Editing Slipstream space

{{Status|Canon}}
[[File:INFslipspace.jpg|thumb|300px|The {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} entering slipspace around [[Earth]].]]
'''Slipstream space''', colloquially known as '''slipspace''',{{Ref/Novel|Id=TFoR1|TFoR|Chapter=1}} or '''the Slipstream'''<ref name="tfor136">''Halo: The Fall of Reach'', p. 136 (2001)</ref> and formally known as '''Shaw-Fujikawa space'''<ref name="for141">''Halo: The Fall of Reach'', p. 141 (2001)</ref> or '''subspace'''{{Ref/Level|CE|CE:The Pillar of Autumn|The Pillar of Autumn|Detail=opening cinematic}} by the [[United Nations Space Command]], is a dimensional subdomain{{Ref/Novel|Id=GoO3|GoO|Chapter=3}} of alternate spacetime consisting of eleven non-visible infinitesimal dimensions used for faster-than-light travel.<ref name="eleven">''Halo: First Strike'', p. 87 (2003)</ref><ref name="c100">''Halo: Cryptum'', p. 100</ref> Making a transition from one place to another via slipspace is known as a "slip", or "jump". A device which allows a spacecraft to perform slipspace transitions is generally referred to as a [[slipspace drive]].

==Background==
[[File:H2A Terminals - Fleet of Particular Justice exiting slipspace.jpg|250px|thumb|The [[Covenant]] [[Fleet of Particular Justice]] coming out of slipspace.]]
Slipstream space is a specific set of eleven "nondimensions" existing in a very small bundle "above" the one temporal and three spatial dimensions perceptible to human beings.{{Ref/Reuse|eleven}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=GoO22|GoO|Chapter=22}}{{Ref/Game|Id=journal|HR|Dr. Halsey's personal journal}} By moving matter from the three space dimensions and one time dimension of normal space to slipstream space, one effectively changes the laws of physics for that piece of matter. This allows faster-than-light travel without relativistic side-effects i.e., the occupants do not "warp" time, despite their superluminal speed.

In the year [[2291]], physicists [[Tobias Shaw]] and [[Wallace Fujikawa]] were the first humans to successfully implement a device that could safely transition normal matter in and out of slipstream space, the [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine]]. This enabled humanity to begin [[Human colonies|colonial expansion]] beyond their [[Sol system|home system]].{{Ref/Novel|Id=CH1|CH|Chapter=1}}

The [[Covenant]] utilizes the same eleven dimensions of slipstream space for travel, though the means they use to make the transition are more sophisticated than those used by humans, as evidenced by their markedly faster journeys from point to point.

The [[Forerunner]]s had a far greater understanding of slipstream space, with the abilities to travel nearly instantaneously over galactic distances, transport massive objects through the use of [[slipspace portal|portals]], to disrupt slipstream travel from normal space and [[Core authority|track slipspace jumps across the galaxy]]. In addition, they had developed a great variety of other applications, often involving the manipulation of time and space within a [[Slipspace bubble|slipspace field]].{{Citation needed}}
{{Clear}}

==Mechanics==
[[File:FWF EarlySlipspacePortal.png|thumb|250px|An early scale test of a Shaw-Fujikawa translight engine.]]
Slipspace is a tangle of intertwined non-spatial dimensions,{{Ref/Reuse|GoO22}}<ref name="fs211">''Halo: First Strike'', p. 211 (2003)</ref><ref name="fs338">''Halo: First Strike'', p. 338 (2003)</ref> comparably similar to a wadded up piece of paper; rather like taking the classic "flat sheet" used to represent gravity and crumpling it up into a ball, thereby creating extra dimensions and shorter spaces between points.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', p. 216 (2003)</ref> Our plane of existence is thought to have four dimensions (up-down, front-back, side-to-side and time), but slipspace is an eleven-dimensional spacetime. Slipspace is entwined with the physical universe to the extent that phenomena in one realm can affect the other, and with sufficiently sophisticated equipment, transitions between the two forms of spacetime are possible.{{Ref/Reuse|eleven}} Slipspace is not the only such alternate realm: others include [[denial of locale]], [[natal void]], [[shunspace]], [[trick geodetics]] and a photon-only realm known as [[the Glow]], all of which were once discovered and studied by the [[Forerunner]]s.{{Ref/Reuse|c100}}

