HFY Reddit Story: Voiding The Warranty

[@focusrssteve]

I'm so happy I've found this channel, only be been watching for the last month, but its been one long binge!

[@TERRYWIRT]

Enjoyed the story, original...thank you

[@Silverizael]

That's honestly a really sad story. Poor Lauren.

[@stevenf1953]

the ghost of a hitchhiker. This is an updated story of a ghost hitchhiker Pretty cool.

[@ALEXANDER1318]

Forgot to replace the cosmic "warranty void if removed" sticker. Let all the warranty radiation leak out.

[@markfergerson2145]

At least the magic smoke stayed inside…

[@Erin-Thor]

Laura Ingram? From little house on the prairie? 🤣👍🏽

[@gregkelmis2435]

Oh my God. LOL LOL LOL

[@Erin-Thor]

@@gregkelmis2435 - I’m just glad she got her eyesight back, AND made it into space. 😁

[@robertosborn9910]

Laura Ingells was the Little House on the Prairie character/author.

[@SageofStars]

What this means is the FTL they're using is not so much changing the position of the ship, as merely hopping to a reality where they are already where they were already where they wanted to be, and it's normally safe enough to use thanks to there being infinite realities and having many close enough with one spatial change is not doing anything. Likely, the humans are simply removing a kind of limiter that keeps the drive from jumping too far, in terms of dimensions in time and space, wherein the reality line they're on is significantly different, and when they arrive, their overlaid onto the new reality. Laura is dead here, so she died, but the Captain was still the Captain, so he still exists as he was. Basically they've turned Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite into a drive system. Most of the time, it works fine, but sometimes, it pulls to hard and something rips.

[@stratometal]

Such a drive technology is described in the Old Man War books called the Skip Drive. I also read an older sci fi short story describing a similar process. I do not remember the writer's name but it was a 1980 compilation/anthology magazine, iirc it was in an Analog issue.

[@SageofStars]

@@intetx Same reason you get pushed to 'The End of Time' in Chrono Trigger when traveling with more than 3 people through a time gate. They were the biggest object/sentient nearby, so the they acted like a drag on the engine, so it shifted to a reality where they aren't a problem anymore.

[@stratometal]

@@intetx True, its not explained. First lets summarize how that drive works: By shunting the the ship and the crew as a whole end in a reality that is effectively the same, except it has already arrived to its destination. Right after, the two branching "timelines" collapse equalizing their wavefunctions or some other quantum magic. To explain what could have made it so she edited her existence: By being the one that tinkered with the device, she either decoupled her quantum "matrix" from the one of the ship or she anchored herself to said "reality". After the "jump" the universe then reconciled both quantum states and it decided to "ignore" her, compensating for the discrepancy retroactively. It retconned her out.

[@Silverizael]

@@stratometal Though it's interesting that "editing her out of reality" doesn't mean making her not have ever existed or not being born. She still was born and lived, she just died in a random accident before she ever became an engineer in the new reality. That's a weirdly specific alteration. Almost as if there is an intention or consciousness behind the change.

[@stratometal]

@@Silverizael Yes, its not erasing her, my best guess is that when the quantum states resolved the universe "found" a point in the past where her probabilities of dying, in her case an accident, were high. And in this new "timeline" she didn't survive said accident. Considering her job and her recklessness I am fairly certain she had a ton of close calls. And its quite the possibility that there is a consciousness, I mean in universe other than the author. We are just speculating here about what kind of mechanics might explain the effect and this is only 1 of many. I always say the universe itself is conscious, the fact that we have is proof of it, since we are a part of the universe itself. So if only through ourselves the universe has attained it. Oops there I go jumping deep onto philosophy.

[@nesapanjalingam704]

Thank you for this story 😊 Quite unexpected

[@paulbutikofer4284]

Fun story, hope there's more

[@Shadow.Dragon]

Great story! Are they being edited out of existence or are they being taken from "our" existence? Maybe we'll get a sequel exploring what happened to Lauren. 🙂

[@pascalabessolo5350]

She died 12 years ago. It seems they have travelled several years in the future of an alternate dimension.

[@inserttaken_name1762]

it feels more like they warped to another reality and it just so happens that in this one she never became an engineer cause she died all those years ago, hell there may be more changes in the ship then just her being gone but the only one he can recognize is her since they talked before the warp

[@GenStallion]

Edited out. When you follow the links and read the next chapter(s?) It goes into some world building. Let's just say the universe takes exception, and the captain is one of the few who know what is going on.

