Augmented Reality

Augmented reality is an environment that includes both virtual reality and real-world elements. For instance, an AR user might wear translucent goggles; through these, he could see the real world, as well as computer-generated overlays projected on top of that world. An augmented reality system is defined as one that:

• combines real and virtual
• is interactive in real-time
• is registered in three dimensions

Typical AR overlays are head-up displays used by soldiers and police, or pilots, which provide them with real-time information direct. Citizens use AR glasses which are wirelessly connected to their laptop or PDA, allowing them to access informational overlays while on the move.

Azumi Smart Systems currently lead the way in AR technology software and hardware.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence, or 'AI' are artificial intelligence software running on computers. AI refers to the capacity for sentience and intelligent action, but not necessarily self-awareness. Some forms of AI can be housed in a machine, or android, body. AI displays synthesized emotion, superficially registers self-awareness and, most importantly of all, has the ability to reason conceptualize and offer opinion. However, these capabilities do not infer true human-like consciousness. A synthetic mind and personality is essentially a construct, and there is no true self-awareness as such, though this may not be all apparent to an untrained observer.

The creation of artificial life in man's image caused outrage amongst many right wing Christian groups, especially the New Confederate Christian Church of the United Americas. The church, one of the fastest growing religions of the 22nd Century, denounced Adam as blasphemy.

Levels of Artificial Intelligence can be broken down into four distinct categories as follows:

Alpha Level AI

True artificial self awareness. Banned as of 2214 apart from a handful of instances in the hands of the United Earth Federation government and military, all of which are closely monitored. The 5th Generation of androids (autons) can be considered Alpha Level AI.

Beta Level AI

A synthetic mind and personality - essentially a construct, and there is no true self-awareness as such, though this may not be all apparent to an untrained observer interacting with a unit. Beta Level AI is based on a set of algorythmic responses, the software creating a predictive model for how an individual would respond in a given situation. This allows the illusion of personality.

Gamma Level AI

Lowest form of AI capable of interacting with humans. Can operate only within a predefined set of parameters. Shipboard AI are typically Gamma Level AI.

Delta Level AI

Autonomic system that require moderate decision making ability without human intervention are Delta Level.

Communications

In the late 23rd century, the following are the most common forms of long-range communications:

Radio Communications

Radio communications are identical to those available today. On a planetary scale they are cheap and easy to manufacture and maintain, and given good satellite coverage, allow for instant communication between users. Over interplanetary distances, the time taken for radio signals to travel from source to destination introduce unacceptable communication delays, and therefore are rarely used as a primary means in such situations.

Laser Communications

High-gain modulated laser beams bounced through a series of relay satellites are often used for routine interplanetary communications. They are limited by speed of light and relay time, but in most situations the delay is acceptable

Quantum Communications

Quantum communications rely on the unusual properties associated with quantum entanglement. When the quantum properties of particles such as photons, become entangled, they behave like psychic twins. Even if they are separated by vast interplanetary or interstellar distances, a disturbance to one affects the other. If changes are made to one of the pair, they are reflected in the other. Scientists in the early 22nd century discovered that this effect still experiences a delay, as the spooky interaction between the particles ripples through space-time at a rate of 1 parsec per Earth Standard Day. Information transmitted using a quantum communications array can travel at a maximum speed of 1 parsec per standard day (24 earth hours). All interplanetary and interstellar vessels have been equipped with quantum communication arrays. Quantum communicators are expensive and not person-portable.

Computer Technology

Computers come in a variety of sizes, from those installed in small hand-held devices, to mainframe supercomputers capable of running powerful AIs. The majority are based on molecular circuits connected by carbon nanotubes. These have much higher information densities than their silicon-based predecessors. When coupled with holographic data-storage systems they provide large storage capacities coupled with instant data search and retrieval. Most commercially available computers have data storage capacities in the order of terabytes. Quantum computers represent the cutting edge of parallel information processing. Quantum computers can solve problems that for the common molecular computer would be extremely time-consuming. The drawback is that quantum computers require dedicated cooling systems, and remain large and bulky, limited to large mainframes.

Education:

In the Core Systems, children are required by Federal Law to attend school until the age of 18. At 18, a student has the choice of attending a University, or three years of Federal Service.

In the Colonies, students begin what is known as 'Obligation' at the age of 16. This involves performing minor duties for the colony for a maximum of 4 hours per day.

