Communication

Since the first city states arose upon the banks of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris in the 5th millennium B.C., and likely many centuries before then, the ability to maintain communication over distance has been at the forefront of human civilization. The speed and reliability with which messages could be sent has decided wars, toppled countries, saved lives and taken them away. It is no exaggeration to say that without proper lines of communication, civilization simply cannot exist.

As technology progressed, the runner was replaced by the relay rider and he by the telegraph and so forth, until Man placed satellites into low-orbit and employed radio waves and thus allowed for instant and wireless communication the World over. Throughout the many centuries communication never lessened in importance, but rather grew in value to civilization. The necessity of quick and reliable messages did not cease once Man reached for the stars, but the vastness of space posed many challenges in the development of practical interplanetary, and later interstellar, communication. In order for civilization to exist amidst the uncaring and infinite cosmos, many new technologies would need be developed and many tribulations overcome. It is now the 27th century and thanks to the innovations of previous generations, reliable interstellar communications are now a reality and thus Man has conquered the stars and civilization continues.

What follows is a detailed description of the various modes and methods of communication; interpersonal, interplanetary and interstellar, employed by Man in the 27th century. It will detail the mechanism and function of each medium of communication, its benefits and detriments compared to other modes, and the history thereof. The following list is not exhaustive, but encompasses the most common and most noteworthy means of sending and receiving messages in this century.

### Radio Transmission

Radio is a technological means of communication which employs radio waves to transmit and receive messages wirelessly. It should be noted that radio waves cover a wide swath of the electromagnetic spectrum; anything between 30 and 300 Hz. Different frequencies are employed for different conditions. The use of radio waves for communication finds its ancient origins in the late 19th century and since its inception, has remained a vital method of telecommunication some 740 years later. The applications of radio in the 27th century are manifold. It is used for personal telecommunication devices and all manner of intraplanetary telecommunication needs. In space it is generally used for communication over short distances of up to one astronomical unit between transmitter and receiver. Use of radio beyond that range causes too severe a delay to be practical. Because radio waves travel at the speed of light, they are useless for interstellar communication; it would take 4.37 years for a message from Earth to reach Chiron, for instance.

### Superluminal Electromagnetic Transmission

Superluminal electromagnetic transmission (SET), or electromagnetic interstellar communication (EMIC) is a technological means of communication which employs electromagnetic radiation tuned to unfathomably low frequencies in order to transmit information at speeds many times faster than c. Superluminal electromagnetic transmission was developed out of a necessity for practical interstellar communication and is the single most important technological development in the last five centuries. Despite being the fastest method of telecommunication currently available to humanity, interstellar communications remains far from instantaneous. SE waves travel at a speed of 148,832,000,000 miles per hour. At this speed, it takes a message approximately 7  hours for a message transmitted from Earth to be received on Chiron. For another example; it would take 31.9 hours for a message transmitted from Earth to be received on Dunor. While such speeds might seem slow, compared to 4.37 and 19.92 years for radio transmission, SET is obviously the preferable option. Due to the considerable delay, SET is in many ways more akin to sending letters than telephonic communication. Because of this, star-systems have their own local internet systems and interstellar communication by regular citizens is rare and complicated. Starships travelling the expanses between systems are incapable of receiving signals from any internets or other radio-based broadcast and thus starship crews cannot access information from such databases. For this reason physical storage for media such as films and music has seen a resurgence in the past centuries.