Scary ghost stories and stuff (1)

Faster than light travel is not possible.

We announced today that after many tests and trials, we have found without a doubt that faster than light travel is impossible. It won't be an easy thing for people to accept, not after the dozens of years and billions of dollars spent developing the technology. It was a unanimous decision, I only wish we had reached it sooner.

When the first ship disappeared we pressed forward- everyone knew there would be setbacks and sacrifices on this journey.

The second ship reappeared after 5 seconds and only about a mile from where it launched. When the pilot came out silent and unresponsive, some of the board members expressed concern. When he hung himself the next day from a noose made of his bedsheets, there was a call to cease manned flights entirely, but the majority prevailed and a third flight was scheduled.

The third and final ship reappeared in almost exactly the place it left, undamaged but with no pilot. According to the engineers the hatch had remained shut for the entire flight, and there was not a single breach in the hull. However, unlike the previous ship the internal cameras had remained functional, and at the following board meeting we reviewed the footage. It was a short meeting.

The footage has been deleted. Destroying all of our research and prototypes will take time, but if all goes to plan then in a few years all traces of our work on FTL travel will be gone.

No, people aren't going to take this announcement well. Some people will undoubtedly think we're lying, covering something up. Those people will be right, but they'll think our reasons are selfish, keeping the technology for ourselves or suppressing it to keep the population contained. No one will guess that we were trying to save mankind, to protect it.

The human race should be content with Earth, with our solar system. They have to be.

We weren't meant to go any further.