Technology
Learn all about the technology of the mid-23rd century on this page.
Aerostat
A particle collector balloon that drops down into an atmosphere and collects particles commonly used in nuclear fusion and antimatter processes.
Auditory Implants
Technological enhancements to the human ear that enhance hearing.
Auditory implants can allow a wide range of abilities, including increases in volume, distortion filtering, and more.
Auto-syringe
An advanced type of syringe that injects medication or medites directly into the bloodstream without the use of a painful needle.
Comm Net
The tactical communications network through which U.N. pilots and other officers exchange information. When U.N. pilots
"open a comm net channel," they're typically referring to establishing a duplex (two-way) voice connection with another
ally. However, the entire comm net includes all data transfer transfer channels, not just voice channels.
Cormorant
An SF-515 Cormorant star fighter craft is the predecessor to the U.N. SF-522 Starthroat. See the Starthroat section below for details.
E-Slip
A tablet matrix (computer pad) as thin as a sheet of paper.
Eyecam
Shorthand for a small camera with an eyepiece that can be worn on the head like a pair of ear muffs or over one ear.
Gravgel
Shorthand for gravity gelatin. Star fighter cockpits fill with this clear, viscous, lightweight, and non-stick substance
in order to protect pilots from the force of extreme acceleration.
Scientists have known since the 20th century that water, and more generally liquids, can provide insulation from acceleration.
Early experiments showed that a piece of organic material immersed in water could survive roughly ten times the g-force as the same
material when unsubmerged. However, filling aircraft or spacecraft with water proved impractical because of the weight/mass.
Studies in this area continued until the late 22nd century, when a scientist invented a gelatinous substance that provided more than
ten times the protection of water but with a fraction of the mass. This substance became known as gravgel.
Holocube
Shorthand for holographic display cube. Holocubes are three-dimensional display screens, more advanced than their 2D holoscreen predecessors.
Holoscreen
Shorthand for holographic display screen. In the mid 23rd century, most holoscreens are two-dimensional touch screens.
Matrix
An A.I. (artificial intelligence) matrix is an advanced computer which functions on the premise of quantum computing.
Mediquantite
An advanced medite capable of regenerating almost any form of biological tissue by reading DNA. See "medite" below for further details.
Medite
A nanite used for medical applications. See "nanite" below for further details.
Nanite
A microscopic robot or machine so small it's invisible to the naked eye. Nanites are used in everything from commercial products
to medical applications to military weapons.
Nanorobotic Narcotics
Drugs administered via nanites, or nanites that affix themselves to human cells and produce similar effects to drugs.
Most nanorobotic narcotics are illegal due to their detrimental side effects.
Sparks are one type of nanorobotic narcotic. See "nanites" and "sparks" for further details.
Net Specs
Visor-like eyewear which serve the same general purpose as smart phones and did in the 21st century. The first net specs came about
in the early 21st century when Google introduced Google Glass. Smart eyewear became big in the mid-to-late 2000's, fell out of style
in the 2100's, and came back in style in the 2200's.
Neudar
Shorthand for "neutrino radar." Conventional radar bounces radio waves off targets in order to determine their location.
Sonar bounces sound waves off targets in similar fashion. Neutrinos are subatomic particles with almost no mass that pass through
anything. Therefore, neudar is radar that bounces neutrinos off targets to determine location. And since nothing blocks
neutrinos, signals can be sent through the center of the Earth, the Sun, or any other celestial body without being blocked.
Back in the 21st century, this technology was only theoretical. Scientists struggled to make it work because they didn't know
how to capture a neutrino signal when neutrinos pass through everything like tiny little ghosts.
But by the late 22nd century, scientists figured it out.
Simply put, there is no hiding from neudar unless anti-neutrino jamming technology is employed. Many force fields include
anti-neutrino jamming.
Neurofeed
A communications signal fed (sent) directly to or from the brain or any signal consisting of brainwave patterns.
Neurotronic
The term "electronic" refers to devices which operate based on the flow of electricity through circuits.
Neurotronic devices, then, function through the flow of neural energy, allowing machines to be controlled by thought.
Ocular Implants
Technological enhancements to the lens, cornea, iris, and other parts of the human eye that enhance vision.
Ocular implants can allow a wide range of abilities, including magnification, night vision, x-ray vision, thermal imaging, and more.
Phase Drive
The phase drive is an engine capable of opening a wormhole, allowing a spacecraft to pass through that hole into hyperspace,
and permitting that same craft to return to normal space in less time than it would take light to travel the same distance.
From a practical standpoint, phase drives allow faster-than-light travel even though the spacecraft itself never moves
faster than light.
Phase Fighter
A star fighter craft equipped with a phase drive and thus capable of faster-than-light travel. A phase fighter is more
maneuverable and more heavily armed than an SF-522A Starthroat (see the Starthroat section for further details).
A phase fighter's range is limited to intrasolar distances (it can reach Pluto or the Oort Cloud but not Proxima Centauri).
Phase Shift
A phase shift is the act of traversing a wormhole into or out of hyperspace. An upshift refers to wormhole entry while
a downshift refers to wormhole exit.
