Directorate Officer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
DESCRIPTION:
For a long time, Lucerne Labs relied on external corporations, such as Corellia Digital and Mon Calamari Shipyards, to provide its communication devices for its vessels. With the disappearance of Admiral Reshmar and MCS's change in ownership, Lucerne Labs's inner circle decided that it would be best to have a reliable internal source of hardware. Oracle was devised as a comprehensive replacement for the MCS Dolfin Communications Array commonly used on Lucerne Labs vessels.
It owes much of its basic design concepts to that system, linking a subspace transceiver, hyperwave transceiver, and multiple communication lasers and receivers into a single suite. These individual communications devices in the Oracle are almost indistinguishable from any number of other basic, off the shelf devices commonly found across the galaxy. What distinguishes Oracle is that all devices are connected via organoform circuitry to a series of Calor biocomputers which act as a nerve center which integrates the communications devices together and to the rest of the ship's systems. These computers add some additional programming to the devices in an attempt to make them "smart" devices. Most of this programming is fairly innocuous, including various translation, compatibility, and protocol programs that allow Oracle to seamlessly connect its host ship with any number of other vessels from a variety of backgrounds.
But it does have an electronic warfare program that converts these communication devices into communication jammers that work against devices of the same communication type. This programming uses the hyperwave and subspace transmitters to broadcast "noise" or "static" on the same frequencies used by jammed device to disrupt information flow. Because none of Oracle's communication devices are exceptionally powerful, this is not an effective general spectrum jammer: the devices must be specifically focused on the same frequencies as to have any effect on similarly sized vessels, and frequently these effects are not as strong as from dedicated communication jammers. Because of this, if multiple ships equipped with Oracle packages will often sync their jamming efforts to increase their power and effectiveness. Similarly, the communications lasers can be employed to pulse modulated light into enemy comm laser receivers, adding additional signals that can corrupt or block data transmitted by other lasers. This is often more difficult to implement than the other kinds of jamming because it necessitates a closer range for the light to travel without diffracting too much, as well as maintaining line of sight with the receiver. Because all of these devices are using their own transmitters to generate noise, they generally cannot be used to communicate while they are jamming. The exception is with the subspace transceiver, which can jam enemy broadcasts by transmitting its information on the same frequency used by the opposing force.
This only is effective when there is notable transmission power difference between the Oracle or a group of synced Oracles and its opponent (a more powerful signal will override a weaker signal). The obvious downside to this is that the enemy will be receiving the same signals being sent to friendly ships. This jamming technique almost always necessitates using encryption in order to prevent the enemy from immediately using the transmitted information to their advantage.
Oracle also comes with its own programmed countermeasures to enemy jamming attempts, most often using predetermined frequency hopping among synced Oracle ships to overcome jamming attempts. Likewise, the communication lasers can use a similar technique, albeit with less effectiveness, by rapidly altering what light spectrum(Infrared, ultraviolet, etc) they are using at any given moment.
- Intent: To provide Lucerne Labs and its customers with a standard starship communication package
- Image Source: N/A
- Canon Link: N/A
- Restricted Missions: N/A
- Primary Source: N/A
- Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
- Model: Oracle Communications Package
- Affiliation: Directorate and its allies, Closed Market
- Modularity: No
- Production: Minor
- Material: Subspace Transceiver, Hyperwave Transceiver, comm-lasers, comm laser receivers, Calor series bio computers, Biolux series organoform circuitry
- All communication devices double as jamming devices
- Oracle comes with translating, syncing, and compatibility software that allow it to automatically sync and enable communications with friendly and neutral craft
- Jamming: All communication devices in their Oracle package can be reconfigured to jam their counterparts, usually at the cost of their ability to communicate.
- Automatic Syncing: Oracle automatically attempts to connect and sync its communication devices with friendly vessels and neutral vessels. This allows Oracle vessels to quickly link up and coordinate their actions. Part of this process also includes automatically translating different languages and data formats.
- Defense in Principle: Biolux Organoform Circuitry does not use electricity to function. Instead it uses pulses of chemically generated light to transmit data. Consequently, area of effect electromagnetic pulses generally do not affect this circuitry's ability to function. Prolonged direct fire from ion weapons can penetrate the system's silicon-sturdiplast insulation to electrocute the organisms inside. This tends to be a very gradual process, since ion weapons usually aren't optimized to electrocute organic material, but it is eventually capable of disabling this circuitry given enough time.
