Cobalt Greywalker Wrote:The Network
So the gates work LIKE a data net. This implies a few things:
a) The gates have ridiculous range, practically NO limits on range at all. Why this conclusion? Well, the gates can’t work exactly a data network, otherwise they’d have to be more like Stargate universe style stargates (which are matter/energy converters like Star Trek transporters, but coupled to wormholes to go FTL). Nothing so far written about the gates indicates this style. Thus the gates are ALL point-to-point. The data net-like form must come about by the gates passing messages between them to work out the distance/orientation/motion parameters so the wormhole can form.
IF the gate network IS, in fact, spread across the galaxy, that gives a range of roughly 100,000ly (depending on your estimate of the Milky Way’s diameter). Add in orbiting dwarfs and we’re adding another zero to the end of that.
b) the gates have a comms network between them with superior range and speed to Interwave comms. If it’s a QEC network, it’s superior to the current Fen QEC network in throughput.
c) there HAS to be some sort of busy signal. I very much doubt multiple gates can connect to a single destination at the same time. No-one’s tried it yet to see.
I had a few ideas about this involving (technoblabble incoming) a tuneable quantum entanglement... like normal entanglement, but if you know the "address" you can dial a receiver. Very difficult to do right, especially on long distance and without the special elements involved in the gates.
The catgirls at Nostromo have been trying to make sense out of the atomic crystal structure of their share (~ 500 gramm) of gate metal, but the only thing they got until "now" are a few improvements for their normal waved QEDs (mostly in terms of bandwidth and device size).
What do you think about the idea?