Interstellar Communication, First Era
The First Era began when the Subspace Engine technology empowered human spaceships to traverse the space with speeds that exceed the speed of light. There is no similar technology for rapid transfer of information though. It means that radio waves and laser beams are still the most prominent ways to transfer digital information. It means that instant digital communication is achievable between entities inside a singular star system, but completely impossible between the stars.
Despite these apparent limitations, both Empire and Federation have managed to develop unique solutions that make it possible to rapidly communicate between different star systems.
Imperial Solutions
The Herald – Since the early days of interstellar expansion, the Empire of Limmea was facing a challenge of interstellar communication. The earliest solution was to transmit all information to a medium transporter that would jump between colonies, send out the messages, receive the answers and jump back to Limmea.
Unfortunately, early generations of Subspace Engines were extremely fuel-inefficient and the jump range of such “postman vessel” was limited. An obvious solution was to send the Herald ship away onboard of a larger military vessel, and manage its returning in a similar way. For many colonies it meant that when the Imperial Colonial Fleet was passing through their system, the arrival of digital post was imminent.
Soon, Imperial fleets were called for the Herald by common citizens from colonies across the Empire. This tradition stuck, and by the Imperial Decree of Rahul Khan, the Herald fleets were formed. Their only purpose is to both patrol the space around Imperial colonies and transport digital data packages between star systems. This way, people of the Empire can expect a stable connection where a message can be transferred between different star systems in mere days.
The Duty to Transmit – This is a relatively new initiative that was widely adopted by the Imperial Civilian Fleet. In order to create a supportive alternative to the Herald Fleets, each civilian spaceship in the Empire became obliged to disclose its route to the Unified Transmission Service. Based on this information, every civilian vessel is digitally loaded with relevant messages and programmed to transmit them after reaching its destination.
This way, instead of few Herald fleets, the Empire became interconnected by thousands of small links provided by civilian vessels, meanwhile encryption and confirmation algorithms guarantee privacy and satisfaction. By having access to data from the Unified Transmission Service, the Imperial Navy High Command can also plan better routes for the Herald fleets so that they prioritize visiting “less popular” colonies that suffer from low civilian traffic.
Couriers – Each prominent organization in the Empire, like the University of Capitol, maintains a fleet of courier ships that can transfer physical and digital messages between star systems on demand. Couriers that serve some governmental entities are excepted from the Duty to Transmit in order to avoid accidental disclosure of their secret routes through the Unified Transmission Service.
Federal Solutions
Federal Post Service – Since the Dawn of Human Interstellar Alliance, multiple planetary governments and private corporations have organized services for transporting data packages and physical shipments between star systems. When the HIA became Federation, all these regional services were united under a single banner of the Federal Post Service.
While relying on a hybrid system of their own transport ships and dozens of affiliated subcontractors, Federal Post Service provides standardized communication services for all Federal subjects.
Interstellar Communications Guild – A clear competitor to the state-owned FPS, the Interstellar Communication Guild is a private organization that coordinates independent contractors to create a similar service for interstellar communication. Many private contractors that work for ICG are not dedicated data transporters, but simply rent out server space on their spaceships to earn passive income.
After the FPS got under scrutiny for screening the correspondence of its users, ICG gained recognition as a safer option to transfer sensitive data. Strong peer to peer encryption and randomization algorithms make it practically impossible to either trace or decode a message when it is being sent through the Guild’s network. Because of that privacy, even some governmental agencies use services of ICG, instead of FPS, to transfer their confidential correspondence.
The Subspace Communication Platform – This is an experimental solution that revolves around a fleet of autonomous communication platforms that continuously transmit data between worlds of the Federation by rapidly jumping between pre-programmed star systems. While being extremely expensive to built and maintain, this drone network promises to provide the fastest possible way to communicate between distant worlds in the Federal Space. The time frame for SCP to reach its commercial release is unclear.
Sources
Federal News Network
Imperial Informatorium
