[FT] FTL Travel

I've begun some more tentative work on my FT campaign, and I have become
curious...how many people use the "standard" GZG Jump system for FTL?
Thanks to David Brin, I'm working with the assumption that there are a
number of different ways to circumvent the laws of physics.  Other than
employing an engineer with a really bad accent, of course.

	My terrans use Jump gates.  Not the B5 version--a gate is a
mechanical
device that uses an ultragvity "lens" to pop a ship through a temporary
hole in space.	The computer system running the gate appplies the proper
stresses and angles to the "lens" to put a ship at a point, say, 6.5
lightyears thataway.
	The advantage is that travel is instantaneous.	Go through the
gate, and
bang! you're there.  The disadvantages are a bit more numerous.
	For one thing, accuracy is questionable.  The best gates
available, owned
and operated by the U.N., will put a ship within three hundred miles of
its
designated point of arrival, assuming that the distance traveled is five
or
less lightyears.  The longer the distance traveled, the worse the
accuracy.
 U.S. and corporate Jumpgates run a close second to the U.N. model, with
the Chinese gates running a distant third.  It is worth nothing that the
Chinese are the only people who include cryosleep chambers in their
ships
as standard equipment....
	A gravity well will severely disrupt a jump, causing the ship to
emerge
much closer to the source of the gravitational field than it really
wants
to.  For instance, a ship attempting to jump into Earth's orbit would
likely materialize somewhere near the planet's core; the precise effects
of
this upon both ship and planet are unknown, but scientists have
hypothesized that it would be "messy".	Generally speaking, ships are
placed no less than 200,000 miles from a system's sun, and at least
10,000
miles from any signifigant planetery mass.  Larger planets, naturally,
require a larger safety zone.
	Jump travel is strictly one-way.  Unless there is another gate
somewhere
near your destination, you are in for a long trip home.  However, most
terran fleets include "Gateway" ships--ships that carry the equipment
and
tools neccessary to set up a permanent gate.  Under most conditions,
fleet
engineers can have a gate up and running within three hours.  Given
another
few days, the gate can be upgraded to commercial safety standards.
	Gates also allow FTL communcation; most modern ships are
equipped with a
miniature gate system through which signals can be beamed.  As a result,
communication over long distances can be chancy, but it does allow
sporadic
contact under most conditions.
	What this means is that most battle are fought in or near
planetary orbit.
 The defending ships will stay close to home; after all, they know that
any
attackers have to come to them eventually.  An attackers primary goal is
to
reassamble a fleet that has been scattered by the vagaries of the Jump
process; but at least they have a few hundred thousand miles in which to
accomplish this before they attack.

	On the other hand, I'm giving my Imperials a version of standard
GW
warpspace, but putting a few twists on it.  In my view, warpspace is
nothing more than a psychic projection, created by the vast Imperial
populace and channeled through their many telepaths.  Originally,
warpspace
was an expression of the collective human yearning for the stars, but as
the mental health of the Imperium has deteriorated, so has the warp. 
Now,
it's the place where nightmares live, and ships have only a 75% chance
of
surviving warp travel.	What this says about the Imperial psyche is
obvious...and less than heartening.

	So how do other people work FTL?  I have a few more alien races
to deal
with, and I need some different ways for them to get around.  I am
personally fond of the Pournelle Alderson Drive, so I am probably going
to
work that in with one of the minor powers.  Any other thoughts?

John X Crimmins
johncrim@voicenet.com
  "...is one of the secret masters of the world: a librarian.
They control information.  Don't ever piss one off."
  --Spider Robinson, The Callahan Touch.