Starquake.pdf

we are going back and cutting weight. Our goal is six methturns levitation time, which should give us
nearly a grethturn for a landing."
"Keep working," said Cliff-Web. "Launcher Team?"
"We had the easy job," another student reported. "The launcher is basically like the gravity catapults on
Egg, but bigger. Our real effort has been on making the gravity repulsion field at the center as uniform as
possible to minimize strains on the lander during launch. The size became awfully large though, twenty
centimeters. I don't think we are going to be able to put it on one of the human compensator masses. We
will need the larger deorbiter mass. I think the humans call it 'Otis' after the human that built the first space
fountain."
"It wasn't a space fountain, it was an elevator," Cliff-Web explained.
"What is an elevator?" asked the student.
"Never mind. Launch Base Team?"
"While the launcher keeps getting bigger, the base keeps getting smaller," said a third student. "We've
formed a joint study team with an astrophysics class taught by Plasma-Sheath, Doctor of Astrophysics.
We are learning the realities of particle and plasma physics, while they are learning the fun of being a
gravitational engineer. Our team now has the name 'Planet Busters.' We went out in a scout ship and
took a look at Otis. The surface is too far down in the fuzz. We are going to have to use monopoles to
shrink it and make it denser. Fortunately, the humans kept their monopole factory running, so they have
plenty in storage."
"You are all doing good work," said Cliff-Web. "You have 24 more turns to finish your team report,
then I think Plasma-Sheath and I had better talk to the humans before we go any further."
10:13:32 GMT TUESDAY 21 JUNE 2050
"We have a call from East Pole Space Station, Pierre," said Jean. "It's Cliff-Web and an astrophysicist
named Plasma-Sheath. They are dumping some detailed information through a data channel, but they also
want to speak with you."
Pierre stopped his checkout of the ship's computer and switched his screen to the communications
channel, where two cheela appeared on the screen. Cliff-Web was the smaller, although large for a male.
The other wore badges on her hide with a starburst in the center. Pierre was becoming better at
identifying the sexes, although Plasma-Sheath made it easy with her big lower eyeflaps.
"We have found a way to get back down to Egg," Cliff-Web began without preliminaries. "Since we are
very short of everything in space, we would have to borrow some mass and monopoles from you.
Unfortunately, your ring masses are too small; only the deorbiter mass would do. We would shrink it with
monopoles until it turns into a miniature neutron star, then use that as a base to construct the lander and
its launcher."
Pierre was puzzled. "I don't see how you can do that. Even if you could shrink it so the surface density
equals that of a neutron star, the equation of state is unstable and it will collapse into a miniature black
hole."