That statement forever changed me. For although I've known on a mathematical level that Albert Einstein's E=MC2 represented a speed limit more than anything else there was that fanciful part of me that entertained the opposite argument. I grew up wondering if it were possible, what if Einstein's Theory of Relativity was more literal that we were led to believe? What would happen, as the theory went, if a vessel in space, propelled by 1 Gforce of thrust, continually accelerating at 1Gforce, travelling through space in a medium without apparent friction, continued to do so. On the one hand mathematically the speed of the vehicle would continue to accelerate, there being nothing to slow it down, but with E=MC2 we are told that the mass of the vehicle would increase, alarmingly so as it approached the speed of light, to the point where all the propulsion in the universe would be unable to move it any faster.
If the Theory of Relativity were literally taken then it was possible the craft could continue, slip beyond the speed of light with nary a blip of thought to the pilot and people on board and because there was no friction they could continue to accelerate so long as they had fuel, although they would want to turn around and begin decelerating before they had used half that fuel up lest they continue to drift at that speed through the universe forever.
If the Theory of Relativity were literal then only the observer would notice that they either failed to reach light speed due to their mass or appeared to become energy, without mass. What if Einstein knew that, what if his theory described only what the observer would notice? What if the mathematics only supported that? His calculations demonstrate that all things are relative, even distance, so it seemed a built in sly move by the great genius to work it that way.
Indeed I spent much of my first 20 years trying to make the calculations work and although I couldn't succeed I couldn't completely disprove the idea. It felt as though I just needed to find the missing operand but the missing operand was experience and until we actually tried the theory no amount of mathematics was going to prove anything one way or another.

Throughout history there were many theories on how we could meet or exceed the speed of light, many were extremely fanciful but for the sake of understanding them I shall attempt to explain them here.

There are five common theories: RELATIVITY, FIELD, FORCE, TUNNEL and WAVE.

1. RELATIVITY: As a theory this one was the easiest to deal with, to prove or disprove. It worked on the idea that Einstein's Theory of Relativity was to be literally understood. That to the stationary observer breaking the light barrier was impossible as all forms of measurement would indicate that a craft approaching light was either increasing in mass to the point where it could no longer accelerate or would appear to become energy. The paradox would be if the vessel, on slowing from light speed, would then appear to convert back to matter.
The strength of this theory was primarily based on the concept of the Big Bang for indeed if the "3minute Universe" did exist then we know that at least at one point in history the speed of light was far exceeded by what must have been a finite amount of energy. The theory was proven incomplete for as the craft approached three quarters of the speed of light it's mass relative to the universe did appear to increase even on board. There was no actual friction to slow the craft down but instead it's own gravity effect replaced drag. Top speed was .78 light beyond which we could proceed no farther.

2. FIELD: The field theory is one that has been entertained by many for centuries. The idea is that huge powerful generators could create a field of null-space around the craft reducing the vehicle's relative mass to zero or near zero and then the vehicle could be propelled by simple thrust through space at unimaginable speeds. On analysis with even the most sophisticated of artificial intelligence systems and yes, even a few RAEB systems, the physics for making this actually work are phenomenal. At no point have we been able to create even a workable mathematical structure without having at least one variable represented by infinity. The energy required to generate a cohesive bubble of energy around a craft is hard enough but then to have one that would warp space creating a pocket of null-space within the bubble is untenable at best with existing technology if it is indeed even possible.

3. FORCE: Using a combination of technologies FORCE travel works like this. A vehicle with a magnetic ram scoop activated ahead of it begins a rapid pace toward a large gravitational source, a sun for example. The magnetic ram scoop collects and injects high amounts of stellar material funneling that material into its central driver, concentrating the material there while building up speed around the sun. With the magnetic containment housing nearly full and the craft whipping around the sun at increasing speeds the craft then begins a slingshot breakaway in the direction it wishes to go WHILE opening the tiniest of holes in the aft part of the magnetic containment housing so that the collected material explodes out behind the craft. The theory that this would propel the craft into the faster than light realm (on the assumption that there was one) with a velocity that would eventually dissipate was fraught with the following concern: Mathematically if the craft was travelling fast enough to tear a hole in the fabric of space-time and thereby rupture past normal physical laws it would most likely form a black hole which could effectively pull the gravity base used for acceleration (in this case the sun) in after it. Although it would obviously be easier to travel if you brought your gravity base with you wherever you went the damage to the system you left and the place you arrived at would be catastrophic to say the least, assuming you and the universe survived the trip.

TUNNEL: Most similar to the fictional "STAR GATES" or "Wormholes" the biggest problem with this concept mathematically is energy. No less than five points in the equation require variables equal to infinity to make this concept work in theory and then you're left with the infrastructure problem. No one wants a wormhole or anything else that can completely contort the fabric of space and time that close to them, the cancer rates would nothing compared to the gravitational shock-waves generated.

WAVE: The WAVE theory has also been called SLIPSTREAMING or PHASE Travel because of what it accomplishes. Similar to the FIELD theory in that a pocket of null-space is required.

