Bruce:
>Here's a possible technology path (Remember the time scale of the various
>IMPERIUMs I thru III and the slow tech advancement relative to Earth in
>the 1800s thru to the 2300s):
>TECH 8-9: StutterWarp is discovered.
>TECH 9-10: JUMP Drive discovered as safe alternative to StutterWarp.
> StutterWarp still outperforms JUMP Drive.
>TECH 11: StutterWarp plateaus in usefulness.
> More and more travellers opting for safer JUMP Drive travel.
> StutterWarp and JUMP Drive not compatible on same ship. Causes
> rapid buildup of StutterWarp radiation while in JUMP space [or
> something equally nasty].
>TECH 13-14: JUMP Drive is new alternative and safe mode of travel.
> JUMP Drive "MIS-JUMPS" are identified as a potential problem.
> StutterWarp drive ships lose competitive edge and are phased out.
>TECH 15-16: JUMP Drive has plateaued out but still the safest travel mode.
> "MIS-JUMPS" investigated and StarGate/Warp technology found.
> StarGates constructed but still need JUMP Drive to get to the
> two end points to build the gate in the first place.
>TECH 17: One way StarGates constructed, thus reducing need for JUMP Drive
> equiped vessels for exploration.
>TECH 18-19: Mobile StarGates established allowing ships to generate own
> temporary StarGate field.
>That could be the way the TRAVELLER - IMPERIUM star drive technology works
>while other source books could have a slightly different technology
>dependency.
The only problem with this techline is that the stutterwarp is a better
drive than the Jump-drive. The Kennedy from 2300AD is about as fast as
a J-6 ship, even when including time required to discharge the drive.
Typical warship speeds are J-4 or better in equivalent speed.
And using stutterwarps with Traveller era fusion plants could easily
produce warships that approach J-8. Or more for large ships.
{NOTE: Theoretical limit of pseudovelocity for a stutterwarp ship is about
J-9 equivalent} Plus the advantage of being able to get somewhere in less
than 7 days. Plus the advantage of NOT having to get somewhere in seven
days (or at ANY set time).
And a 6G warship is essentially stationary compared to even the slowest
stutterwarp ship in tactical combat. So if the stutterwarp and Jump
drives were incompatible on the same ship (which makes almost no sense -
sort of like saying a diesel and a gas turbine cannot be run on the same
ship), then offensive operations across interstellar distances would be
impossible - the defending ships would all have stutterwarps, the offending
ships would have 6Gs, and would be annihilated by the stutterwarp defenders.
So no Imperium. Ever. Note also that stutterwarp is better than J-1 or J-2
even in terms of distances travellable. 7.7 light years is more than 2
parsecs after all. So why didn't the First Imperium use them? And if it
did, and there were fundamental incompatibilities between Jump and stutter-
warp, how did the development of J-3 by the Terrans accomplish anything?
---Steve Higginbotham
***The Vilani Imperial Navy - Ten thousand years of tradition,
unspoiled by progress***