Described as [[Wikipedia:Non-Euclidean geometry|non-Euclidean]] and non-[[Wikipedia:Theory of relativity|Einsteinian]],<ref name="fs191">''Halo: First Strike'', p. 191 (2003)</ref> the slipstream possesses markedly different laws of physics than "normal" space.{{Ref/Reuse|GoO3}} Due to its different laws of physics, times, masses, positions or velocities in slipspace are impossible to accurately measure based on the standards of normal space.{{Ref/Reuse|tfor136}} Although they are often used in colloquial contexts, the conventional notions of acceleration, velocity, distance, and time are technically meaningless within slipspace.<ref name="fs152">''Halo: First Strike'', p. 152 (2003)</ref> Even the name "slipspace" is technically a misnomer because the subdomain is non-spatial.{{Ref/Reuse|fs211}}{{Ref/Reuse|fs338}}{{Ref/Reuse|fs191}} Ordinary matter cannot exist in the raw slipstream without being torn apart; ships traveling in slipspace are shielded by carefully-tuned quantum fields which wrap them in envelopes of normal space. Any construction in slipspace itself would have to be composed of specialized forms of exotic matter.{{Ref/Reuse|journal}}

[[File:H2A - Solemn Penance jumping.jpg|250px|thumb|left|A [[Covenant assault carrier]] opens a slipspace vortex.]]
Slipspace is not completely empty; clouds of primordial atomic [[hydrogen]] are relatively frequent. Occasionally, even comets are known to somehow find their way into slipspace.{{Ref/Reuse|tfor136}} Objects close to one another such as [[fleet]]s often group together in mass slipspace transit and may appear to sensors as a large, singular object.<ref name="tfor137">''Halo: the Fall of Reach'', p. 137</ref> Objects in normal space are intangible in slipspace: an object in slipspace can pass through a mass, such as a [[planet]], without causing a collision in normal space; such an event may often go completely unnoticed.{{Ref/Reuse|tfor137}} However, there may be risks involved if a ship is still early in slipspace transit and passes through a large object, such as another ship.<ref>''Halo: Cryptum'', p. 99</ref>

Slipspace itself is nonvisible to the human eye, as there is nothing in the visible spectrum to see. To observers aboard spacecraft traveling through slipspace, this means that alternate domain appears pitch black.{{Ref/Reuse|TFoR1}}{{Ref/Reuse|GoO32}}{{Ref/Note|While all descriptions in written works maintain slipspace is pitch black, all depictions in visual media diverge from this. ''Halo Wars: Genesis'' depicts slipspace as resembling purplish nebulae. ''Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp'' depicts it as a bluish-white tunnel of lines and quadrilateral figures. ''Halo 4'' depicts it as a prismatic, though largely blue-shifted expanse. In ''Halo: Nightfall'' it appears as a blue-white tunnel. These are artistic liberties for the sake of presentation.}} Slipspace-associated phenomena in normal space, such as the radiation from a slipspace transition, are most commonly luminous blue. In some cases (most prominently in [[slipspace translocation|teleportation]]) these effects may also appear yellow and orange.{{Ref/Level|CE|CE:Two Betrayals|Two Betrayals}}{{Ref/Level|H4|H4:Midnight|Midnight}}

The curvature of spacetime inside slipspace is affected by the gravity wells of planets outside the slipstream, leading to the formation of [[transit point]]s that allow for easier access into slipspace. These transit points link together to form slipspace "routes", providing faster and more optimal travel time than ordinary slipspace travel.{{Ref/Reuse|SS22}} The Forerunners employed these navigation techniques heavily, in a process referred to as a "Rational Journey".{{Ref/Book|Id=WFG|HWF|Page=90-92}}