The SPEED OF LIGHT is something we cannot maintain. A hard fact I'm afraid. Now some may wonder at this because already there are craft travelling faster than the speed of light but that is the nature of the beast. The SPEED OF LIGHT is a threshold of which you may be on one side or the other but not in, at least not using existing technology. Perhaps to understand this better it may help to understand how we travel faster than light. The method used falls under the WAVE or PHASE Theory of travel and uses a process best known as SLIPSTREAMING. SLIPSTREAMING was the inadequate name we gave the process because it got some of the process right and was readily understood by the non-physicists who were backing and approving our research.
Of the various theories relating to light speed travel PHASE travel showed the most promise because it: 1. Built upon existing technologies and 2. Mathematically did not have any variables in the equation equivalent to infinity. This is not to say that some of the other theories may not prove to be possible or even preferential, it is just to acknowledge that with our limited understanding of the Universe parts of the equations required to make those other theories work remain unknown to us.
In SLIPSTREAMING a craft first begins to travel through Einsteinian Space (slower than light space) with its primary Driver. The Driver may be emitting a phased pulse thrust or not but the effective ratio must be powerful enough to get the craft to half light speed on it's own for the transit above light speed to succeed.
Depending on the craft and the acceleration rate required the vehicle's forward EMITTER would then begin to project focused energy ahead of the ship through the SLIPSTREAM Forward Emitter or STREAMER.
The STREAMER energy is then run through various frequency modulation adjustments. The energies are interwoven in a tight pattern until they're in a cohesiveness form and then a series of resonances are introduced to the bond until a WAVE harmonic is created. The hardest part of breaking the light barrier with this method was finding the correct harmonic but we discovered that as the Einsteinian effect of mass on the forward STREAMER energy increased, the STREAMER energy was picking up interference which we later understood to be the effects of a return harmony from the faster than light medium.
Adjusting the STREAMER to recognize this harmony and then work to synchronize to it was the missing link that made SLIPSTREAMING possible.
The actual act of SLIPSTREAMING requires the STREAMER energy to actually be bent back over the craft by the mass effect of Einsteinian Space as the ship accelerates to the point where a pocket is created that the craft exists within. This is the reason all faster than light craft have a certain "streamlined" profile. At this point in transit the WAVE theory most closely resembles a squashed version of the FIELD theory.
The harmony of the STREAMER energy is adjusted to match the resonance with whatever phase of space (or medium) the craft is designed to transit. The better synchronized and more pure the STREAMER energy is with the medium the faster the craft is able to go in that medium.
The craft SLIPS or PHASES out of Einsteinian space and into the other medium leaving behind the laws of slower than light space on the other side of the threshold.
One can perhaps more easily visualize a craft which operates underwater being designed to eventually break the surface of the water and fly through the atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth is significantly less dense than the ocean so speeds equal to sound are realistic whereas trying to break even the sound barrier underwater would require nearly infinite power and cause a great deal of damage to both craft and environs.
Originally both ourselves and even more mature faster than light travelers such as the Meganites believed that there was only one medium beyond normal space, that being the relatively thin layered ION SPACE. Terran faster than light mechanics varied far enough from the others that when the Meganite Base on Mars was discovered and a hybrid craft produced combining both SHINDAR ONE and MEG ION DRIVE mechanics to create PULSE ION DRIVE that two fantastic results occurred. 1. Capable of speeds in excess of 40 times light PULSE ION DRIVE was significantly faster than the 20 times light maximum of MEG ION DRIVE / SHINDAR ONE. and 2. PULSE ION DRIVE was far enough into the ION PHASE to interact with TACH Particles. The capture of TACH particles allowed for and made possible the development of TACH DRIVE.
TACH DRIVE immediately made speeds of 100 times light possible giving the Solar Group Alliance a very early edge against the Meganites in the MEG WAR by allowing Fleets of SGA ships to gather, intercept and engage the superior numbers of Meg Cluster Ships that were involved.
Further development of PULSE TACH DRIVE (circa 2231 TSC) resulted in craft capable of sustained flight in excess of 200 times light and resulted in the adoption of the QUAD reference (1 QUAD=4 light years). By 2236 even large scale craft such as the Dreadnaught INDEPENDENCE were capable of sustaining 65 Quad speeds (260 times light) with PULSE TACH DRIVE.
Improvements throughout the war and following would push maximum speeds (on medium sized craft) as high as 200 Quad (800 times light) leaving both smaller and larger vehicles (and the Meganites) far behind.
It was my belief for many years that 300 Quad might be the fastest anyone will ever go but with recent developments by DR Aelios KLANGORF and his PRO-TACH Drive concept I must now concede that TACH Space may be infinite also.

This does not mean that we now understand the universe or even as much as Einstein knew 300 years earlier. I continue to work on various equations, hoping to find the true elements that will replace the infinity variables that so often pop up, hoping to replace them with tangibles that further expand our knowledge.
Even in my golden years the great master's work continues to plague me but I realize now that in my life long pursuit of this vision I was blessed with an opportunity to make history.
Even more so I was blessed I was given a chance to work with a group of professionals who's work earned me more credit than I alone deserve. These people found or developed the missing pieces needed at times when they were needed most or made better my later work, improving half ideas until they were whole.
And that I was most blessed by the support of a RIJL Aerospace, a company whose vision of "better than state of the art" was the key to success beyond anything any of us could have hoped for or imagined.

Thank you