We are either watching a mind fake in action, or we are on the cusp of a revolution in travel. The USN has apparently spent time on this, but whether that is to mess with the minds of everyone else or not remains to be seen.
Mr Pais Marvellous Invention
Inertial mass reduction would be nice for getting from A to B, whether that is Transpac, or from Southpark to Springfield, Or from the 3rd rock to Alpha Centauri...
If it fits on a belt and reduces tummy size, that would also be neat.
Emmett "Doc" Brown, eat your heart out. Now I'm going to go and set fire to all my fizix books, or have a fire sale. or a chicken burrito, yes, I think I need a chicken burrito...
If he is right, it's going to be an interesting world. Either way, a lot of effort is going to go into exploring that assumption.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvatore_Pais
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
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Hamlet (1.5.167-8), Hamlet to Horatio