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N-Space:
No discussion on hyperspace can be
take place without first discussing the nature of the normal universe or
N-Space. For centuries it was accepted
that the universe was made up of three dimensions, length, width, and depth,
later many agreed that a fourth dimension of time also existed, though the
veracity of its existence as dimension has always been debated. The emergence of superstring theory led
theoretical physicists to consider the existence of up to seventeen
dimensions. While the exact number of
dimensions in normal space has never been concretely determined of agreed upon,
it is universally accepted that there are at least three at a minimum with a
maximum finite number N. Therefore
normal space is referred to as N-space by the majority of peoples and the
scientific community.
N-space is governed by the laws of quantum,
inertial, and relativistic physics.
These three forms of physics have determined the design of nearly every
space craft and system ever built but have also created an upper limit on a
ship’ performance, in particular their top speed. Relativity set an upper limit on how fast any
object with mass could travel, the speed of light. It also states that the closer an object with
mass comes to the speed of light the more energy it requires, with an upper
limit of infinite energy required to reach light speed. Relativity and experimentation also showed
that there was no way for any object to exceed the speed of light unless it
always existed above light speed, like tachyons.
N Universes:
Prior to the big bang and the
formation of the known universe(s) the universe existed as a perfect
multidimensional singularity (the exact number of dimensions has never been
agreed upon or determined but current theory places an upper limit of
100.) The pre-expansion singularity
universe is often referred to as the S-dot or S-Space. The existence of the S-dot and the number of
dimensions that made it up places the upper limit on the number of universes
created after the Big Bang, and the number of dimensions that each is composed
of. It is therefore theoretically
possible that another universe of N-dimensions exists, but whether or not it is
governed by the same physical laws and the exact nature of its make up have yet
to be determined.
What is known is that at least two
universes were created with the Big Bang, our universe of N-space, and the
minimum of N+1 dimensional universe of hyperspace or simply N+ Space. While the two known universes of N and N+
Space are separate they are still shown to be effected by one another. The extent to which the two universes effect
one another is not entirely known however it is known that gravity from both
universes effects the other.
The effect of hyperspacial
gravitation on N-space has never been fully determined, but is apparent as it
contributes to the expansion of N-Space.
The existence of some form of mass in hyperspace helps account for the
mass missing from N-space not accounted for by Dark Matter. In hyperspace, the effect of N-space
gravitation is more apparent as hyperspace voids form in the volumes of space
in which large enough gravitational masses are present. This does not appear to be a hard and fast
rule however as will be discussed later.
The exact nature of hyperspace and
the physics that govern it have never been realized, though numerous theories
abound. What is known is that the speed
of light in hyperspace appears to be infinite and can be reached at relatively minimal
power in comparison to the infinite energy required in N-space. Hyperspace is also known to have drifts and
currents that flow throughout it; the composition of the hyperspace ether is
unknown, as is the source of the drift flow.
It is also apparent that the distance between two points in hyperspace
is not the same as in N-space, though there is no accurate way in which to
measure this since hyperspace is almost completely featureless. The best way to demonstrate this is to use
the classic 2-D to 3-D paper model.
Before that however it is necessary
to show why hyperspace is the only practical manner of Faster Than Light travel
available by disproving the fallacy of transwarp drive. To illustrate this take a piece of paper and
mark a point on either end of the sheet, the shortest di
This might seem to be a simple process, but
the reality of warping space time is not so simple and while it might be easy
to fold a piece of paper in half, the energy required to warp space time is far
more intensive. This amount of energy
must of course also be maintained throughout the use of the warp drive, and be
provided by the craft using the warp drive.
Experimental measurement of space-time warping around planets and stars
has found that the amount of warping is minimal despite the presence of huge
amounts of gravitational and nuclear forces.
It is therefore inconceivable that any spacecraft could generate enough
energy to warp space-time to the degree necessary to make long large FTL space
travel possible.
With those insurmountable energy requirements
in mind it then comes down to the realization that in order to travel faster
then light one must leave N-Space altogether.
In order to do that however one must cross the dimensional barrier that
separates the two universes, the problem there becomes how to do so without
causing permanent damage to the fabric of space-time. Just as in space warping though no ship would
be able to generate enough energy to break the space-time barrier that
separates the two universes, so they make no attempt to.
In this case take the paper model,
and crush it up into a tight ball, this is how N-space appears to
hyperspace. Now anything outside of the paper
is hyperspace with the two points representing two tears into and out of
hyperspace. Even though the paper is
crunched up to the hyperspace observer the paper space observer still has to
take the long straight line distance between the two points but the hyperspace
traveler has numerous routes available.
In the case where the two points are touching the distance between them
in hyperspace is zero, or infinite requiring the navigator to go Around the
Universe and Back Again (AUBA). The
paper is not static however it is constantly shifting to the hyperspace observer, changing
the hyperspatial positions of the tears.
