Questions about Downstreamers (Manifold)

[Dr Roberts]

1, Do they have FTL travel/communication?
2, If so, how fast is it?
3, I've heard they are not corporeal, if this is true what are they "Energy", digital etc.?
4, What territory do they possess?

That's all for now. Thank you in advance.

[lordofchange13]

1. Yes
2. Ludicrous speed
3. it is true
4. several universes.

[Torchship]

1. Judging from the fact that FTL never appears in any of the Manifold stories, I would suspect not. In Baxter's Xeelee Sequence, FTL is possible and it is treated (pseudo-)realistically, i.e. it can be used as a form of timetravel. This would be a trivially simple solution to the Downstreamer's predicament, therefore they probably don't have access to it.

3. I believe it was mentioned that the Downstreamers were encoded into a slowly-expanding group of stable particles; electrons, neutrinos and the like, and the interactions between them. Therefore they wouldn't really exist as 'energy' in the traditional sci-fi sense; they still possess bodies, they are just incredibly rarefied.

4. Their home universe (such as it is), plus whatever universe-hopping planetoids they happen to own. I don't think it's really fair to claim that they 'own' any of the other universes in the Manifold, even the ones that they've visited.

[lordofchange13]

1. Judging from the fact that FTL never appears in any of the Manifold stories, I would suspect not. In Baxter's Xeelee Sequence, FTL is possible and it is treated (pseudo-)realistically, i.e. it can be used as a form of timetravel. This would be a trivially simple solution to the Downstreamer's predicament, therefore they probably don't have access to it.

They have access to both time travel as well as long distance teleportation. This not to mention the fact that they rule more then an entire universe makes it painfully obvious that they have a form of travel that goes faster then the speed of light.

[shizuo23]

Their teleportation was light speed, from what I can remember.

[lordofchange13]

They were pan-universal teleporters, though a light spped teleporter coupled with time travel equals faster then light in a way at any rate.

[Torchship]

They have access to both time travel as well as long distance teleportation. This not to mention the fact that they rule more then an entire universe makes it painfully obvious that they have a form of travel that goes faster then the speed of light.

When do they display access to time travel? They often travel to different universes which happen to be at a different time to their own, but this isn't the same as time travel (in the traditional sense). I suppose you could use that 'reached into the deepest past' line from Time as evidence, but this seems to refer to universe-travel more than time-travel, given they didn't change their own future with their meddling.
Additionally, when is it stated that they possess more than one universe? As far as I recall, only their home universe and various probes in other universes are ever discussed; there's no evidence that they possess enough of a physical presence in any other universe to qualify as 'ruling'.

[lordofchange13]

The Downstreamers time travel work under the theories of split reality, going back in time creates a diffrent universe were the changes have effect.

[Torchship]

Indeed, that was part of the 'universe travel' to which I was referring (they can also travel directly from universe to universe, as displayed by the Red Moon in Origin). Doesn't seem very useful in the traditional time travel sense though, as you can never affect your own future or past which makes it rather useless for communication as per the OP's question.

[lordofchange13]

But you do have FTL communication. Just send the message back the desired number of light years through time and it will arrive instantaneously, Though it does not effect the first universe, the FTL will create a different universe were the message still exists, so for all intensive purposes i would say that they can. Though that is irrelevant as they posses the run of the mill space opera FTL travel as well.

[Torchship]

I'd argue that they aren't really the same since you, the sender, will never see any effect from your message; only another universe will. This is a rather significant difference, in my opinion.

I ask again, where do the Downstreamers demonstrate 'run of the mill space opera FTL travel' capabilities? I don't recall anything like this in any of the Manifold series.

[ChosenOne54]

Just read this:

http://outskirtsbattledome.wikispaces.c ... old+Series