Praxic Age Exoatmospheric Weapons Systems

First Appearance and Context

Fraa Lio first produced this large volume for consultation in the Refectory after a pinhole projection in the Mynster showed a sequence of blue sparks moving near the sun. He had said he would locate a written source—likely from the Old Library—to explain the phenomenon, and brought this Praxic-era reference to the table. Soon after, the book was laid out for extended study in Shuf’s Dowment, where Lio and peers examined its detailed foldouts and applied its material to ongoing discussions about what might be happening in orbit.

Description and Notable Contents

A large, aging technical compendium on exoatmospheric (space-based) weapon systems associated with the Praxic Age. The volume includes an exquisitely detailed, double-ended foldout diagram of a spacecraft propelled by a series of small atomic bombs ejected aft toward a broad pusher plate. Columns acting as heavy shock absorbers couple the plate to the inhabited forward section, smoothing the impulses into steady acceleration. The bombs are described as specialized to channel plasma predominantly in one direction (toward the plate). Notes in the material make clear that these were late-Praxic conceptual designs intended for military operations within a solar system; none of these ships was actually built. Designs proposed for relativistic travel are indicated to have been larger and differently configured.

Role in Current Analysis

• Serves as the primary technical reference Lio uses to argue for a bomb-pulse propulsion concept when interpreting observed signatures in the sky.
• Provides vocabulary, diagrams, and scaling intuitions that the group uses when reasoning about thrust, maneuvering, and changes in orbital inclination they are attempting to infer from observations.

Current Status/Location

Consulted intensively at Shuf’s Dowment and earlier produced in the Refectory; no subsequent placement is specified in the material available so far.