Daedalus Drive

Overview

The Daedalus Drive is a subluminal propulsion system developed for interstellar travel at velocities reaching significant fractions of the speed of light. Originally conceptualized in the late 21st century, its first complete design was attributed to the scientific division of the Amazon Corporation, under the direction of Jeff Bezos Jr., the son of the late Jeff Bezos.

The drive itself, as concepted and developed by Amazon, is capable of propelling ships—via deuterium/helium-3 fusion—to about 12% of the speed of light, though some groups have managed to reach higher speeds with extreme modification. Such modifications are immensely expensive, and were mostly only seen during the initial fleeing of the Sol System.

The discovery and initial deployment of the Daedalus Drive marked a pivotal moment in the technological history of the Sol System, though its origins are historically marred, in political collapse and corporate ambition.

History

In the year 2100 AD, Amazon, the corporate megahouse, had long since transcended its status as a global commerce company, evolving into a self-sufficient corporate state wielding influence equal to entire nations. During this era, the Sol System was on the brink of societal fragmentation, catalyzed by the emergence of the Sol King.

Anticipating the inevitable downfall of Amazon’s holdings, Jeff Bezos Jr., from the Amazon-State of San Francisco, authorized a classified research project: the "Exodus Initiative." This project aimed to develop a method of escape for Amazon's senior leadership and elite staff, enabling them to flee beyond the Sol King’s expanding control. Utilizing data accumulated from a century of quantum research, gravitational manipulation experiments, and dark matter extraction techniques, Amazon's corporate scientists successfully engineered the first operational Daedalus Drive by late 2100 AD.

The Plot

Jeff Bezos Jr. intended to execute a full corporate evacuation, abandoning Earth and Mars to the Sol King's conquest. The Exodus Fleet was designed to carry Amazon’s executives, research archives, technological assets, and select populations of skilled personnel to the distant Sirius System, with the objective of reestablishing Amazon as an interstellar civilization independent of Sol's political turmoil.

However, word of the Exodus Initiative leaked to Amazon's lower administrative staff and workforce. Already experiencing discontent due to years of inequality, exploitation, and worsening conditions under both his father's reign, and Bezos Jr.’s own corporate regime, internal rebellion fomented rapidly. The workforce, being faced with a potential journey of over seventy years of isolated transit, only to be used as breeding stock for the next generation of Amazon's subjugated class, wasted no time in gathering their movement.

On December 8th, 2100 AD, Amazon’s Earth-based facilities were stormed. Jeff Bezos Jr. was captured by Amazon’s own security forces, who had defected to the populist cause against Amazon. In a globally broadcasted tribunal, Bezos Jr. was tried for crimes against humanity, national treason, and conspiracy to abandon civilization. He was executed by public decree within days, partially flayed, drawn, quartered, and hanged from the top of the Golden Gate Bridge and subsequently lit on fire; an event met by celebrations system-wide, even during the turmoil of the year. His body burned for days.

Release of the Daedalus Drive

Following the execution of Jeff Bezos Jr., the blueprints and theoretical foundations of the Daedalus Drive were declassified and disseminated throughout the remnants of global scientific institutions. Fear of the Sol King’s rise had already driven Amazon’s leadership to attempt a desperate escape, but their plans collapsed before they could flee.

The emergence of the Sol King created a wave of terror across the Sol System, forcing humanity to seek survival beyond the reach of his dominion. The wide release of Daedalus Drive technology sparked a new era of space exploration, colonization, and conflict, as countless groups and emergent polities raced to build their own fleets.