-=> Quoting Lauri Tuovinen to Robert Mckay <=-
 LT> As a matter of fact, I don't think our science actually says it's
 LT> impossible to travel at warp 1.  Yes, our science does say it's
 LT> impossible for a massive object to achieve the speed of light, but
 LT> I believe the whole warp concept is based on not actually travelling
 LT> faster than light but making the distances shorter by "warping" the
 LT> space around, hence the name warp drive.  Correct me if I'm wrong.
Here's the deal:
Our science assumes that because light in a vacuum is the fastest thing known 
to man, that speed (Warp 1) is the natural speed limit of the universe.
Experiments with accelerating subatomic particles have found that at high 
speeds, perticles gain virtual mass, approaching infinite as the particle 
approached Warp 1. So the closer the particle gets, the more energy required 
to get it closer still.
Summary conclusion: it is possible to reach and maintain Warp 1, but only if 
you have zero mass.
Various armchair philosophers have come up with ideas about the trouble being 
the speed of light, and if you pass it you're fine, and stuff like that.
It's theories like this behind the explanation of the warp drive in _Star 
Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual_.
However, the current theory of warp drives favoured by *real* scientists [ :) 
] does, as you say, involve warping space to make the distance shorter.
Paul
... Mother Theresa               1910-1997  
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