I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore

Dr. Toland stood and crossed to a table holding an overhead projector. The scientist from SETI placed a transparency on the screen and the far wall became a large chart depicting several clusters of planets and stars. "As most of you know," he began, "we've recently confirmed the existence of a small group of planets around the star Epsilon Eridani, which is approximately eleven light-years away. We've theorized for some time that such planets could exist, and that if they did, such a...
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Dr. Toland stood and crossed to a table holding an overhead projector. The scientist from SETI placed a transparency on the screen and the far wall became a large chart depicting several clusters of planets and stars. "As most of you know," he began, "we've recently confirmed the existence of a small group of planets around the star Epsilon Eridani, which is approximately eleven light-years away. We've theorized for some time that such planets could exist, and that if they did, such a solar system might be remarkably similar to our own, but even with our most powerful telescopes we've been unable to see them from earth. We found that star maps recovered from the crashed ship's computer suggest that its flight might have originated in that sector. Using that information, we've sent an unmanned probe to the area, which has been sending back images of three planets. One of them is very much like our own and, indeed, shows every evidence of having intelligent life on it." Removing the star chart, he placed another sheet on the screen; a close-up of a blue and green planet, earthlike, but definitely not earth.Kit sucked in her breath sharply and dug her claws into my thigh."Ow, jeez!" I complained, but she didn't even notice."Rra! Rra! R'rai-ek, zha i'at!" she cried, bouncing in her seat like a little kid, "Tarrka zha i'at, i-K'taik'kh tarrka!""I'd say it's a pretty safe guess you've got the right planet." Ogelsvie observed."She says you do," I told him, semi-gently disengaging the Ksixi's claws from my leg."We were fairly certain already," said Dr. Toland. "The probe has been picking up radio signals in what sounds a lot like the language you and your friend were speaking to each other.""That's all well and good," I said. "But actual contact is a long way away, right? I mean, you don't have anything bigger than an unmanned probe that 'll actually go that far yet, do you?""Actually, we do, although admittedly it's still in the late stages of the construction phase at the moment." Dr. Fitzwalter spoke up. "We've made some real advances in spaceship technology in the past year, in part from analyzing your friend's ship. We now have our own adaptation of its drive system, which we call the Schaeffer-Dunlevy engine, in honor of the two engineers who figured out how it worked." Absently stroking his short, neatly-trimmed black beard as he spoke, he began a slow pacing of the room, warming to his explanation. "This engine produces sufficient thrust to function quite well as a near-light-speed drive for a moderate-sized ship. But even at NLS it would take quite a few years to reach Janus, as we've named the planet. However, due to the somewhat unique nature of our new drive system we now have the capability of traveling in what we call hyperspace. By traveling in this manner we're able to greatly reduce our travel time. That's how the probe was able to reach Janusian space so quickly. Sort of like taking a shortcut. It's simple how it works, so simple, in fact, that I don't know why we never thought of it before." He then proceeded to spend the next twenty or so minutes explaining how this "simple" technology worked, in the process completely losing me in a flood of technobabble like "Schaeffer effect" and "ion-plasma votices".