Technology of the Cortex

The Cortex is a network of billions of computers connected across the entire 'Verse. In simplest terms, the Cortex is very similar to the Internet but due to the interplanetary nature of human civilization, the Cortex has also become the most dominant media in existence.Distance and CommunicationThe nature of communication across vast distances is a key reason why the Cortex has become dominant. It is also an incredibly important concept to understand when RPing about the Cortex.As mentioned here communication is not instantaneous anywhere. When talking on the phone to someone just a few miles away or even just a few thousand miles away, communication seems instantaneous. However, electronic signals (containing text, images, sound, etc.) are constrained by the speed of light. Those communicating across a planet suffer an imperceptible lag in communication. Those communicating to nearby planets will have a lag of several minutes. Communication from one end of the 'Verse to the other will suffer from nearly two days of time lag because the distance is so very far. Thus, communication between distant places is anything but instantaneous. News of off-world events is not "live" and waves sent from distant places must be pre-recorded.

All activity on the Cortex suffers this same lag, yet it still remains dominant because at least the Cortex still works. At the local level, other forms of media may exist (e.g. traditional radio, television, and satellite enhanced versions of both). These forms of communication can be picked up after some delay on other worlds, but signals can be weak, scrambled, blocked, with changing periods as the two bodies move closer or further apart. In short, it's not practical to try and pick up such a signal from another world. It would be like constantly trying to adjust the antenna on an old TV just to get a weak image, and you're not even sure what channel you're on and what the programming would be.

The Cortex system overcomes these inconveniences and makes communication as easy as possible between worlds while still operating within the current limits of science.

How the Cortex Works

First, the Cortex is built on a strong infrastructure of relays, hubs, and terminals. While a traditional signal might just be sent off aimlessly from a planet, Cortex signals are tightbeamed off-world at the speed of light. The information packets hit a nearby relay which then broadcasts them out either to a specific destination or disseminates it to all relays in the 'Verse. Once making the trip from relay to relay, a copy of the information will be beamed down to the local hub's servers. The information will then be sent directly to the intended receiver, or if a more public piece of information, all local terminals will be updated with the new information.

For example:

1) I send a wave from Planet A to Planet B over the Cortex. The wave goes from my terminal to the local hub, then up into space to the relay, then across the relay network, then down from the network to the hub on Planet B, and then to Wisp's terminal.

2) I post a wanted add for a crew to perform a job. That information goes from my terminal to the local hub. The hub then distributes it to all other cortex terminals instantly on my planet. It will also send the signal on to the relay network. From there the information will hit each hub in the 'Verse and eventually every terminal in the 'Verse will be updated with my job offer (assuming I didn't specifically limit it to the local cortex).

Because of the time lag, you actually have two versions of the Cortex. You have the local cortex which operates much like the Internet we know. It's all real time interaction. People can talk/text, contribute to discussions, get breaking news, etc. You then have the greater cortex which is constantly being updated from off-world. Communication is not instantaneous and can actually have quite a serious lag. You might see a job offer that was actually taken down hours ago or reply to a post on a discussion forum with a dozen other people getting their replies in before yours ever shows up to them.

As you can imagine, the time lag can make the greater Cortex a bit of a drag. For social interaction and quick responses, the local cortex is the clearly superior choice. But when trying to access great stores of information, the greater cortex is superior with the entire technological might of humanity there for the taking.

Ship-based terminals are a third category because they have no static position or dedicated hub. For personal communications, a ship can fire off a message to the nearest known relay easily and on the receiving end, if the ship is on any cortex system's scanners, it can be located and the message can find it. However, ships can go off grid either due to intentional blackout or merely being out of range. When that happens, a ship's cortex will update the next time it comes in contact with a relay.

How to use the Cortex

To use the Cortex you first need to access a terminal. This can be done directly at a terminal, through a portable device that will connect to a nearby terminal (somewhat like connecting to a wireless network), or through the use of a dedicated sourcebox (which basically turns your device into a terminal). Public terminals typically require the use of an identcard and may charge for use.

Once on the Cortex, the entire 'Verse is open to you. The Cortex contains information on near anything you could want to look up. It is also a hub of commerce and business with listings for job opportunities, current prices of commodities, cortex shopping, etc. The Cortex is a place to pick up the news from across the 'Verse. It is also a source of entertainment in many forms from electronic books to music, and movies to games. The delayed nature of most of the Cortex can complicate things, but for the most part the Cortex is everything rolled into one and is as vast and varied as you can imagine.

Does everything use the Cortex?

No. As mentioned previously, signals can be and often are sent alternate ways although such media as television and radio are typically restricted to a single world's audience as a result while the Cortex is completely interplanetary. Outside of media, one can send personal communications across the Cortex of course, but there are other methods of communication as well. For example, ships typically rely purely on traditional forms of communication when out in the black. Most other devices can also form direct connections too.

The Cortex, however, is unrivaled in long distance communication and communication across very large groups of people. Within the relay system are also secured pathways as well as off-the-books relays and hubs used by the Alliance and other organizations for their more secured transmissions.

Relays and the Law

Every terraformed planet has at least one cortex hub and one orbital relay (with some planets having many, and sometimes each moon might have one or more too) which services that world and the surrounding area. Interspersed within the five systems are intermediate relays that orbit their stars. They collect the planetary relay signals and redirect them to the extra-solar relays which orbit around the fringes of the systems. From there the signal is sent to the next system's extra-solars and then to their intermediates, then the planetary relays, and down to the hubs. And that's how your message gets from your terminal to every terminal in the 'Verse.

As you might expect, the relay system is incredibly important to how the 'Verse operates. Simultaneously, the system is also incredibly vulnerable. Hubs are pretty secure facilities, but the actual relay satellites face a number of threats ranging from power failure and falling from their orbit and getting lost to being destroyed by asteroids or troublesome pirates. Some relays are attached to manned stations or within "secure" areas, but for the most part they are in the middle of nowhere and are unmanned. There are numerous redundancies in the system so the loss of one will not cause any serious effect, but they are all still incredibly vulnerable.

In addition to "acts of God" and troublemakers, relays face another threat. Those with the skill, know how, and equipment can commandeer relays. This can range from merely tapping all comms going through a relay to scrambling and altering information heading through them, blocking transmissions to completely diverting it from the cortex system to your own new system. Due to this great threat, the relays have strong passive defenses to prevent tampering and governments tend to police the relays more than they even police open piracy.