Immigration/Emigration

Interstellar immigration/emigration is tightly controlled by the ICA and the ITC. Despite hundreds of millions of people now living offworld in the colonies, Earth in the late 23rd Century is still home to almost 10 billion people and is woefully overcrowded. To compound matters, those wishing to live in the colonies must apply for Colonist Status from the ICA. This involves a series of rigorous background checks, physical, mental and psychological examinations.

Entertainment

The Federal Network, or FedNet, is the collective term for the technology behind the wirelessly-networked, ubiquitously-connected urban environment of the 23rd century. FedNet provides entertainment in the form of over a thousand digital television and radio channels, information in the form of the Interstellar Web (ISW), communications access for Personal ComLinks etc. Every tax-paying citizen of the United Earth Federation has at least the basic FedNet package. Extra services can be 'bolted on' for a higher subscription fee.

Federal Service

Students completing their education but not wanting to continue to a University are required by Federal Law to take the Federal Orientation Test and complete three years of Federal Service. This involves working for the Federal Government in one of it's many branches, including the United Earth Armed Forces, the Federal Health Service, the Federal Transportation Network, and the Federal Labourforce. The pay isn't great, and choice of career path is limited depending on the results of the FOT, but completion of Federal Service usually gives an individual the option of staying on in their chosen profession with a salary increase.

Food

In the 23rd Century, genetically modified food is commonplace, and by far the most common genetically modified organisms are crop plants.

Megacorporations engineer crops to produce traits such as disease resistance and drought tolerance, or the ability to grow on planets orbiting stars of a different spectral type. Bringing in and altering genes from other species is the only way to improve these crops, thus enabling the crops to be grown on marginal colony worlds.

Animals are no longer reared for their meat, as the process has become too cost-prohibitive. Instead, 'cultured meat' is grown from cells removed from farm animals and proliferated in a nutrient-rich medium. Using this technique, single cells can be used to produce enough meat to feed a global population for a year.

The resulting meat product can then be harvested, seasoned, cooked, and consumed as a boneless, processed meat.

Genetics

The colonisation of outer space led to an explosion in the genetics industry, primarily in the food and medical fields. Strict laws have been passed regarding the genetic manipulation of humans, but it is now perfectly acceptable to have genetically modified pets (want a cat with blue fur? No problem) and for pharmaceutical companies to raise Pharm Animals - animals that produce commercially useful proteins. It should be stressed again that there are laws to ensure that these proteins can be extracted safely with minimum discomfort to the animals.

Government and Politics

The political landscape of Earth has forever changed from that at the turn of the 21st century. Earth and the Federal Colonies are now governed by the United Earth Federation (UEF), a world government that replaced the United Nations in 2085AD. For more detailed information about the United Earth Federation visit the section on this website.

Healthcare

By the latter half of the 23rd Century, medicine has advanced in all fields to levels unparalleled. Infant mortality rates on Alpha Status worlds is the lowest ever recorded, and life expectancy has increased to the point where it is now the accepted norm for people to live well into their 90s. Though the Eckerley ruling of 2086 prohibits the cloning of an entire human body, cloning technologies now enable hospitals to grow new organs and limbs for patients needing transplant surgery, thus forever eliminating the spectre of organ rejection. Micro-surgery has reached a point where the rebuilding and/or attachment of severed/cloned limbs has a success rate of over 96.4%.

Although gene therapies (GeneFixing) have all but eliminated many hereditary disorders, and genetically-enhanced designer pharmaceutical products have defeated many diseases, more still exist. Some of these are new to humanity, being unintentionally imported from alien biospheres. Some forms of cancer have yet to be conquered, and one of the biggest killers in the 23rd century is heart disease, especially with large percentages of the population clinically obese.

All citizens of the Federation are entitled to free health care via the Federal Health Service (FHS), although waiting lists for expensive treatments and therapies can be up to 6 months long. As a result, private healthcare organisations, such as Medtech, provide an expensive way to get immediate access to treatments.

Identity

All citizens of the United Earth Federation have their DNA fingerprint recorded at birth and added to the Federal Public Records Database, allowing police to identify any suspect within a matter of hours.

In addition, citizens of the Federation are required by law to carry an ID card at all times, which contains biometric information.

