Stasis Units (R212E)
A serendipitous offshoot of hyperdrive development was the stasis phenomenon. Stasis appears to stop time within a very
restricted volume. The stasis unit is a device turned out manually, or by an automatic trigger (activated when hyperspace
dissipation occurs, for example).
When a stasis unit is turned on, it stops time inside the unit. As a result, it cannot be turned off from within! To turn if off, one
must put the unit inside another stasis unit, and reverse the field. Both stasis units are consumed, and whatever was inside
the smaller now returns to normal time.
A person inside a stasis and then freed will complete the breath he or she was drawing when stasis began, a cup of coffee
that was being spilled will continue its motion, the coffee still hot, etc.
Due to the cost of stasis units and the ability to determine what is inside an active unit, few people can meet the cost of
deactivating a unit by using up a larger one — unless they expect large rewards. Accordingly, an insurance network has been
formed to guarantee deactivation after the destruction of an insured ship. Of course, anyone who gets to the stasis unit
first can risk opening it without insurance, if they believe it contains valuable items, or a person who brings a good ransom.
Crewmen hire on at lower rates if they can work in stasis units with insurance, since their life has an effective protection.
If you (Duke Springer) are in an activated stasis unit, unless the event indicates otherwise consult R240 for the result. If you
find an activated stasis unit, you may open it by purchasing or having a unit 1 CU larger, and when the larger is activated
around the smaller both are lost to recover the contents within the smaller. Stasis units cannot be used to surround and
protect a starship: use of hyperdrive jump inside one causes a massive explosion - so much for the Navy’s attempt to use
stasis protection for their warships!