Faster than light travel is used by some science fiction franchises as just a way to get from point A to point B, but it’s much more than that in Star Trek.
Faster than light travel is a common device seen in science fiction, whether it’s Doctor Who, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, or Star Trek they all feature some form of faster than light travel. In most of these properties faster than light travel is just a means of transportation, it’s how you get from point A to point B. In Star Trek however it’s much more than that.
In Star Trek faster than light travel is the thing that unites humanity. Warp travel changes our world, unites us as a species, and sets humans on a course for exploration and growth through science. In Star Wars faster than light travel is just how you get from one place to the other, it doesn’t mean much more than that.
Check out what Trekspertise has to say about FTL.
Our world is changing, and it’s changing fast. Perhaps FTL drive wouldn’t change things for our planet, but that seems unlikely. What we have to hope as we advance is that technologies we discover changes us for the better, not the worse.
That’s what’s really great about Star Trek, it shows a humanity that could be. If we embrace science and try to become the best versions of ourselves we could one day have a Star Trek style future.
No matter what though our Star Trek future and FTL travel are probably a long way off. Maybe we will master it by First Contact Day though… April 5th 2063 is just around the corner!
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