Hyper Drive
The Hyper Drive is a device that allows a spacecraft to travel faster than light by breaching into the dimension of hyperspace. In order to activate, a hyper drive-equipped starship must be outside the gravity well of a star, or any artificial gravity wells created by FTL inhibitors. Once a ship has arrived at a hyperspace conduit (a sphere approximately the size of a particularly large gas giant or small star), it must charge its hyperdrive for several hours. Once the drive is fully charged, the relatively weak dimensional barrier at a conduit is breached, creating a momentary portal for the ship to transit through. Once inside, a ship must move under its own power to the other end of the hyperlane, a distance which is vastly reduced from realspace. Once at the other end, the hyper drive shuts down, causing the ship to revert to realspace. If a drive malfunctions during transit, it can cause a ship to drop out from hyperspace in the void between stars.
While in hyperspace (or subspace, during an emergency jump for example), ships are unable to send or receive signals. The subspace bubble that surrounds a ship in hyperspace blocks electromagnetic energy. However, these bubbles, or "echoes" as they are sometimes called, can be detected by sensors in realspace, allowing for advanced surveillance systems to track ships far beyond the range of most realspace scanners. Smaller subspace sensors are typically mounted on starships for the purposes of short-range tracking and traffic management.
More advanced hyper drives are capable of detecting especially weak points within a hyperspace conduit, referred to as breach points. These breach points require significantly less energy to open a portal near, and can cut drive charge time by as much as 25%. Other developments include the usage of subspace slipstreams that are present within hyperspace, which can cause a ship to move significantly faster than it would solely under its own power.
All hyper drives emit unique hyperparticulates upon activation and deactivation. The unique combination of radiation and these particles can be analysed to determine the class of hyper drive used in a given region of space, and with enough data, even the exact ship can be identified. These drive traces can persist for significant periods of time, with some ancient drive traces having persisted for thousands of years.
The majority of modern spacefaring societies discovered hyperspace and developed the hyper drive around the year 2200 CE, with some exceptions. The infinitismal chance of dozens of independent species nearly simultaneously developing the technology has been a subject of considerable debate, with explanations ranging from precursor meddling, to indirect guidance by the fallen empires, to the whims of the Shroud.
While in hyperspace (or subspace, during an emergency jump for example), ships are unable to send or receive signals. The subspace bubble that surrounds a ship in hyperspace blocks electromagnetic energy. However, these bubbles, or "echoes" as they are sometimes called, can be detected by sensors in realspace, allowing for advanced surveillance systems to track ships far beyond the range of most realspace scanners. Smaller subspace sensors are typically mounted on starships for the purposes of short-range tracking and traffic management.
More advanced hyper drives are capable of detecting especially weak points within a hyperspace conduit, referred to as breach points. These breach points require significantly less energy to open a portal near, and can cut drive charge time by as much as 25%. Other developments include the usage of subspace slipstreams that are present within hyperspace, which can cause a ship to move significantly faster than it would solely under its own power.
All hyper drives emit unique hyperparticulates upon activation and deactivation. The unique combination of radiation and these particles can be analysed to determine the class of hyper drive used in a given region of space, and with enough data, even the exact ship can be identified. These drive traces can persist for significant periods of time, with some ancient drive traces having persisted for thousands of years.
The majority of modern spacefaring societies discovered hyperspace and developed the hyper drive around the year 2200 CE, with some exceptions. The infinitismal chance of dozens of independent species nearly simultaneously developing the technology has been a subject of considerable debate, with explanations ranging from precursor meddling, to indirect guidance by the fallen empires, to the whims of the Shroud.
Hyper Relays
Hyper relays are large spaceborne structures that allow for rapid transit between systems. They are effectively massive hyper drives that allow individual starships to immediately enter any hyper lane within range. Although ships still need to charge their own hyper drives to transit, hyper relays eliminate the days or weeks of travel that usually comes with traversing a star system. Hyper relays are also linked together, meaning a ship leaving hyperspace will exit at the next hyper relay, allowing for an extremely rapid "chain" that can cut travel times by months. Most stellar empires have hyper relays that connect their most important worlds to their capital, and connections to their neighbours.Subspace Drives
Hyperlanes connect gravity wells at their edges and can allow ships to travel efficiently (in terms of speed and power cost) and safely, but hyper drives can theoretically breach subspace anywhere. Due to the risks involved in a subspace jump, this feature is typically only used in emergencies. Entering subspace outside of a hyperlane causes significant stress to a ship's hull and reactor, and damaged ships have been known to tear themselves apart attempting such a maneuver. In addition, navigation in subspace is nearly impossible without extremely precise sensors. Ships instead follow powerful established subspace beacons at a slow pace to a safe system, where they can exit subspace.Future Developments
A hypothetical evolution of the hyper drive is the 'jump drive'. Based on the principles of subspace jumps, jump drives would potentially function by creating micro-wormholes that allow ships to travel wherever they want. The primary roadblock to this design is the incredible 'resistance' subspace has to ships moving through it (aside from hyperspace), resulting in incredibly slow travel speeds. One potential solution is to use a different dimension than subspace, possibly one of the many astral planes, or a lower dimension of subspace. Some have even suggested using the Shroud as a conduit for travel, but that carries unimaginable risks.
Children Technologies
Access & Availability
Typically widely available
Discovery
Varies by species, majority circa 2200 CE
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