native Fëanorian Amentans
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"Truer of you than anyone."

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Three weeks after that he invites Isel and Inlad and significant others to a family dinner, which is really really something, as he does not acknowledge them as family either biologically or through Aitim's marriage.

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...well. Isel's boyfriend and Shasali are both happy enough to go.

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He waits until everyone is gathered around the table to arrive at all. He sits down.

 

"I have FTL."

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" - as in -"

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"Until now we have been impeded in space colonization by the inability to accelerate anything to faster than the speed of light -"

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" - Father you know that's not what she meant -"

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"I have been continually surprised by how dumb blues are -"

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"Really -"

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" - okay, okay. As in I think I can send a spaceship to any of the nearest stars in under a month - if Aitim gives me several billion ni-"

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"You have it - why is this a family dinner -"

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"It seems like maybe countries should have to responsibly handle their reds before they get starships!"

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Shasali laughs and laughs.

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"Aaaaaah do you think there'll be habitable planets soon enough to get rid of child credits soon -"

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"Yes, there are a dozen candidates with a commute time under a month and two thousand with a commute time under a year and honestly we could send out colonists now and tell them to have as many children as they please but there'll probably always be need to keep it down here at home -"

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"- less need, though, it'll be much much cheaper -"

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" - it's an old idea, actually - it follows from general relativity that a spacecraft could achieve apparent faster-than-light travel if an appropriately configurable energy-density field lower than that of vacuum could be created -" and he's off on an explanation that only two people at the table can follow - "colloquially warp drive, that's catchy enough I expect it to stick -"

 

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"Warp drive!" crows Isama delightedly. "I'll get going faster on the prefab houses!"

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"I bet prices drop as soon as the news breaks, people'll want to wait and go to space and reseason there and have kids in season in space for free -"

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"Probably - so then it's just how to break it - do you think it can be reverse-engineered -"

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" - probably in a couple years, yes, once they know for sure it works and can put everyone on it, and by looking at the materials we're sourcing - you need dilithium and whatever that protocol out of Tapa for antimatter requires -"

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