Ring Drive
The Ring Drive is the only known faster-than-light transporting technology. It consists of the Singularity Ring[1], which propels the rest of the ship forwards. Ships can thereby travel faster than light and remain matter and not be affected by special relativity.
The Ring Drive has been invented by the Makers, who maintained monopoly over the technology until 2258, when Conrado Cruz discovers a crash-landed ship with said technology, reverse-engineers it and starts a monopoly on its own, creating the second Spanish Empire. This leads to war with The Continuum Of Makers.
How it works
Is unknown. Unless you are a Fillipod or a Maker. No-one else, not even one member of La Familia has any clue how it actually works - but only very few people know that.
The comic gives some clues about the physics, making it sound like a working Alcubierre warp drive:
- The ship itself seems to move slowly.[2]
- Localized space is pinched around the ship, then the ship is presumably driven through folds of space.