===Reconciliation===
[[File:H4-MantlesApproach-Shields.jpg|thumb|250px|''[[Mantle's Approach]]'' emerges from slipspace, engulfed in an aura of causal reconciliation.]]
While faster-than-light travel is bound to generate chronological and causal paradoxes by nature, ships traveling through slipspace rely on a self-healing effect of space-time called reconciliation,<ref>''Halo: Silentium'', p. 62</ref> more formally known as causal reconciliation<ref name="cryp322">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 322''</ref> or particle reconciliation,<ref name="cryp135">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 135''</ref> to eliminate any paradoxes that may otherwise occur. The severity of this effect, which scales in a nonlinear fashion, is determined by the amount of discrepancy in information transfer between locations, as well as strain on the local space-time brane, as opposed to the apparent length of the voyage alone.<ref name="Catalog17">[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2969317_Catalog-Interaction.aspx#post2969317 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Catalog Interaction'' (post 2969317)]</ref> Mass, or size, is also a contributing factor, at least in the transport of abnormally large objects.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 91''</ref><ref name="c223">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 223''</ref>

The Forerunners were forced to place significant importance on this phenomenon due to their routine galactic-scale travel. For example, reconciliation has a limited range and time dilation effects may occur if a ship performs a very long jump.{{Ref/Reuse|cryp135}} The Forerunners prevented this by completing unusually long slipspace journeys in a number of individual jumps, allowing reconciliation to take effect between each.<ref name="s60">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 60-61''</ref> Despite the limitations it placed on them, the Forerunners could also control reconciliation to an extent, enabling them to use its effects against their enemies, hampering and even cutting off their channels of slipspace travel.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 240''</ref> Early on in their history, the Forerunners used [[probability mirror|time-phased mirrors]] to reconcile space-time on a large scale.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 110-111''</ref> The Forerunners also employed the [[overwatch network]] to monitor interstellar traffic as to prevent the build up of reconciliation debt.{{Ref/Book|HWF|Page=91}}

Reconciliation has a "budget"—extensive slipspace travel exerts strain on space-time on a large scale as causal paradoxes accrue a "debt". When these aftereffects build up, it can impede with, or in extreme cases, entirely halt other superluminal traffic and [[Superluminal communications|communication]]. Slipspace returns to its normal state as reconciliations are allowed to take effect, gradually causing the space-time debt to disappear into the quantum background.{{Ref/Reuse|s60}}{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22P339|Enc22|Page=339}} This effect is noticeable if large amounts of mass are transported over long distances frequently, slowing down slipspace travel throughout the galaxy and requiring ships to perform more individual jumps during a journey.<ref name="cryp266">''Halo: Cryptum'', p. 266</ref> This was seen when [[Master Builder]] [[Faber]] used slipspace portals to transport the Halos,{{Ref/Reuse|c223}} or when the ''[[Audacity]]'' traveled to the [[Large Magellanic Cloud]].{{Ref/Reuse|s60}} The latter voyage demonstrates the nonlinear scaling of reconciliation: although physically shorter than the trip to the [[Ark]]s, for example, the other factors involved led to the journey being the most challenging one in the Forerunners' recent memory.{{Ref/Reuse|Catalog17}} Elaborate slipspace traffic management by the ecumene's overwatch network authorities never fully mitigated the effects of their civilization's abuse of slipspace, which restricted their military options during the early years of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]].{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P339}} [[Personal slipspace unit]]s were banned except by special license of the [[Ecumene Council]] because billions of souls regularly using personal transports across four million worlds would create such an immense buildup of reconciliation that it would've been impossible and highly dangerous for any other space travel to occur.{{Ref/Novel|PoL|Chapter=19}} This hypothetical scenario was referred to by [[343 Guilty Spark]] as something akin to "shatterpoint".{{Ref/Game|CEV|CEV:Terminals|Terminals|Detail=Status Update}}

The effect of reconciliation works both forward ''and'' backward in the linear time of our universe: by the final weeks of the Forerunner-Flood war, slipspace had already stabilized almost completely due to the galaxy-wide cessation of slipspace travel which would shortly follow with the activation of the Halo Array.<ref>''Halo: Silentium'', p. 301</ref>

