Cyberspace

Cyberspace or Data space is the name given to a highly connected planetary communication network largely given to data transmission. While the term generally applies to any data communications network, the specific term applies to a network with a million or more connection points constrained within a physical space like a planet, Arcology, or space station. The physical distance is limited by light speed and the communication network. The large number of communications presents challenges for filtering the data in ways to be usefully manipulated by sophonts, and usually presented as a virtualized display.

Description (Specifications)

Cyberspace is the virtual, unseen fabric existing between databases and computer entities. It is a nebulous, electronic world, linked and interconnected by Communications Equipment, where data is exchanged between nodes. Essentially, cyberspace is perceived by a jockey as a dark horizon-less plane that fades into a grey static haze.

• The static haze is the perception of the flow of data through the general fabric of cyberspace.

Entering cyberspace allows data nodes to be accessed and the flow of data between them and other nodes (known as data rivers) to be observed, mapped and understood. The width of the data rivers indicate the concentrations of data flowing between nodes. The larger and taller a node is, the more information it contains. Different colors within individual nodes or clusters of nodes represent different types of data. Intensities of color represent concentrations and importance of data, and also indicate its "natural" level of security: nodes protected by higher levels of security are generally silvery in color.

Data Nodes

Concentrations of data, contained within real world devices such as computers and robot brains, are perceived as nodes of different colors emerging from the cyberspace plane.

Structure

Each node represents one or more electronic devices connected to cyberspace. A cluster of nodes will generally represent a closely linked network of devices such as servers, though they often have a dispersed real world geography. Nodes most typically appear as cylindrical or cuboid, though specific nodes may be perceived as complex geometric shapes, as multi-faceted, or resembling natural crystals. Though it is not universally true, the simpler the device hosting the data, the more basic the form of its cyberspace node.

• Nodes are the jockeys perception of computers, artificial intelligences and electronic devices of all kinds that have a presence within cyberspace.
• The jockey's Cyberdeck is always visible as a node.
• Sophisticated or advanced devices that have a cyberspace presence may be engineered to have a simple shape within cyberspace in order to avoid drawing undue attention.
• Each device tends to contain a variety of types of data and as such a single node can have many bands of color.

Types of Nodes

Data Color	Data Type	Security Level
Silver	Heavily encrypted	Varies
White	Public records, navigation hubs	0 (Open)
Orange	Media/entertainment data	1
Grey	Unspecified/uncategorised data	1
Green	Environmental data, Life Support	2
Yellow	Personnel data, social media	2
Blue	Technology/technical data	3
Purple	Financial data (including tax records)	3
Red	Government data	3
Black	Military data	3

Identification

Most nodes carry a series of properties that they use to identify one another. This information includes:

• Corporate or business name.
• Network address code.
• Geographical code.
• Official registration code.

These properties are freely viewable and may even be displayed as readable data in cyberspace above a node – this may be part of local legal requirements. Nodes that do not carry such properties are usually private data sources belonging to individuals, or ‘black’ corporate entities that are operating without official permission.

Node Exteriors

The exterior of a node is often referred to as its shell. It is a barrier between the plane of cyberspace and the concentration of data within the node.

Node Cores

Within the core of a node the jockey is surrounded by streams and packets of flowing, ghostly, silvery data, backlit by the ambient color of the data type. Data can be accessed by calling up an interface.

Data Flow

Specific exchanges of data are perceived as rivers of encrypted silver. A data river emerges from a node and tracks across the cyberspace plane, rapidly connecting with another node. Data rivers can only be followed back and forth between the source node and the receiving node: they cannot be chanced across within the static haze, nor can they be jumped between.

• Unless one of the nodes is prevented from doing so, the two connected nodes are able to interrogate one another. If the interrogation process is successful the nodes are able to exchange data.
• The jockey's Cyberdeck will generally be connected to one or more nodes by a data river.

Communications Speed

Establishing a communications link between nodes is limited to real world physics and relies on the use of Communications Equipment. Communications signals travel as wavelengths of electromagnetic energy at speeds of approximately 300,000 km per second.

