Should we mention how many people would have to be on the ship to prevent inbreeding problems? i am sure we could borrow some statistics from Adam and Eve Plot
"(although this brings to light the question WHY nobody bothered to track them down in transit and help upgrade their engines)"
Well, any ships that could catch up to them would have to be traveling quite a bit faster than them, and would then have to lose all of their own extra speed in order to dock with them and transfer any necessary parts. That would be rather selfless compared to just speeding along to the destination first and planting their own flag. And at relativistic speeds, docking maneuvers may just be too crazy. Certainly if they are not traveling FTL, their home station can broadcast blueprints and tech info to them via laser, if they have the stuff on board to make the changes. If they are not possible to do while then engines are running, then the benefit will have to outweigh the cost of time loss due to engine shutdown. I don't think this is really so Fridge Logic. Historically, if one company launched a clipper to sail long-distance, and another company devised an improved hull or sail plan such that their clipper would reach the destination first, I don't think in most instances they would first pull aside the slower clipper and pass the upgrade info onto them. Even if they did, hull changes while at sea are pretty hard to carry out - just as whatever ship layouts lead to faster spacey speeds may be impossible to carry out en route).
Edited by MoCellMan Searching for plausible mechanisms.
Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Split
, started by Medinoc on Dec 23rd 2010 at 12:25:00 PM
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman