Are there any ways to allow some form of FTL travel without allowing time travel?

Faster than light travel is a really cool thing to have in sci-fi settings. It allows humans, in relatable time scales, to travel the galaxy and see a variety of worlds. It allows for conflicts spanning not just a solar system or perhaps a solar system and its nearest neighbors, but huge sections of the galaxy. FTL communication, meanwhile, allows governments and organizations to exist that span huge sections of space, something that might otherwise be impossible if communication between planets took decades, centuries, or even millenia.

The only problem with allowing FTL travel is that is also allows time travel. Most sci-fi settings with some form of FTL ignore this fact, choosing to leave it unaddressed and focus on the story. There is nothing wrong with this. However, it would be more satisfying as a science loving story teller to have some sort of explanation as to why FTL doesn't allow people to travel back in time.

Are there any ways to construct or limit FTL travel that would let people travel between points light years apart without allowing for time travel to take place? I'm fine with solutions that stretch our current understanding of physics, but would prefer to keep everything as believable as possible. Any form of FTL travel, be it wormholes, advanced engines, or some sort of hyperspace dimension is acceptable, so long as it doesn't permit the travelers to travel back in time.

posted over 8 years ago

ckersch‭

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