Brainstorming Thursday: Intergalactic Travel

So, as part of the whole "Call to Action" drama I instigated over the last couple weeks, I've decided to launch a little post series called... well, called the title you read above.

Enter trumpets and angels and all the other cool celebratory crap....

BRAINSTORMING THURSDAY!

Oops, sorry, didn't mean to shout. The trumpets died down right as I spoke.

Alrighty, back to reality, or as close to it as I can get -- which isn't very far.

Part of what I love about story research is all the little side trips I get to take. I'll be scouring for an acceptable antidote or medical technology and come across something that triggers another thought or idea entirely.

Let's take Sunday's post for example. On that post, HERE for your convenience, I talked about the speed of the galaxies in the universe and how it'll make a positioning system nearly impossible. Ergo, that means intergalactic travel will be near impossible... at least in my lifetime or several lifetimes.


Source: Nasa Images



But... (enter brainstorming about now) but... what if some crazy scientific kook or kooks just couldn't wait? What if she/they needed, absolutely needed for some reason, to see the neighboring galaxy? And what if it was far enough in the future science had started real/serious intergalactic travel research?

Now there, my geeky friends, is the core of a potential story.

Yeah, the rate of galactic rotations and the fast expansional gaps between galaxies is still the driving barrier for successful intergalactic travel. But, say this group... driven by this woman who has a spiritual reason for needing to venture out... has timed the motion of both the rotation and the expansion to pinpoint when a potential Goldie locks planet in a neighboring galaxy's solar system will be near enough to ours to transport a research vessel via some spacetime manipulation technology?

Maybe there's some belief of this particular planet, solar system and/or galaxy.

Wouldn't it be a gas - partial pun intended - if once they were there, the technology used to get back either malfunctioned or they miscalculated and ended up somewhere else entirely?

Long story short, what would happen if they couldn't get back? You've got, say, a crew of 50 in an unknown galaxy and no way to return home.

Anything could happen from here. They could search out the original planet to get the returning coordinates back on track and something happens along the way. They could find they're at another location with potential for life. Or, even... oh yeah, maybe some other "presence" diverted their trip and brought them to this new point.

Ooh, maybe the spacetime technology has something to do with interconnectining universe filaments. I don't know, that might be taking the brainstorm too far.

"Okay, pull back AR, pull back."

Oh man, this is exciting!

What do you all think would happen once they got there? Or, what do you think her/the groups motivation is? How do you think they ended up in the wrong place? Or, did they end up in the right place and a block of some sort is keeping them from returning?

I love brainstorming. Sometimes it threatens to throw my current WIP off course, but I try to contain it by jotting down the idea and allowing a little exploration into the concept. Then I ruthlessly tuck it away for a future project.