[@RoySmith-wg1kv]

Love it !

[@howardmallisonii503]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it...

[@tracewallace23]

That ain't the human way😉

[@robertsinclair]

Good story

[@harrygrimley4352]

Clever.

[@TitanDrone]

This isn't the Black Ship

[@scifistories1977]

You should check out my community post...

[@Erin-Thor]

No silly, it’s little house on the prairie, staring Laura Ingram. Please DO try to keep up! (Teasing, and ducking. Sorry, I couldn’t help Muh Sef. 🤣)

[@daduzadude1547]

@@scifistories1977please tell the writer we hope they get well soon!

[@Soundwave119]

Nope this is the White Ship. 😂

[@MotivatedReign]

It doesn't say black ship?

[@jilll7074]

Really cute story

[@stevehathcock9871]

great story.....I cant wait until the "hookman" shows up!

[@redhankyteddy]

interesting story

[@akila_melindeth]

Lauren the adhd mechanic lol

[@maco8022]

This made me sad😢

[@martyschrader]

This story was great right up to the injection of the time machine BS. Time machines are the Godwin's Law of SF: as soon as one is introduced into the story the entire thing goes into the crapper. So it is here.

[@Shyster099]

They got a human engineer with ADHD? Jackpot!

[@Ral9284]

Laura POV

[@williamlangford9118]

Hard to follow who is saying or doing anything.

[@johna3816]

Stupid plural pronouns make the story unintelligible

[@HP3.14]

True sci-fi. Female engineer 😂

[@memyshelfandeye318]

FemEng, tinkering with something without really having a clue? Nope, that's reality for you ...

[@sandrosliske]

Circa 1950

[@MarcZachman]

1

[@jamesh5743]

To the author: Good story. But get over the desire to use "they" and "them". Especially interspersed with gendered pronouns, it makes it really jarring and difficult to follow who is doing what. Get over the ideology, and write like (sane) people talk. You use "he" and then "their" in the same sentence, with both pronouns referring to the same antecedent, which is impossible to interpret as anything other than reference to two different individuals; but you're talking about the same individual. I really liked the story, but some parts took way more effort to follow than they needed to because of thiskind of thing.

[@Kokuyous3ki]

Sadly I have to agree though I lean on the side of accepting it more in case of xenos that may or may not have gender at all... as long as it's concise at least. Then again, my original language has 0 gender pronouns making the idea of adhering to insane ideologues' wishes because of some perceived threat a waste of the little time we have in this universe.

[@Silverizael]

I didn't have any issues following anything. Using singular they to refer to someone, even when you know their gender identity, is pretty common. If asked "Where is Mike", replying "He's over there" or "They're over there" are interchangeably used in everyday conversation.

[@mikestoop9561]

I will avoid this author. They can keep their pronouns. I do not have to participate.

[@ryabow]

you used four pronouns in that comment

[@JosephMcCully]

Please, stop using plural adjectives as singular pronouns.

[@Silverizael]

Which plural adjectives were those exactly? I assume you're not referring to singular they, which has been in use and existence since before most other pronouns in the English language?

[@JosephMcCully]

@@Silverizael I was referring to "their" "They" is a pronoun, "their" is an adjective. To say, “…they, which has been in use and existence since before most other pronouns in the English language” is misleading. You cannot define the historical use of pronouns by advent of contemporary versions. Personal pronouns are ancient and precede written language.

[@Silverizael]

@@JosephMcCully And singular they has been in continuous use since then to modern day. As for their, that's also commonly used? Such as "Whose cup is this?" "It's theirs" or "It's their cup" would be common responses.

[@JosephMcCully]

@@Silverizael Used by some, sure, but not it’s common and it remains incorrect usage. Language is meant to convey information and ideas. The role of grammar is to make the communication as clear and as unambiguous as possible. Poor selection of words and poor grammar increases the chances of misunderstanding and further complications. Why are you continuing arguing about “they”? You are the only person in this discussion who is concerned about it and it has nothing to my original comment. Stay on topic. Actually, don’t bother, I have finished with this.

[@Silverizael]

@@JosephMcCully You're the one that said you were referring to "their", hence why I spoke about their. Do you not even follow what you yourself previously said?