Saturday, 31 October 2020

Fictional FTL

In 1956, Poul Anderson's first Nicholas van Rijn story, "Margin of Profit," was published and I began to attend a boarding school in Scotland where I read my first sf novel set in a civilization with faster-than-light (FTL) interstellar travel, Starman Jones by Robert Heinlein. It was in a large-format multi-authored omnibus volume and I neither knew nor cared about authors' names although I soon afterwards learned the names of Heinlein, Anderson etc.

We have become very familiar with fictional FTL, the cleverest version, I think, being the hyperspace in Anderson's Technic History. I have recently started to read CJ Cherryh's Downbelow Station which also has FTL spaceships entering planetary systems and docking at space stations. This has become a familiar piece of background backage.

I predict that:

FTL will not be discovered in our lifetimes;

if and when it ever is discovered, it will be completely unlike what anyone has imagined.

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3 comments:

  1. Sean M. Brooks31 October 2020 at 17:04

    Kaor, Paul!

    I agree with what you said about the hyperdrive of Anderson's Technic stories being the most carefully thought out fictional FTL drive. And I would include a few favorable words for Pournelle's Alderson drive, in his Co-Dominium tales.

    I agree with your two predictions, albeit I can't help but hope FTL is discovered in our lifetimes!

    Ad astra! Sean

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  2. S.M. Stirling31 October 2020 at 18:30

    There are theoretical possibilities -- the Alcubierre Warp Drive, for example.

    https://www.universetoday.com/89074/what-is-the-alcubierre-warp-drive/

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  3. Sean M. Brooks31 October 2020 at 21:20

    Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

    Now that is very cool! And I will be looking up this theoretically possible Alcubierre Warp Drive.

    And we day dream of something like this happening SOON in reality!

    Ad astra! For real! Sean

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