[dmm]

Speaking of going faster than light, I read a very interesting book a LONG time ago that was based on the premise that our solar system had been traveling for eons in a region of space where c was reduced by 10 or a 100 compared to the rest of the universe. And then suddenly it came out, with the result that mental processes speeded up incredibly. Cows became sentient, monkeys became as smart as people used to be, average people became geniuses, and geniuses became frighteningly smart.