The Levity Engine, or Lev-Line, as it is most commonly referred to, is a wonderous technology first developed by the aether pioneers of the United Earth Empire’s days, during man’s first forays into the Great Liquidity. There is no “up” or “down” in aether, no level, and so the first men to soar through its depths, even sealed within the protected environments of their ships, found themselves losing tools and unable to maintain fixed locations. Further, it was extremely difficult, impossibly so, to exert any real force during maintenance or repair. They had a problem similar to what those undersea workers have, though far exasperated by the thinness of aether – the need to brace. Rudimentary bracing fixtures were quickly improvised and developed, but were found insufficient. From this greater need, the Levity Engine was born.
History
Space Limited Industrial, a now defunct corpo, was the first to provide the initial offering of a device that could create artificial level in 2117AD, which they called an “airspace generator.” Quickly following, inter-corporate espionage saw those plans stolen, and nearly every aerospace firm then had their own version. This climate of competition accelerated the budding aetherspace industry, and any corporation that failed to hop on this ship quickly went under. It wasn’t until 2121 that the Sam-Hedron Research Concern corpo minted their offering as “Levity Engine.” It proved a strategic marketing plan, and the name became ubiquitous with the technology. Following, it was users and engineers that popularized the term “Lev-Line.” The license for “Levity Engine” remained exclusive to Sam-Hedron Research Concern until the corpo went under in 2127. Most historians believe their demise was deliberately orchestrated by joint efforts of their competitors, and the term became public after the technology was purchased by the United Earth Empire.
With full authority and power over the Levity Engine, the UEE permitted anyone to develop and innovate the technology, so long as they met set guidelines and safety parameters before sale. Under prototyping phase, experimentation with the technology was allowed to an unlimited extent. It is not known precisely how many injuries or deaths were required to perfect the Levity Engine, but the Ascendancy honors their sacrifice.
Applied
On Ships or Stations
The Lev-Line is used to provide level within controlled environments submerged in aether. Often, these are fitted with multiple levity engines which work in unison to provide level for different sections or decks. While not all ships or stations have backup Lev-Lines, backups are always installed in any serious application – typically those involving Ascendancy business.
Interestingly, older ships, such as those from the days of the UEE, often had a small, dedicated Lev-Line meant only to be used for the pilot. This was because of the forces which passengers and crew would be subjected to by the antiquated Tether launch method – the secondary levity engine being necessary to keep the pilot conscious during such launches.
In an Aethersuit or Environsuit
In an aethersuit, a small Lev-Line is used to propel or maneuver the wearer through the aether. The maneuverability of these Lev-Lines is such that the wearer is able to remain perfectly still, or very accurately adjust their position. With a neural link, a wearer is able to effortlessly make these adjustments, even happening as naturally as one moves. Without that, movements must be made by physical means. Of which, the methods of doing so are both customizable and adjustable due to the Holo-Mesh and formulation technology. The Levity Engine has also largely taken the place of maglocks on boots, which the UEE utilized exclusively during its time.
In an environsuit, a Lev-Line is used to maintain footing on difficult terrain, counter low or high levity environments, and serve as a limited means of traversal within atmosphere or other liquid.
Technology
Levdray
A common term for any table, cart, or box with the ability to hover or float, which is powered by a levity engine. The levdray is used to transport materials, either autonomously or under escort, and sees wide use in both military and civil applications. Examples of such use include the autonomous delivering of consumable items, such as food, or for the movement of Ascendancy Fleet munitions in port, and aboard while underway.
Telekinesis Device
It is hypothesized that the Levity Engine could be used to manipulate objects from afar. It is known that the One Earth Ascendancy and various corpos have experimented with such applications, but the results of these tests are not available to the public debtor.