Self-Healing: Both the Calor biocompuers and the Biolux organoform circuitry can slowly heal themselves if damaged as their organic colonies rebuild their numbers, assuming that they are given enough time, nutrients, and energy. This is a process that usually takes hours to days depending on the amount of damage sustained.
- Single Function: A device that is functioning as a jammer cannot be used as a communication's device at the same time, with the sometimes exception to the subspace transceiver (explained below).
- Easy Access: Oracle's automatic syncing ability also provides easy access point for enemy slicers. The ship's subspace transceiver's jamming ability also can actually transmit friendly communications straight to the opposition, provided they have a means to decrypt the signal (Explained in detail below).
- Environmentally Fickle/Living: Organoform circuitry cannot withstand the same environmental changes that many modern circuits can, such as vacuum, and have a lower range of temperature variances in which they can work. As a living thing, it is also susceptible to viruses and diseases. Because it is composed of living organisms, Biolux is also particularly susceptible to local and concentrated radiation weapons, such as radiation grenades or T-33 Plasma Torpedoes.
- Difficult to Repair: Whereas a typical blown circuit can be pulled out and replaced with an identical model fairly quickly, the same is not true for Biolux. Not only is it harder to locate the exact point of failure, but damaged sections have to be sliced out and new sections must be grafted to the older section. This grafting process takes time during which the circuitry is either inoperable or works at a much reduced capacity in terms of both speed and information capacity as its host organisms grow and adapt to their surroundings.
DESCRIPTION:
For a long time, Lucerne Labs relied on external corporations, such as Corellia Digital and Mon Calamari Shipyards, to provide its communication devices for its vessels. With the disappearance of Admiral Reshmar and MCS's change in ownership, Lucerne Labs's inner circle decided that it would be best to have a reliable internal source of hardware. Oracle was devised as a comprehensive replacement for the MCS Dolfin Communications Array commonly used on Lucerne Labs vessels.
It owes much of its basic design concepts to that system, linking a subspace transceiver, hyperwave transceiver, and multiple communication lasers and receivers into a single suite. These individual communications devices in the Oracle are almost indistinguishable from any number of other basic, off the shelf devices commonly found across the galaxy. What distinguishes Oracle is that all devices are connected via organoform circuitry to a series of Calor biocomputers which act as a nerve center which integrates the communications devices together and to the rest of the ship's systems. These computers add some additional programming to the devices in an attempt to make them "smart" devices. Most of this programming is fairly innocuous, including various translation, compatibility, and protocol programs that allow Oracle to seamlessly connect its host ship with any number of other vessels from a variety of backgrounds.
But it does have an electronic warfare program that converts these communication devices into communication jammers that work against devices of the same communication type. This programming uses the hyperwave and subspace transmitters to broadcast "noise" or "static" on the same frequencies used by jammed device to disrupt information flow. Because none of Oracle's communication devices are exceptionally powerful, this is not an effective general spectrum jammer: the devices must be specifically focused on the same frequencies as to have any effect on similarly sized vessels, and frequently these effects are not as strong as from dedicated communication jammers. Because of this, if multiple ships equipped with Oracle packages will often sync their jamming efforts to increase their power and effectiveness. Similarly, the communications lasers can be employed to pulse modulated light into enemy comm laser receivers, adding additional signals that can corrupt or block data transmitted by other lasers. This is often more difficult to implement than the other kinds of jamming because it necessitates a closer range for the light to travel without diffracting too much, as well as maintaining line of sight with the receiver. Because all of these devices are using their own transmitters to generate noise, they generally cannot be used to communicate while they are jamming. The exception is with the subspace transceiver, which can jam enemy broadcasts by transmitting its information on the same frequency used by the opposing force.
This only is effective when there is notable transmission power difference between the Oracle or a group of synced Oracles and its opponent (a more powerful signal will override a weaker signal). The obvious downside to this is that the enemy will be receiving the same signals being sent to friendly ships. This jamming technique almost always necessitates using encryption in order to prevent the enemy from immediately using the transmitted information to their advantage.
Oracle also comes with its own programmed countermeasures to enemy jamming attempts, most often using predetermined frequency hopping among synced Oracle ships to overcome jamming attempts. Likewise, the communication lasers can use a similar technique, albeit with less effectiveness, by rapidly altering what light spectrum(Infrared, ultraviolet, etc) they are using at any given moment.
