The Lasso drive (or string surfer) is a Class-B propulsion system that exploits the immense gravitational tension of cosmic strings for relativistic travel.
Unlike a warp drive, which carries its own engine, a lasso drive is a "parasitic" propulsion system. It hitches a ride on these naturally occurring super-heavy strings that thread the universe, effectively turning them into a galactic railway system.
A cosmic string possesses a linear mass density of 1021 kg/m. Because of this immense density, it creates a conical gravitational field around the string.
The lasso maneuver[]
- The ship locates a cosmic string (often moving through the void at relativistic speeds).
- The ship does not touch the string (which would slice the vessel in half). Instead, it projects a gravitational soliton field which is a hook of warped space that interlocks with the string's conical geometry.
- The ship clamps onto the string's gravitational wake. Since the string has effectively infinite mass compared to the ship, the ship's drag is negligible. The vessel is instantly accelerated to match the string's velocity (often 0.99c).
Kink-riding[]
A Type 3 civilization could manipulate the string.
- The ship fires a high-energy burst into the string, creating a kink or vibration.
- This vibration travels down the string at the speed of light. The ship surfs the gravitational wave of this kink, achieving near-luminal speeds even if the string itself is stationary.
The cosmic railway[]
Civilizations map these strings to create the stringway—a fixed transit network.
- Pros: Zero fuel consumption (momentum is stolen from the string). Infinite range.
- Cons: Fixed routes. You can only go where the string goes. If your destination is 50 light-years away from the nearest string, you must use conventional engines for the "last mile."
The whiplash[]
Cosmic strings are under extreme tension. If a string intersects with a black hole or another string, it can snap or oscillate violently. A ship clamped to the string during a snap event experiences tidal shearing, spaghettifying the crew and hull.
The loop trap[]
A lasso field could accidentally twist the cosmic string into a loop. As in the Cosmic Hitch, a loop of cosmic string creates Closed Timelike Curves for time travel. A navigational error can result in the ship arriving at its destination many years before it departed, causing causality violations.
Variations[]
- The weaver drive: A massive industrial vessel that uses multiple lassos to pull two cosmic strings together, fusing them to build new highways.
- The cutter: A weaponized drive that uses the ship's lasso to "whip" the cosmic string toward a planet, using the string itself as a galaxy-sized sword to slice the world in half.