Reconciliation is briefly experienced once a ship returns to normal space, and manifests as a shimmering blue glow radiating out of the ship<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 312''</ref> and static electricity building up in the occupants' bodies;{{Ref/Reuse|cryp322}} on extremely long jumps or in strained slipspace, the effects experienced by the occupants may be significantly more severe.{{Ref/Reuse|cryp322}} With Forerunner ships, the effects of reconciliation are clearly noticeable for several seconds after a ship exits slipspace.<ref>''Halo: Cryptum'', p. 100, 135, 266</ref>{{Ref/Note|Pre-''Halo 4'' media do not depict the telltale shimmer and distortion surrounding ships undergoing particle reconciliation. While the Doylist explanation is simply that the concept had not been added to the setting at the time, this may also have canonical implications. One may infer that reconciliation debt became a comparative non-issue after the time of the Forerunners; to wit, the spacefaring civilizations of the 26th century have fewer slipspace-capable vessels and other constructs than the Forerunners by several orders of magnitude. Despite this, several Covenant [[Zanar-pattern light cruiser|light cruisers]] are seen experiencing causal reconciliation in ''Halo 4''{{'}}s campaign as they enter [[Requiem]]'s core, though this may be a result of entering Requiem's core, due to the nature of Requiem itself; later, the [[Mantle's Approach|Didact's flagship]] is seen experiencing reconciliation, as are the Covenant dropships that have been traveling through slipspace under the larger ship's power. Strangely, {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} is never seen experiencing this effect in ''Halo 4'' or in any subsequent works, despite greatly outmassing all known human and Covenant vessels with perhaps [[Sh'wada-pattern supercarrier|one exception]]. As even the UNSC ''Infinity'' and most Covenant ships are dwarfed by the size and mass of Forerunner vessels, this may be due to the lesser impact they have on Slipspace. Additionally, while UNSC ships "punch a hole" in Slipspace, Covenant ships execute a series of micro-jumps, but neither method is fully on-par with Forerunner slipspace travel's efficiency and speed; because of the relatively lesser impact, even including the UNSC's method of entering slipspace, UNSC and Covenant vessels may not create the level of disruption that Forerunner vessels did.}}

Because of modern-day humanity's inferior grasp of reconciliation technology, the time slipspace travel takes to normal-space observers varies substantially; one cannot depend on the same amount of time passing in slipstream space and normal space. With human slipspace travel, there is generally a five- to ten-percent variance in travel times between stars. A fleet that transitions to slipstream space at the same time may or may not transition back to normal space at the same time. Furthermore, if ship 'A' and ship 'B' both were to enter slipstream space at the same time and exit at the same time, the crew on ship 'A' could have experienced a longer journey subjectively, and the crew of ship 'A' could be a week older than that of ship 'B' despite appearances in normal space. Though no human scientist is sure why travel time between stars is not constant, many theorize that there are "eddies" or "currents" within the slipstream. This temporal inconsistency has given military tacticians and strategists fits, hampering an uncounted number of coordinated attacks.{{Ref/Site|Id=timeline|URL=http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/h/halo/storyline.htm|Site=Xbox.com|Page=Halo Storyline|D=24|M=4|Y=2008|LocalArchive=Archive:Xbox.com/Halo/Timeline|Detail=(Additional copy on [http://halo.bungie.org/misc/mstimeline2.html HBO Forums])}}

Compared to that of the Forerunner era, the overall level of reconciliation debt in the modern day is low. This is largely due to the significantly smaller amount of slipspace traffic compared to what was demanded by the Forerunners. However, this decreased slipspace usage is partially offset by the comparatively crude slipspace travel technologies used by modern civilizations, remaining anomalous disturbances in slipspace's dimensional manifolds caused by the activation of the Halo Array, and the inefficient use of surviving Forerunner transportation systems.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P339}}

