The most common means of faster than light travel in Strange Stars is via the Hyperspace Network. The Network is perhaps the greatest achievement of the Archaic Oikumene . Though the means of its construct and even the basic science of hyperspatial physics behind it is lost, modern galactic civilization relies upon it.
The Network is composed of conduits of exotic matter passing through a manifold known as hyperspace connecting nodes in normal spacetime. The distance between two points in normal space has very little to do with transit time through hyperspace. Instead, congestion and poorly understood conduit properties (“bandwidth”) play a greater role.
Active network nodes have exit and entrance gates affixed to them and terminal stations, located a safe distance away. Most of these structures date back centuries; a few even go back to the Oikumene. In civilized areas tolls are often charged for network access and every ship passing through must have an identification transponder. So-called “black gates” exist, hidden in out-of-the-way systems that provide access without going through the public nodes. Military controlled gates sometimes exist, built near and accessing public nodes, but are given priority.
The technology behind the nodes is at least partially psionic in nature. Specially trained psi-sensitives (or specially gengineered sniffer animals) can detect inactive nodes. Re-activating one requires brute-force hacking and psionically transmitted passcodes.
The poorly understood relationship between psi and hyperspace has led to more than a few fringe and paranoid memes, as well as legitimate scientific inquiry. So far, no theory is satisfactory. Psi-sensitive individuals tend to find hyperspace travel a bit uncomfortable. Many report the strange sensation of being watched.
The travel times between nodes along the hyperspatial network of the Archaics is color-coded to denote connection speed. While the actual durations of travel can only be calculated through the use of advanced physics even an ibglibdishpan mathematician might need the aid of a calculation device to perform, approximations for gaming purposes are fairly easy. Use the following formula with the conduit colors and lengths given in the SSGSB:
Travel Time = [color modifier] x [distance modifier] in kiloseconds (ks).
| COLOR MODIFIERS | DISTANCE MODIFIERS |
|---|---|
RED: 18 ORANGE: 45 YELLOW: 100 GREEN: 450 BLUE: 900 INDIGO: 4500 VIOLET: 6750 | VERY SHORT: 1 SHORT: 2 MEDIUM: 3 LONG: 4 VERY LONG: 5 |
Examples: The route between Kuznuh and Smaragdoz is orange and of medium length, yielding a travel time of 135 ks or 37.5 hrs. The connection between Sirius and Aygo is green and short, so the trip will take 900 ks (over 10 Old Earth days).
- Dotted lines on SSGSB maps present a summation of the shortest route through multiple nodes.
- The length of the connections on the Regional Map are not representative. All of these connections should be considered “very long.”
- Hyperspace Nodes that have multiple connections may only activate a single conduit at a time; these are operated on a rotating timetable. While this timetable may be changed on the fly from the Gate’s terminal station, doing so increases the instability of the Gate; the station operator must roll against his Astrogation skill (difficulty 8) or the connection requires a ‘hard reboot’, requiring 1d6 x 100 ks.