Law and Order

Despite advances in crime detection and prevention, crime is as present as ever in the 23rd century. Technological advances and social changes have created new crimes, or new twists on older crimes, resulting in changes in policing techniques, and the creation of new branches of law enforcement. In addition, several large crime syndicates have a stranglehold on drugs trafficking, pornography and prostitution in the colonies. For more details about 23rd century policing, visit the downloads section and download the ColSec sourcebook, soon to be replaced by the Federal Law Enforcement Authority Sourcebook.

Media

There are a multitude of independent media organisations in the 23rd Century, providing news and current affairs to the populace. The official Federal News Network (FNN), can best be described as an interstellar hybrid of the BBC and CNN. FNN is a quasi-autonomous organisation part-financed by the taxes of the civilian population, and is renowned for it's impartial news reporting.

Money

Though most nations still retain their own currencies for domestic use, virtually all international trade is conducted using the Euro-Dollar as the base, an amalgam of the two strongest 21st Century currencies before the collapse of the global economy in 2084. Most of the daily transactions made by Federal citizens are electronic. Scanners in retail outlets match an individual's retina against the biometric information on their bank smart-card to verify identity. Money is debited from the citizens' bank account when goods are purchased. Because of the unavoidable delay in communications over interstellar distances, many banks provide a facility where credit can be downloaded to a smart card before a journey.

Hard currency still exists, but it is rare in the Core Systems, being much more common in the Outer Colonies and beyond. Hard currency is still the preferred payment method by those individuals who do not want their spending habits recorded. Currency is printed in Eurodollars, though some corporations print their own currency, which is legal tender only on colonies that they control.

Nanotechnology

Nanotech enjoys limited use but has never made it into the big time as posited by many science fiction authors of the 20th century. Nanomachines only work well in sterile, controlled environments, as significant amounts of background radiation produce a rapid degredation in their ability. They also have very limited memory and can only set up for simple non-repetative tasks. What they are good at is assembling simple components at the molecular level.

The fear that nanomachines would escape and run riot never materialised. In the big world outside of the specialist construction laboratories called NanoForges, they are just totally outclassed. Temperature fluctations, everyday contaminants such as dust and various forms of radiation all contribute to their rapid demise. The microscopic molecular components of computers and AI's, and the vast carbon nanotubes of the space tethers could not me manufacturered without the nanobot.

Property

On 23rd Century Earth, there is a premium on real estate, with the government and corporations owning most available property. Renting is the norm, with owning one's own house reserved for the rich and famous. The offworld colonies offer the hope for owning a piece of land...

Religion

As long as humanity needs answers to the unanswerable, there will be religion. All the major religions of the 21st century are still going strong, with a few notable additions. One of the fastest growing religions in the 23rd century is Chrislam - an amalgamation of Christianity and Islam that occurred during the Second Exodus (2166-96) from Earth. Chrislam is a very popular religion in the colonies, though it has made little headway on Earth.

Sex, Birth Control, and Children

With a population over 10 billion, and colonial populations pushing the economy to it's limits, people in the Core Systems and especially on Earth are encouraged to have small families, with incentives like tax cuts, free education etc for those who do. Every birth must be authorized by the Federal Health Service, and the health status of parents must be verified.

In the Outer Colonies, birth control is mandatory. Small families are encouraged for different reasons, the main one being to maximise the gene exchange between the colony. Extra DNA material is kept in the colony science labs to increase the gene richness should the colony have to survive long term without a new influx of colonists from elsewhere.

Tourism

Interstellar tourism is still a very expensive business, and a pursuit reserved for the rich and famous. In star systems like Sol, interplanetary cruises are affordable and popular. Offworld packages such as the 'Red Planet' tour of Mars, and the 'Rings of Saturn' cruise are popular and comparable in cost to exotic intercontinental holidays of the 20th Century.

Transport

Ever since the global economy collapsed in 2084, public service industries such as transport, water & power and health were globalised. Most citizens use the integrated public transport systems, which include MagLev trains and passenger scramjets. With scramjet technology now commonplace, travel time between continents has been cut dramatically. A commercial flight between London and New York now takes just less than an hour. Cars are controlled by intelligent traffic control computer systems on major intercity routes, but manual control is still allowed on local road networks.

Interplanetary and interstellar travel is still an expensive business. Most people who travel are either company employees, military personnel or government staff. There are no commercial passenger services out beyond the Core Systems. Travellers must negotiate their own ticket prices.

Youth Culture

As ever, youth culture continues to confound adults, with its ever-changing styles and fads.