Anti-gravity chairs are personal conveyances used by the Covenant. They serve as the primary form of transportation for the San 'Shyuum.[1] The Hierarchs use more luxurious anti-gravity chairs known as gravity thrones. Shipmasters also use a form of anti-gravity chair as command chairs onboard warships.[2]
Background
Due to their frail physiology, the San 'Shyuum make their lives more comfortable by using levitating chairs for transport instead of walking. While antigravity belts are sometimes worn instead,[3] most mature San 'Shyuum use anti-gravity chairs of varying kind. They are controlled by holographic control panels located in the armrests.[4] Anti-gravity chairs descended from wheeled chairs used by San 'Shyuum elders circa 100,000 BCE.[5]
Their comfort and vertical anti-gravity propulsion capacity is directly proportional to the San 'Shyuum's status and rank; the chairs used by Junior Ministry staffers need to combine their anti-gravity fields by linking arms and traveling in tightly-packed "commuting rings" of twenty or more when crossing longer distances. Senior staffers can manage to travel in groups as small as seven, while the sophistication of Vice Ministers' chairs allows them to commute in trios. Only full Ministers and higher are permitted to use sufficiently powerful units for individual flight.[6] The Hierarchs' gravity thrones are equipped with powerful defenses, including energy shielding impervious to small-arms weaponry, a teleportation device and powerful weaponry.[7] In contrast, the ascetic priests used simple chairs made of stone due to their austere lifestyle.[8] The San 'Shyuum are the only members of the Covenant known to use Anti-gravity chairs