The Realistics Drive is a method of hyperlight (HL) travel. It works by temporarily altering the fundamental constants of reality within a "bubble" around a ship or individual, allowing them to accelerate to speeds that are above the speed of light within the bubble. This allows the ship or individual to effectively travel faster than the speed of light, despite the fact that the speed of light remains constant within the bubble.
To create this bubble, the Realistics Drive uses a Theodyne prism, which allows it to manipulate the fundamental constants of reality. These constants include the speed of light, the fundamental charge, the QCD scale, the strong interaction coefficient, the weak interaction coefficient, and the electron orbit radius. By altering these constants, the Realistics Drive creates a region of altered reality around the ship or individual, allowing them to accelerate to HL speeds without violating the laws of physics.
However, the Realistics Drive is not without its drawbacks. It requires a significant amount of power to create and maintain the bubble of altered reality, making it impractical for most uses. Additionally, the effects of the altered reality on the ship or individual are not well understood, and there is a risk of negative side effects from prolonged exposure. As a result, the Realistics Drive is still considered experimental, but is still the premier method of navigated HL travel.
The "factor" of a reality refers to the degree to which its fundamental constants deviate from those of baseline reality. In general, the more the constants diverge from their baseline values, the lower the factor of the reality will be. Baseline reality, where the fundamental constants are unchanged, has a factor of 1.
As the factor of a reality decreases, the environment becomes increasingly less responsive to the actions of individuals within it. This can manifest in a variety of ways, including fatal injuries being easily survived, computers behaving erratically in a way that almost seems sentient, and other changes to the fabric of reality.
In some cases, these changes can be beneficial, allowing individuals to perform seemingly impossible feats or gain abilities that are not possible in baseline reality. However, in other cases, the changes can be dangerous or even lethal, as the environment becomes increasingly unpredictable and difficult to navigate.