GURPS Space: Stardrives

[Sanity]

On top, it is ignoring alternative solutions:

* You dont need to go "old style" vacuum tube. What about good old style pre-microprocessor transistors? Modern build vacuum tubes?
* Optical chips anyone? We do work on them, and they already do some funny stuff today - just they are not competitive.
* Organic computers?

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Sanity

On top, it is ignoring alternative solutions:

* You dont need to go "old style" vacuum tube. What about good old style pre-microprocessor transistors? Modern build vacuum tubes?
* Optical chips anyone? We do work on them, and they already do some funny stuff today - just they are not competitive.
* Organic computers?

Wouldn't making an alternate just as functional defeat the whole purpose of the magic anti-technology field of hyperspace?

[Diomedes]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Wouldn't making an alternate just as functional defeat the whole purpose of the magic anti-technology field of hyperspace?

Certainly. But the point is those alternatives already exist, and can be made just as functional with proper development. And people living in the Frontier will have every incentive to do so.

[tachyonic]

Originally Posted by Anthony

One variant I've considered, which has some considerable utility with respect to solving Fermi's Paradox, is something sort of like a B5 drive, though more restricted. The basic way it works is that ships can only enter or leave hyperspace (or whatever you choose to call it) at a jump point, and that jump points are (a) normally synthetic, and (b) last pretty much forever once created. My instinct is that a jump point is either just a micro black hole, or perhaps something more exotic like a ring singularity, but either way, is pretty much indestructible once created. Creating such gates probably implies gravitic superscience, though not necessarily anti-gravity or full-fledged creationless drives as such (tractor/pressor beams, or perhaps force beams, seem more likely). It would be nice, if a good handwave can be found, if the region in which you can enter/leave hyperspace is fairly large (planet-sized), as that makes smuggling more practical. You can also sensibly handwave size limits on ships, or even throughput limits on jump points.

The advantage, here, is that any place that a ship can exit hyperspace must be interesting, because the presence of a gate implies something capable of creating a gate -- at least, sometime within the last fourteen billion years. It also means you can have alien races who haven't contacted Earth, and maybe don't know about us, because we haven't created a gate.

Depending on the exact properties of hyperspace, this may support hyperspace pirates. If gates can only be detected at relatively short distances (relatively short on hyperspace scales, anyway) this also supports exploration. I'd also be strongly tempted to toss psionic powers into the blender, as some form of excuse to keep robotic probes under control.

You're assuming that Fermi's paradox is real!

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by tachyonic

You're assuming that Fermi's paradox is real!

Logic is not an assumption.

IF the galaxy is filled with aliens

and

IF it is possible to travel from star to star

THEN aliens would already be here.

THEREFORE:

The galaxy is not filled with aliens

OR

It is impossible to travel from star to star

OR

The aliens are already here.

The first option is no fun. The second option is also no fun. The third option is fun but raises the question...if the aliens are here, why are we here? After all, by all rights a galaxy filled with aliens would contain aliens who got here first and therefore would have occupied our planet before we did.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Logic is not an assumption.

IF the galaxy is filled with aliens

and

IF it is possible to travel from star to star

THEN aliens would already be here.

THEREFORE:

The galaxy is not filled with aliens

OR

It is impossible to travel from star to star

OR

The aliens are already here.

Er, no. Adding spurious if-then structure does not make an assertion into unassailable logic. Your premises do not lead to your conclusion without additional unstated premises.

It might be legitimate to say that it is likely that in a universe with lots of aliens and practical means of interstellar travel, the aliens would have come here already (Though space is big, so we could just be missed). However, there is no reason the universe has to be likely.

-We might be the elder race. The galaxy might be full of alien life, all of it a few thousand or million years of development behind us.
-It might be that despite all of the smart aliens out there, and the physics allowing FTL, none of them have hit on just how to do it.
-We might be totally englobed by an empire that considers our star holy/forbidden/boring, for some reason.
-We might not be on the FTL network.
...just for a few. All of them would be amazing coincidences. Amazing coincidences do happen.

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

The first option is no fun. The second option is also no fun. The third option is fun but raises the question...if the aliens are here, why are we here? After all, by all rights a galaxy filled with aliens would contain aliens who got here first and therefore would have occupied our planet before we did.

Anthropic principle, if nothing else.

Not to mention that they might be us, they might not want our planet, they might be here in some way we haven't noticed... (Stargate based civilization of gas giant dwellers? We'd have no clue.)