SJ:
You are probably more than aware of this, but most of the science fiction explanations for FTL actually attempt to by-pass the vessel actually going faster than light. For example in ST they wave their hands about, spinning a yarn about some sort of warp bubble - the bubble goes faster than light because it's a tachyon (or equiv.) bubble that
must go faster than light. The bubble and everything within it moves FTL
relative to the rest of the universe, but the stuff inside the bubble remains moving at sub-light speeds
relative to other stuff within the bubble - ie normal matter is never moving FTL. SW employs a similar sort of side-step on the issue of FTL with hyper-space being non-normal space with a unique set of light speed restrictions.
Therefore, within the majority of Sci-Fi genres, the actual (normal matter) vessels never go up to nor do they ever pass the speed of light themselves. As a result, time neither slows nor reverses for them (relative to objects at a hypothetical rest, whatever that's supposed to be).
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For example, if we hook up a drive capable of what would be ten times the speed of light to a Twinkie, and send it five light-years away and back (ten light-years total distance), we'll see it re-appear in ten years time, and history will not be changed, but the Twinkie will only have aged one year. No humpback whales will be saved.
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Now what's all this about Humpback whales being saved by Twinkies? Is there some sort of nutritional requirement on the part of FTL whales that I wasn't aware of? 
[ December 04, 2002, 23:11: Message edited by: jimbob ]