Dune: Technology: Heighliner

The Guild heighliner is the lifeblood of imperium commerce.The Guild heighliner is the lifeblood of imperium commerce. These asteroid sized space ships are the how most people and cargo are transported between the various planets, moons and systems of the Empire. The ship is mostly hollow, which allows smaller vessels, from ornithopters up to Frigates and larger attack vessels, to be carried along its trip through foldspace. Most human passengers are transported within the highliner itself, although some may choose to travel within the smaller ships. Heighliners are produced on the machine world of Ix.

Like most technology in the Dune universe, the highliner is utilizes a Holtzman Field. The craft generates the field, which then folds space. After this is done the highliner enters an new dimension, unimaginably named foldspace. Foldspace is a combination of a wormhole (ala ST:DS9 and Farscape) and hyperspace of Babylon 5. The journey through foldspace is relatively quick, usually lasting under an hour, but this trip is not without its perils. A Spacing Guild navigator is required to safely guide the heighliner through foldspace to its destination. A navigator is not required, but it greatly improves the chances of arriving at the intended destination unharmed.

Special notes: A shield being activated while the heighliner is in foldspace, will ultimately drop the ship out foldspace into normal space. This is because the Holtzman field of the shields interferes with the Hotlzman field of the Holtzman (foldspace) Engine.

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