Hyperspace

Hyperspace is a dimension of space with a concrete, though constantly shifting, relationship to real space, and it has its own matter, creatures, and rules. Bands of hyperspace--higher and lower--have differing relationships with all four of real space's four dimensions, including the flow of time. Sentient creatures in real space who have become spacefaring have long-since discovered how to use the rules of hyperspace to move quickly between stars and other gravitational anchor points throughout their galaxies.

Real space and hyperspace energy and matter are inimical to one another, and simple interaction between them causes damage, degradation, and ultimately destruction to both, leaving dispersed energy behind that ultimately seeps back into its home dimension. The only thing in the other dimension that is not inimical is empty space itself, meaning that consistent interaction in the same place in one dimension will create pockets or tunnels of empty, or emptier, space behind. This is the principle behind the creation and long-term "smoothing" of hyperspace pathways: as real space ships traverse a pathway in hyperspace over and over again, the pathway steadily empties of hyperspace matter and energy, leaving an emptier and emptier path behind which does less damage to real space ships.

There are four known bands of hyperspace, and likely several others which cannot or have not been safely traversed by real space travelers. Only some species can choose bands of hyperspace in which to travel; most are limited to the low-middle band, known as the Standard Band, traversing long-established hyperspace maps made by older spacefaring species. Praezorian hyperdrives can downshift into a lower band of hyperspace, the lowest known band, which does far less damage to a ship but vaults a real space creature forward in time once they reemerge into real space, even after traveling a comparatively short distance in either dimension. Conversely, higher bands of hyperspace are far more turbulent, energetic, and dense, doing large amounts of damage to real space matter over a short period of time, while vaulting a real space creature across their home galaxy in a matter of hours--if they can survive the journey. This effect intensifies toward the galactic core and areas with more stars, while it weakens toward the rim and areas with fewer stars.

Large objects with immense gravity in real space draw hyperspace and real space into connection with one another, stabilizing the relationship between them and anchoring real space to the band in hyperspace most frequently used for hyperspace travel, which is full of hyperspace matter but has a one-to-one relationship with the fourth dimension in real space. This stabilizing relationship allows hyperspace pathways to remain in a single band of hyperspace, allows blaze portals to have stable results, and prevents sudden jumps in hyperspace between bands. Large expulsions of energy from hyperspace drives and other phenomena can cause ships to shift into other bands of hyperspace unexpectedly, often with disastrous results. A lack of stars over a large area of real space can cause the relationship between the two dimensions to destabilize, causing hyperspace turbulence for ships, making the establishment of pathways unpredictable or impossible, and causing travelers to slip into other bands of hyperspace during exploration, vaulting them through space or time without warning.

## Hyperdrives

A large expulsion of energy, such as a supernova or hypernova, tends to rip large tears in the boundary between real and hyperspace. Elder sentient species who first invented the hyperdrive may have begun exploiting the portals created during these events to explore hyperspace and far-flung areas of the galaxy, and they likely collected for study bits of hyperspace matter ejected from such tears before they degraded in real space. The collection of such matter is imperative for the invention and manufacture of hyperdrives, which have at their center a small piece of hyperspace matter isolated in a photon-proof protected vacuum. To create a portal, the hyperdrive emits a short burst of concentrated power from the reactor, utilizing a catalyzed reaction with its hyperspace matter core to create and stabilize a resonance frequency with a relationship to the Standard Band of hyperspace. This action creates a short-term tear in the boundary between real and hyperspace using far less energy than generally required, and all but guarantees access to the correct band of hyperspace. Moments where this calculation have failed can and have sent spacefarers far afield, either in time or in real space, or caused them to become trapped in dense pockets of hyperspace entirely, never to be seen or heard from again. Similar but far smaller releases of energy, using the hyperdrive core to maintain resonance with hyperspace, allow the ship to use reactor power and propulsors to steer in hyperspace itself without causing undo turbulence or destruction. In some cases, extremely talented hyperspace navigators are able to use information from the warp shields to aid in steering and gain visibility into the flow and eddies of hyperspace paths.

The lowest band of hyperspace, which is the least damaging and has the closest relationship between real space and hyperspace (and therefore not optimal for traveling between star systems) may be accessed with far less energy and by using a resonance frequency that closely mimics, but does not come directly from, hyperspace itself. A hyperonic inductor can successfully alter the vibrational characteristics of real space atoms for a sufficient period of time to create such a fissure into hyper-subspace, and it therefore can help send an object into or through that lowest band of hyperspace for a period of time. This shallow hyperspace "dipping" technology generally undergirds many cloaking devices as well as phase missile technology.

A phase missile is made using a hyperonic inductor to create a resonance with hyperspace when it is initially fired; this first burst of energy and simulated resonance is sufficient to dip the phase missile into hyper-subspace for a carefully calculated period of time. Generally, a species’ (usually humans’) experience with the technology allows for more or less precision when hitting their target, but misses, lost missiles, weak hits, and anomalies still happen with great regularity. Great precision when using phase missiles and the ability to take tactical advantage of anomalies, as well as banked information and analysis of enemy ships, have allowed the human species in particular to make great strides with this technology.

Advanced spacefaring species have discovered the means by which to reliably access and to safely traverse higher bands of hyperspace, but the ability to find, take, and safely contain pieces of matter from these bands is beyond the capacities of most spacefaring species in the Orion Spur of the Milky Way.