On Hyperspace

Circa. 6,902 BBY, or roughly two years before the War of Darkness ended, while exploring Wild Space the exiled Tulak Hord made an incredible discovery. Specifically, he discovered the remains of an incredibly advanced civilization that remained hidden, lurking in wild space before being destroyed. These aliens were not the Celestials, but it is necessary to briefly talk about their contributions to hyperspace technology before continuing.

(Warning: This next section reads more like an introductory physics textbook. If this is not for you, you may want to skim or skip over this next section.)

More on Hyperspace Physics:

A reader may remember that all information sent through a subspace ansible travels at the Universal Hyperspace Constant, which is the speed of a 'class one' hyperdrive. The hyperdrive rating system ranks the speeds of hyperdrives relative to this constant. Larger numbers are proportionally slower, and smaller numbers are proportionally faster. A ship with a hyperdrive class of 'two' travels at half the speed of a 'class one' ship. (Many military vessels travel at this speed.) A ship with a hyperdrive class of 'four' travels at a quarter of the speed of the constant. (This is a common speed for civilian transports.) On the other hand, a ship with a hyperdrive class of 'point-five' has a speed twice as fast as the constant. (Speeds this fast are very rare. The Millennium Falcon and modified Imperial Shuttles can reach this speed.) And a ship with a speed of 'point-two five' has a speed four times as fast as the constant. (The only ships that can reach this speed are heavily modified and utilize a hyperspace booster. No normal hyperdrive can reach these speeds.) These values continue to shrink as the theoretical speed reaches closer and closer to zero.

A speed of 'zero' is impossible, as it is infinite speed. However, 'zero' is still useful as a theoretical constant. A theoretical hyperdrive rating of 'zero' is the Universal Information Constant. This is, supposedly, the speed of information sent through hyperspace in a theoretical Perfect Hyperspace Universe. A Perfect Hyperspace Universe is a hypothetical universe that has a total mass of zero, that is to say, no mass or energy whatsoever in it. Obviously this is not the case, and even if it somehow were, the very existence of a wave or particle in hyperspace would imply some sort of matter or energy exists, meaning that is is the ultimate theoretical barrier.

The reason that this is a hypothetical speed in a Perfect Hyperspace Universe is because mass shadows, or gravitational fields, interfere with hyperspace travel. The presence of mass and gravity in the universe slows down hyperspace travel. This is why passing through a hyperspace route too close to a gas cloud can severely delay a trip.

However, it is still possible to calculate the speed of information sent via hyperwave using this constant. It is much like calculating the speed of light in atmosphere or underwater- kinda- the constant doesn't change, but the presence of matter is interfering with its speed. Using hyperwaves, it is possible for a person on Coruscant to have a conversation in real-time with someone else on Geonosis and experience little lag due to distance.

For a reminder, when a ship uses a dimensional drive, it's speed is always lower than the Universal Hyperspace Constant. When a ship uses a hyperdrive, its speed is always lower than the Universal Information Constant.

When a ship uses a dimensional drive, the ship is said to be in 'slipstream space,' or subspace. However, by making the jump into hyperspace, the ship can move faster than even the Universal Hyperspace Constant. (Although it doesn't have to.) The reason for this is because a dimensional drive generates and uses tachyonic matter (hypermatter) to create a hyperspace bubble in spacetime that allows one to 'bypass' realspace. In this state, space is bypassed, but wherever one is in slipstream space, there is a corresponding location in realspace. (Note, this does not mean that a ship in slipstream space is tangible or in any way visible in this state. The ship exists in it's own 'bubble' separate from the universe, this bubble simply 'corresponds' to a location in space. However, as this bubble is completely separate, this is for reference purposes only. A bubble could pass right 'through' another ship and nothing would happen.)

A hyperdrive on the other hand generates a realspace bubble in hyperspace. Therefore, when a ship is in hyperspace, it has no corresponding location in realspace, as it is effectively in another dimension. In a sense, dimensional drives and hyperdrives are like mirrors of each other.