Phase Technology
Powered by antimatter, phase technology allows the opening of a wormhole, matter to pass through that hole into hyperspace,
and matter to return to normal space in less time than it would take light to travel the same distance.
From a practical standpoint, phase technology allows faster-than-light travel even though matter itself never moves
faster than light.
Plasma Strip
The 23rd century equivalent of a light bulb.
Plasma is channeled through a thin strip of material not much thicker than a sheet of paper to produce light.
The strips function similar to technology found in a 21st century plasma screen television.
Supposedly, plasma strips are more energy efficient and will outlive most people.
Pyramid Carrier
Pyramid carrier, pyramidal carrier, or just pyramid are the terms for the advanced spacecraft carriers operated by
an unknown enemy force. The term "pyramid" refers to the spacecraft's shape, which consists of two pyramids
stuck together at their bases.
Quasar
The YPF-1 Quasar is the prototype phase fighter. Y is a common designator for prototype aerospace craft
(I jokingly think of Y as standing for not Yet ready for mass production because all the bugs haven't been worked out Yet).
PF stands for Phase Fighter and the number 1 is the model number, as one might guess.
See "phase fighter" above for further details.
R-Seeker
Short for relativistic seeker. An antimatter-powered, heat-seeking warhead the size of an average person's pinky finger.
The projectile is capable of accelerating to ninety-nine percent the speed of light in a matter of seconds.
The yield of an r-seeker is roughly equivalent to 10,000 of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II.
R-Seekers are carried and fired by more advanced star fighter craft such as the SF-522A Starthroat and YPF-1 Quasar.
Seeker
A microfusion-powered, heat-seeking warhead the size of a 21st century ballpoint pen.
The projectile is capable of accelerating to ten percent the speed of light in a matter of seconds.
The yield of a seeker is roughly equivalent to 100 of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II.
Seekers are carried and fired by modern star fighter craft such as the Starthroat, Chinese Dragonfly, South American
Condor, Russian Foxbat, and patchwork separatist spacecraft among others.
Sim
Shorthand for simulation. In the 23rd century, all images and video are captured in holographic format.
Holograms are much truer representations of the original content than old-fashioned static images and video.
Thus, holographic images and video are more commonly referred to as sims or vidsims.
A sim or vidsim is also any interactive holographic program.
Someone in the 21st century watches soap operas whereas someone in the 23rd century experiences daytime sims or soap sims.
Medical sims are 3D holographic representations of internal organs.
Advanced sims, such as those generated by the system installed in the office of the U.N. Secretary-General, are capable
of producing lifelike environments similar to holodecks on Star Trek. However, the holograms in BC9 have no
cohesion.
Thus, the term "interactive" means a person can provide feedback in order to alter the sim, but a person cannot
pick up or touch a holographic object.
Spacecraft Carrier
The spaceborne equivalent of a 21st century aircraft carrier. U.N. spacecraft carriers are typically a kilometer in
length and rotate in order to produce artificial gravity.
Sparks
Sparks are a slang term for a type of nanorobotic narcotic known to enhance reflexes and cognitive abilities at the expense
of a person's health. In other words, sparks are an advanced drug.
Spherecam
Shorthand for spherical floating camera. These softball-sized recording devices defy gravity based on the principle of magnetic
flux pinning (superconductivity).
SolNet
Shorthand for the Solar Network, the 23rd century version of the Internet.
Starthroat
An SF-522 Starthroat is a hybrid spacecraft and fighter plane--an aerospace craft--commonly referred to as a star fighter.
U.N. Aerospace Defense owns and operates these space superiority fighters, which are the most advanced of their kind. SF stands
for Space Fighter, as one might guess, and 522 is the vehicle model number.
As the name suggests, a Starthroat is capable of functioning in both atmosphere and outer space. In the mid-to-late 21st century,
engineers finally achieved a vastly sought after holy grail: reusable, single stage to orbit (SSTO) spacecraft. In the 22nd century,
the design of flight vehicles branched into two categories, those for operation in atmosphere and others that functioned solely in space.
Vehicles of the
latter type had spherical, cubic, or otherwise non-aerodynamic shapes since atmospheric drag isn't an issue in space. But by the 23rd
century, as humankind branched further out into the solar system, vehicle design came full circle. When a single skirmish could begin
in Saturn's atmosphere, move into orbit, continue on into Titan's atmosphere, down onto the surface of Titan, and back up into space again,
hybrid aerospace craft soon out-performed vehicles limited to only one mode of flight.
Each Starthroat features four fusion afterburners, forward retrorockets, a multitude of tiny thrusters comprising its reaction control system (RCS),
a pair of particle cannons, and a complement of several thousand tiny seeker missiles. A Starthroat's top speed is in the range of hundreds of kilometers
per second. The improved SF-522A model is more maneuverable, more heavily armed, and twice as fast as the base SF-522 version.
Tri-Fighter
"Tri-fighter" is the term given to the unidentified, triangular-shaped fighter that attacks the U.N. spacecraft carrier Terminus.
Not much is known about the origions of this highly advanced spacecraft or who is operating it.
Vidsim
Short for video or visual simulation. See "sim" above for details.