===Drive operation===
[[File:PoA exit sequence.png|thumb|250px|A sequence of stills of the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} exiting slipspace near [[Installation 04]].]]
The [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine]] generates a resonance field, which when coupled with the unusual physics of the slipstream, allows for dramatically shorter transit times between stars. UNSC slipspace drives use particle accelerators to rip apart normal space-time by generating micro black holes. These holes are evaporated via [[Hawking radiation]] in nanoseconds. The real quantum mechanical marvel of the drive lies in how it manipulates these holes in space-time, squeezing vessels weighing thousands of tons into slipspace.{{Ref/Reuse|GoO3}} The Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine itself provides no actual motive power outside slipspace, and ships equipped with such a device still require [[Maneuver drive|conventional engines]] for sublight travel.{{Ref/Reuse|CH1}}

Starships and their occupants are not directly exposed to the eleven-dimensional spacetime while moving through slipspace; instead, the ship is enveloped in a quantum field generated by the drive. The field acts as a medium between the ship and the higher dimensions, translating its presence as a normal-space object to the arcane physics of slipspace and enabling it to "squeeze through" the higher dimensions.{{Ref/Book|Id=quantumfield|Dr. Halsey's personal journal|Detail=December 25, 2534}} This field requires an enormous amount of constant calculations to maintain, with the number of needed calculations increasing with the size of the ship. For example, the slipspace translations for a {{class|Phoenix|colony ship}} require 4.3 quadrillion calculations of the quantum field per second.{{Ref/Comic|HWG}} The vessel's mass is a noted consideration in the generation of this "buffer" as well as the energy expenditure of the drive in general.{{Ref/Reuse|Catalog17}}

Before jumping into slipspace, human ships must first reach a [[Safe Slipspace Entry Point]], or SSEP, where it can be ensured they will not drag anything from normal space into the slipstream as the ship initiates the transition.{{Ref/Reuse|CH1}} In addition, star systems have specific slipstream space transfer points known as "[[interstellar jump point]]s", or IJPs, locations designated ideal for initiating a slipspace transition.{{Ref/Site|D=01|M=6|Y=2020|URL=http://halo.bungie.net/projects/reach/article.aspx?ucc=intel|Site=Bungie.net|Page=Halo: Reach Project Page}}

The Covenant have a very finely tuned version of slipspace technology, far superior to the human Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine. Instead of simply tearing a hole into slipspace, Covenant slipspace drives cut a very fine hole in the fabric of space-time and slips into slipspace with precision, much like a scalpel compared to a butcher knife. It exits with the same pinpoint accuracy, takes less time during travel, and is able to plot a course with error not exceeding an atom. This is why in battle Covenant ships are able to slip by human defenses by using slipspace.<ref name="fs86">''Halo: First Strike'', p. 86</ref> It has also been theorized by the UNSC that Covenant drives generate several 'microjumps' within a single slipspace transition to measure dilation, allowing them to reach their destinations faster.{{Ref/Novel|Id=tug|FS|Adjunct|Detail=[[Tug o' War]]}} Standard Covenant tactics include using short slipstream jumps to gain positional advantage and surprise other ships, in addition to avoiding incoming ordnance. The Covenant's superiority in drive technology, combined with differing weapon and shield technology, allows a small number of Covenant ships to effectively engage a much larger UNSC force. Missiles, especially, can be defeated by a brief slipstream jump, as they cannot track through slipstream space.

The Forerunners' advanced slipspace technology allowed them to perform smooth and ultraprecise transitions, enabling ships to reach their destinations with superior velocities, unerring accuracy and without the temporal anomalies commonly experienced by human ships.<ref name="ttw247">'''Halo: The Thursday War''', ''page 247''</ref> The restrictions on Forerunner slipspace travel had less to do with technology and more with the inherent nature of space-time which limited their slipspace travel by forcing them to take into account the effects of reconciliation and the overall space-time debt it accumulated.{{Ref/Reuse|s60}} Forerunner slipspace drives used a form of [[Slipspace flake|crystal]] to control and stabilize their slipspace passages; forgoing these crystals would force them into much more chaotic and unpredictable transitions.<ref>''Halo: Silentium'', p. 105</ref> The Slipspace flake utilised in Forerunner drives reduced travel times by considerable amount over the crude alternatives developed by both Humanity and the Covenant.{{Ref/Book|Id=WF11|HWF|Page=11}}

