provided that they do not destroy or interfere with the social, economic or political structure.
Below this class are many strata of “limited” IS-BEs who may or may not use a body from time to time. Limitations are imposed on each IS-BE regarding range of power, ability and mobility they can exercise.
Below these are the “doll body” classes, to which I belong. Nearly all space officers and crew members of space craft are required to travel through intergalactic space. Therefore, they are each equipped with a body manufactured from lightweight, durable materials. Various body types have been designed to facilitate specialized functions. Some bodies have accessories, such as interchangeable tools or apparatus for activities such as maintenance, mining, chemical management, navigation, and so forth. There are many gradations of this body type which also serve as an “insignia” of rank.
Below these are the soldier class. The soldiers are equipped with a myriad of weapons, and specialized armaments designed to detect, combat and overwhelm any imaginable foe. Some soldiers are issued mechanical bodies. Most soldiers are merely remote controlled robots with no class designation.
The lower classes are limited to “flesh bodies”. Of course, it is not possible for these to travel through space for obvious reasons. Fundamentally, flesh bodies are far too fragile to endure the stresses of gravity, temperature extremes, radiation exposure, atmospheric chemicals and the vacuum of space. There are also the obvious logistical inconveniences of food, defecation, sleep, atmospheric elements, and air pressure required by flesh bodies, that doll bodies do not require.
Most flesh bodies will suffocate in only a few minutes without a specific combination of atmospheric chemicals. After 2 or 3 days the bacteria which live internally and externally on the body cause severe odors to be emitted. Odors of any kind are not acceptable in a space vessel.
Flesh can tolerate only a very limited spectrum of temperatures, whereas in space the contrast of temperatures may vary hundreds of degrees within seconds. Of course flesh bodies are utterly useless for military duty. A single shot from a hand-held, electronic blast gun instantly turns a flesh body into a noxious vapor cloud.
IS-BEs who inhabit flesh bodies have lost much of their native ability and power. Although it is theoretically possible to regain or rehabilitate these abilities, no practical means has been discovered or authorized by The Domain.
Even though space craft of The Domain travel trillions of “light years” in a single day, [i] (Footnote) the time required to traverse the space between galaxies is significant, not to mention the length of time to complete just one set of mission orders, which may require thousands of years. Biological flesh bodies live for only a very short time — only 60 to 150 years, at most — whereas doll bodies can be re-used and repaired almost indefinitely. “
FOOTNOTES:
[i] “…space craft of The Domain travel trillions of light-years in a single day…” —
Using the Julian Calendar year (not Gregorian) of 365.25 days, or exactly 31,557,600 seconds, gives the light-year an exact value of 9,460,730,472,580,800 meters. ( A meter = 3.281 feet or 39.37 inches.)
The distance to the nearest star from Earth is 4.24 light years!
Distances measured in fractions of a light-year usually involve objects within a star system. Distances measured in light-years include distances between nearby stars, such as those in the same spiral arm or globular cluster.
One kilolight-year, abbreviated “kly”, is one thousand light-years, or about 307 parsecs. Kilolight-years are typically used to measure distances between parts of a galaxy.
One megalight-year, abbreviated “Mly”, is one million light-years, or about 306,600 parsecs. Megalight-years are typically used to measure distances between neighboring galaxies and galaxy clusters.
One gigalight-year, abbreviation “Gly”, is one billion light-years — one of the largest distance measures used. One gigalight-year is about 306.6 million parsecs.
— Reference: Wikipedia.org
Originally posted 2012-01-20 01:12:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
