Navigating Within Hyperspace

http://podcollective.com/fora/viewtopic.php?p=12170

In recent posts, we described the Zonic Indeterminacy Hyperdrive as well as the complex arborescent structure of Hyperspace, The ten enumerations that comprise the ascending energy levels of hyperspace end at the apex or Crown enumeration which is better known as zi-Space. It can take several hours of subjective time to reach the Crown state, at which time a ship may fully activate its zi-Drive. 

To get to the Crown state, a pilot must guide their ship through each enumeration as well as through the flow channels that connect the successive enumerations or levels of hyperspace. Flow channels are particularly dangerous to navigate. Sometimes, these tunnel-like structures will spontaneously narrow or even close, stranding a ship within a hyperspatial blind sac or even a vacuole of sorts. 

These changes of state require a rapid turnaround before a ship collides head-on with the flow channel's membrane, or a dangerous jump within hyperspace to a higher or lower enumeration. Unfortunately, human pilots have never mastered the skills required for the latter maneuver. Humans may not even have the proper neural wiring to intuit these rapid changes in state and shift a vessel to an entirely different location within the Great Tree. For this reason, it is common on zi-Ships to include a contingent of non-human pilots from climbing races such as the gracile, feline Raksha and the many-limbed, golden-tailed Anumani. These two races have mastered the art of jumps within hyperspace.

Oddly enough, the Mir, while not a climbing species, are also quite comfortable negotiating the different enumerations and flow channels within hyperspace. In fact, they are the only species known to have established permanent habitats within the enumerations of hyperspace below the Crown. Some of their habitats even thread flow channels between enumerations. These artificial structures lend stability to the flow channels they colonize and make them safer for passage by ships.