X-mail
X-mail or Express Mail is a term for interstellar mail carried in-between the stars (...and their associated mainworlds) by various kinds of mercantile starcraft.
- It is normally transported by X-boats although subsidized merchants, tramp freighters, and many other kinds of craft may take mail contracts.
- X-mail is a kind of cargo.
Description (Specifications)
A variety of mail types exist from old-fashioned paper missives, to bulky packages, to electronic messages, and more. Mail is typically carried within a secure Mail Vault by contract specification although mail might be transported otherwise when vaults are not available.
Despite the name X-mail or Express Mail, it can sometimes be quite slow, taking months, weeks, or even years to reach its destination. In the case of misjumps, some mail has even been recorded as taking decades or even centuries to reach its destination due to time dilation effects. And, of course, some mail NEVER reaches its destination.
History & Background (Dossier)
The sheer size of the Imperium means that ordinary communications must depend on ships travelling along the main trade routes, making Regina (Regina / Spinward Marches 1910) nearly four years out from the Imperial Core Sector.
The express boat (abbreviated X-boat) system, established originally in 624 and expanded to cover the entire Imperium by 718, cuts this communication time by nearly 75 percent. Selected locations along major trade routes are established as sites for express stations, which are orbital facilities which service and refuel the X-boats on their communications runs. Often an express boat tender serves as the station.
The Xboat System was established by Arbellatra in 624, and expanded to cover the entire Imperium by 718.
References & Contributors (Sources)
- Classic Traveller Starships
- Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
- Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science