Extra-Planar Network Interface
At the center of the mighty Earthnode at Zor is the Heart of the
World, an enormous outcropping of quartz which has been bathed in the energy
of the Node for millenia. Shards of this crystal retain an ethereal link
to the parent and will flash more rapidly as they approach (rather like
a heartbeat, from whence the name was chosen). For centuries shards have
been used to guide travellers safely through the wasteland to Zor.
By placing such a shard in a magnetic field while infusing the
crystal with essence, a signal can be sent through the ethereal link back
to the Heart of the World. Using two such devices a message can be sent
over vast distances to Zor. The link between crystals is a tenuous one
and much of the signal is lost or corrupted by its trip through the Ether,
limiting its usefulness. Nonetheless, by using a computing device to drive
the signal and incorporating a great deal of redundancy and error corrective
coding such a link can be a viable means of communication. The shape and
size of each shard establishes a resonant frequency which is believed to
be unique amongst the shards, which can be used as a message addressing
facility.
Due to the power required to initiate the connection, such a
signal is generally sent but once per day. Messages are batched until communication
with Zor is established, then uploaded to the Node. Any messages waiting
at the Node are downloaded at the same time. The protocol used to establish
communication in this way is called ttcp (Tmage - Tmage CoPy). The collection
of computer systems able to communicate in this way is called the InterNode.
Spells used: none