Well. This could be a game changer. New Warp Drive theory

[weirdspecter]

What is really needed - if folks want to see more descriptions of that tech - is for members to write articles and stories (or expand existing articles and stories) and create artworks that show it.

Alright, alright, I think I'm picking up what you're laying down there Todd I might have a go at writing up a snapshot, or doing some art... or both. I'll let y'all know.

If this newer warp theory were to really and hugely reduce the amount of mass-energy required (exotic or not) that might lead us to reconsider the void factory designs. Or not - the real world often turns out to work in ways that lead to inefficiencies or hard limits on processes that can be made 'perfect' in theory. So that may be the case here. It may also be the case that even with the massive reduction in energy required, the conditions are still so extreme that something like our void factories would be needed to achieve it. If the older theories require a galaxy mass machine and the new theory only requires a 10 solar mass machine than that's still a gigantic reduction - while still being very big by RL standards. Wink

Fair point.

I think we probably have it as canon that a 'gifted' reactionless drive ship always has a transapient mind on board of some sort to control its systems.

This mind might even appear to be obedient to the apparent captain or owner of the vessel, but it will not hesitate to take command in an emergency, or refuse to do something it perceives as being undesirable for whatever reason. A bit like a genie that pretends to follow its masters orders (until it decides not to).

I was under the impression that the controlling intelligences behind most of these High-S Level technologies -- primarily stargates and reactionless drives -- are dedicated hyperturings with very little latitude or free will, though I can certainly imagine such a machine refusing the baseline captain's orders if that would somehow damage the drive. Certainly the way these dedicated entities are described makes it clear that, while they're an 'ethical' alternative to AI slavery, these hyperturings aren't free. If I've gotten the wrong end of the stick, there, we might need to change up the pages describing these things to make that more clear in the canon?