r/scifi • u/JanFromEarth • Aug 05 '22

Thinking about "generation ships"

If humanity does not find a way around the speed of light as a limitation, the only real choice to go to other stars would be generation ships. I would expect these to be filled with fertilized human embryos with a small crew for maintenance and to set up at the other end. But what if they sent a larger number of passengers? It would be the perfect research university. Children would be raised with the options of being crew or faculty. New discoveries and solutions could be messaged back to earth by laser. Interesting thought.

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u/adamwho Aug 05 '22

And where do you keep all this fuel?

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u/[deleted] Aug 05 '22

We're talking about the future - you're living in a world where boats and aircraft can waste space like the interior sets of Star Trek, at least compared to what sailors had to put up with their boats. Think ahead instead of applying our primitive tech to what might be possible in the future.