History Main / HyperspaceLanes

* While it would not be faster than light, one proposed method of interplanetary of interstellar travel would be similar, [[http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/infrastructure.php#id--Solar_Power_Stations--Beamed_Power using lasers at both the launch point and destination to speed up and slow down respectively]].

* Game Designers' Workshop's board game ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperium_(board_game) Imperium.]]'' In order to travel at FTL speeds, starships had to use hyperspace jump routes between stars.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'':

* ''[[TabletopGame/TwentyThreeHundredAD 2300 AD]]'' had FTL limited to a maximum distance of 7.8 light years and trips had to end near a stellar-mass object. Combine that with the real map of the stars around our solar system and you get choke points, dead end routes, and stars (or even connected networks of them) that are just beyond the distance limit and so are completely unknown except by sending slower than light space probes. When there is a gap between star systems, ships will sometimes either carry extra fuel, or visit a SpaceStation maintained for the purpose, if the motive is strong enough.

* In the boardgame ''Merchant of Venus'' by Creator/AvalonHill, travel goes along hyperspace lanes (unless one manages to find usable jumpgates). Finding routes (successions of systems) that allow for especially lucrative voyages is a main key to success.
* The ''{{TabletopGame/Starfire}}'' series of games uses "warp points", similar in basic concept to Alderson Points, but without the need for a specialised drive to use them. Just go to the point and the ship disappears and reappears at the other end in a different solar system. Some systems have many such points, making them places which see a lot of use, and are highly desirable strategically. Warp points are rated according to how big a ship they can admit without it being torn apart by gravitational stress, and also whether they can be detected easily. "Open" warp points can be detected from some distance away, but a "closed" warp point cannot be found until a ship blunders into it. The openness of a point is not connected to that of the corresponding point at the end of the transit, making closed points very dangerous to those on the wrong end.

* Some interpretations of the theoretical Alcubierre drive limit its possible range through particles that accumulate on the warp bubble and may result in catastrophic releases of energy. This may lead to an Alcubierre drive having a practical range of, say, 10 LY. Since it cannot stop in the middle of nowhere and has to be "popped" from outside at the target star system, this will result in FTL travel taking form of series of warp jumps through close-by stars. If there's less than 10 LY to the next star along the lane, the way is clear; if it's more, you've reached a dead end.

* The ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise:

** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' had a solar system which was well-travelled by most warp-capable species. So much so, in fact, that they were actually damaging the boundary between realspace and subspace. A scientist trying to prove this, tired of being constantly ignored, decided to make her point clear by intentionally poking a hole between the two. She killed herself and risked many lives in her reckless action, but she proved her theory. (Actually, it's not that you have to take a certain path with warp drive; apparently, that system just happens to be in a heavily traveled area.)

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* In Creator/JohnScalzi's ''Literature/TheInterdependency'' series, the only way to travel FTL is through the Flow, a hyperspace-like dimension that can be accessed through weak spots called Shoals that lead to a specific exit Shoal in another system. The reason the Hub system is the political and economic center of the titular empire is because it has Flow links to most populated systems, thus being a natural center for trade. As a side note, Earth had been cut off from the explored Flow network centuries prior. [[spoiler:The Shoals in most inhabited systems are destabilizing and will render all of the colonies unable to contact one another. As all colonies are deliberately made to depend on one another, this will mean the end to most colonies. End is the only human settlement in the entire Interdependency on a habitable planet and, thus, is the only habitat that is likely to survive]].

* Some intepretations of the theoretical Alcubierre drive limit its possible range through particles that accumulate on the warp bubble and may result in catastrophic releases of energy. This may lead to an Alcubierre drive having a practical range of, say, 10 LY. Since it cannot stop in the middle of nowhere and has to be "popped" from outside at the target star system, this will result in FTL travel taking form of series of warp jumps through close-by stars. If there's less than 10 LY to the next star along the lane, the way is clear; if it's more, you've reached a dead end.

* The ''TabletopGame/Starfire'' series of games uses "warp points", similar in basic concept to Alderson Points, but without the need for a specialised drive to use them. Just go to the point and your ship disappears and reappears at the other end in a different solar system. Some systems have many such points, making them places which see a lot of use, and also highly desirable strategically.

** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' also contributed a network of underspace corridors maintained by the Vaadwaur. Naturally, it turns out they're bad guys.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Freelancer}}'', there are Trade Lanes within the systems. You can enter a Lane at any one of the Trade Lane Rings that are spaced along it, and you can cross an entire system in seconds this way.

** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' also contributed a network of underspace corridors maintained by the Vaadwar.
** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' had a solar system which was well-travelled by most warp-capable species. So much so, in fact, that they were actually damaging the boundary between realspace and subspace. A scientist trying to prove this, tired of being constantly ignored, decided to make her point clear by intentionally poking a hole between the two. She killed herself and risked many lives in her reckless action, but she proved her theory.

* In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' the map to [[spoiler: Luke Skywalker]] that everyone is looking for has one of these, though the idea is never mentioned in the film directly.

* Some intepretations of the theoretical Alcubierre drive limit its possible range through particles that accumulate on the warp bubble and may result in catastrophic releases of energy. This may lead to an Alcubierre drive having a practical range of, say, 10 LY. Since it cannot stop in the middle of nowhere and has to be "popped" from outside at the target star system, this will result in FTL travel taking form of series of warp jumps through close-by stars. If there's less than 10 LY to the next star along the lane, the way is clear; if it's more, you[ve reached a dead end.

* ''Franchise/TheHitchHikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', which began on radio with exactly this premise: the ostensible reson for obliterating ther planet Earth is to clear an obstacle from a proposed intergalactic hyperspatial bypass to be built, for your comfort and convenience, through your star-system. Regrettably your planet is one of those scheduled for demolition. [[note]] OK, so this could also be Literature, Live-Action TV, Computer Game, Comic-Book and then Film. But it began on radio...)

* ''Webcomic/{{Outsider}}'' [[AllThereInTheManual goes into great detail]] [[http://www.well-of-souls.com/outsider/forum_ftl_tech.html on why FTL travel is limited to jumps between nearby star systems]].

** It's mentioned that planetary gravity prevents entering/exiting the Warp, so ships need to emerge at the edges of the system and coast towards the planet. How often this actually applies, and the distances ([[TravelingAtTheSpeedOfPlot and time]]) involved DependsOnTheWriter.