Look around you. Almost everybody you see has hit the Void at one point in time or another in their lives. Do you think any of them really want to talk about it? I didn't think so. You see, the Void is a scary place. You ask any member of any race about the Void and the conversation gets forced. It is almost like a local ghost story spread out over the whole of the Frontier region. So what is so fearsome about the Void? I was I could tell you.
So what is the Void? The scientist types will tell you it is another dimension where physical space isn't as large as real space. That way we can travel much quicker from point to point in our dimension, by traveling between corresponding points in the Void (there was an abortive attempt to change the name to hyperspace, but that was shot down- the Void is the Void and everyone knows it). You ask a spiritualist and you're gonna get some sort of answer that equates to the Void being the suburbs of Hell.
For the sake of argument, let's pretend you've never been in the Void. Extensive polling of members of all of the UPF species have turned up considerably similar accounts of what it feels like to enter the Void. Coincidentally, each race has a name for the Void that translates roughly as empty. Even the irrepressible dralasites call it "the place without humor." For a species that delights in nearly every mundane pleasure, that is a telling label.
Back to the Void. You are coasting along in your starship and you open the ol' Void gate and glide on through. What's the first thing you feel? Well almost every person who has been in the Void describes a feeling that something is watching them; something that hates them and wants to harm them. Some hear voices in their heads. Some feel "someone walking on their grave." Some describe a feeling of distemper; like a nagging feeling that they forgot something important and they cannot recall it. It becomes an itch that cannot be scratched and it is maddening. After an hour or so, the feelings become muted enough that you can ignore them. If not for that, one could never travel the Void. The sensations described above would drive a person insane if they were constant.
Well now you've muted those initial butterflies. Why does the air seem heavier than it was before the Void jump? The air processors all check out okay. Still, a minor annoyance at worst. Right? Well, in this case it is a symptom of a greater gloom that pretty much settles on the crew. Believe me, those in the Sleeper berths are having the time of their lives compared to what you are going through. Well, not really. Sleepers have reported terrible nightmares that they cannot escape. Some of them have even gone mad on journeys through the Void.
So, this vague feeling of uneasiness eventually starts catching up with the crew. Tempers flare and nerves snap. Most of the time it is minor and easily forgiven. We sentients are pretty flexible with our emotional well being. Don't put a grizzle bear in the Void or it will get grumpy and 500 kilos of raving predator is not something you want to experience.
About this time, days of unidentifiable anxiety, fitful sleep and loss of appetite have just about made you sick of being in the Void. Now you've reached your destination and you jump back to real space. Suddenly the weight on your shoulders seems to disappear. You didn't even notice it there and now that air feels good. You look over at your crewmate, you know the one you got into a fight with over a spoon just yesterday, and smile. Before long you both have a good chuckle at the absurdity of the whole thing. Then the chuckle fades as the captain reminds you that first thing in the morning, you make the return journey. Doesn't sound so bad, but you know the Void is there. It is waiting.
So why do we fear the Void so much? What causes the gut level reactions and borderline paranoia. Scientists have spouted all sorts of theories and hypothesis. The simple and short answer; we don't know. The gifted with psi powers state that they block their minds in the Void. Curiously, they seem the most resistant to its effects. Now that is something to think about. Scientists, both psi and mundane have postulated that psi actives have so much more mental discipline that they can more easily control their reactions. Others insist that the psis' mental shields are blocking some sort of ambient mental noise, that perhaps seeps through from real space and is possibly amplified by the physical characteristics of the Void. Still others insist that there are dwellers in the Void; beings that we cannot comprehend.
And still, we cannot deny the influence the Void has had on our daily lives. We can travel between stars in a matter of days where it would normally take decades or centuries. We will keep using the Void. Our society is built upon it. Shipping, travel, military, exploration; all of these things depend upon the existence of the Void and access to it. The Void will always be there. It will always be waiting.