The nature of the existence of the
tears means that no energy needs to be expended on the part of the traveler to
open the tears. The energy needed to
open the tears was already expended long before during their initial formation
during the universes expansion. There is
also no need to close the tear, nor is their any risk of the tear closing on its
own, the law of entropy prevents a tear from closing without massive amounts of
energy pouring into it. In the paper
example, energy was expended to draw the dot, and energy would need to be
expended again to erase them, therefore, so long as no more energy is added or
removed the tears will remain open.
Structures and Formation:
The creation of tear requires a massive
amount of energy an amount of energy that cannot be generated by artificial
means. During the formation and
expansion of the universe billions of stars were, and still are, being formed
and destroyed. As these massive
celestial bodies raced through the universe they would come close to one
another and as they raced past at high speeds and rotational velocities their
gravitational, electromagnetic, strong and weak nuclear forces tore at each
other. In some cases the two stars would
start to orbit one another, but in most the momentum of the spinning stars was
too great to overcome and the stars raced past each other. That expended energy, while unable to draw
the stars into each other, was not wasted however and ripped at space-time
itself, ripping open holes or tears in the fabric of space time. These tears became the bridges between
N-space and hyperspace that are essential to FTL travel. During the formation and continued expansion
of the universe uncountable tears were, and continued to be formed throughout
the universe.
Tears are not the only spatial
anomaly formed when stars pass by one another however. The directions the stars travel in relation
to one another as well as their spin cause another phenomenon to form instead,
bubbles. Bubbles are different from
tears at a very fundamental level, instead of creating a bridge between the two
universes they are a pocket of hyperspace.
These anomalies form in cases where the passing stars do not have enough
energy to tear space-time but instead fold it over onto itself creating a
pocket of hyperspace within N-space. The
very nature of hyperspace as an N+ dimensional universe means that while to an
N-space observer they might appear separate from hyperspace they are in fact
very much a part of the larger whole. If
one were able to enter a bubble without bursting it they would be immediately
connected to the rest of hyperspace. In
cosmic terms bubbles are short lived, existing for a far shorter period of time
then tears, from only a few micropulses to a period of millions of annura as
opposed to tears which for all intents and purposes might exist until the end
of the universe.
Bubbles are a far more common
occurrence then tears, but for the longest time were not recognized as being a
form of hyperspace. The amount of energy
required to open a tear is so great that it is believed that only the
interaction of massive stellar bodies can ever form them, though there are
experiments to try and form artificial tears.
For bubbles this not so, the energy required to generate even a small
bubble low enough that it can be generated by artificial means. Small bubbles can even be formed inside the
strong gravitational field of a planetary body, the presence of the
gravitational field however destabilizes these bubbles causing them to rapidly
collapse. Naturally occurring bubbles
inside of planetary gravity field are often formed during electrical storms and
for centuries were misunderstood, and accounted for some cases of ball lightening,
ELFs, and Blue Sprites (phenomenon that occur above cloud during lightening
storms).
The tears and bubbles did not stay
static space however and as the universe expanded they drifted along with it. Carried along by the gravitational fields and
solar winds of their companion stars the tears and bubbles drifted throughout
the universe. As they drifted through
the universe matter of sufficient relative velocity enter the open tears. As N-space matter slipped into the
hyperspatial ether, it interacted destructively, resulting in the release of
tremendous amounts of energy that began to close them. Though the tears drifted from their original
positions in the universe, they did not tend to drift far from their companion
stars and took up orbits around them.
This proximity to the local stars however caused a great many tears to
close during the great universal expansion as matter in the local star system
fell into them. Most of those that
survived did so by drifting into volumes of space where gravity was either
extremely weak or non-existent.
Null zones exist in two forms: The first is out beyond the strong
gravitational pull of a solar system and its companion satellites, or in some
cases, in deep space far between planets.
The others are the true gravitational null zones that were created as
planets formed around their birthing stars.
These null zones exist where the gravitational pull of celestial bodies
come together and cancel each other out.
These maintain stable orbits around their local stars and or planets. The lack of gravity in these areas make them
ideal for tears and has prolonged their existence as it keeps matter from
drifting through them.
Wormholes are another special case
of hyperspace, and exist when two tears in hyperspace are joined together in
hyperspace with no measurable separation between them. What this means in a practical sense, is that
any ship entering a wormhole can travel through it, and in effect hyperspace,
with no form of protection since it never actually enters hyperspace. Since hyperspace, like N-Space, is in
constant flux the tears can and do eventually separate, resulting in open of
two possible outcomes: First and more
commonly, they revert back to normal tears forever drifting through
hyperspace. The second, rarer, option
allows for tears that separate over a long period of time, in universal terms,
to create a tunnel of N-Space through hyperspace. A touching tear wormhole is extremely stable
and will exist as long, if not longer then a normal tear would, assuming the
two tears remain in contact. Tunneling
wormholes weaken over time due the constant interaction between the N-space
matter in the tunnel sheath and the hyperspatial ether. This results in the destabilization of the
wormhole which results in not only the collapse of the wormhole but the possible
closure of the two tears as well.
