The object of this lesson steps away from previous lessons in that this object is purely theoretical: the Dyson Sphere. These enormous megastructures were conceived by Freeman J. Dyson and would be built around a star, covering a large percentage of the orbit it resides in. The purpose of such a construction would be to harness the immense amount of energy the star gives off. Dyson Spheres have been the talk of scientists and writers alike due to the massive implications such a construction would have. Dyson Spheres are far beyond the engineering capabilities of our species at present; however if a civilisation were to acquire the necessary resources, and the knowhow to build one, they could supply free energy for billions of years in quantities hitherto undreamt. If we refer ourselves to the Kardashev scale, a civilisation with the capabilities of constructing a Dyson Sphere would be classed as a Type-2 civilisation. What about us, I hear you ask? Our present state of technological and societal advancement puts us at just over 0.6. We’re not even a Type-1 civilisation where we could harness all the power that reaches our planet from the Sun. For now, the realisation of a Dyson Sphere is in our minds and on our pages.

Skyler Herzog is studying creative writing and game design at Brunel University. He is a founding member of Chasing Cow Productions.