Hyperspace

Hyperspace is a dimension within Subspace that allows for the rapid movement of energy and matter between gravity wells. While the origins of the dimension are poorly understood, hyperspace exists as a web-like series of "hyperlane" conduits that span the distances between stars. Hyperlanes are only accessible from certain points within star systems, typically on the edge of the star's gravity well. Hyperspace does not connect to every star in the galaxy - approximately only 0.00001% of the 100 billion stars in the galaxy. Despite this, habitable planets have been found at a rate far exceeding random chance, leading to speculation that the hyper lane network is artifical, or somehow connected to the Shroud.

A peculiarity of the hyperlane network is that it does not conform to the physical location of star systems in the galaxy. Hyperlane jumps between nearby systems, such as Sol and Alpha Centauri (which are only a few lightyears apart), take similar amounts of time to jump thousands of lightyears apart. This has led to situations such as the one the Commonwealth of Man found itself in. The colonists of the Ulysses Initiative found themselves stranded in the Deneb System, 2600 lightyears from Earth - a comparatively "small" distance. However, the system is located many hyperlane jumps from Earth, rendering the colonists unable to easily return once they had developed a hyper drive

Type

Natural