This can be anything from Hyperspace in Star Wars, Warp Drive in Star Trek, travel through the Warp in Warhammer 40k or anything else.
I’ve always liked “slow” FTL travel, where going a few light-years still takes a few days or so. I also really like travel through an alternate dimension like in 40k, Event Horizon, Witchspace in Elite Dangerous.
I wanna know your favorite versions, or do you prefer stories that obey the laws of known physics, like the Expanse or Rimworld?
I prefer the STL in Card’s Ender’s Game series. They asymptotically approach the speed of light so the passengers only have several weeks pass when travelling to far flung locations but the universe around them experiences a normal passage of time which may be tens of years. This has really big implications on the plots in several stories.
They do have an ansible communications system that does allow instantaneous communication over astronomical distances.
goes Plaid
Hell yes Hitchiker’s haha
It’s a Spaceballs reference
Silfen Paths from Judas Unchained. Aliens called Silfen walked from planet to planet directly via actual forest paths. Everything gets wonky time wise when your on one so you might emerge 100 years later. The technology itself is sentient and not maintained. The Silfen who lost interest long ago are asked how they manage the paths. They say they just let them do what they want. At least one path exists to/from Earth. But humans are boring and make things boring, so the aliens avoid Earth.
So if you’re on a walk and you get lost you may be walking to another planet.
Not ftl but I really like cryo sleep themes. Someone wakes up 100+ years later and the world is post apocalyptic. James axlers deathlands audio books, alien, some obscure video games.
The game Outer Worlds uses this as a main plot device.
CJ Cherryh and Joel Sheperd use basically the same system in their universes (Sheperd admitted he basically adopted CJ’s almost verbatim).
Ships can travel FTL transitioning into another plane of existence (to say it in an uncomplicated way), but to do so they must first acquire a speed very close to c. And when they transition back to the regular space they do it at transluminic velocity, that they must shred off pulsing their hyperdrives before coming down to ‘maneouvring’ speeds.
All of this makes for interesting tactical situations in the intent of an interstellar conflict.
I love how in Shepherd’s universe gravity is an actual issue and a major plot point in many cases
Star Control had an interesting take on it, where you’re able to jump between eiffererent “levels” of space if you have something that can induce the right field and at the right level of power. Sort of like jumping between electron shells or something.
But you can jump from normal space, to hyperspace on top of that, to quasispace on top of that. And maybe others above (and below). Traveling a certain distance in each space allows you to travel an exponentially larger amount of distance in the lower space.
So you induce a field, pop up to hyperspace, move at less than FTL (as relative to hyperspace), then fall back to regular space.
FTL travel in the series of book “the interdependency” is one of the major plot devices, so it’s one of those that marked me the most.
Without going into spoilers: FTL is limited to using a natural phenomenon that are pretty much akin to space-rivers, so humanity has no power onto what systems are connected to one another.
As rivers do, those “currents” can also shift and have done so in the past: the place where the books happen are completely cut off from earth since pretty much forever, for example.
The Hyperspace Gates in Cowboy Bebop always seemed to be pretty plausible. They didn’t explain all the science behind them, but there was enough to show that the was science behind it, and it had been commercialized enough that people had a basic understanding of them.
The one where humans discover a way to “skip” through space in jumps – which shouldn’t be possible and puts a strain on the traveler – until they discover the real deal from aliens.
Aside from that, the more common type with beacons or gates.
As long as it’s got “dat woosh”, I’ll love it.
Elite Dangerous, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and Battletech are my favorites, though.
FRIENDSHIP DRIVE CHARGING BABY!
“Warning! Hyperspace conduit unstable!”
Uh oh.
One thing I’ll say is that I prefer gates or portals to “Teleporters” for the obvious “it actually kills you” thing
I love the idea that navigators in Dune ripped a line of space cocaine to forsee the best path through folded space for travelling.
Space cocaine is the best take on spice I’ve ever seen.
Challenge accepted
I read all of that in Peter Capaldi’s voice. You made my day
His secretary drinks cat piss??
That’s how the latent poison works in David Lynchs dune
Is this character there in the books?
Thufir Hawat.
In the books he has been poisoned by Harkonnen and needs a regular antidote to survive. The Harkonnen slip it into hid food secretly so if he escapes he will die before he can tell any secrets.
In the Lynch movie he needs to milk a cat rat combo thing daily for the antidote.
🤣 Thufir Hawat milking a cat rat for the antidote sounds hilarious, thank you
Space mushrooms. Worms aren’t a single coherent creature, but are in fact the amalgamation of many microscopic cells. They were once aggregated into sand trout of a few inches, then when they’re ready, they turn into a whole worm. Then if you refine the output of that process, you get spice. The whole process was based around magic mushrooms and LSD.
Yeah they have some crazy complicated formula they use to fold space, but no one knows why it works. They made computers illegal so had to use drugs to make humans capable of doing the calculations. Over time the navigators mutated into worm-like creatures that live in tanks of spice.
I like Dune’s FTL the best of any since it’s not just beep boop… ship goes fast. They can go anywhere in the Universe, but there’s a huge cost to it and shit gets weird.
Infinite Improbably Drive in Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
I find that highly unlikely.
I do love how the side effects (leaking improbability) were critical to the story making any plausible sense.
Throw in bistro-mathematics as an alternative star drive.
It’s such a genius idea because it’s not only a super original way to do FTL, but it also gives you a perfect way out for any plot holes lol
Farnsworth: These are the dark matter engines I invented. They allow my starship to travel between galaxies in mere hours.
Cubert: That’s impossible. You can’t go faster than the speed of light.
Farnsworth: Of course not. That’s why scientists increased the speed of light in 2208.
Doesn’t Cubert later figure out that the engines don’t move the ship, instead they move the universe while the ship remains stationary?
Correct!
I said to my wife that I thought it was more likely that we could change the speed of light than exceed it.
I thought the Expanse did this really well. For starters, most travel is restricted as we currently know it. They have the Epstein drive, but something like that is feasible. In any case, humans are still meat bags that can only accelerate so much.
But then the FTL component requires some otherworldly technology with gating. That leaves the physics mystery to having been built by some smarter species and I think that is perfect for suspension of disbelief.
Most unfortunate name since ISIS in Archer
i see the stargate in expanse, lol.