Mass:
The number of dimensions inherent
in a universe are what determine that universes physical laws. Everything that exists in the universe, ,
from the most basic of elemental particles to the largest and most complex star,
is an N-dimensional object of mass, where N is a finite number. There are however exceptions to this rule, N-
dimensional “objects”. These objects
exist everywhere, have no mass and are produced by any object with mass that
interacts with light, shadows. Shadows
are regarded as the absence of light, and like light have no mass, and it is
because of this fact that they are able to exist in N-Space.
Mass is therefore the key to how
any matter, no matter how many dimensions more or less then N interacts with
N-dimensional mater. It is this
understanding of the mass effect that is critical to travel in hyperspace; an
N+ dimensional universe. When matter of
different dimensions comes into each other’s field of influence their own
personal gravity will repel each other.
This repulsive force inevitably reduces the energy level of the matter. When that energy level falls below the level
at which the matter can continue to repel one another, the higher dimensional
matter has the potential to absorb the lower dimensional. In effect, particles of mass from N-Space
repel and or absorb matter from any universe of N-minus dimensions. The same can be said of hyperspace, which
will absorb or repel any matter that interacts with its own matter of fewer
than N+ dimensions.
Protection and Propulsion:
The value of hyperspace to beings
that live in N-space should be obvious at this point, rapid, if not
instantaneous, travel between star systems light-years apart. As discussed in the previous section however
any N-dimensional matter that enters hyperspace is at first repelled and
eventually absorbed by the hyperspatial ether, destroying it. Therefore, a means of protecting a starship
that enters hyperspace had to be devised that got around the key of mass. Only massless particles, i.e. light and
radiation, prove immune to destruction in hyperspace. Therefore by sheathing a craft in massless
particles a ship should prove able to traverse hyperspace.
There are multiple methods by which
to protect a ship from hyperspace all of them rely on sheathing the ship in
massless particles, and the most readily available massless particles are in
the form of EM Radiation. The earliest
hyperspace explorers protected their ships by covering them with massive light
emitting panels, but these light panels had to be built and integrated in such
a way that they did not create interference patterns which would create “holes”
in the light barrier. These holes would
allow the hyperspace ether to penetrate the light shield and the consequences
were often disastrous as the ether would engulf and consume the ship. Once nano-sheet became available in large
enough quantities it became possible to use IR radiation as a shield by
shunting waste heat into the skin of the ship so that it emitted massive
amounts of IR radiation from all across the hull. In this way interference zones were not a
problem but this method was impractical for covert and combat ships as it
created an immediate target for enemy sensors.
The advent of EMT (Electro-Magnetic
Torus) fields convinced many that an effective hyperspace shield had been
developed. The opposite proved true and
any ship attempting to enter hyperspace using an EMT field was destroyed due to
the very nature of the field creating periodic gaps around the ship.
The true boon to hyperspace
shielding came in the form of the Gravitational Deflector Field (GDF). It had long been known that gravitational
waves could be used to repel the hyperspace ether but no one had been able to
use them to protect a ship because of the massive power requirements and the
interference zones created by the plate type GDFs used aboard capital
ships. Experimentation revealed that GDF
did not have to be high powered in order to protect a ship from hyperspace, but
all the emitters had to be attuned to avoid the interference zones that spelt
disaster to earlier light based shields.
This attenuation ended up requiring massive amounts of power and in some
cases additional integrated shield generators.
Propulsion in hyperspace now
becomes a concern as any drive system must not interfere with the shield and
must be made to be effective in N+ dimensional space. As the laws of inertial physics seem to apply
within hyperspace, a standard N-Space reaction drive would seem ideal, so long
as it does not interfere with the protecting field.
As discussed, when N-space matter
first comes into the sphere of influence of matter within hyperspace the two
repel each other. The repulsion process drains
all of the N-space matter’s energy to the point where it can be captured and
absorbed by the N+ dimensional matter.
The amount of energy the matter initially possessed when the absorption
began process dictates how much energy it will discharge in the absorption
process, from a benign emission to a massive release. It is this repulsive force that keeps the
majority of N-Space matter that happens upon a tear from ever even entering
hyperspace. This same process results in
any matter ejected from a ship to be forced back towards their emission
source. This same repulsive force
provides the thrust needed to maneuver about in hyperspace.
Therefore a dedicated hyperdrive
need not be necessary, so long as the ship’s N-space drive does not interfere
with the hyperspace shield. Reactionless
drives also appear to function in hyperspace.
