Today is the unofficial ‘First Contact Day’. According to the (absolutely fantastic) movie Star Trek: First Contact, this day was the moment Vulcans decided humans were finally worthy of joining other species in space.
This day is also special because it marks the invention of Warp Drive. Many people today hope that we can achieve such a means of propulsion- and that we could possibly, someday, achieve First Contact. It is incredibly selfish to believe that we humans are the only life in the universe, and hopefully some of that selfishness will dissolve if we someday can be peaceful friends with an alien species. (Hopefully not aliens like the Romulans…)
Warp Drive is one of the most exotic ideas in space propulsion today. Its concept spans around the idea of ‘warping space’, so you can get from point A to point B in a shorter time. Think of it like this- imagine the fabric of space as a rug. An ant walking across the rug has quite a trek ahead of him! But, if someone picks up the rug and holds the end the ant is on to the other end of the rug, the ant can reach the other side much faster. It’s an intriguing concept, and a hope for thousands of Trekkies across the globe.
>using a metaphor similar to the one in A Wrinkle in Time I see what you did there. Also FUCK YEAH FIRST CONTACT I LOVE...