Faster-than-light travel

Within the Chouverse, faster-than-light travel are achieved in various ways. The most common way of achieving faster-than-light travel is the warp drive. Other methods of achieving faster-than-light travel also exist.

Warp drive
With the warp drive method, spacecraft travel by moving space around them using a warp bubble generator. A majority of civilizations use this method for their spacecraft to go faster-than-light, including but not limited to the Whirosian Central Empire and the Terran Combine.

The warp drive was initially invented by the whiros long before the establishment of the Empire. Following a colonization phase, the whiros decided to open source the technology and eventually it was adopted by some other civilizations as well. This open sourcing of the warp technology is a catalyst for the whirosian civilization's reconstruction following the Deluge.

Hypercontinuum teleportation
With the hypercontinuum teleportation method, spacecraft teleports to alternate dimension Hypercontinuum Zero, by means of a continuumdrive. Hypercontinuum Zero is one of many Hypercontinuums, where different laws of physics apply. This method is commonly used by the inhabitants of other Hypercontinuums and non-Hypercontinuum civilizations that are helped by Hypercontinuum civilizations.

Hyperspace tunneling
Unlike hypercontinuum teleportation, this method uses acceleration and manipulation of the zero-point-field surrounding a spacecraft to create a quantum tunnel through the light barrier (the titular hyperspace) using a hyperdrive. Spacecraft using this method must shield its exterior with either a method to generate the Casimir effect or ultrahigh-frequency lasers combined with mirrors to prevent zero-point field radiation.

Hyperspace tunneling is a Terra Prime-grown method. Although proposed since 2017, research only began in around 2035 following Terra Prime's Integration to the Interstellar Co-Prosperity Sphere—which brought whirosian technology including warp—to create a homegrown alternative to warp. The first hyperdrives were launched in 2054; by 2135, hyperspace tunneling is the second most popular method of FTL technology equipped in Terra Prime-originating spacecraft, behind warp.