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Chapters (67)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. PART ONE
  5. CHAPTER I
  6. CHAPTER II
  7. CHAPTER III
  8. CHAPTER IV
  9. CHAPTER V
  10. CHAPTER VI
  11. CHAPTER VII
  12. CHAPTER VIII
  13. CHAPTER IX
  14. EXEUNT I
  15. PART TWO
  16. CHAPTER I
  17. CHAPTER II
  18. CHAPTER III
  19. CHAPTER IV
  20. CHAPTER V
  21. CHAPTER VI
  22. CHAPTER VII
  23. CHAPTER VIII
  24. CHAPTER IX
  25. CHAPTER X
  26. CHAPTER XI
  27. CHAPTER XII
  28. EXEUNT II
  29. PART THREE
  30. CHAPTER I
  31. CHAPTER II
  32. CHAPTER III
  33. CHAPTER IV
  34. CHAPTER V
  35. CHAPTER VI
  36. CHAPTER VII
  37. CHAPTER VIII
  38. EXEUNT III
  39. PART FOUR
  40. CHAPTER I
  41. CHAPTER II
  42. CHAPTER III
  43. CHAPTER IV
  44. EXEUNT IV
  45. PART FIVE
  46. CHAPTER I
  47. CHAPTER II
  48. CHAPTER III
  49. CHAPTER IV
  50. CHAPTER V
  51. CHAPTER VI
  52. EXEUNT V
  53. PART SIX
  54. CHAPTER I
  55. CHAPTER II
  56. CHAPTER III
  57. EXEUNT VI
  58. ADDENDUM
  59. APPENDIX I
  60. APPENDIX II
  61. APPENDIX III
  62. APPENDIX IV
  63. AFTERWORD & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  64. Also by Christopher Paolini
  65. A Conversation between Brandon Sanderson and Christopher Paolini
  66. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  67. Newsletter Sign-up

Two: just as TEQs form the basis for every subluminal particle, they also form the basis for every superluminal particle. As their name implies, TEQs are capable of existing in all three realms at once, and they are capable of moving as slow as the slowest STL particle and as fast as the fastest FTL particle—which is very fast indeed, limited only by the lower boundary of energy needed to maintain particle coherence, and even then, TEQs can move faster still given their Planck energy of 1.

Thus, with the discovery of TEQs, we have an object that is capable of conveying information far faster than the speed of light. Normally this only occurs in the superluminal realm, but any TEQ is capable of such speeds, and they often transfer from sub- to superluminal velocities as their position within the spacetime membrane changes. These changes are responsible for much of the quantum weirdness seen at small scales.

The light cone, as it were, of an observer using TEQs for informational gathering would be far, far wider than if they were only using photons (wider, but not complete; TEQs have a finite velocity). The wider light cone—or TEQ cone—expands the total set of events that can be regarded as simultaneous. Although non-simultaneity and relativity are maintained throughout all three luminal realms (when considered as a whole), the immense velocity of TEQs reduces the events that can be considered non-simultaneous to a far smaller number, and those that are lie outside the fastest speed of an FTL particle. And while, in theory, the universe remains fundamentally relative, in practice, the vast majority of events may be regarded as ordered and causal.

This means that when a ship goes FTL, it cannot induce any causality violations within superluminal space, as the Markov Bubble is a superluminal particle/object and behaves as such. And when a ship drops back to STL, no causality violations occur because travel times are always slower than the top speed of the TEQs (i.e., the speed of information).

Where a paradox would have occurred in subluminal space, events are found to have proceeded in a causal relationship, one after another, without any contradiction. From a distance, it may appear that one can send a piece of information back to its origin point before it was transmitted, but appears is the word to keep in mind. In actuality, no such thing is possible. If one tries, the return transmission will never arrive any sooner than one unit of TEQ Planck time (where TEQ Planck time is defined as the length of time for a TEQ at maximal speed to traverse one unit of Planck length).

As a result, whenever one sees the possibility for a causality violation in subluminal space, one is, in essence, seeing a mirage. And whenever one tries to exploit said possibility, one will fail.