Slipstream space: Difference between revisions

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(It's an important point to make that we don't know if the UNSC's ansible is slipspace-based - it might also use quantum entanglement or some exotic handwavium.)
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==Application==
==Application==
===Communications===
===Communications===
While reliant on starships to carry information across interstellar distances for a significant portion of their spacefaring history, humanity had successfully developed superluminal communications technology which allows interstellar communication in real-time by [[2552#July|July 2552]].<ref group="note">In ''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'' Chapter 16, [[Jacob Keyes|Captain Keyes]] contacts [[Hieronymus Michael Stanforth|Admiral Stanforth]] from the [[Sigma Octanus system]] on a FLEETCOM priority channel and they have a real-time exchange. Stanforth is implied to be in a different system at the time. In addition, in [[Dr. Halsey's personal journal|her journal]], Halsey receives an after-action report of the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]] on July 18, 2552, the same day the battle took place. This would be impossible without a near-instantaneous communications system, as a ship could not have possibly traveled from Sigma Octanus system to [[Reach]] in a matter of hours; it took two weeks for [[Battle Group Leviathan]] to make the journey. Furthermore, according to [[Halo Graphic Novel, Page 122|page 122]] of the ''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]'', some sort of superluminal communications system was used by [[Catherine Elizabeth Halsey|Dr. Catherine Halsey]] to contact Earth while onboard the {{UNSCship|Gettysburg}}. The transcript seems to show Halsey transmitting commands in real time. Even if this is accomplished using a script, it still takes about 36 minutes for the data to be transmitted from Earth to somewhere near [[Eridanus Secundus]]. The log in the ''Graphic Novel'' has an opening timestamp of 04:16 on September 12th, 2552; chapter 27 of ''Halo: First Strike'' opens at 04:50 on September 12th, at which point the data has apparently been received. The distance is unknown, however, and so the exact speed can not be calculated. Further examples of instantaneous superluminal communication are seen in the [[Data Drop]]s.</ref> UNSC [[emergency locator beacon]]s,<ref name="fs">'''[[Halo: First Strike|Halo: First Strike (2010)]]''', "[[Tug o' War]]"</ref> judging by their nickname of "slipbeacons",<ref name="blood">'''[[Halo: Blood Line]]''', ''[[Halo: Blood Line Issue 1|Issue 1]]''</ref> can apparently send signals through slipspace. How this technology functions, or what its limits are, has not been specified. This system may operate in a similar fashion to a form of communication known as "slipstream packets", which are, in essence, recorded audio messages, rather like letters. Human civilians were able to use slipstream packets by September [[2552]].<ref>[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/surveillance_archive/week6_subject3.wav '''i love bees''': ''week6_subject3.wav'']</ref><ref>[[Axon Clips Chapter 6#Kamal|'''Axon Clips''': ''Chapter 6'']]</ref> These messages are sent through [[Waypoint]], a service which utilizes the UNSC's communications network.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rPeMxbvCjYo '''YouTube''': ''Halo: From A to Z with Frank O'Connor'']</ref>
While reliant on starships to carry information across interstellar distances for a significant portion of their spacefaring history, humanity had successfully developed superluminal communications technology which allows interstellar communication in real-time by [[2552#July|July 2552]].<ref group="note">In ''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'' Chapter 16, [[Jacob Keyes|Captain Keyes]] contacts [[Hieronymus Michael Stanforth|Admiral Stanforth]] from the [[Sigma Octanus system]] on a FLEETCOM priority channel and they have a real-time exchange. Stanforth is implied to be in a different system at the time. In addition, in [[Dr. Halsey's personal journal|her journal]], Halsey receives an after-action report of the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]] on July 18, 2552, the same day the battle took place. This would be impossible without a near-instantaneous communications system, as a ship could not have possibly traveled from Sigma Octanus system to [[Reach]] in a matter of hours; it took two weeks for [[Battle Group Leviathan]] to make the journey. Furthermore, according to [[Halo Graphic Novel, Page 122|page 122]] of the ''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]'', some sort of superluminal communications system was used by [[Catherine Halsey|Dr. Catherine Halsey]] to contact Earth while onboard the {{UNSCship|Gettysburg}}. The transcript seems to show Halsey transmitting commands in real time. Even if this is accomplished using a script, it still takes about 36 minutes for the data to be transmitted from Earth to somewhere near [[Eridanus Secundus]]. The log in the ''Graphic Novel'' has an opening timestamp of 04:16 on September 12th, 2552; chapter 27 of ''Halo: First Strike'' opens at 04:50 on September 12th, at which point the data has apparently been received. The distance is unknown, however, and so the exact speed can not be calculated. Further examples of instantaneous superluminal communication are seen in the [[Data Drop]]s.</ref> How this technology functions, and whether it uses slipspace as a carrier at all, has not been specified. This system may be related to a form of communication known as "slipstream packets", which are, in essence, recorded audio messages, rather like letters. Human civilians were able to use slipstream packets by [[2552#September|September 2552]].<ref>[http://transmit.ilovebees.com/surveillance_archive/week6_subject3.wav '''i love bees''': ''week6_subject3.wav'']</ref><ref>[[Axon Clips Chapter 6#Kamal|'''Axon Clips''': ''Chapter 6'']]</ref> These messages are sent through [[Waypoint]], a service which utilizes the UNSC's communications network.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rPeMxbvCjYo '''YouTube''': ''Halo: From A to Z with Frank O'Connor'']</ref> UNSC [[emergency locator beacon]]s,<ref name="fs">'''[[Halo: First Strike|Halo: First Strike (2010)]]''', "[[Tug o' War]]"</ref> judging by their nickname of "slipbeacons",<ref name="blood">'''[[Halo: Blood Line]]''', ''[[Halo: Blood Line Issue 1|Issue 1]]''</ref> can apparently send signals through slipspace.


Before the advent of superluminal communications, most human long-range communiques were carried on the shipboard memory of starships such as automated [[freighter]]s. On the other end of the ship's slipspace journey, the message would be relayed to the intended recipient.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 35''</ref> At the time of the establishment of the [[Cole Protocol]] in [[2531]], while unable to send messages through slipspace itself, the UNSC was able to use a form of slipspace manipulation to obfuscate radio transmissions sent from Earth centuries earlier in order to prevent the Covenant from using the signals to triangulate Earth's location.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole"'', ''page 469''</ref>
Before the advent of superluminal communications, most human long-range communiques were carried on the shipboard memory of starships such as automated [[freighter]]s. On the other end of the ship's slipspace journey, the message would be relayed to the intended recipient.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 35''</ref> At the time of the establishment of the [[Cole Protocol]] in [[2531]], while unable to send messages through slipspace itself, the UNSC was able to use a form of slipspace manipulation to obfuscate radio transmissions sent from Earth centuries earlier in order to prevent the Covenant from using the signals to triangulate Earth's location.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole"'', ''page 469''</ref>
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