The way some quantum hyper physicists explain it is as follows: Immagine two panes of glass (or transparisteel) next to each other with water in the middle. Let's call them 'Pane A' and 'Pane B.' Water droplets can stick to either Pane A or Pane B. Now imagine that you are a small insect that can somehow eat through glass. You are stuck at one end of Pane A and want to get to the other. You can eat your way through the pane of glass to eventually reach the other side, but this takes too long. Instead, you decide to eat your way to the surface of the glass pane and jump into a water bubble and ride it to your destination. In this example, Pane A represents realspace, and the water droplets represent taking a trip through slipstream space. Now let's say that Pane B is much smoother, and so water would travel faster. You can use one bubble to 'jump' to the other, thereby taking a ride along Plane B instead. In this example, Pane B is hyperspace. Now, this example is somewhat misleading as hyperspace is not a location like realspace as this example implies. For a more accurate picture, imagine Pane B suddenly vanishing, but the water droplets still behaving the same way- as if there is some type of invisible surface they can slide on.

Don't get it? Nobody really does. It's one of those things that people use all the time but nobody really knows how it works. Quantum hyper physicists can describe the behavior and appearance of nature, but as soon as one asks what nature is like independently of its appearances, you run into problems. It seems that the true nature of reality is ultimately unknowable.

There is another added benefit of hyperspace technology, and that is for energy generation. When tachyons, or hypermatter, is confined to the dimensions of realspace, it annihilates itself to generate mass/energy in realspace. The formula describing this conversion of hypermatter to mass is (M=IH^2). In this equation, 'I' represents the 'imaginary mass' of hypermatter, and 'H' represents the Universal Hyperspace Constant. This formula can then be plugged into the formula (E=MC^2) to find out how much energy is produced. Given these two formulas, the energy produced by a tiny bit of hypermatter is truly enormous.

Despite the destructive nature in realspace, hypermatter can be 'stored.' To do this, it must be put into a specialized containment field- similar to the containment fields used in hyperdrives. Then, when the hypermatter enters its container, it annihilates itself into a field of 'virtual particles' which exist for a very short time before converting back into hypermatter. The hypermatter then immediately annihilates itself and converts back to a new generation of virtual particles, and the cycle repeats. Although these virtual particles only exist for a short time, their successive generation and annihilation allows hypermatter to be, more or less, safely transported. Throughout this process, very little energy escapes because at no point does hypermatter convert to energy.

There are two ways to generate energy using hypermatter. The first is to convert the hypermatter directly into energy. The second is to use the hypermatter, its containment fields, and various other processes that manipulate subatomic and multidimensional forces, to convert normal matter into a field of virtual particles which are then converted into hypermatter. This hypermatter can then be used to continue the annihilation reaction, or it can be bled off to produce energy. It is these processes that power large capital ships, as well as other devices that utilize vast amounts of power. A large capital ship is said to have the power of a star in its reactors. Indeed, a large war vessel working at full power can annihilate 40,000 tons of matter per second. Now, this number is a bit misleading, as it counts virtual particles which are converted directly back into hypermatter. That is to say that most of the matter annihilated is converted immediately back into more matter causing a very skewed final tally, but the amount of energy generated is still immense.

The reason all this is important is for the next section not to feel like a bunch of technobabble, or, at least, less so. If one does not completely understand the workings of hyperspace, that is fine as this serves as simply a refresher for those who do for that Celestial technology seems less strange.

A Short History of the Hyperdrive pt. 2:

As mentioned back in chapter 24, the Celestials adapted hyperspace technology from several pre existing civilizations. In their early days, they used their massive Cosmic Turbines to launch their spacecraft into hyperspace to traverse the Galaxy. However, these Cosmic Turbines were also able to be used as tools of construction and destruction. They had massive hyperspace tractor beams which were similar to regular tractor beams in that they moved objects, but these tractor beams moved objects through hyperspace, not realspace.

