Slipstream space: Difference between revisions

[[File:Seperatist_fleet_ark.jpg|250px|thumb|The [[Covenant separatists]]' [[Fleet of Retribution]] coming out of slipspace over the [[Installation 00]].]]

Slipstream space is a specific set of eleven dimensions existing in a very small bundle.<ref name="eleven"/><ref name="journal">'''Halo: Reach''', ''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]''</ref> While these dimensions are present in normal space, they do not have an effect on the physics of normal space. By moving matter from the three 'normal' space dimensions 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.

 

To the [[human]] eye, slipspace appears pitch black, because there is nothing in the visible spectrum to see.<ref name="for15"/><ref name="GoODark">'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 288''</ref><ref group="note">''[[Halo Wars: Genesis]]'' depicts slipspace as resembling purplish nebulae; however, this can be considered an oversight, or an artistic liberty for the sake of presentation.</ref>

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, to create bubbles of slipstream space, slowing time considerably inside (if not stopping time altogether) while keeping the contents of the bubble visible in normal space, to store considerable masses and volumes in slipstream space stably for thousands of years and potentially for all of time, and to transition matter from normal space to the inside of a construct in slipstream space without requiring the construct to transition back to normal space. The same technology was utilized in [[slipspace field pod]]s that were essentially a Forerunner equivalent of [[cryo-chamber]]s, effectively preserving a living organism inside a slipspace field. In addition, the Forerunners had the ability to construct weapon systems that could fire into slipspace and affect targets in normal space or within slipspace. This is demonstrated by the galaxy-wide effects of the [[Halo Array]], as well as in smaller scale by [[Line Installation 1-4]].<ref name="blood">'''[[Halo: Blood Line]]''' - ''[[Halo: Blood Line Issue 1|Issue 1]]''</ref> They were apparently also able to send several objects into slipspace and have them exit in different locations.<ref>'''[[Halo Legends]]''': ''[[Origins]]''</ref>

Slipspace is a tangle of intertwined spacial dimensions, comparably similar to a wadded up piece of paper, which lie underneath the three conventional spatial dimensions of the universe. Because of this tangle of intertwined dimensions, objects in slipspace often group together in mass transit.

Slipspace can be thought of as the detectable universe, (which, technically, it is), but with a greater number of dimensions. 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.<ref name="eleven"/> By [[2552]], slipspace is theorized as a "tangle" of our plane's dimensions, 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. The slipstream also possesses different laws of physics than our "normal" universe, although some basic ones, such as energy transfer and momentum, remain the same.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 55''</ref>

The relativistic side-effects of slipspace travel are eliminated by a process known as causal reconciliation.<ref name="cryp322">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 322''</ref> This effect is briefly experienced once the 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 name="cryp322"/> With significantly long jumps, the effects of reconciliation are clearly noticeable for several seconds upon returning to normal space,<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''pages 100, 135, 266''</ref> while with shorter jumps like those typically performed by human ships, the effects are negligible. If the slipstream is strained by the passage of massive amounts of mass, the effects are far more severe, and may involve sensations of detachment from reality and time, massive amounts of electrical charge, even lack of solidity.<ref name="cryp322"/>

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 name="timeline">'''Halo.Xbox.com''' - ''Halo Timeline''</ref>

In addition, there is a "bandwidth" for the amount of things going through slipstream space at once. This effect is noticeable if immense amounts of mass are transported over large distances frequently, making slipspace travel throughout the galaxy move more slowly and journeys require more individual jumps to complete.<ref name="cryp266">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 266''</ref> This was seen when [[Master Builder]] [[Faber]] used slipspace portals to transport the Halo Array.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 223''</ref> If slipspace takes too much abuse through transit of massive amounts of mass, any ship occupants passing through it may become dangerously exposed to the foreign physics of the slipstream, also resulting in causal reconciliation effects far more severe than normal. It may take years for slipspace to return back to normal from this state.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 341''</ref>

Slipspace travel is dangerous due to the high level of [[radiation]] encountered during the trip, which can be extremely hazardous to the crew. This is negated by the use of [[lead foil]] in UNSC ships, which absorbs the radiation. Fissile materials also emit radiation, specifically [[Čerenkov radiation]], emitted when particles travel through a medium at a faster rate than light travels in that same medium upon exiting Slipspace; this is not harmful to humans, however it does make emerging from Slipspace very noticeable. It is not known how the Covenant deal with radiation, but it is presumed that either they also utilize a shielding material, or with their improved slipspace technology and [[energy shielding]], it does not affect them at all.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 13''</ref> In addition, slipspace travel generates a great deal of static electricity on the ship's hull. To discharge the static energy, [[human]]s have developed a piezoelectric material known as [[polymerized lithium niobocene]].<ref>'''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]''', ''July 30, 2511''</ref> In addition, starships are not normally directly exposed to the eleven-dimensional space-time while in slipspace, but are instead enveloped in a quantum field.<ref>'''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]''', ''December 25, 2534''</ref>

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 "magic" of the drive lies in how it manipulates these holes in space-time, squeezing vessels weighing thousands of tons into slipspace.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 53''</ref> It must be noted that the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine itself provides no motive power, and ships equipped with such a device still require conventional engines in order to move.

