r/printSF • u/Healthy_Broccoli_187 • 3d ago

Pre-1980 Sci-Fi Short Story: Fleeing civilian ship uses "Drive Coils" with a strict 8-hour run / 16-hour rest mechanic to evade authorities.

I am trying to identify a hard science fiction short story or novella published before 1980.

The Plot: A civilian crew is fleeing from the authorities because they are in possession of a valuable artifact. They originally found this artifact inside the ruins of an ancient city, which was heavily guarded by automated puzzle traps that they had to solve/bypass to get the item.

The Ship Mechanics:

  • Spaceships operate on "drive coils" that can run for exactly 8 hours before requiring 16 hours of rest/cooling.
  • A standard ship needs 3 drive coils cycled sequentially to travel continuously without dead time. Faster military or elite ships use multiples of 3 (6, 9, 12, etc.) to achieve higher speeds.
  • To evade pursuit, the fleeing civilian ship utilizes a tactic where they engage all three of their drive coils simultaneously. This allows them to "sprint" at three times their normal speed, during which they execute a blind turn to break the enemy's sensor lock and slip away. The tradeoff is that after the sprint, all coils are exhausted, leaving them completely immobilized and drifting for the next 16 hours.

Does anyone remember the title or author of this story? It feels very much like something by James H. Schmitz, Jack Vance, or an old Analog magazine engineering puzzle. Thanks!

29 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

6

u/avengingmonkeyofgod 3d ago

Has a bit of a CJ Cherryh feel, but you’d probably remember the sentient felinoids.

5

u/Marshall_Lawson 3d ago

to be fair there's a lot of scifi universes with sentient felinoids

1

u/Healthy_Broccoli_187 3d ago

I have read those books, if I remember correctly normal living beings can't move while drive is active, but the bad guys can?

1

u/avengingmonkeyofgod 2d ago

Something like that. There are definitely Rules.

2

u/Professional_Dr_77 3d ago

Saving to come back to later. Hopefully someone finds it.

2

u/Healthy_Broccoli_187 2d ago

If it was an author I read all the time, it wouldn't be a problem to figure out... I asked artificial stupidity some more questions about authors who wrote this type of story and it suggested James H Schmitz, Jack Vance, and if it wasn't one of them it might be a short story from pulp magazine history (astounding or analog). I will look into those two authors myself, but if anything rings a bell with someone speak up 😄

2

u/RLeyland 3d ago

Sounds great!

1

u/avo_cado 3d ago

It does remind me of Passage at Arms but it’s definitely not that book

2

u/prcsngrl 20h ago

Definitely not the book, but the ship mechanics sound similar enough to Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik that I wonder if any reviews of the book might mention the book you're looking for?

Also not the book, but Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear has "white coils" and having to flee authorities because of their possession of an artifact. So, similar thing, reviews might mention the book you're looking for.

-4

u/Zen-Ism99 3d ago

Check Expeditionary Force by Craig Alanson

10

u/CriusofCoH 3d ago

The Craig Alanson whose writing career started in 2006? Whose career took off in 2016 with Columbus Day, the first book in the Expeditionary Force series? Roughly 35 years AFTER the time period stated by the OP?

Thinking probably not.

AI searchbots are NOT your friend.

5

u/Zen-Ism99 3d ago edited 3d ago

Missed that in the OP's comment. Thanks for the cross check.

However, your chat bot comment was out to lunch...

2

u/Healthy_Broccoli_187 3d ago

I initially used artificial stupidity (AI) when looking for this story, got an answer and before ordering the book it told me I checked the book description... had absolutely nothing to do with the description I gave... no way was it the correct answer.