Welcome back for part two of this week’s deep dive into faster-than-light (FTL) in the Polyslate Dystopia universe.
Yesterday, we discussed the mechanics of FTL travel for smaller vessels. But what about the more common, larger spacefaring ships?
The small confines and pressures of wormhole travel don’t suit the larger vessels (and space structures) in the universe. At the same time, the immense size of larger ships means they’re able to support larger energy systems and use a different FTL engine.
This is where splash drives come into play.
Just as violent as the events of their smaller cousins, the splash drive generates a massive amount of energy to blink through space-time. No wormhole. No screaming rend across the quantum foam. Instead, the ship fold space and pulls the destination over its current position – like a pulling a rubber band through the surface of a trampoline. Then it just appears at its destination in a splash of antimatter and disgorged energy.
Despite humanities best minds working on this for generations, like the smaller vessels using their inclusion drives, these larger vessels are shot out into space cartwheeling and spinning like a stone being skipped across the surface of a roaring sea.
True to the grimdark genre, any use of FTL travel comes with risk. Cracks in a ships structure, rust creating weak points in ships’ hulls, and unsecured cargoes are enough to rip a vessel apart as soon as it begins to splash into its destination.
Adding to the dangers, the pirate factions are well aware of the limited distance the splash drive can move a vessel. This leads to the congregation of pirates along trade routes at very specific intervals. The seconds it takes for a transport pilot to understand its surroundings and the longer moments it takes for ships to gain control of their movements as more than enough time for pirates to attack and disable these larger ships. Even large patrol ships, designed to engage and attack other ships are vulnerable immediately after a splash.
And, as hinted at above, larger space structures often contain their own splash drives – and even defenses to keep inclusion and splash egress points at a distance. Nothing would be worse than an inclusion drive ripping through real-space beside a station full of people.
Lastly, let’s consider how big a splash can be. Depending on the size of the vessel and the distance travelled, a splash can be continental in scale. Regardless of distance, to splash through the universe takes a minimum amount of energy. When the distance is shorter, less energy is used to fold space – as it has to go somewhere. Because of this, vessels are usually required to be a safe distance away from planets, stations, and other vessels.
Tomorrow, we’re going to start talking about the corporations that control the FTL market, who runs them, and the price of FTL travel.
