Editing Hyperspace (section)

== Concept ==
[[File:Wrinkled paper.jpg|alt=A crumpled piece of paper|thumb|A piece of paper crumpled into a ball, representing a two-dimensional object distorted in the third dimension, making points that are far apart on its surface come close to each other or even touch]]
The basic premise of hyperspace is that vast distances through space can be traversed quickly by taking a kind of shortcut. There are two common models used to explain this shortcut: folding and mapping. In the folding model, hyperspace is a place of higher dimension through which the shape of our [[three-dimensional space]] can be distorted to bring distant points close to each other; a common analogy popularized by [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s ''[[Starman Jones]]'' (1953) is that of crumpling two-dimensional paper or cloth in the third dimension, thus bringing points on its surface into contact. In the mapping model, hyperspace is a [[Parallel universes in fiction|parallel universe]] much smaller than ours (but not necessarily the same shape), which can be entered at a point corresponding to one location in ordinary space and exited at a different point corresponding to another location after travelling a much shorter distance than would be necessary in ordinary space. ''[[The Science in Science Fiction]]'' compares it to being able to step onto a [[world map]] at one's current location, walking across the map to a different continent, and then stepping off the map to find oneself at the new location—noting that the hyperspace "map" could have a significantly more complicated shape, as in [[Bob Shaw]]'s ''[[Night Walk (novel)|Night Walk]]'' (1967).<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Hyperspace|url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/hyperspace|access-date=5 November 2021|website=[[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]]}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Langford|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LRb8X7Ust_oC&q=hyperspace|title=The Science in Science Fiction|date=1983|publisher=Knopf|isbn=978-0-394-53010-9|editor-last=Nicholls|editor-first=Peter|language=en|chapter=Hyperspace|editor-last2=Langford|editor-first2=David|editor-last3=Stableford|editor-first3=Brian M.|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/scienceinscience00nich/page/72/mode/2up}}</ref>{{Rp|72–73}}<ref name=":8" />{{Rp|175}}<ref name="Westfahl2005" />{{rp|404}}

Hyperspace is generally seen as a fictional concept not compatible with present-day scientific theories, particularly the [[theory of relativity]]{{Efn|The theory of relativity prohibits the principle of [[Causality (physics)|causality]] being broken by the reversal of cause and effect, which the very concept of FTL travel breaks as the arrival of an object using FTL means of travel, such as hyperspace, might be witnessed by observers elsewhere in the Universe as preceding the take-off.<ref name=":1" />}}).<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" />{{Rp|72–73}} Some science fiction writers attempted quasi-scientific [[rubber science]] explanations of this concept. For others, however, it is just a convenient [[MacGuffin]] enabling faster-than-light travel necessary for their story without violating the prohibitions against FTL travel in ordinary space imposed by known laws of physics.<ref name="visual">{{Cite book|last=Ash|first=Brian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-SUYAAAAIAAJ&q=Visual+Encyclopedia+of+Science+Fiction|title=The Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction|date=1977|publisher=Harmony Books|isbn=978-0-517-53174-7|language=en|chapter=Spacecraft and Star Drives|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/visualencycloped00ashb/page/74/mode/2up}}</ref>{{Rp|74–76}}<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" />{{Rp|72–73}}<ref name="Westfahl2005" />{{rp|404}}<ref name=":6">{{Cite magazine|last=Harbottle|first=Philip|date=1963|title=Hyper-Space – the Immutable Concept?|url=https://fanac.org/fanzines/Vector/Vector21.pdf|journal=[[Vector (magazine)|Vector]]|volume=21|pages=13–17}}</ref>

=== Terminology ===
The means of accessing hyperspace is often called a "hyperdrive",<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=18 June 2014|title=5 Faster-Than-Light Travel Methods and Their Plausibility|url=https://www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/5-faster-than-light-travel-methods-and-their-plausibility/|access-date=3 September 2021|website=The Escapist|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction: hyperdrive|url=https://sfdictionary.com/view/58/hyperdrive|access-date=5 November 2021|website=sfdictionary.com}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last=Prucher |first=Jeff |title=[[Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction]] |date=2007-05-07 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-988552-7 |language=en |chapter=hyperspace |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lJCS0reqmFUC&pg=PA94}}</ref>{{Rp|94}} and navigating hyperspace is typically referred to as "jumping" (as in "the ship will now jump through hyperspace").<ref name=":6" /><ref name="visual" />{{Rp|75}}

A number of related terms (such as imaginary space, Jarnell intersplit, jumpspace, megaflow, N-Space, nulspace, slipstream, overspace, Q-space, subspace, and tau-space) have been used by various writers, although none have gained recognition to rival that of hyperspace.<ref name=":6" /><ref name="Stableford20063" />{{Rp|238–239}}<ref name="visual" />{{Rp|75}}<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Westfahl2005" />{{rp|404}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction: jumpspace|url=https://sfdictionary.com/view/1018/jumpspace|access-date=2022-01-04|website=sfdictionary.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Johnson-Smith|first=Jan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VgNQEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA156|title=American Science Fiction TV: Star Trek, Stargate and Beyond|date=2004-09-24|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-0-85771-035-2|language=en}}</ref>{{rp|156}} Some works use multiple synonyms; for example, in the ''[[Star Trek]]'' franchise, the term hyperspace itself is only used briefly in a single 1988 episode ("[[Coming of Age (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Coming of Age]]") of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'',<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Okuda|first1=Michael|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E6bqzQEACAAJ&q=Star+Trek+Encyclopedia|title=The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future|last2=Okuda|first2=Denise|last3=Mirek|first3=Debbie|date=1994|publisher=Pocket Books|isbn=978-0-671-88684-4|language=en}}</ref>{{rp|353}} while a related set of terms – such as subspace, transwarp, and proto-warp – are employed much more often, and most of the travel takes place through the use of a [[warp drive]].<ref name="Stableford20063" />{{Rp|pages=238–239}}<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Orquiola|first=John|date=2021-11-23|title=Star Trek Introduces Picard & Discovery Warp Drive Plot Hole|url=https://screenrant.com/star-trek-protostar-warp-drive-starfleet-picard-discovery/|access-date=2022-01-24|website=ScreenRant|language=en-US}}</ref> Hyperspace travel has also been discussed in the context of [[wormhole]]s and [[teleportation]], which some writers consider to be similar whereas others view them as separate concepts.<ref name=":11" />{{Rp|85|page=}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cavendish|first=J. M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zcsaAAAAMAAJ&q=hyperspace+teleportation|title=A Handbook of Copyright in British Publishing Practice|date=1984|publisher=Cassell|isbn=978-0-304-31067-8|language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=2}}<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Dakan|first1=Rick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F89cEAAAQBAJ&dq=hyperspace+teleportation&pg=PT163|title=Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies|last2=Cleave|first2=Ryan G. Van|date=2022-02-03|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-119-83910-1|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=James|first=Edward|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LahKXPsiyBYC&dq=hyperspace+teleportation+manticorian&pg=PA266|title=Voyages and Visions: Towards a Cultural History of Travel|first4=Joan Pau|date=1999|publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=978-1-86189-020-7|editor-last=Elsner|editor-first=Jaś|language=en|chapter=Per ardua ad astra: Authorial Choice and the Narrative of Interstellar Travel|editor-last2=Rubiés|editor-first2=John}}</ref>{{Rp|265–266}}