A Dimensional Tear is a sub-space energy disturbance in the fabric of space-time.

Spacecraft which entered a Dimensional Tear could form hyperspace linkways through non-space to nearby parallel dimensions.

History

The Dimensional Tear first showed up on the long range scan of Starbug, and Cat said that it was very strange, although he wouldn't commit as to whether it was a "wibbly thing" or a "swirly thing". Gathering in the cockpit, the Dwarfers saw an undulating mass of orange-coloured energy heading strait for Starbug.

Kryten said that is was a power surge which was causing a major disturbance in the fabric of space-time. Cat quipped that it was also casing a disturbance in the fabric of his pants. Dave Lister said it looked like a tear, and Kryten suggested a temporal rift. When Cat suggested trying to outrun it, Lister said that it was going faster than a copy of Hello in a nunnery. Kryten suggested treating it like a tidal wave and flying into the eye of the storm. This caused major turbulence and electrical disruption aboard Starbug, but the ship survived it.

The rift caused a hyperway through non-space to materialise on the engineering deck in the rear of the 'bug. The hyperway was an unstable, pulsating ethereal tunnel of blue azure laser light which led to a parallel universe. Parts of the link were fragile enough that they could be pierced by Cat's foot. The hole bled into non-space, something Kryten warned them to avoid. Lister compared it to Rimmer's Hammond organ recital nights.

The Starbug crew met their alternate selves coming in the opposite direction. When it was established that it was Kochanski who survived the accident in their reality, and she was in a relationship with her parallel version of Lister - a sophisticated hologram - Lister became despondent. At that moment a Kinitawowi battle cruiser managed to infiltrate non-space and attack the hyperway. The link was separated with Kochanski on the wrong side.

She worked frantically to re-establish the hyperway by using electromagnetic phasing frequencies. Kryten assisted her and they were able to reconnect with the alternate Starbug. After celebrating and swapping supplies, Kochanski went to rejoin her shipmates. Another GELF ship appeared and severed the link once more, so Kochanski decided to jump the gap...and missed.

As she fell into infinite non-space, she used a communicator to contact Lister. He quickly found a crossbow and some rope and managed to shoot a line down to her. Unfortunately the crossbow bolt stabbed into Kochanski's leg and she then subjected Lister to several minutes of gratuitous verbal abuse. The hyperlink self-repaired shortly thereafter, leaving Kochanski stuck on the wrong Starbug. ("Ouroboros", Series VII)

Kochanski's plan to open another link to her dimension failed when Lister insisted on passing through a comet's tail to get to another anomaly. Starbug was so badly damaged that they missed the opportunity to make another connection. ("Blue", Series VII)

Gallery

The Dimensional Tear in space

Starbug flies into the eye of the storm

Inside the Dimensional Tear

The membrane between two realities has collapsed

Walking down the hyperspace linkway

The linkway between two dimensions going through the tear

Meeting the alternate Dwarfers

The alternate Dwarfers with an alive Kristine Kochanski

The two Listers meet

Lister meets Kristine Kochanski again

The Kinitawowi battle cruiser attacks the linkway

The attack from the GELF ship severs the linkway

The alternate Lister has to be held back from jumping into non-space after Kochanski

Lister saves Kochanski with his dental floss...

...and later, a crossbow

Trivia

• It is unclear whether the Dimensional Tear was a natural or artificial phenomena. Since Kryten has proved to be familiar with most spacial phenomena in earlier episodes, yet was not familiar with the Dimensional Tear, it may not have been a natural phenomena. It is possible that the Dimensional Tear was deliberately created, given that Kochanski had wanted to find an "alive" version of Lister to father a child with, and that her crew were much more sophisticated and technologically adept than the usual Dwarfers.

Behind the Scenes

• Series VII digital effects designer Chris Veale created the shots of the Dimensional Tear. These included unused shots of the Dimensional Tear connecting Starbug to Kochanski's version of Red Dwarf, which can be viewed on the Series VII DVD special features.