Hyperlanes are lines of space linking systems together, allowing travel in between different systems that are connected by hyperlanes. Hyperlanes have a lower ECF than the rest of hyperspace, meaning they can safely be travelled through by ships without risking anomaly-related sickness to the crew. Most hyperlanes are around five kilometers in diameter, and their edge is marked by a membrane-like barrier of prismatic light, created by the effect of hyperspace’s background light passing into a significantly lower ECF and refracting sporadically (an effect called the Kramer Effect). Ships passing near the edge of the hyperlane will have bolts of unstable electricity arc safely onto the hull of their ship from the barrier.
Scientific study of hyperlanes have shown that bodies of high mass seem to have influence in hyperspace as well, causing spatial distortions that may cause hyperlanes to link together to other systems from the gravitation of their star. This theory is supported by the fact that more massive stellar objects tend to have more hyperlanes connecting to them, and exceptional massive objects such as black holes can even curve hyperlanes towards them and even ‘hijack’ the endpoints of some hyperlanes towards themselves. However, there are some discrepancies of this theory, as many less massive stars, especially those in core species’ homeworlds and worlds with ancient ruins present in them, tend to also have lanes connecting to them.
Around 60% of the known galaxy’s hyperlanes are mapped. The majority of the 40% of unmapped space resides in either the core, which is too gravitationally dense to safely travel through, or the Fringe, where entire sectors of space remain unexplored. In addition, many unmapped hyperlanes exist, but they may be unstable. Unstable hyperlanes may sporadically change in diameter, have their endpoints shift between different systems, or dissolve entirely, making them often dangerous to travel through. Another common hazard when traversing hyperlanes is the presence of black holes, which can curve or shift the end points of nearby hyperlanes towards themselves. Jumping to realspace while in a system with a massive singularity can be dangerous, as the jump may place the ship dangerously close to the singularity. Also, tachyon-dependent systems on a ship cannot connect to realspace networks such as the Nexus in hyperspace, meaning communication and teleportation to realspace will be cut off.
Hyperlanes are vastly important, even essential, for interstellar travel. Conventional warp through realspace is significantly less cost efficient than travel through hyperspace, as over 10x the amount of warp fuel must be stored, and trips in realspace take ten times longer. In a star system, hyperlanes become less stable the closer they get to the system’s star, forcing ships to jump into realspace into one side of the system and travel to the other side of the system before they can warp to their next destination using the hyperlane, making the systems linking hyperlanes together valuable strategic points that can be denied by naval blockades.