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>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 86''</ref> 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 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.

When human ships jump into slipspace, they need to reach a [[Safe Slipspace Entry Point]], or SSEP, where it can be ensured they won't drag anything from normal space into the slipstream as the ship initiates the transition.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 34''</ref> 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>[http://www.bungie.net/projects/reach/article.aspx?ucc=intel '''Bungie.net''' - ''Halo: Reach Project Page'']</ref>

In addition to 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''', ''page 136''</ref> As a result, UNSC ships often transition in and out of slipspace outside star systems, far from any gravity wells of celestial bodies. In-system jumps are also not generally attempted by the UNSC due to the dangers present.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 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>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole'', page 477</ref> In addition, the {{UNSCShip|In Amber Clad}} was able 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 simply luck.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Gravemind (level)|Gravemind]]''</ref> Finally, Cortana was able to perform a slipspace jump inside the atmosphere of the gas giant Threshold directly after the battle of [[Installation 04]]. <ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 80, 87''</ref>

Gravitational fields of significant size, such as those generated by a planet, affect the superfine quantum filaments that a slipspace drive must use to calculate an entry point to the slipstream, and UNSC calculations are unable to offset this effect.<ref name="numbers">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 85''</ref> Covenant drives, in turn derived from Forerunner technology, have a much higher resolution of the filaments, and use more accurate calculations, and though the Covenant do not use this ability, are capable of making slipstream transition in and out of a planet's [[gravity well]]. Indeed, while using the captured ''[[Ascendant Justice]]'' to make a slipspace jump within [[Threshold]]'s atmosphere, [[Cortana]] remarked that ''"It was as if she was blind before."''<ref name="numbers"/> After observing this innovation, a Covenant AI managed to leak the data out to the rest of the Covenant in a transmission. During the [[Battle of Mombasa]], the [[Prophet of Regret]] used this newfound knowledge to transition into slipspace while directly over [[New Mombasa]] in Earth's gravity well, damaging the city and causing the weakening and eventual collapse of the [[New Mombasa Orbital Elevator|orbital elevator]] there.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Metropolis]]''</ref> These events show that, while the Covenant often cannot innovate their own solutions, they are quick to adopt any practice that increases their combat prowess.

However fast it may appear, human faster-than-light travel is by no means instantaneous; "short" jumps routinely take up to two months, and "long" jumps can last six months or more for the crew. UNSC ships are known to be able to travel at a speed of 2.625 light years per day,<ref group="note">Velocity=Distance/time (V=[[Reach|10.5 light years]]/4 days=2.625 l/d)</ref> while Covenant ships can reach 912 light years per day.<ref group="note">Velocity=Distance/time (V=[[Zeta Doradus|38 light years]]/1 hour=38 l/h or 912 l/d)</ref> The capture of a Covenant slipspace drive by [[John-117]] and survivors of the [[Fall of Reach]] and the events at [[Installation 04|Halo]] may have increased the capabilities of these human slipspace technologies.

One example of the differences between speeds is comparing the Covenant cruiser ''"[[Ascendant Justice]]"'' with the UNSC [[Halcyon-class cruiser]] {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}}. It took several weeks for the ''Pillar of Autumn'' to get from [[Reach]] to [[Installation 04]], yet the ''Ascendant Justice'' could get from Installation 04 to Reach within thirteen hours.

Though the Covenant use a modified version of Forerunner systems, true unaltered [[Forerunner]] slipspace technology has only been observed in the form of [[The Artifact|the portal]] transporting UNSC and Covenant vessels from [[Earth]] to [[The Ark]], transporting them thousands of light years almost instantaneously. Additionally, while a Covenant assault carrier could reach Delta Halo from Earth in thirteen days, the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]] took only five days to travel the same distance. Given the fact that Covenant understanding of Forerunner technology is comparatively primitive, the ship may have been capable of much higher velocities.

[[File:Slipspace.JPG|thumb|200px|[[Regret's assault carrier]] entering Slipspace over [[New Mombasa]].]]