What is Janus?

Janus is a man-made construction, which orbits the Sun in the region of the Asteroid Belt.

Its realisation was made possible by a number of discoveries and inventions in the late twenty-first century. Chief among these were:

• the development of enhanced fusion reactors, which gave an almost limitless source of power at a very economical fuel-usage rate;

• the invention of the plasma-fusion drive, which allowed constant acceleration in a vacuum at a constant 1 g for a feasible fuel-mass;

• the discovery and development by Chronadine Inc. of plasmetal — a process which allows metals such as tungsten, steel and titanium to be bonded into super-polymers and “cold-cast” into moulds, or extruded through dies, before being welded, set and hardened by portable ionised-mercury linear accelerators.  Once set, plasmetal is virtually indestructible.

The many levels of Janus are constructed of a network of large, box-like plasmetal chambers, linked horizontally by connecting tubes, or passageways and vertically by shafts containing both elevators and stairways. Some levels are also connected by transit-tubes, which carry shuttles around the level. The whole is interwoven with a hugely complex system of pipes, conduits and ducts, carrying air, water, power and everything else into and between the chambers.

Janus has one single purpose — to contain and operate the Janus Gate — humanity’s gateway to the stars.