Indeed, I see the Mass Relay as a much faster (nearly instantaneous) version of a Space Gate. Probably won't happen for a hundred years or so, bare minimum.
BTW: Why only 5c? There's quite a few fen ships that are capable of greater speed than that (IIRC?) so wouldn't that be more like a step backwards than a step forward?
BTW: Why only 5c? There's quite a few fen ships that are capable of greater speed than that (IIRC?) so wouldn't that be more like a step backwards than a step forward?