After thorough research, Delico discovered that he was not the first to conceive of the Warp Jump Drive.
Back around the year 2040 CE, a project known as the Faster-than-Light Engine had produced a ship called the Horizon.
Its principle was simple yet daring: carve a hole through realspace, enter a hidden corridor, bypass vast distances, and re-emerge at another corner of the galaxy.
Through extensive calculations, Delico confirmed that this "corridor" was, in fact, the Warp.
Curious, he investigated the progress of that ancient experiment. What he found was discouraging: the project had been deemed highly dangerous, officially abandoned, and permanently banned.
Even with his level of clearance, he could uncover nothing more.
He frowned but did not despair.
Such bureaucratic obstacles were not enough to dissuade him. After all, more than sixteen thousand years had passed since then, thousands of leaders had come and gone, and old prohibitions had little weight now.
Besides, current technology far surpassed what those early pioneers had possessed.
And unlike ordinary scientists, Delico was a psyker — uniquely suited to explore this domain.
His confidence remained unshaken.
Thus, preparations for his project began in earnest.
When he officially submitted his proposal for registration, an unexpected figure soon appeared before him:
His teacher — Ra.
Delico, puzzled, greeted him respectfully.
"Teacher, why have you come?"
From the first time they met, Delico had sensed through his psychic awareness that Ra's power dwarfed his own — as if he were but an infant standing before a giant. That awe had led him to obediently study under Ra's guidance, learning the precautions of a psyker.
But it had been seven or eight years since their last meeting.
Ra did not answer his question at first. His expression was stern.
"The Warp Jump Drive is extremely dangerous," he said. "I do not wish for you to pursue it. Such technology could bring disaster."
Delico was stunned that Ra already knew of the project — and even sought to intervene. But after the initial shock, he answered firmly:
"Teacher, humanity is at a standstill. Our territory may continue to expand, but the Federation's control over distant colonies is weakening — in some cases, nonexistent."
"If this continues, it is inevitable that humanity will fracture. The Seventh Civil War will come.
But the Warp Jump Drive can bridge those immense distances. It is the key to preventing collapse!"
Ra fell silent.
He knew Delico spoke the truth.
The farther colonies already ignored the Federation's commands, forming alliances and raising private armies. The Federation's authority was crumbling. Division was inevitable.
Yet still, Ra could not ignore the dangers of the Warp.
He remembered all too well the Horizon. That single experiment had drawn a creature from the Warp. Only because its power was greatly suppressed in realspace had it been defeated — otherwise, even Ra himself might not have prevailed.
Internal strife would cost humanity dearly.
But a misstep with Warp travel could annihilate the species in a single day.
That was why he had opposed the project and forced it into prohibition long ago.
But as Ra prepared to argue further, he felt something — a stirring deep in his psychic intuition.
A premonition.
At this particular moment, perhaps experimentation was possible.
Because of Orsaga's influence, the Warp around the Solar system was unusually stable — more so than ever before. Conditions were uniquely favorable.
It was not reasoned logic, but a raw, prophetic sense — a gift that had begun to emerge as Ra's power grew, though it was still unstable.
His expression tightened. He considered carefully.
Humanity's situation was already perilous. The roads ahead were not "good" and "bad," but merely bad and worse.
After long thought, Ra finally spoke:
"I will allow you to proceed. The Federation will even supply resources. But I will monitor your progress in real time. If anything goes wrong, everything must be destroyed immediately."
Delico's heart quickened. He now realized his teacher's influence was far greater than he had ever imagined.
Earth Time, Year 18,287 CE.
Delico solved the first major obstacle: creating instruments that could detect and harness psychic energy.
This established the foundation for the Warp Jump Drive project.
For the first time, humanity confirmed through scientific means the existence of psychic power and the Warp.
The term psyker entered common knowledge, designating a new and extraordinary category of humans.
Earth Time, Year 18,311 CE.
After decades of work, as the project slowed and human society grew increasingly unstable, Ra personally joined Delico in the research.
Together, their efforts bore fruit.
On July 6, 18,315 CE, the first relatively stable prototype was completed.
They named it the Warp Jump Engine.
It could transfer an object from realspace into the Warp, then guide it back out into another location.
By exploiting the Warp's chaotic time-space properties, it could allow a vessel to traverse immense distances in a fraction of the usual time.
Yet even with the device completed, many difficulties remained.
Foremost: how could they ensure that the journey truly meant crossing vast distances in little time — and not, conversely, spending vast amounts of time to travel a trivial distance?
A ship that sought to cross a mere two or three light-years could, in the Warp's chaos, end up wandering for centuries. A vessel entering in the year 2020 might not emerge until the year 20,200.
This was the fundamental danger of the Warp: a blessing and a curse, both opportunity and peril.
For Delico and Ra, it was a source of endless headaches.
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T/N:
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