Interstellar Journeys

Travelling between star systems is a deal. Few people do it more than once, and most don't do it at all. Most interstellar travel is comprised of people migrating from Sol to Alpha Centauri.

Getting Aboard

Thanks to the non-profit nature of the New Worlds Foundation, travel on an interplanetary ship is actually free. Donations are encouraged, however, and since migrants are neither able to bring most of their belongings nor need them, those who leave no people behind who might need it often donate their entire wealth. Due to the limited passenger capacity, there is often a waiting list, it can take a few years between requesting a spot and embarking on the journey.
The interstellar ships arrive and depart in high orbits around the respective stars. The interstellar journey is therefore preceded by an interplanetary one of several weeks. Hub stations facilitate the exchange of passengers between the interstellar and interplanetary ships.

Community

The most common type of interstellar ship, the Taurus Class, carries a little over 2000 people, crew included. Since they live together for four years, most people get to know each other at least in passing. Most passengers emerge from the journey as part of a group of friends. It is often said in Alpha Centauri the skippers travel in groups.
The ship's crew is very much involved in this. Differing from traditional ships, off duty crew members are encouraged to mingle with the passengers and partake in the amenities of the vessel.

Cabins

Passengers stay in small suites. These consist of a bedroom, a living room and a bathroom. They are small and with minimal furnishing, but larger than typical passenger space ship cabins, since people stay in them much longer. There are also variants with more than one bedroom, for families and people who otherwise prefer to live together. The crew has it a little less comfortable, sharing cabins with a few bunkmates.

Amenities

The details of what amenities a ship is equipped with are different for every individual vessel. They of course have the basics in common: A mess hall for people to get their food, a gym and a large common room for events or for people to just hang out. Many ships have a library, with a large selection of books stored on microfilm to save space. There may be a small cinema, or the common room may be equipped with a movie projector. Cabins are equipped with televisions and radio, though they suffer from the limitations to communication. Many passengers choose to help with the work on the ship that does not need special training, such as food preparation.

Communication

Interstellar ships can communicate with Sol and Alpha Centauri via radio waves. This includes radio, television and telefax for the passengers. This is subject to some limitations, though. Interference from the Medusa Drive and the large radiation shield prevent communication with the star system in the direction of the drive. A ship travelling to Alpha Centauri, for example, can only communicate with Sol for the first half of the journey and only with Alpha Centauri for the second half.

Time

Due to the high speeds reached during interstellar travel, timekeeping on board the ships is subject to relativistic effects. The journey takes about four years for the people on the ship, but six years as measured in the rest frame of Sol and Alpha Centauri. As a result, clocks on interstellar vessels work a little differently than elsewhere. The hours on the clock simply cycle through 24 hours. Life on the ship is scheduled around this artificial day-night cycle. Instead of the UTC date, however, the clocks count down the days to the estimated arrival at the target system in the ship's time.

Gravity

The 1 g acceleration of the ship works as artificial gravity for the ship. The "downward" direction is along the long axis of the ship, away from the drive. This makes the interior of the ship feel like a highrise, with many floors and a cluster of elevators and stairwells in the center. There is a brief time of weightlessness at the half way point of the journey, as the drive is deactivated while the ship flips around.

Arrival

After arrival in the target system, the passengers are ferried to the hub station there. In Alpha Centauri, the new arrivals are greeted by a crowd of people, volunteers who help them get settled in the system. From there, they spread out and take various smaller ships to the different corners of Alpha Centauri.

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