Bridge Laboratory
A bridge laboratory is a scientific facility that contains a bridge generator of a specific design, as well as supporting equipment to allow that generator to function, and usually laboratories, accommodation, and amenities for its staff. Aside from opening bridges to allow foreign dimensions to be studied, bridge laboratories also include several laboratories to allow the study of material or artefacts brought back from remote dimensions.
Several generations of fundamental bridge laboratory designs have been prominent throughout the past; ranging from the first designs that were only capable of sending probes through to the latest designs that support the newest scientific innovations. Due to the risk of dimensional incursions and dimensional terrorism, modern facilities implement robust safety and security systems, and are tightly regulated by Raven.
History
Experimental facilities
"Throwing Science at a Wall to See What Sticks"
One facility existed even before bridge generation technology became widely known in the scientific community. This was the Girvan Offshore Science Facility (GOSF), housing a very early prototype of a bridge generator completed by Nevrin in 1975. While it was inefficient, inaccurate, and extremely hazardous, it laid the first scientific groundwork that proved bridge generation was possible.
First-generation
"The Era of Probes"
The Einstein-Rosen Complex (ERC) was constructed between 2051 and 2075 by the Interdimensional Research Treaty Organisation, as a huge international undertaking coordinates by the Einstein-Rosen Accords. The success of this laboratory was groundbreaking, and allowed automated probes to be sent through and collect data. However, as there was not yet a method of targeting the bridge, connections were random and unsafe for people.
Second-generation
"The Era of Expeditions"
Second-generation facilities began to emerge in the late 2080s, which boasted both safety for manned expeditions and functional, albeit coarse, targeting systems. As opposed to the more international nature of first-generation facilities, the construction of second-generation labs were primarily driven by corporations pouring new funding into the field, with CORE Group constructing their first laboratory at the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research. These facilities were where ambition outpaced understanding, culminating in the kind of incidents that made Raven necessary.
Third-generation (Post-IRTO)
"The Era of Bureaucracy"
After the First Incursion in 2100 nearly resulted in global catastrophe, with humanity narrowly avoiding complete annihilation, a global uproar ensued. The next year, the Dimensional Security Accords were ratified by nearly all United Nations members, resulting in the creation of Raven, and finally bringing international oversight to the field of exophysics.
In compliance with the Accords, a third generation of facilities were designed, with extensive redundant safety and security systems designed to prevent dimensional incursions and terrorist attacks, as well as precise, encrypted targeting systems. Plans were devised to upgrade second-generation facilities, while most Gen 1s were set to be decommissioned.
The first third-generation facility managed by IRTO was the Wilhelm Schmitz Research Facility in Hamburg, Germany. Other notable Gen 3s include the Corey Wall Research Facility and the Jacques Laurent-Bellecour Centre, both built in the 2120s.
Architecture
Modern facilities are generally known to be quite expansive and may have multiple sectors with hundreds or even thousands of rooms, for both support equipment for the bridge generator and to provide housing for personnel and their workspaces. Many are built either partially or completely underground, for security, space, and thermal management reasons. The following is a general overview of the components of a modern Gen 3 bridge laboratory.
Bridge room
The bridge room is the chamber where the bridge is generated. Compared to the total size of the bridge generator, it is generally very small, less than 5% of the total size of the machine, which includes all of its support equipment. The bridge room is classified as a reality critical incursion containment area, and its walls are both armoured and enveloped in a forcefield when operational; it is also by extension a biosafety level 5 room.
Overlooking the bridge room is the radiation-shielded control deck, which is the primary location from which operations are overseen. All personnel on the control deck must possess a valid license and be constantly supervised; there are no exceptions to this policy.
Power supply
Experimental facilities have vast energy requirements, and usually have multiple dedicated feeds from fission or fusion power plants. Additionally, they contain large capacitor banks designed to power emergency containment fields and security systems should redundant grid feeds fail. Some remote or isolated facilities house their own redundant on-site reactors, which allow them to operate for extended periods even if there is no grid supply.
Cooling
Bridge laboratories require extensive, redundant cooling systems to dissipate excess heat energy generated from bridge generation machinery and targeting computers. Systems are built specific to the construction of each facility, but they do follow a centrally managed specification. Components include massive pumps, reservoirs, heat exchangers, and evaporative towers. There are both conventional and cryogenic cooling systems.
Targeting
Targeting systems usually take up an entire wing of a bridge laboratory due to the physical size of the supercomputers necessary for targeting calculations, and are one of the most heavily protected areas in the facility due to their critical role in establishing a stable bridge. Though nowhere near as energy-hungry as the generator itself, targeting systems still require huge amounts of power and cooling.
Personnel
Personnel staffing bridge facilities are usually recruited from the scientific community. They require a certain level of Raven-granted security clearance, which is managed by IRTO. Staff involved in directing experiments or controlling targeting systems additionally require licensing, which ensures their familiarity with the Dimensional Security Accords and the obligations they have towards it - there is zero room for error, and consequently, a zero tolerance policy for negligence.
Bridge laboratories are led by an administrator, who oversees several departments each with their own directors, including Compliance, Energy, Security, Physics, and Logistics. Some facilities also have internal R&D departments with their own sections. Senior staff carry not only a duty of care to their personnel, but to the whole of their reality.
Safety
Modern Gen 3 bridge laboratories incorporate safety protocols similar to nuclear facilities, such as nuclear power plants. At points of entry and exit personnel are required to undergo scans for contamination, and personnel must wear dosimeters. Many areas of the facility are radiologically controlled.
Security
Due to the threat of terrorist attacks and dimensional incursions, all Gen 3 bridge laboratories incorporate advanced security countermeasures, including a 24/7 armed guard force, a fortified building structure including forcefield protection of critical areas, automated turrets, and a annihilation self-destruct system as a last line of defence. All facilities can request a rapid response from Calamity Mitigation when their integrity is threatened.
Each section of a Gen 3 bridge laboratory is isolated by gaps, known as firebreaks, which are sealed by large blast doors such as Titan Assault Doors. These seal critical areas in the event of a security or containment breach and allow personnel a safe path for evacuation.
Activating a laboratory's bridge generator is designed to be impossible without both approval from Raven and the facility director. This is enforced by the facility's PALIS system and cryptographically bound to the targeting computers, and if any elements are tampered with, will raise alarms and send the Facility Termination System into high alert arming mode.