To what degree is up for debate, as few races use reactionless drives. They appear slower in hyperspace, though true
measurement of speed in currently impossible.
Perception/Navigation:
The question now becomes what does
hyperspace look like and how does one navigate through it. The answer to the first question is simple,
hyperspace is invisible to an N-Space observer but N-space is still visible
through the tears. So what an observer
sees is the tears, an uncountable number of tears and nothing else. Once in hyperspace every tear in the universe
becomes visible. The light of nearly
every star in the universe fills hyperspace with almost blinding light.
The reason for this is simple. The physiology of N-Space beings prevents them
from being able to anything from a higher dimension. While hyperspace may be filled with uncounted
marvels to gaze upon, they are invisible and thus hyperspace itself looks like
nothing but a great absence of color.
Some objects within hyperspace are
visible to an N-dimensional observer however and the nature of these objects
convinces many scientists that hyperspace is only an N+1 dimensional
universe. These objects appear
N-dimensional but have no detectable mass, they are the shadows of matter that
exists within N+1 hyperspace. Just as
two-dimensional shadows in N-space are not necessarily accurate representations
of an N-dimensional objects appearance, the N-dimensional mass shadows are not
usable to represent the N+1 dimensional matter that produces them.
Mass shadows pose a serious hazard
to navigation as has been proven by ships traveling through hyperspace crashing
into something of great mass in hyperspace that destroys the ship. The crews realized that something was present
because of the mass shadow, but with no idea of the light source they cannot determine
the actual location of object so great care is always taken around mass shadows,
big and small.
In principal navigation through
hyperspace ought to be simple enough. Point
one’s ship towards the tear one wishes to exit and fly towards it. The reality however is not so simple as
perception problems soon arrive within the eyes and brains of N-space beings
traveling through N+ hyperspace. There
is no accurate way to measure distances in hyperspace, attempts to do so never
yield the same results and the perspective faults generated in the brain create
curious visual anomalies for the traveler.
The presence of mass shadows also
effects the perception of the viewer. The
masses of these objects often enough bend even N-dimensional light to a degree
that will distort the apparent position of an object. A viewer can see the tear they wish to
journey through straight ahead of their ship, but as they near, they might
discover that the need to take a more roundabout route. This can be for a number of reasons, but is
most often due to the presence of a hyperspatial mass. Other anomalies make it appear like the tear
a ship is searching for is directly in front of the ship, when the reality is
that is located behind another tear, gravitational lensing distorting its
apparent position.
The constant state of flux induced
on hyperspace by its erratic ether makes transiting through hyperspace even
more difficult as it causes tears to drift.
During one trip a tear can be immediately adjacent to the target
tear. Drift could send it to an entirely
different N+ relative position later.
The solution to this is the
navigation buoys that straddle the tears transmitting their location in N-Space
back into hyperspace for the traveling ship to discover and home in on. The buoys transmit coded information into
hyperspace using specific radio frequencies as well as light signals to identify
their positions in N-space and hyperspace.
Scanners also transmit data about surrounding tears to the receiving
ship in order to better aide in navigation.
Specially keyed and protected
computers aboard hyperspace capable ships maintain massive data libraries on
these buoys and decode their unique signatures in order to provide the crew
with the navigational information for each buoy. The frequencies on which a buoy operates are
tightly controlled and monitored. This
is to prevent interference with or use by as yet undiscovered races and
governments whose own buoys work upon similar principals.
Time Distortion:
The nature of hyperspace as N+
space makes the measurement of anything difficult and the measurement of time
is no exception. The exact way in which
time flux occurs in hyperspace has never been determined. It appears however that passing through
particularly strong ether streams can result in even greater time fluctuations. Experimental evidence has shown that ships
traveling through hyperspace experience a reverse of relativistic time dilation. They will appear to be gone in hyperspace for
only a matter of pulses when to the hyperspace observer they were in hyperspace
for several hects. The reverse is also
true but this phenomenon is rarely seen in hyperspace and is usually only seen
in N-space when encountering bubbles.
On several occasions ships have run
into bubbles and disappeared, caught half in and half out of hyperspace, but
did not burst the bubble. The bubble
will eventually bounce the intruding craft back into N-space. While the crew may have only experienced a
few centi-pulses, if they perceive any time at all, the ship may have disappear
for annura to an N-space observer. These
cases of lost time and long term disappearance of individuals and ships are
well documented and are seen not only in deep space but inside planetary
gravitational fields. Also unlike
hyperspace time distortion effects, it is possible to determine the amount of
time a ship will disappear inside a bubble as well as the amount of time the
crew will experience. These figures can
be determined based on the ship’s mass, entry velocity upon impact, strength of
the local gravitational fields, and size of the bubble.
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