Weng Zhu Li

Weng Zhu Li was a famous Helsmunt Institute physicist during the reign of Temba I. His fame sprouts from his use of proper research technique and dedication worthy of great respect. As interstellar travel was becoming more common, the calculations and measurement sensitivities for accurate hops was becoming increasingly strained. While hop pollution could be adjusted for, it became more difficult to account for shifts in the local “soup” due to ships making hops or gaining space while your ship might still be in the soup. As more aristocratic family were traveling regularly to special functions around the Imperium, mishaps became more likely. After a string of closely-spaced incidents related to several festivals, Weng was assigned the task of forming the research group to tackle the problem.

Research into hyperspace had almost ceased. In light of the Dio En Mashino technology that was available, it was seen as computer’s work, not suitable to good research. Weng approached this Test with a large contingent of research assistants to pour over all the records of hyperspace science that were available at the Institute. He found many of his answers in the files of Kemen Febrer Suwor. Expanding and extrapolating from Suwor’s work, he was able to postulate the necessary physics for the construction of Gravito Magnetic Sensor Sheaths.

As his research went forward, Weng increasingly began to speculate about devices that could be made to utilize his mathematics. Unfortunately, other mathematicians and physicists were rarely capable of understanding or supporting his conclusions. Eventually, as he approached retirement, he became professionally something of a pariah, often viewed as mentally troubled. It is this period which fascinates and titillates the human imagination. Good scientists often muse about how things would be different if only their great predecessors had followed a different path.

Decades after his death, Rumors and legends of “Weng Devices” that he created began to grow.’^1^’ Most persistent of these is an instantaneous communication device, often referred to as “Weng communicators” or “Subspace radios.” According to the proponents of these stories, Weng to just too brilliant for groups like the BID to allow his work to continue. Without any sensible justification, true believers feel his work threatened the control that such groups had over the history of the human race. In theory, the BID could have slowly poisoned Weng throughout his later years, but motivation for doing so in not apparent. Of course, the incredibly competent agents who carried out this scheme would have eliminated any traces of their involvement.

This is all common for conspiracy theories, and the Weng Devices are not different. However, belief in the so-called “Conspiracy Of Ages” was common during the Early and High Imperium. As part of this popular mythology, Weng’s reputation and place in history were sealed, if erroneously.

1: Weng held no patents and didn’t invent anything himself. He is famously and prominently associated with Gravito Magnetic Sensor Sheaths, but they are not his work so much as descended from it.

1: Weng held no patents and didn’t invent anything himself. He is famously and prominently associated with Gravito Magnetic Sensor Sheaths, but they are not his work so much as descended from it.

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