rcb said:u know, if we even discovered hyperspace and used it, according to einstein, when u reached the nearest star, u could age maybe five minutes depending on how fast ur going. however, everyone on earth would age hundreds of years when u only age five minutes. i don't get the logic behind that, but its interesting to think about.
Yeah, but that's using physics as we understand them, which needs to be completely tossed out the windee if things like Hyperspace, Warp, Jump points, or Stargates get into the mix.
The only space-opera I know that really dealt with the time compression of near-light speed travel was Scott Westerfeld's, "The Risen Empire." All and all, that was the most 'hard science fiction' space opera style story I've ever read.