• A real world communications link between electronic devices allows a data river to be established between their cyberspace nodes.
• A link may be established through physical materials such as conductive cables or fiber optics, or by means of wireless (typically radio or lascom) transmissions.
• A link between devices located on the surface of a world – or between the world and an object in close orbit – is effectively instantaneous.
• Establishing a communications link with a location that is very far away, such as starships or secondary worlds within a system, takes time. A data river may take may take many minutes or even hours to transmit data to or retrieve data from such nodes, depending on the distance.
• If the communications link is lost or jammed, the faraway node becomes inaccessible. The jockeys perception will generally return to their Cyberdecks node. If data was being retrieved it will be partial, fragmented or completely unusable.

Data Security

Every node carries security. This ranges from basic firewalls and antivirus software through to deep-level, 100% encryption algorithms that renders the nature of the data contained within the node unreadable from the outside. A node with above average levels of security has a silver appearance.

• Nodes are policed by internal detection programs – Watchdogs – that are constantly hunting for unauthorized activity.
• Security is rated on a scale of 2 to 15. The higher the number, the greater the level of security.
• Security must be overcome to gain access to the data.

Security Levels

Security Level	Basic Details
0	Inherent generic firewall and antivirus software. Read-only data, data retrieval.
1	Inherent generic firewall and antivirus software. User login, data entry, modification and retrieval.
2	Basic commercial firewall and antivirus software.
5	Advanced commercial firewall and antivirus software. Administrative access.
8	Custom-developed security software. Programming access.
12	A heavily protected network running sophisticated custom-developed security software with tracing and hunter/killer capabilities.
15	A very heavily protected network running extremely sophisticated custom-developed security software with multiple tracing and hunter/killer programs.

Security Measures

Different responses may be triggered if the jockeys activities are detected:

• Intrusion alert: Watchdog programs detect the intrusion attempt and it is notified to administrators. The intrusion cannot be traced.
• Intrusion alert, plus automatic notification of intrusion attempts to security services. The intrusion cannot be traced but the security knows to look out for distinctive signatures and patterns that may occur within the node at a later date and react accordingly.
• Intrusion alert and notification, plus trace programs that identify the signature and source of the intrusion attempt and automatically deny any future attempts from the same source.
• Intrusion alert, notification and tracing, plus Hunter/Killer programs that launch automatic counterattacks against the source.

Navigating Cyberspace

The jockey perceives themselves within cyberspace as a disembodied consciousness, either floating slightly above the plane and close to a node or within the core of a node.

Avatar

The jockeys presence within cyberspace is called their avatar. It represents their point of consciousness and has the ability to interact with elements of cyberspace. This interactive capability most frequently takes the form of free-floating pointers, wands, hands, tentacles, or other manipulators: these are visible within the perception of the jockey only, they don't manifest within the fabric of cyberspace.

• Additional displays, symbols, icons, media and readouts can be called into conscious view as desired. It is normal to have an interactive map showing known cyberspace nodes and available data rivers, and status reports relating to real world items such as the jockeys Cyberdeck.

Skins

A Cyberdeck overlays a skin or veneer onto cyberspace in order to better perceive events and activities within it. A skin is a program resident within the Cyberdeck that interprets data and program activity around the jockey's cyberspace location. It then feeds the information to the jockeys consciousness as recognizable predefined forms. A typical skin set includes:

• Standardized data and media displays,
• Other users (upright luminous lozenges),
• Watchdogs (floating glowing spheres),
• Trackers (fast-moving translucent jellyfish),
• Hunter/Killers (spiky radiant amoeba).

A vast range of custom skins are available, often based on popular entertainment or gaming tropes. These may be extremely detailed but are purely a vanity item, visible only to the perception of the jockey.

Node Interface

Nodes generally have a means of interacting with them. This ability to gain access may be openly displayed. It may be the representation of a panel, a port or a socket, it may be images, icons and symbols displayed on or close to the node, or it may require auditory input or some kind of signature verification.

History & Background (Dossier)

Cyberspace has existed as an environment since electronic devices have been able to communicate with one another via Communications Equipment. The first large scale existence of cyberspace occurred during the First Imperium but cyberspace reached its modern form during the Rule of Man. It emerged from the evolution of Terran computer technology achieved prior to the Interstellar Wars period: following those conflicts a combination of Terran and Vilani electronic infrastructure became ubiquitous.

References & Contributors (Sources)

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This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Pete Nash, Nick Robinson. Cybernetics (Mongoose Publishing, 2011), 75.
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master Scout Emeritus Adie Alegoric Stewart of the IISS
• Compiler: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science