Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 307 Technical Exchange (First Update)
On the way to the engine room, Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, a Scotsman who was very proud of his spaceship, couldn't help but open up and enthusiastically introduced the warp drive that Chen Yu, this sage from another dimension, had shown great interest in, which was the result of his life's work: "The principle of the warp drive, simply put, is not to make the spaceship itself 'move' in space to faster than the speed of light, as that would violate the laws of physics."

Instead, they enclosed the spacecraft within a local spacetime curvature bubble, or 'warp field'.

The spaceship itself is relatively stationary inside the bubble, but spacetime itself is distorted, compressed, and expanded outside the bubble... We compress the space in front of the spaceship while expanding the space behind it. In this way, space itself 'pushes' us forward, and the spaceship itself does not violate the speed of light limit..."

Scott gestured as he tried to explain the complex concept in a relatively intuitive way, while keeping an eye on Chen Yu's reaction.

He saw the scarlet optical lens focused intently on him, seemingly recording and analyzing every word.

He found the feeling of being listened to attentively by a "peer" who clearly possessed advanced skills quite pleasing.

After the introductions concluded, Scott couldn't resist asking the question he'd been holding back for a while: "Seriously, Mr. Sage, with your level of technology enabling interdimensional teleportation, haven't you... developed a faster-than-light technology similar to warp drive?"

He could hardly imagine that a civilization capable of transcending the barriers of reality would be trapped in a cage of conventional light speed.

Chen Yu's mechanical head turned slightly, and a synthesized voice sounded smoothly, giving an answer that shocked Scott and Savik, who was listening in: "We possess faster-than-light technology, and it is extremely efficient."

In my world, in the early days of humanity's interstellar journey, shortly after inventing the basic faster-than-light engine, they quickly developed a key technology called the 'subspace engine.'

He paused briefly, seemingly retrieving precise data.

"It's a technology that utilizes a special dimensional space called 'subspace' for travel. Thanks to this special subspace, its physical rules are vastly different from those of the real universe, and it shares a certain... with our universe."

"Convenient connectivity allows subspace travel to easily achieve speeds unimaginable in the real universe."

Chen Yu's synthesized voice remained steady, but the following description made Scott's eyes widen: "When navigating in subspace, distances become blurred, and the flow of time is out of sync with reality."

A successful subspace jump, traversing a distance of thousands or even tens of thousands of light-years, might only take weeks, months, or years in the real universe.

In some extreme cases, due to the unpredictable flow of time in subspace, a spacecraft might arrive at its destination earlier than it departed.

"Time travel?!" Scott exclaimed in disbelief, this completely overturned his understanding of physics.

Even the usually composed Savik raised her signature eyebrows; the Vulcan's logical mind was racing, trying to comprehend this possibility that defied causality.

“That’s one way to understand it, although it’s usually an uncontrollable and extremely dangerous byproduct,” Chen Yu confirmed, then revealed the cruel price behind this efficient technology. “However, the subspace is not a vacuum. It’s filled with violent energy turbulence, unpredictable ‘storms,’ and… some malicious entities that exist based on the emotions and thoughts of intelligent beings.”

Navigating this sea is like piloting a small boat on a dark, raging ocean, constantly at risk of being torn apart by the storm or having your soul devoured by lurking 'demons.' Every leap is a huge gamble.

He concluded, his tone grounded in fact rather than boastful: "Because of the 'efficiency' of subspace engines in long-distance travel, which conventional faster-than-light engines could hardly match, and the rapid expansion needs of the Human Federation at the time, in my world, in-depth research into conventional faster-than-light engines was long ago considered an unnecessary branch and was basically abandoned. We... chose a faster, but also more dangerous, path." Scott opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.

He was proud of the Enterprise's warp drive, considering it a reliable partner for exploring the galaxy, but he never imagined that in another universe, humanity would be wielding such a terrifying and bizarre power to travel among the stars.

A mixture of lingering fear and relief spread through his heart.

Chen Yu then turned his gaze to the direction from which a stronger energy fluctuation was faintly emanating at the end of the passage, his synthesized voice carrying an undeniable determination: "Therefore, Mr. Scott, the potential value of your safe and reliable faster-than-light technology path, based on the physical rules of the real universe, to me and my world is immeasurable. I am eager to learn more about it."

Faced with Chen Yu's undisguised eagerness and focus, Montgomery Scott's pride in the warp drive and his inherent desire to share as a technician completely overwhelmed his initial caution.

He held nothing back and enthusiastically guided Chen Yu's massive mechanical body toward the heart of the Enterprise—the warp drive chamber.

When the heavy radiation-proof door slid open, the scene that came into Chen Yu's optical lens was completely different from the Imperial subspace engine bay he was familiar with.

The massive warp drive occupied most of the space, with complex energy conduits coiling and extending like the roots of a giant tree, emitting a steady, deep hum.

Blue energy streams flowed smoothly within the transparent confinement field channel, the air filled with the smell of ozone and highly efficient coolant, yet it was not unpleasant.

“That’s it!” Scott’s voice was filled with almost fatherly pride as he pointed to the massive core. “The warp drive core generates enormous energy through the controlled annihilation of matter and antimatter.”

Look over there, the dual lithium crystals are responsible for focusing and regulating the energy flow; they are the key to the entire system…

Scott began to explain at length, from the power regulation of the matter/antimatter reaction matrix to the precision control of the plasma injection system, and how the warp coil generates and maintains that crucial spacetime curvature bubble.

He mentioned technical terms like Cole quantity and warp factor, which were not in Chen Yu's database, and even casually brought up complex energy flow diagrams and structural cross-sections on the control panel next to him.

Chen Yu stood quietly in the center of the engine room, his scarlet optical lens following Scott's instructions, precisely scanning every component, every pipe, and every control panel.

His massive body remained motionless, but inside, a tsunami of data processing was underway.

His advanced sensors capture every minute spectrum of energy radiation, analyze the atomic-level composition of materials, and record the physical effects produced when the entire system is in operation.

More importantly, his memory storage array, which is directly connected to the logic core, is recording every technical term, every principle description, and even the experience revealed in the engineer's tone of voice from Scott with the highest priority, categorizing and recording it with meticulous accuracy.

These information streams, like timely rain, filled his knowledge desert regarding faster-than-light technology. He was rapidly constructing preliminary theoretical models of warp drive technology and comparing and verifying them with his existing knowledge of physics.

(End of this chapter)