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dilation during travel is only problematic with tachyon transmissions. The landscape of hyperspace is always in a state of flux. Distances, even directions, are ever changing. For example, the time it takes to travel the 20 light years from Epsilon Eridani to Sol takes approximately three days, while a trip from Epsilon Eridani to Centauri Prime at almost twice the distance takes four days. Navigation in hyperspace is extremely confusing at current technology levels, necessitating the use of nav beacons and transfer points. Some scientists theorize that there are waves travelling through hyperspace in addition to the normal gravitiational pulls from realspace. Hundreds of ripples and waves pass through hyperspace at differing velocities. Careful study of travel records reveals that while there are slight variations over a long period of time, it takes eons for a major change in flight time to occur. Hyperspace exploration is very problematic and slow. Since there are no landmarks in hyperspace or a set distance or direction correlation with realspace, navigation is, at best, a shot in the dark. Hence, exploration is usually accomplished through small jumps and the placement of a nav beacon. Exploration past the Galctic Rim is impossible with current standards of technology since there are no reference points in the transgalactic void. On Earth, hyperspace was theorized to exist as early as the 20th century, but at that time it was only thought that small particles could pass through it. Contact with the Centauri in the 22nd century provided humanity with hyperspace access and tachyon communications systems. Long distance tachyon communiations, like StellarCom, can transmit from realspace to hyperspace and vice versa. Even with more advanced hyerspace theories, such transmissions are still problematic due to the differing physics involved between the two dimensions. Despite this, Earth has managed to create a tachyon relay system (TRS), connecting Earth to the outer colonies and to some alien worlds. This network of broadcast repeaters, tachyon carrier wave generators (making the broadcast "real-time"), and orbital sattelites is extremely expensive to maintain. One major telecom corporation, Galactel Matrix, owns the rights to the Centauri Prime-Earth connection. Network broadcasts using the TRS are usually limited to a few systems because of cost. The one exception to this is InterStellar Network News (ISN), which is the only network to be relayed along the entire stretch of Earth's TRS through partial support by EarthGov. |
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