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Originally Posted by noise
this conversation only works if we pretend that faster-than-light travel is actually possible.
are we allowed to pretend whatever we want? if so, i have some things to say about invisible emus and their plot to assassinate me (as predicted by the ancient mythology of the Kalahari)
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There are actually particles theorized to travel faster than the speed of light, and the theory of special relativity does not disallow faster-than-light travel.
Besides, you do not necessarily need faster-than-light travel for space exploration. For example, with technology we have
now we could reach Mars within about 210 - 250 days. With technology in, say, 100 years time that time could be drastically reduced. Because of this, it means that, rather than using faster-than-light travel, you could just colonized each planet in turn, slowly getting further out. This is one of the reasons why actual contact with other life is so unlikely.
Edit: In fact, Barack Obama has said:
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By the mid-2030s, I believe we can send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth. And a landing on Mars will follow. And I expect to be around to see it.
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So space travel without faster-than-light travel is certainly not impossible.