Faster-than-light travel

Faster-than-light travel refers to travelling at faster than light speeds or superluminal velocities. In the 33rd century, FTL travel is essential throughout the multiverse to conduct trade, diplomacy and war beyond the confines of a single planetary body. Three primary methods of FTL travel are currently practiced: warp-based travel; where realspace is warped around the vessel, jump-based travel; where the spacecraft makes a inter-dimensional jump through realspace and dimensional-based travel where the vessel bypasses realspace using an alternate dimension where the confines of realspace do not affect travel.

Methods

Dimensional interfacing

Dimensional interfacing is the most complex and advanced method of faster than light travel in the 33rd century but has become standard with the dominant powers in the Multiverse, most prominently, the Terran Concordium. In the Standard Universe, the primary dimension used for this method of superluminal travel is riftspace, a subspace dimension that encompasses all of realspace. Riftspace is often known as simply "the rift" colloquially in the Concordium, being named so after the method of entry into the subspace dimension, through the use of dimensional rifts. Riftspace travel is one of the most efficient and fast methods of conducting faster than light travel. However this comes at the expense of being very energy intensive and also technologically complex to develop. Current riftspace drives require several magnitudes greater energy supply than warp drives and this is why typical ships using rift or dimension based travel utilise advanced energy generators such as antimatter reactors or dark energy generators to provide power.

Null particles

Null particles are a type of special elementary particle that completely negate mass. By exciting these particles with specific dark energy frequencies using null particle drives, they create a null effect field around a vessel, completely negating its mass. By doing so, the speed of light can be exceeded in realspace without breaking the constraints of the physical laws of the universe. The primary disadvantage of null particle travel is the large degree of acceleration needed to exceed luminal velocity. Null particle travel is only used by the Vyranian Empire and limited information exists on their methods of superluminal acceleration. Current scientific consensus is the use of hyperbolic impulse drives that provide the potential for infinite velocity. Null particle and their related hyperbolic impulse drives have exponentially increasing power consumption as acceleration increases, making them impractical for all but the most powerful of energy sources, similar to dimensional-based superluminal travel.

Quantum superposition

Quantum superposition, often called "quantum gateways" are essentially an enlarged version of quantum relay communication networks, scaled up to transport entire vessels rather than information. Using quantum superposition, vessels can be transported at incredible speeds across large distances of realspace. The main disadvantage with quantum superposition is the necessity for an input and output; quantum gates positioned in specific locations. This means that there are only set entrances and exits, with no possibility to travel in between. This makes quantum superposition impractical for military manoeuvres that require rapid and unexpected repositioning of vessels. However this trait also makes quantum gates extremely contested strategic points throughout the universe, as they are capable of moving many vessels, quickly and precisely.

Localised space-time disconnection

Notes from Dr Negan P. Mithar in 2991 on localised space-time disconnection travel.

Localised space-time disconnection involves the localised disruption of space-time along a vessel's path. Using space-time lances, the connection between local space and time can be separated, while a disconnection drive rapidly changes the spatial position of the vessel whilst maintaining the current time. This allows for incredibly vast distances to be crossed instantaneously. However, several major issues arise from the usage of localised space-time disconnection, the first of which being the massive energy shockwaves produced behind a vessel as it traverses space, causing major damage to surrounding objects in realspace. Further, the large distortive effects of massive objects such as planets or stars' gravity wells can cause catastrophic collapses of the local space-time field, leading to several adverse effects. These can include the release of massive energy surges that obliterate all matter within several astronomical units of the collapse, complete de-existence of the vessel or the creation of a singularity. As such, little research or usage of localised space-time disonnection technology occurs and it has been banned in several nations.

Warp travel

Warp-based travel is the simplest but also one of the slowest methods of travelling faster than light. Warp travel is purely confined to realspace and instead of physically exceeding the speed of light, warp drives simply warp space-time around the vessel in a warp bubble. By doing so, the ship itself does not exceed the speed of light but to an outwards observer and thus travel-wise, does so, allowing FTL travel to be achieved without infringing on the laws of physics. Warp-based travel is often to first method of FTL travel discovered by a civilisation, and this was so with humanity, which did so in 2100.