Waypoint

This is something I previously shared in the semi-private regulars chat on the intfiction.org Forum. It was a summary of a more static fiction treatment, but I believe it could work well as IF as well. I’m going to start with the world building, because that’s what makes my brain go brrrrrrr….

Here’s an idea using time travel as a means of FTL as the setting for a space opera. It is based on four premises. One, that an absolute frame of reference does exist (it probably doesn't, but fiction) meaning that matter and space constantly drift past various fixed universal reference points over time. Two, time travel is possible, but only in arbitrary time intervals. For example, you may be able to travel in time from your current place in time, but the nearest intervals might be 132,598,032.72 years ago and 1,243,105,220.12 years in the future. The intervals stay static as time moves forward in your current place in time, which means time in all three instances moves forward at an equal pace. Three, only one fixed reference point has been found thus far that allows for travel in this fashion. And four, this avoids violating causality by these waypoints being over the cosmic horizon. Evidence of gravitational perturbations and other physical changes propagates out at the speed of light; if the expansion of the universe between any two given waypoints is faster than the speed of light, nothing said or done at these points can affect each other or be observed through normal space.

In short, in the example I gave, you're in the same fixed absolute location at all three times, but the universe has moved around past that absolute reference point, from a human observer's point of view, effectively creating a portal to three distinct "places" so distantly separated in normal time and space that no meaningful causal link exists between them other than the portals themselves. Humans have discovered this, and have colonized space this way, effectively living a single shared "time" across these various waypoints in time and space. The vast majority of these arbitrary intervals drop the visitor off in deep empty intergalactic space, making them (currently) worthless, so development focused on a few dozen locations that fortuitously landed near usable real-estate.

Complicating matters, interstellar travel and normal travel at any reasonable fraction of the speed of light was never achieved, so spreading any decent distance from any of these waypoints is practically impossible. Further complicating matters, all of the portals are effectively the same single portal, which stays fixed in that location in relation to that absolute reference frame, which means, as everything in the universe continually drifts, and each waypoint stays that same arbitrary distance in time from each other, the portals themselves slowly drift away from colonies formed when they were first discovered, eventually getting so far as to cut off physical travel to and from the portal, leaving only wireless communications, effectively orphaning these various colonies throughout time and space.

In fact, the original portal was opened in a space station at Earth-Sun Lagrange point L1. The portal and its surrounding space station immediately started being slowly drug from its orbit and further and further from Earth. Many colony and exploration ships had been sent early on, but Earth has been radio-contact only for centuries, with the light lag between Earth and the portal approaching 18 month each way.

This also means that previously worthless waypoints may start drifting close enough to valuable real-estate to be suddenly worth exploiting. This drives constant exploration of new waypoints and reevaluation of previously discounted waypoints. This also causes waypoints to lose value as each waypoint will eventually drift far out of reach of whatever nearby real-estate was originally colonized.

The FTL restrictions in normal space prevent the fictional world from becoming both impossibly big and simultaneously really small, like hyperspace linked Star Wars making everything far too connected and coincidental, or the new planet of the week Star Trek making the expanse otherwise meaningless. While the drifting nature adds a steady occasional drip of new worlds to explore, it also slowly isolates and closes the chapter for existing worlds, in that they can affect other worlds in only an indirect way. This keeps your fictional world churning over like tectonic plates, new fresh stuff bubbling up along the rifts, old stale stuff being subducted which hems in the scope creep.

To be told well in IF, several perspectives would have to be explored, potentially requiring multiple games. Important perspectives would be the people left and forgotten on Earth, receiving years-old news of the rest of the network, unable to impact anything and an entire society feeling abandoned and impotent. Some want to focus on exploiting and growing in the solar system and intentionally turn their back on news from the waypoint as being irrelevant to Earth and her remaining children. Others hang onto each word, wishing nothing more than to be a part of such an exploration. Some are still chipping away at trying to open a new fixed point, despite failing at every turn. Many want to reestablish physical contact with the waypoint through various means, perhaps through transmission of consciousness into newly grown bodies at the station L1, despite being unable to interest any of the people living at station L1 in cooperating with such things. Some keep working on cracking normal space FTL, despite most scientists believing the causality barrier represents a firm natural blockade to such efforts. Some explore cryogenic freezing and speculate with investors about being able to send wealthy clients out to meet L1 the long way.

Another fun perspective would be the people living on station L1 when it drifted out of contact with Earth and their descendants. Being so deep into interstellar space, they must depend on the waypoint itself to supply the energy and resources they need to survive and grow. A rat’s nest of additions and capsules and living space has slowly grown around the original station, and a separate and distinct anarchic societal order and economy have developed as they remain firmly outside the practical and moral authority of Earth. (Spiritually based on the Kowloon Walled City: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City ) The closer to the center of the station and regular contact with other established colonies, and other stations wrapped around other waypoints, the more orderly and maintained things are. Things get more fuzzy the further away from the center one goes.

I'm sure you can take it from there.