Space Folder

There are two ways of doing interstellar travel, the wrong way and the right way. The Wrong Way is Super Luminous Speed and the Right Way is to Fold Space.

– Cmdr. Tyler P. Lexington at a lecture at the Coalition Space Fleet Academy.

The obnoxious blow hard Lexington was overstating things by a few parsecs, but he was essentially correct. There is no right, or wrong way to do interstellar travel, it’s just that Super Luminous travel is so inconvenient compared to folding space.

Super Luminous travel, i.e. faster than the speed of light, causes time dilation. Time passes slower the faster you go, and by the time you arrive everyone has given you up for dead and you have to try to explain who you are to your great great great great grandchildren.

If you fold space, however, two distant points in space are put right next to each other and you can fly your ship through the fold at walking pace if you like and instantly arrive at the destination.

There are a variety of different types of folders used in different situations, especially in the Trident Coalition.