The Slipshot is the greatest technological innovation of Griddish. The exact origins of The Slipshot are not well known, but it is assumed that the Slipshot has been around in Griddish for eons.
Description[]
The Slipshot has been described as a powerful source of plasmic energy which binds Griddish to its child worlds, also known as Vars. It is housed inside a tall, slender structure known as a Silo. Near the apex of the Silo is a portal from which strikes a plasmic arc that ignites the Slipshot. The landscape of Griddish is said to be littered with innumerable Slipshot Silos. According to Rive Amber,
Rive returned her attention to the window. Her gaze swept across Griddish, the wide Ashen Plains, the ambitiously tall structures of the city of Ashen Fissure, the land littered with Slipshot Silos. Behind each Slipshot Silo was another Var. And in Griddish, perhaps millions of Silos, and millions of Vars, hundreds of billions of people who lived on those Vars. Some of them were gone, long dead after a Council decision for dismantlement. It had been this way since time immemorial.[1]
The Slipshot Silos are said to vary in appearance, depending on the era in which they were built. According to Matere Songgaard,
The Silos. Endless in their number. Built over countless eons. Each group of Slipshot Silos hearkened to their time, square, boxy, perhaps like obelisks at first. Now, they were slender, pointed, ambitious. Some were still alive. Like the one to Var 8. Some long dead and forgotten, abandoned to the vagaries of a failed experiment, a world that was just a shadow now, or a skeleton, or a trail of dust.[2]
Function[]
The Slipshot binds Griddish to its child worlds known as Vars. The Slipshot delivers structure and Griddish DNA as it anchors itself in deep space. According to Rive Amber,
She paused at an open window and gazed out onto the wide, grass-covered meadow, the bright cityscape beyond, the long, thin towers that seemed to fill the skyline as needles reaching towards the sky. The Slipshots. The conduit of all life, the purveyor of DNA. The reason for the existence of the Griddish Realm.[3]
The Slipshot also provides a portal that Griddishians can use to travel to and from the Var that it is bound to. The experience is akin to being squeezed through a plastic straw, according to some. According to Fredrick Munchen, the first time he jumps through the Slipshot to Griddish,
Fredrick looked around, his eyes wide and groping for something, anything that he could focus on. Where is Jillian? Why can’t I see her? He felt his stomach turn, his body pressed as if he were being slurped through a straw. He could feel the air being sucked out of his lungs. He gasped and choked as he reached for his own throat.[4]
Initialization[]
Specification sketch of a Capsa Ungere
The Slipshot is initialized by a device known as the Capsa Ungere, also called a Capsa. Its size is about that of a small capsule that can be held between the fingers. In order to initialize the Slipshot, the holder of the Capsa should press it between their fingers and toss it towards the place where an array of conductive posts converge. An arc of plasmic energy bursts forth from the Capsa, thereby igniting the Slipshot and opening the portal.
The Capsa can also be used in the presence of a Perispike Dome, also called a Perispike Barrier. The Perispike Dome is initialized on a Var and binds that Var temporally to Griddish. Once a Capsa ignites, the Slipshot is opened and the Capsa holder can use the Slipshot to return to Griddish.
It is currently not possible to use the Slipshot, a Capsa, or a Perispike to travel from Var to Var.
Corruption and Misuse[]
The Council of Engineer Class Citizens directs the use of the Slipshot, while the Mechanic Class Slaves manage its regular operations. However, the Council is deemed far to corrupt to continue to manage the Slipshot. According to Dr. Jeremiah Onu,
“Everything that the Commission touches is corrupt,” said Jeremiah, holding one arm up in the air, as if he were starting a lecture. “Nothing that comes from it must be left whole. It is only when its influence is fully obliterated that we can be free to meet our full potential.”[5]
Some members of the Council look upon the Vars as an economic opportunity. Others have little regard for the life that flourishes on them.
- ↑ Aibo. (2023). Slipshot (1st ed., Vol. 1, p. 245-246). Mint Cookie Industries.
- ↑ Aibo. (2023). Slipshot (1st ed., Vol. 1, p. 151). Mint Cookie Industries.
- ↑ Aibo. (2023). Slipshot (1st ed., Vol. 1, p. 71). Mint Cookie Industries.
- ↑ Aibo. (2023). Slipshot (1st ed., Vol. 1, p. 235). Mint Cookie Industries.
- ↑ Aibo. (2023). Slipshot (1st ed., Vol. 1, p. 229). Mint Cookie Industries.