Stainless Steel Rat warp drive?

I världen av rostfri stålrott har de både FTL-kommunikation (i form av FTL-sändare) och FTL-resor (i form av varpdrev):

"So they are already in warpdrive and cannot be contacted until they emerge." I considered the possibilities. "You will of course be in touch with the authorities at their scheduled destination. The Stainless Steel Rat goes to Hell

och

“Bang on.” I had forgotten that he was an engineer. “An FTL transmission, faster than light, is almost instantaneous, even at stellar distances. But radio waves move at the speed of light—and how far is the nearest star from here?” ‘Three point two light-years.” The Stainless Steel Rat gets Drafted

Det finns några regler som verkar vara ganska vanliga över de olika romanen.

• Warp-enheter drivs av "generatorer" (detta är en nyckelpunkt i den andra romanen)
• Warp-enheter ger dig tillgång till "warp space".
• Nyare enheter är på något sätt bättre (det finns ingen förklaring till varför detta är fallet)
• När du reser i varvutrymme kan du inte få konventionell eller FTL-kommunikation.
• När du reser i varvutrymme kan du inte interagera med normal materia och är därför i stort sett immun från attack.

Intressant, i " Rostfritt stålvisioner " samling av noveller (publicerad 1994 men skriftligt väsentligt tidigare) reglerna är väsentligen annorlunda . Inget omnämnande av varpdrev, nu handlar det om hyperspace-transitering med hjälp av fyrkanter.

To understand the importance of the beacons, you have to understand hyperspace. Not that many people do, but it is easy enough to understand that in this nonspace the regular rules don't apply. Speed and measurements are a matter of relationship, not constant facts like the fixed universe.

The first ships to enter hyperspace had no place to go—and no way to even tell if they had moved. The beacons solved that problem and opened the entire universe. They're built on planets and generate tremendous amounts of power. This power is turned into radiation that is punched through into hyperspace. Every beacon has a code signal that is part of its radiation and represents a measurable point in hyperspace. Triangulation and quadrature of the beacons works for navigation—only it follows its own rules. The rules are complex and variable, but they are still rules that a navigator can follow.

For a hyperspace jump, you need at least four beacons for an accurate fix. For long jumps, navigators use as many as seven or eight. So every beacon is important and every one has to keep operating. That is where I and the other troubleshooters come in.