===Navigation and precision===
The plotting of slipspace jumps is known as [[astrogation]], and is typically performed by a [[navigation computer]] or an [[artificial intelligence|AI]],{{Ref/Novel|CH|Chapter=6}} although humans are capable of conducting at least some of the calculations involved.{{Ref/Anthology|Id=Cole|Evo|Story=The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole}} The trajectory of a slipspace jump is already determined by the time the ship enters slipspace; thus, pursuing ships are able to follow the ship which made the transition. This also enables the pursuers, provided they are equipped with superior drives, to overtake the ship they were following through "slipspace supersession"; this occurred when the Covenant [[Fleet of Particular Justice]] followed {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} to [[Installation 04]], allowing the Covenant ships to arrive long before the human vessel.{{Ref/Novel|TF|[[Adjunct]]|Detail=[[Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit]]}}

In addition to having to deal with temporal anomalies, UNSC ships are not able to jump with exact precision. A ship may transition back to normal space millions of kilometers from its intended destination.<ref>''Halo: The Fall of Reach'', p. 136</ref> As a result, UNSC ships often transition in and out of slipspace far from any [[Gravity well (physics)|gravity well]] of celestial bodies. In-system jumps are also generally considered impractical, even dangerous, by the UNSC due to this lack of precision.<ref>''Halo: The Fall of Reach'', p. 104</ref> A notable exception of this is during the [[Battle of Psi Serpentis]], when the [[UNSC Battle Group India|Battle Group India]], under command of [[Admiral]] [[Preston Jeremiah Cole|Preston Cole]], performed an in-system jump. Even though Cole had made thorough calculations for the jump a week in advance and [[Slipspace guidance beacon|guidance beacons]] were used as navigational assists, a part of the battle group scattered, reappearing outside the main group.{{Ref/Reuse|Cole}}

The [[Gravemind]] was able to use the {{UNSCShip|In Amber Clad}} to make a successful precision jump into ''[[High Charity]]''. This may be due to an improvement on the ship due to the recent capture of Covenant Slipspace technology, the Gravemind adjusting it or possibly using [[Installation 05]]'s [[teleportation grid]] or related systems to move the ship.{{Ref/Level|H2|H2:Gravemind|Gravemind}} Cortana was able to jump the Covenant flagship ''[[Ascendant Justice]]'' into slipspace inside the atmosphere of the gas giant [[Threshold]] following the [[Battle of Installation 04]], a feat previously thought impossible even by the Covenant.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', p. 80, 87</ref> Following the Human-Covenant War, a number of UNSC ships, such as the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}, have been fitted with Forerunner drive technology, granting them near-perfect jump accuracy in addition to far greater velocities.{{Ref/Reuse|ttw247}}

The Covenant employ a device known as a ''[[kelguid]]'' to plot slipspace, reverse-engineered from similar Forerunner equivalents. Covenant ''kelguid''{{'}}s visualise slipspace as appearing like a "dinner of spaghetti and meatballs that had entered zero-g and floated up off the plate". In this visualisation, the "spagehetti" represents the curvature of space-time and the "meatballs" represent gravity wells of various sizes. Where the "spaghetti" bends so tightly as to touch itself, this creates a connection point that can be employed as a [[transit node]] by a suitable vessel.{{Ref/Novel|Id=SS22|HSS|Chapter=22}}

As a testament to the Forerunner's understanding of slipspace, [[Installation 00]], located far distant from the galaxy itself, is able to locate vessels within the galaxy and spontaneously open precision slipspace portals between itself and locations in the galaxy. The {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} was drawn to Installation 00 in such a manner after drifting in space for 28 years without a slipspace drive.{{Ref/Level|HW2|HW2:The Signal|The Signal}}

===Gravitational effects===
Although they are not present as tangible objects within slipspace, the gravitational pull of large masses, such as stars, affects the geometric trajectory of objects traveling in slip