So, given that warp-jump techonology is prevalent in the setting of Itzamna's gate , I thought of an interesting implication on what it might convey in the nature of communication.
First one which was already pretty prebvvalent in my mind for some time now is that if this kind of ships can jump across space without its passengers' perception of time being altered in relation to observers, then light-speed communication such as radio or the wi-fi become obsolete across great distances. For example, if Zenjiro leaves Monesia to go get some rare ingredients on a planet 20 light years away and tells Coatzin that he/she will be back in 1 week, to her, he will still be back after 1 week if he keeps his/her promise and providing that nothing goes awry..
However, if Coatzin decided to point a super-powerful telescope, capable to observe objects hundred of light years away with ridiculous detail towards where Zenjiro went, nothing would show up, the image she'd see would be of the planet 20 years ago. Perhaps she'd see the building site of the planet's colony which construction started 20 years ago, but no sign of Zenjiro reaching his destination. Sending a radio message would also be fruitless also , as the message woudl reach the planet 20 years after the signal was sent. So, if Coatzin wanted to say hi and see if everythign was arlight, she'd have to send a "letter".
Why a letter? If warp-jump ships are capable of circumventing the temporal displacements caused by time dilation, then in theory, a letter would arrive sooner and therefore be a more reliable method of communication. If the mailman is successful in his/her mission, then he/she'd be returning pretty soon, with a letter from Zenjiro saying "Chill, I'll be alright girl ;)" Can be a literal letter or a digital message carried around in a storage device, point being, the message is physical in nature and not transimtted by waves travelling at light-speed.
Second thought would be the following: Zenjiro is succesful in his mission, has aquired plenty of exotic spices, has outrun danger here and there and plans to return home after the week has passed, as promised. He notices he has 1 day free before that, and after talking to a very knowledgable Khtoan at the colony's watering hole, he decides to perform an experiment. He convinces a bored mercenary to draw a gentleman sausage on the face of a barren moon at a time in which the nearby star is shining proudly on it. Zenjiro records the time at which the drawing started to be made and gets back on his ship to tell the pilot to jump exactly 1 light day away from the planet. Zenjiro and his small crew spend the rest of the day there, telling stories and eating the rations they brought with them (that small ship has no kitchen :c )
The next day , Zenjiro invites the rest of the crew to gaze upon the telescope , exactly like the one Coatzin has back at Monesia, which is pointing back at that barren moon. Before their eyes, a glorious dick drawn with a laser comes into being. Zenjiro and the human crew laugh, the alien crew look in confusion and bewilderment, but are nonetheless impressed at the outcome of the experiment.
The light of their past actions are just catching up with their position given the nature of the jump-warp ships, a literal way to relieve past events thanks to the laws of the universe. The events witnessed are no longer going on, Zenjiro is alredy somewhere else, but light's speed makes it so as if he wasnt.
The third and final thoguht is the following: Zenjiro wishes now to return home, the week has finished passing and Coatzin must be very eager to see him again, so the navigators prepare to jump back to Monesia. Let's say Monesia's parent star, Arktos is quite bright. You might think that they coudl just find Arktos' position relative to theirs and then travel in a straight line, right? But what they are seeing is Arktos as it was 20 years ago! If Zenjiro pointed the telescope to Arktos and then to Monesia, he would't even see The Misery docked there. To travel back to Arktos, would would have to determine where the star would be 20 years later taking in accout things like Arktos's apparent position, neighbouring stars, Arkto's orbital period around the Galaxy, the starting point's position in the galaxy, etc. This is what leads me to think that workign as anavigator requires studie, A LOT of studies. There could be college masteries entirely dedicated to that for all I care, one small miscalulation and you might end up somewhere completley different.
It is almost counterintuitive how light wuld work i n this circumstances if you think about it, but hey, it seems to be this way.
First one which was already pretty prebvvalent in my mind for some time now is that if this kind of ships can jump across space without its passengers' perception of time being altered in relation to observers, then light-speed communication such as radio or the wi-fi become obsolete across great distances. For example, if Zenjiro leaves Monesia to go get some rare ingredients on a planet 20 light years away and tells Coatzin that he/she will be back in 1 week, to her, he will still be back after 1 week if he keeps his/her promise and providing that nothing goes awry..
However, if Coatzin decided to point a super-powerful telescope, capable to observe objects hundred of light years away with ridiculous detail towards where Zenjiro went, nothing would show up, the image she'd see would be of the planet 20 years ago. Perhaps she'd see the building site of the planet's colony which construction started 20 years ago, but no sign of Zenjiro reaching his destination. Sending a radio message would also be fruitless also , as the message woudl reach the planet 20 years after the signal was sent. So, if Coatzin wanted to say hi and see if everythign was arlight, she'd have to send a "letter".
Why a letter? If warp-jump ships are capable of circumventing the temporal displacements caused by time dilation, then in theory, a letter would arrive sooner and therefore be a more reliable method of communication. If the mailman is successful in his/her mission, then he/she'd be returning pretty soon, with a letter from Zenjiro saying "Chill, I'll be alright girl ;)" Can be a literal letter or a digital message carried around in a storage device, point being, the message is physical in nature and not transimtted by waves travelling at light-speed.
Second thought would be the following: Zenjiro is succesful in his mission, has aquired plenty of exotic spices, has outrun danger here and there and plans to return home after the week has passed, as promised. He notices he has 1 day free before that, and after talking to a very knowledgable Khtoan at the colony's watering hole, he decides to perform an experiment. He convinces a bored mercenary to draw a gentleman sausage on the face of a barren moon at a time in which the nearby star is shining proudly on it. Zenjiro records the time at which the drawing started to be made and gets back on his ship to tell the pilot to jump exactly 1 light day away from the planet. Zenjiro and his small crew spend the rest of the day there, telling stories and eating the rations they brought with them (that small ship has no kitchen :c )
The next day , Zenjiro invites the rest of the crew to gaze upon the telescope , exactly like the one Coatzin has back at Monesia, which is pointing back at that barren moon. Before their eyes, a glorious dick drawn with a laser comes into being. Zenjiro and the human crew laugh, the alien crew look in confusion and bewilderment, but are nonetheless impressed at the outcome of the experiment.
The light of their past actions are just catching up with their position given the nature of the jump-warp ships, a literal way to relieve past events thanks to the laws of the universe. The events witnessed are no longer going on, Zenjiro is alredy somewhere else, but light's speed makes it so as if he wasnt.
The third and final thoguht is the following: Zenjiro wishes now to return home, the week has finished passing and Coatzin must be very eager to see him again, so the navigators prepare to jump back to Monesia. Let's say Monesia's parent star, Arktos is quite bright. You might think that they coudl just find Arktos' position relative to theirs and then travel in a straight line, right? But what they are seeing is Arktos as it was 20 years ago! If Zenjiro pointed the telescope to Arktos and then to Monesia, he would't even see The Misery docked there. To travel back to Arktos, would would have to determine where the star would be 20 years later taking in accout things like Arktos's apparent position, neighbouring stars, Arkto's orbital period around the Galaxy, the starting point's position in the galaxy, etc. This is what leads me to think that workign as anavigator requires studie, A LOT of studies. There could be college masteries entirely dedicated to that for all I care, one small miscalulation and you might end up somewhere completley different.
It is almost counterintuitive how light wuld work i n this circumstances if you think about it, but hey, it seems to be this way.