The Hypernet

Overview

The hypernet is a galaxy-wide network that was invented by the Kepek to connect their devices, similar to the internet, but on a much larger scale. Unlike the internet, however, the hypernet is much more segmented. Due to the vast distances between colonies, most planetary, ship and space stations colonies have their own regional hypernet that is supported by their own servers, and therefore a hypernet site that is available on, say, the Tabiren fleet's version of the hypernet may not exist on the Bektep Space Station's version. Some information and services are shared between all hypernet servers, but updating them is a slow process, so a lot of the shared information is things that the Kepek are certain will not be likely to change in the next 10 Bektep Orbits.

Access and Availability

Every Kepek has free and unlimited access to the hypernet, usually through Holowatchs or computers, but what version of it they see will depend on where they are.

Local Hypernet Servers

Every star system, interstellar colony fleet and space station has its own local hypernet server. The local Hypernet servers are very similar to the modern internet, so long as someone's device is compatible and within range of the signal output, they have access in real-time to anything and everything on their server. Anyone using local hypernet services can also create their own hypersite, and doing so is free and protected under galactic law, though sites with dangerous misinformation, hate-speech or disturbing content can be taken down at the discretion of the local governments (not many monitor it particularly closely though).

Local servers are kept to (relatively) small regions of space to ensure all users have fast and reliable connection to the servers. Information that needs to be shared on a galactic scale can, in some instances, be put on the galactic hypernet instead.

The Galactic Hypernet

The galactic hypernet is the version of the hypernet that can be accessed by any Kepek in the galaxy. It works by, once a Bektep Orbit, sending information to other servers via a modified Warp Drive on the Bektep Space Station. This Warp Drive is similar to what is found in many space craft and works by creating two wormholes, connected by a tunnel through hyperspace. Instead of sending a physical object like a ship through the wormholes though, information is shot through the hole using light. This light is interpreted by receivers on Interstellar Colony Flagships, planetary settlements and other space stations and used to update their servers. These receivers then act as relays, sending on the information to any compatible devices within their reach.

If a new device comes into contact with one of these receivers, it will automatically update that device's version of the galactic hypernet, meaning even if they wander out of range for any receivers, they will still have access to it, though it won't update again until they're back in range. Physical copies of the most recent update, held on scannable plates, are also given to ICF Captains when they visit the Bektep Space Station as a fail-safe, in case one of the updates gets corrupted along the way. The ICF Captains  are expected to pass a copy onto the leaders of the colonies under their control as well.

Because the servers can only be updated every so-often, regular users are not permitted to write to the galactic hypernet like they can on local servers to prevent the spread of misinformation and unnecessary bloat (which increases the risk of corruption when updates are sent out). Outside of the team on the Bektep Space Station who maintain the galactic hypernet, only ICF Captains  and the prime ministers of other colonies have the administrative privileges to do so, and even they usually only have the ability to manually install or revert to previous updates. As such, only pre-approved sites are hosted on the galactic hypernet. In order to be eligible to be hosted, a site must meet certain requirements:

• The site must be bug-free or have as few issues as possible.

• Regular updates are not essential to the accuracy or functionality of the site to remain in-tact

• The information on the site has been fact checked by a number of independent/unbiased sources. It must get a minimum if 95% approval rate from the fact-checking process.

• It must be of benefit to all or a good number Citizens.