Communications

• Mail:

Written letters are fairly uncommon, but they do still exist. The postal service still deals with official documents from time to time, although it's possible to sign and send documents electronically in a secure way. Most use of mail is the delivery of packages to individuals and businesses, and is an extension of the freight industry. Because electronic systems do go down from time to time though, it is a useful backup for communications and is considered important to maintain for this reason.

• Telephones:

Voice communication is common, both with and without video, and most of it takes place over the same infrastructure as internet (or “Network”) communications. Fiber optic cables and wireless technology are common throughout most of the continents, although telecommunications are a bit more spotty in Boreas. Intercontinental communications are well-established between the southern continents, and it's not hard to contact city centers in Boreas (rural areas are more difficult to contact from international locations), but the Andalus Isles are largely cut off and most international communication is monitored and controlled by the government there. (If you want to communicate directly with someone from Andalus, most likely you will have to be patched through by a government operator or computer system, and all such calls are logged and might even be recorded.)

• Internet:

The internet is called the “Network” throughout most of Hemera, and it takes on different forms in each country. While each nation's network can be connected to others, each one is largely independent and communications between networks are monitored by individual governments. The Network varies by nation. Boreas has a far less structured Network than other countries, with more sites run by individuals, whereas Messembria has sites run by various companies or parts of the government, with community sites set up for social networking and individual postings. Messembrian citizens require a license in order to post original content online (such as setting up a website), although talking on public forums doesn't generally require this. Email and instant messaging are the most common form of communication between individuals, and it is rarely monitored or very closely controlled, but accounts are officially registered for each individual.

• Satellites & intercontinental communications:

Most intercontinental communications use transoceanic cables, which are maintained by the nations that placed them, although all such placement and maintenance is now overseen and regulated by the Andalus Isles, who control most oceanic waters. They do not necessarily have access to all international communications, but they do monitor maintenance work.

While satellites were the primary method of communication early in Hemera's history, their use died out soon after the Global War, when new satellites could no longer be launched and there was no way to repair old ones. For a few centuries only land-based communications were used, but a few decades ago, when the space program was revived, Messembria managed to put a few satellites in orbit that are still functioning today, although the space program was put on hold and resources diverted to the Global Defense Force after Erebos came to Hemera. Satellite communications are fairly unreliable and depend on current orbital positioning.

• Information technology, automation, and AI:

Information technology and automation are widespread and fairly sophisticated. Cars in particular are usually autonomous and can drive themselves, making decisions about safe driving, traffic, and navigation. Similar levels of computerized decision-making are common throughout Hemera, but true articifical intelligence is much harder to come by. There are a number of sentient systems throughout the world, all owned and maintained by national governments. These systems are capable of something much like conscious thought and can perceive and analyze information, but they are extremely complex and expensive. Even more so are sapient AI systems, which have the capacity to reason and judge to a higher degree than lower-tier AI, and could be considered to have something like wisdom. These are highly experimental and are very few in number; there may be no more than three or four in Messembria, and it's doubtful whether any other nations have developed an AI this advanced yet.

• Simulation technology:

Simulations are quite common, emerging from the video game and electronic entertainment industries. They are often used for education and information analysis as well as entertainment. There's a wide range of simulation types, and the level of complexity varies widely. Typical simulations involve visual and auditory input, like modern video games, but some also block out external stimuli to some degree – for example, the use of special headpieces with goggles and headphones. Some also provide tactile and vibration feedback, and the most complex will trigger scent and taste. These apply only to the most expensive of entertainment simulations though, and anything more complex is usually far beyond the price range of ordinary consumers.

Fully immersive simulations can neurally link up with the subject and directly stimulate various centers of the brain. This is complex and expensive and is not generally used for entertainment purposes; instead, it is primarily used for medical and psychological treatments and advanced scientific research. The use of such simulations for training purposes has been part of military research and experimentation for the last 20-30 years, but scenarios have usually been simple and typically last a few hours. The longest such simulation to date took place over three days.

The Mental Augmentation Directive is the most ambitious simulation project to date. It is designed specifically to train the psyche to accept complex concepts and worldviews, and early research suggested that a complicated scenario that produces a wide variety of emotions and situations would work best for this purpose. To that end, teams were recruited from the entertainment fields, as they had the most experience in using simulations as a story-telling medium. The selected team, which made up for what it lacked in business sense and entertainment marketing with an enthusiasm for obscure and unusual stories, had received awards for innovative storytelling related to gameplay. However, they've been widely criticized for making unwise choices regarding story and gameplay as well, so their record is very inconsistent. They've been recruited to work with the AI for the project to design a scenario that will fit the required parameters for optimal mental training of the prospective mech pilots.