Communication Blackout Cripples Liao 8/01/3132
ComStar Primus Considers Policy Changes
LIAO—The hyper-pulse generator (HPG) communications hub station on Liao
(capitol of Prefecture V) shut down on Monday, leaving residents across the planet in
a communications blackout for more than 3 days. Republic officials estimate business
losses in the trillions.
ComStar acolytes worked around the clock to repair the station. According to
Rayburne Belzer, Chief Engineer of the Liao station, the blackout was an “unfortunate
accident.” Belzer would not comment on the reason for the station’s failure, though
eyewitnesses report that a column of smoke rose from the station compound for
several hours Monday morning. Meanwhile, nearby Velden Memorial Hospital
reported three ComStar acolytes treated for burns and seven treated for smoke
inhalation.
The economy took a sizeable dip as offworld communications halted during the three-
day blackout. Nearby systems suffered under the load of redirected transmissions
from the high-capacity hub on Liao. Communication node sites such as the one on
Genoa were swamped with data traffic during the blackout, causing noticeable
information delays in systems near Liao.
The entire HPG network consists of transmit and receive stations on most inhabited
worlds. Stations are classified as either “A” or “B.” Class A stations, such as the one
on Liao, are the main hubs of the network. Class B stations are generally located on
less populous worlds, and act as the nodes of the system.
Based on the same principles that allow JumpShips to instantly travel between stars, a
hyper-pulse generator transmits signals across a distance of up to fifty light-years.
Each station normally transmits on a set schedule. Messages are processed serially
and placed in a queue until they can be transmitted. Each station transmits all the
messages it has been paid to send to all other stations within its range. Those stations
then add their own messages to the batch and pass them on to the next stations in line
and so on, until the messages reach their final destination. Though sending thousands
of copies of the same message around the galaxy may appear inefficient, it is the most
efficient use of ComStar’s resources and provides back-up copies of messages in the
event of a shutdown or information loss.
Communications failures have occurred before, but never to this extent. The religious
zeal acolytes typically bring to their work and mandatory redundancy on every system
has provided uninterrupted service since Primus Dwight Kurstin’s brief term of
service in 2901 when insects chewed through critical wiring at a class B station on
Skondia.
“We’ve never seen this kind of malfunction before,” said Belzer. “We are all duly
chastened at the failure in our duty to preserve Star League technology and provide
humanity with open communication. My staff and I will be doing penance until
Primus Koenigs-Cober arrives to survey the facility and pronounce atonement.”
Primus Lisa Koenigs-Cober is expected to arrive within the next few weeks to inspect
the situation. Primus Koenigs-Cober assured business leaders who lost business
during the blackout would receive reparations for their losses.
Meriwa Agdeppa, Communications Aide to the Exarch has also spoken with the
Primus. Agdeppa is reportedly concerned about the Republic’s communications
infrastructure should something like this happen again, and there has been talk of
Republic regulation of HPG system.
Primus Koenigs-Cober has been quite adamant about ComStar’s autonomy, and
despite this incident, remains staunch. Speaking from her DropShip, she said, “This is
our sacred charge. Though we respect the Exarch’s wishes, Liao’s generator is
operable again and communications have returned to normal. The shutdown was
regrettable, but an isolated incident. It will not happen again.”
The Primus added, however, that this crisis pointed up weaknesses in the system’s
method of operation that could withstand review and revision. A change in policy
regarding the method for backing up messages and information could be in place as
soon as next week. “News organizations across the Inner Sphere regularly back up
the information they transmit via the HPG network in their own facilities in the event
of disasters or transmission trouble,” the Primus said. “There may be lessons to be
learned from these institutions.”
An official in the Lord Governor’s office on Liao commented, on condition of
anonymity, that “ComStar’s autonomy maintains a monopoly on communications that
has long been the subject of debate in government backrooms and corporate
boardrooms, and this incident shines a pretty bright light on the situation. It’s
ridiculous—we’re held hostage by ComStar’s religious zealots, the same people
responsible for the Word of Blake. Stone may have pardoned them later but it’s hard
to forget who’s who in all this. Maybe this business will give the government a wake-
up call.”
