BY LETTER
Vastening Effect
As a being becomes faster (e.g. by uploading into a computer or upgrading to faster hardware if already virtual) the apparent distances seem to increase due to the finite speed of light. Every doubling of subjective speed will double external communications delays. This makes highly advanced beings isolated, and often leads to the creation of archailect clusters and other dense superobjects. The problem is partially ameliorated by use of nano- and microguage wormholes, but this has other problems, e.g. increasing instability, problem of flooding by virtual particles if the relativistic wormhole termini are too closely spaced, etc.
Appears in Topics
Development Notes
Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Initially published on 12 December 2001.
Initially published on 12 December 2001.
