Communication

Is it possible to communicate from one side of the galaxy to the other without sending a message by spaceship?

Game Code

• The Vanilla game coding has one statement on the matter only - that if one attains a illegal status and a credit rating, that that travels with one from system to system across the galaxy. Moving from one galaxy to another loses the illegal status, but retains the credit rating.

Lore

• In the Lore, we find two approaches.

In The Dark Wheel, Alex Ryder, recuperating in a Moray Medical Boat, accepts a call from Rafe Zetter:

'What is it?' he asked the empty room, and a nurse's voice whispered, 'There's a holoFac message coming through for you. They've requested a tightbeam. Will you receive?' Alex sat up in bed. No-one knew he was here. Did they? He frowned, and said, 'Sure.' 'Will you accept the charge against your CR?' Curiouser and curiouser. Since he was broke, and without credit until he sorted out his GMC insurance, it was easy for him to say, 'Yes.' In the middle of the room the air suddenly shimmered white, small bright particles flying off in all directions around the gradually defined shape of a man. He was tall, but slightly stooped. As the whiteness of the image resolved into colour, the whiteness of the man stayed. His hair was long and snowy, his beard ragged. His face had a touch of colour. His eyes were small, gleaming points among the wrinkles. He was smiling. He wore a tattered trader's uniform, and one arm hung limp by his side. Even his boots were worn down, and the toes were split. The handlaser at his side had seen the same better days as the rest of his equipment. 'You the Ryder Boy?' this apparition of run-down age asked. The voice creaked, a gruff, battered tone, the voice of a man who had breathed hard vacuum. 'That's me. Alex Ryder. And you?' Alex climbed out of bed and went to stand before the life-sized holoFac. The old man watched him, and chewed. Then he spat. The gobbet of stained spittle seemed to fly straight towards Alex's shoulder and he winced and jerked slightly to one side, before realising that nothing could travel into real space from the holo.

(The Dark Wheel §2)

This seems to contrast with Imprint where we find this:

Plenty of spacers passed dock time with rented message boxes filed under IR codes and maintained 6 by Orbital Space Authorities. It was indicative of the strange lives spacers led, especially inter- system runners. "Meet me at Xexeti", as one spacer saying went. A downpayment would open a box for ten years with additional fees for access time. Unused boxes were generally archived and there were probably uncounted self scribed epitaphs in data storage throughout the eight galaxies.

(Imprint §2)

A Transrelations Database structure was fully integrated with the ship's Financial Systems. Each IR signature constituted a corporate identity providing a distinction between trading activities and the personal Credit-Rating of a pilot. Escape capsules took a critical data dump with a straight financial transfer to a 'crisis' account to be re-established under a new IR signature.

(Imprint §4)

Rif had opened a message box at Leesti shortly after he had sold the cargo. He was surprised to see a message waiting, having left the link active unintentionally before he had left the ship.

(Imprint §6)

Rif had seen Warniss more recently. Once he was fit again he had taken to developing trade runs; getting to know places. Rif appreciated his level-headed advice, his intuitive trading analysis and his wicked sense of humour. He hadn't heard from Warniss since then, apart from picking up one old message at Maxeedso. Those messages that you collected out of date and out of synch with time always got to Riff. Snippits of history waiting to be picked up, there was a certain mystique to them because the converse train of thought was that you were living in the future.

(Imprint §10)

Drew Wagar's Oolite Saga introduces the Tionisla Chronicle Array and its star reporter Anna Mereso. Drew seems to favour the Dark Wheel's view of communication rather than Imprint's.

Conclusion

There is no one answer to the question. You answer it yourself through your choice of OXPs.

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Links

Tionisla Chronicle Array

• The Dark Wheel
• Imprint
• Oolite Saga

OXP's

Working with the Vanilla game code

• CommsLogMFD allows reading through old messages

• Communications Pack A more in-flight messages from NPC ships
• Death Comms more in-flight messages from NPC ships

Adding abilities to the game

• BroadcastComms MFD allows you to message NPC ships

• Email System OXP docked messaging (from NPC's, although other OXPs allow it to send replies)

• GNN and it's older version Snoopers - news flashes while docked
• Tionisla Chronicle Array - based on Drew's Oolite Saga, station (which broadcasts news across the galaxy)