ComStar Primus Considers Policy Changes
LIAO—The hyper-pulse generator (HPG) communications hub station on Liao
(capitol of Prefecture V) shut down on Monday, leaving residents across the planet in
a communications blackout for more than 3 days. Republic officials estimate business
losses in the trillions.
ComStar acolytes worked around the clock to repair the station. According to
Rayburne Belzer, Chief Engineer of the Liao station, the blackout was an “unfortunate
accident.” Belzer would not comment on the reason for the station’s failure, though
eyewitnesses report that a column of smoke rose from the station compound for
several hours Monday morning. Meanwhile, nearby Velden Memorial Hospital
reported three ComStar acolytes treated for burns and seven treated for smoke
inhalation.
The economy took a sizeable dip as offworld communications halted during the three-
day blackout. Nearby systems suffered under the load of redirected transmissions
from the high-capacity hub on Liao. Communication node sites such as the one on
Genoa were swamped with data traffic during the blackout, causing noticeable
information delays in systems near Liao.
The entire HPG network consists of transmit and receive stations on most inhabited
worlds. Stations are classified as either “A” or “B.” Class A stations, such as the one
on Liao, are the main hubs of the network. Class B stations are generally located on
less populous worlds, and act as the nodes of the system.
Based on the same principles that allow JumpShips to instantly travel between stars, a
hyper-pulse generator transmits signals across a distance of up to fifty light-years.
Each station normally transmits on a set schedule. Messages are processed serially
and placed in a queue until they can be transmitted. Each station transmits all the
messages it has been paid to send to all other stations within its range. Those stations
then add their own messages to the batch and pass them on to the next stations in line
and so on, until the messages reach their final destination. Though sending thousands
of copies of the same message around the galaxy may appear inefficient, it is the most
efficient use of ComStar’s resources and provides back-up copies of messages in the
event of a shutdown or information loss.
Communications failures have occurred before, but never to this extent. The religious
zeal acolytes typically bring to their work and mandatory redundancy on every system
has provided uninterrupted service since Primus Dwight Kurstin’s brief term of
service in 2901 when insects chewed through critical wiring at a class B station on
Skondia.
“We’ve never seen this kind of malfunction before,” said Belzer. “We are all duly
chastened at the failure in our duty to preserve Star League technology and provide
humanity with open communication. My staff and I will be doing penance until
Primus Koenigs-Cober arrives to survey the facility and pronounce atonement.”
Primus Lisa Koenigs-Cober is expected to arrive within the next few weeks to inspect
the situation. Primus Koenigs-Cober assured business leaders who lost business
during the blackout would receive reparations for their losses.
Meriwa Agdeppa, Communications Aide to the Exarch has also spoken with the
Primus. Agdeppa is reportedly concerned about the Republic’s communications
infrastructure should something like this happen again, and there has been talk of
Republic regulation of HPG system.
Primus Koenigs-Cober has been quite adamant about ComStar’s autonomy, and
despite this incident, remains staunch. Speaking from her DropShip, she said, “This is
our sacred charge. Though we respect the Exarch’s wishes, Liao’s generator is
operable again and communications have returned to normal. The shutdown was
regrettable, but an isolated incident. It will not happen again.”
The Primus added, however, that this crisis pointed up weaknesses in the system’s
method of operation that could withstand review and revision. A change in policy
regarding the method for backing up messages and information could be in place as
soon as next week. “News organizations across the Inner Sphere regularly back up
the information they transmit via the HPG network in their own facilities in the event
of disasters or transmission trouble,” the Primus said. “There may be lessons to be
learned from these institutions.”
An official in the Lord Governor’s office on Liao commented, on condition of
anonymity, that “ComStar’s autonomy maintains a monopoly on communications that
has long been the subject of debate in government backrooms and corporate
boardrooms, and this incident shines a pretty bright light on the situation. It’s
ridiculous—we’re held hostage by ComStar’s religious zealots, the same people
responsible for the Word of Blake. Stone may have pardoned them later but it’s hard
to forget who’s who in all this. Maybe this business will give the government a wake-
up call.”
| August 1, 3132 |