Emergency Pressure Bubble
Skystations, skymoths, and airships float in the inflection layer up to 25 miles over the surfaces of the Manifold. At this altitude, both gravity and air pressure are so minimal that special precautions must be taken against breaches of the sealed crew environments. Emergency pressure bubbles are one such precaution, a form of one-size-fits-all pressure suit allowing even untrained passengers a chance at survival should the worst come to pass.
Mechanics & Inner Workings
An emergency pressure bubble is a neatly-folded membrane of leather, cloth, or spare envelope skin rendered minimally permeable to gasses. A hatch fixed with glass viewports and one or two sets of glove ports is affixed on one end and, when stowed, serves as a protective backboard for the rest of the device. An emergency pressure bubble usually comes with a small tank of breathing mixture that also aids in inflating the bubble when it becomes necessary. A radio beacon or strobe light is often, though not always, attached to the bubble to alert rescuers to the presence of a bubble in use.
When an emergency occurs involving the depressurization of a sky-going vessel's cabin, the emergency pressure bubble becomes more loosely packed and begins to unfold, allowing the user or users to open the hatch and climb inside. When the hatch is closed, it locks in place using catches on the inside, and the attached breathing mixture bottle starts to rapidly fill the interior with gas. This inflates the device into a roughly spherical shape, providing the inhabitants with temporary protection from suffocation and a modicum of protection against decompression, though victims of such emergencies typically must still be treated for the bends after rescue. Skilled crewmen in a pressure bubble can use the attached glove ports to move the bubble around and interact with equipment outside of the bubble to affect swift repairs before the breathing mixture runs out.
Significance
The design and instructional semiotics of an emergency pressure bubble are carefully engineered to ensure that anyone, regardless of training or even literacy, can make quick use of the device in the event of an emergency. This is important because the Manifold Sky is not a monolingual place and, as of the year 10,000 AR, has seen a drastic increase in the amount of air travel by those not otherwise trained in aircraft operations.
Item type
Survival
Rarity
Emergency pressure bubbles are like lifeboats in the sense that there might not be enough to fit the entire crew of a skygoing vessel all at once, but the majority (not all) of such vessels have at least one pressure bubble aboard. These are common safety tools which, while mandated by regulation in some places, are sometimes considered not worth the bulk by more fatalistic crews.
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