A tractor beam works by setting up a gravitational link between two objects. In this way, it is like a rope binding objects together. These are similar to, but opposite of, repulsors which pushed against gravity wells. Together, along with a hypermatter reactor, these could be used to manipulate both gravity and tachyonic matter to push a ship into hyperspace. These could also be used to unleash the stored energy of hypermatter at a target in the form of gravity or small packets of spacetime gravitational knots. By ejecting these gravitational anomalies into the heart of a planet or star, it was possible to rip apart a small planet, or even trigger a supernova by manipulating the nuclear forces inside the heart of a star.

However, this process required a lot of energy and precision gravity-manipulation technology. As a result, most Cosmic Turbines were massive, as big as a moon or small planet at times. It is thought that whoever ran the station would gather and refine certain elements in ways to power the hypermatter reactor generating this energy.

This was done in two ways. The first was by subjecting atoms of heavy elements, such as uranium, plutonium, and hyperbarides. Since the nuclei of these atoms had a great mass, they would release tremendous energy upon annihilation. A second process was to surround the hypermatter reactor in a fusion reactor. This generated what was like a small star in the middle of the reactor. In this reaction, light elements undergoing fusion would sometimes be caught up in the hypermatter reactor and annihilated. These processes are today used in tandem, and it is thought that by building massive dual phase reactors like this the Celestials were able to power their massive Cosmic Turbines.

This gravity-manipulation technology is not as mysterious as it sounds. During the Mandalorian Wars, Jedi and Republic scientists were able to build a device called the Mass Shadow Generator. This was like a spread-out version of a Cosmic Turbine that manipulated the unique gravitational fields in the Malachor system to crush the planet Malachor V. Later, during the days of the Galactic Empire, Imperial researchers attempted to recreate this weapon and came up with a type of collector-repulsor array which was able to squeeze planetary crusts generating minor seismic disturbances. A more advanced version of this weapon became the Two-Wave Gravshock, which was actually part of an Imperial program to recreate Cosmic Turbines.

A more focused version of this weapon could be created called a Gravitic Polarization Beam. This weapon used a focused gravitational tractor beam, but instead of being fired through hyperspace, the hypermatter was moved along the beam turning its target into a runaway hypermatter reactor. Weapons like these were developed by Old Republic scientists, and the Empire advanced the technology to create Superlaser technology. However, it is thought that these weapons were first theorized by the Celestials.

The Celestials were thought to have set up a series of hyperspace wormhole generators in the Temples of Kooroo. These were believed to have used devices similar to small Gravatic Polarization Beams to rip a stable hole in hyperspace connecting two points. Hyperspace wormholes are extremely rare and unpredictable, but they are certainly possible. Travel through such wormholes is theorized to be much faster than any known hyperdrive, almost as fast as a hyperwave, and it makes sense why it would be so. These wormholes connect two points in spacetime resulting in the flow of hyperspace being already established compared to the hyperspace bubble and warp tunnel generated by the modern hyperdrive. Oddly enough, while hyperspace wormhole travel was presumably invented before the modern hyperdrive, scientists have been unable to recreate them.

Specifically, these were created by the Celestial faction known as the Whills. A reader may remember the Whills as those Celestials who were devoted to the Living Force free from the dark side. They were peaceful and were thought to have inhabited a planet nicknamed 'The Keeper's World,' as they left behind a droid guardian known as 'The Keeper' when their planet was attacked by the Kanzer Exiles, a group of dark side wielding Celestials.

The Whills were scattered and were believed to have taken up residence in the Temples of Kooroo where they installed hyperspace wormhole generators for fast escapes. However, they, like the rest of the Celestials, were eventually hunted down, but their legacy lived on.

This technology would fall into the hands of the Kwa and Gree who would greatly improve upon it. However, as they are not necessary for the following discussion, their contributions will be skipped and in the next chapter we will briefly revisit the Rakata before moving on.