What’s better than a hyperdrive for intergalactic travel?

[Maximum7]

I’m trying to write a Star Wars story about someone who figures out a way to travel FTL between galaxies. Hyperspace doesn’t work in the Intergalactic Void, and there is a hyperspace disturbance at the edge of the galaxy blocking travel anyway. I was trying to think of an alternative method of traveling the distance. This drive I envision could ONLY be used in the intergalactic void (so it can’t replace hyperdrive). It allows travel through the void very quickly but NOT instantaneously and there is a weird quantum glitch where the inhabitants of the ship need to wait 2 hours before piercing the veil of another galaxy or weird quantum things could happen to their ship.

Anyway I originally thought of a superfluid vacuum drive but I did a lot of research and it’s unlikely the universe is a superfluid. I know Star Wars science is soft as a marshmallow but I want some fake science that sounds realistic. Can anyone help me? I can’t think of anything.

Wormholes already exist in Star Wars.

[Myradin]

Wormholes may already exist, but i'd say maybe make use of them. Effectively, an artificial wormhole generator so you can put some limitations on why it doesn't replace hyperdrives. Any inconsistencies with how they work in SW you can chock up to the extreme distance its covering.

[Dakhath]

Inhale a bunch of spice and fold space around you.

[Dread Pirate Phayde]

I'd start by not putting this in the WoW forum.

After that it probably could be whatever you want it to be, Disney is kind of just making new rules as they go.

[Jonnusthegreat]

Everyone knows that galaxies are connected by Matterlanes created by the Ancient Ones so that the universe never became too big. You just have to get to the edge of each galaxy on the correct rotating magnetic frequency to use it. Oh, and don't forget to watch out for the void radiation!!!!

[draugril]

Inhale a bunch of spice and fold space around you.

/pedanticnerd on

A common misconception in the Dune universe. The technology exists to fold space, the theory referred to as the Holtzman Effect - the trick is not traversing into a celestial body and destroying yourself. Roughly 10% of jumps would result in the loss of the vessel. This is where the Spice comes in, allowing the Navigators to see a few moments into the future, thereby eliminating the danger.

[Niwes]

watch Spaceballs. they will tell you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygE01sOhzz0

[WaltherLeopold]

build a giant slingshot, contact joerg sprave

[draugril]

Anyway I originally thought of a superfluid vacuum drive but I did a lot of research and it’s unlikely the universe is a superfluid.

Inconsequential if you like the concept for your universe.

- - - Updated - - -

build a giant slingshot, contact joerg sprave

Hey, Trek did it:

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Graviton_catapult

[vincink]

Here. Let Sam Neill explain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5JJGX-Wppk

[Folly]

If its a "Star Wars" story, then as Darth Phayde alluded to its a soft setting. This means that the scifi/magic of the setting happens at the speed of plot. Just make it sound good (IE Jonnusthegreat reply)

If its your own setting that is inspired by Star Wars, then you get to pick if its a hard or soft setting. For short stories there is little difference, but if you want the setting to be something that you write in continuously then its worth considering.

[Biomega]

Ok so bear with me... what if everything is connected by, like, MUSHROOMS, right? And you can catch these weird space-dwelling TARDIGRADES, okay, and then use them to travel down the mushroom lanes wherever you wanna go.

OKAY?

(P.S.: Yes this is the actual plot of Star Trek: Discovery)

As for your project... just come up with any ol' McGuffin you need. Maybe hyperspace doesn't work, but X-space does. Maybe you figured out how to get around the problem with a hyperspace extender module or whatever. Maybe you're using the Force. Maybe there's a wormhole network left behind by some long-extinct race. Take your pick.

[Maximum7]

Somebody suggested a drive that creates a field that alters the laws of physics to make c go as fast as you want. I like this idea. I was going to call it the Altiverse drive (per suggestion) but Altiverse is the name of a sci fi game.

What’s a good name for a drive that changes physics?

[Ivanstone]

(P.S.: Yes this is the actual plot of Star Trek: Discovery)

No it is not.
The first season was the Federation-Klingon War and some Mirrorverse shenanigans.
The second season was to stop the evil robots from taking over the galaxy.
The third season was to beat up the Orions and get some dilithium.

The spore drove was just a plot device to make travel faster. It might be able to be used extra-galactically. Maybe they'll use it go beat up the Tholian galaxy.

[Biomega]

Somebody suggested a drive that creates a field that alters the laws of physics to make c go as fast as you want. I like this idea. I was going to call it the Altiverse drive (per suggestion) but Altiverse is the name of a sci fi game.

What’s a good name for a drive that changes physics?

You don't even need to go that far. All you need to do is alter LOCAL space so you never exceed light speed locally. Because of relativity, light speed can't be exceeded in a local frame of reference - but that doesn't mean that you can't move faster than light in other reference frames. In short, if you could contract space in front of you (and expand it behind you), you could "coast" on a frame of reference at speeds that would appear to observers in other frames to be faster than light speed; but in your own local frame, you'd never actually be going faster than light.

This is a real concept, called an Alcubierre drive. It's mathematically sound, but of course requires some weird physical phenomena to a) actually exist; and b) be harnessable by humans (such as e.g. matter having negative mass). In fiction, you can just circumvent that by positing that this is so - e.g. you could have some exotic material with negative energy density (and therefore negative mass) that makes such a drive work. And presto, not only have you solved FTL travel, you've also introduced a MacGuffin to drive the plot as people try to get ahold of this material, fight over it, etc. etc.

[DarkBlade6]

you can do like in Futurama, the space move, not the ship

[Shadowferal]

Quantum Slipstream


The starship USS Voyager in quantum slipstream as shown in Star Trek

[Gaidax]

Lemme check if we have something on Amazon...

[Florena]

It's all made up sci fi jargon, you can make it whatever you want. Whether you're making up something new or borrowing concepts from other sci fi, it's still going to be fiction so just go with whatever sounds cool to you.

[PACOX]

Somebody suggested a drive that creates a field that alters the laws of physics to make c go as fast as you want. I like this idea. I was going to call it the Altiverse drive (per suggestion) but Altiverse is the name of a sci fi game.

What’s a good name for a drive that changes physics?

That's almost Star Trek.


My favorite FTL in sci-fi is the Warp in WH 40k. It's both fascinating and horrifying.