Superluminal Communications (abbrev. Lumicom (superluminal communication)), also known as Lumicomm or L-Comm, is a technology utilised in special communications arrays which allow for transmission of information over various distances ranging from short distances to multi-lightyear distances throughout space. Lumicom was a long-term project spearheaded primarily by a technology syndicate based in Switzerland, with the earliest recorded development of Lumicom dating back to the early 2030s, and later by the Naval Development Group. During the advent of solar colonisation and the beginning of the Space Age, Lumicom was found to be both highly lucrative and a necessity as radio waves were ill-fit to service the long distances between Earth and Mars, and the further frontiers the United Nations was to establish.
As such, the Sol Defence Corps Naval Development Group adopted the development of the project around 2090, finalising and optimising Lumicom as late as 2100. As of 2117, Superluminal Communication is a standard-issue and legally-required installation of technology onboard all FTL-capable spacecraft and used extensively in colonial communication and short-range civilian use. Short-range communications utilize conventional radio waves, while long-distance communications utilize tachyons with estimated information transmission speeds of 2,500c (2,500 times the speed of light).
Operation
Lumicom Arrays are defined by two different types of modules - short range and long range. Both modules operate differently from one another with distinct differences.
Short Range Module
The Short Range Module, often abbreviated to SRM or referred to simply as Short Range, is the module used to transfer information in distances shorter than 1ly. Short Range Modules operate on frequencies to transmit different public channels or secure communications channels with many short range Lumicom arrays coming pre-programmed with UN Radio Communications Standard (UNRCS) channels with additional manual frequency selection.
Arrays within planetary conditions (i.e. short range arrays operating on the surface of Earth, Mars or Venus) operate without the use of Optical Communications Antenna (OPTICOM), however, for transmitting radio waves over distances between celestial bodies, OPTICOM antennae are employed. These operate by establishing a 'path' between the sender and recipient of an OPTICOM radio transmission and establishing a data link that can be communicated on. This is typically done by connecting to public Lumicom networks which catalogue sender and recipient telemetry. Otherwise, sensor arrays on planetary surfaces or from spacecraft can establish OPTICOM links independently. Once a recipient's coordinates have been acquired and loaded into an array, the antennae will attempt to send a handshake message which can be denied by the recipient. Law enforcement and naval vessels can override a declined handshake. After a successful handshake, a secure data link between these two Lumicom arrays will be established and will remain online until closed by both parties or either array is rendered inoperable.
Long Range Module
The Long Range Module, abbreviated to LRM and referred to also as Long Range is the module used in any Lumicom application above a distance of 1ly. At this range, radio wave communication would take upwards of one year to transmit information and as such, tachyon transmissions are instead used. Tachyon transmissions are sent using a TT (tachyon transmission) antenna array which takes a considerable amount of power - FTL-capable craft which employ tachyon transmission Lumicom arrays are also equipped with special supercapacitors for TT array usage. Tachyon transmissions are sent out in 'bursts' and have a high potential of information loss over long distances, as information carried within tachyons will degrade over time. As such, Long Range modules operate on a Lumicom Buoy Network (LBM).
These take the form of autonomous orbital or drifting satellites which transmit tachyon transmission bursts sent to them and, after analysing the information received, will relay it from buoy to buoy throughout the network to it's recipient. Information received through only one burst, referred to as one-burst signals, have a high potential of similarly degrading as it is passed through and analysed by network buoys. As a workaround, information is typically sent repeatedly in multiple bursts carrying the same information. A buoy will wait to receive multiple bursts of the same information before transmitting it to increase the likelihood of a full message being received and to ensure a generally higher quality of transmission.
History
The development of Superluminal Communication as a feasible, applicable technology has been passed around from tech firm to tech firm as early as 2030. The beginning of it's substantial development started with a number of European technology firms establishing a syndicate based in Bern, Switzerland, to pool their funding and resources to keep a sufficient hold on Lumicom's development - they didn't want it to enter another stagnant phase which typically consisted of a firm researching Lumicom, not being able to fund and supply it's research, and then leaving the public research behind for another firm to try and pick it up. This Swiss syndicate wanted to complete Lumicom and receive the merits for doing so, notably as expeditions to Mars were beginning to define the coming era which would call for more efficient forms of communication than radio wave transmissions. Their pooled funds allowed them to keep hold on it's research for an extended period, but the member firms were forced to enact multiple other financial initiatives which forced them to devote almost all of their efforts solely into Lumicom. It was not all for naught, however, as superluminal communication at short range was fully complete, through not optimized, which allowed them to begin drafting tachyon transmission communication.
Antimatter collection from the Circumsolar Particle Accelerator and plentiful astatine from Neptune from the 2070s to 2090s was similarly the key to completing long range Lumicom. The Swiss tech syndicate had very thoroughly researched and drafted potential models of long range arrays using tachyon transmissions as it was the only research they could do - no testing was possible as FTL, and consequently, tachyon-type exotic matter research was under complete lockdown by the SDC. It was believed that the tech firm was to wait another 10 years to be able to access tachyon-type exotic matter research and then likely another 10-20 years to fully test and complete tachyon transmission Lumicom with all the resources at their disposal - and likely more - before they could consider the project finished. However, the Naval Development Group reached out to the Swiss tech syndicate in 2090 to aid them in the development of Lumicom with their substantially larger funding and resources as the Sol Defence Corps wanted it complete for use in the Final Frontier Project. Initially apprehensive, as the NDG's involvement would come with an agreement to operate under the SDC's rules of no-publicity, and with the NDG contributing so much to the project, they would essentially be adopting Lumicom research for themselves.
However, there was lucrative reimbursement and scientific merit on the table, alongside the fact the NDG's aid would shorten their forecasted research period from thirty years to under ten. After deliberation, the Swiss tech syndicate decided to accept the NDG's offer. Their combined efforts saw the complete revamp of short range transmission alongside the research, development and finalisation of long range tachyon transmissions in under ten years, finished in 2099 - one year before the release of the Alcubierre faster-than-light drive and maiden voyage of the Escapade, which employed superluminal communication. While Lumicom's research and release was attributed primarily to the NDG by the public, unaware of the majority of it's research being done by the tech syndicate, they were on paper the credited researchers behind Lumicom and were greatly reimbursed by the Naval Development Group for their contributions to the Final Frontier Project, which allowed the members of the tech syndicate to greatly expand their companies and their reach as research firms. The syndicate officially dissolved in 2102 and all rights to superluminal communications development was handed over to the NDG and the public.
After the maiden voyage of the Escapade, multiple issues were worked out of long range Lumicom and the final model of short and long range Lumicom was fully rolled out and released on March 2nd, 2105, with the Secretary-General of the United Nations transmitting a short message to the Governor of Mars as the first test of the finalised Superluminal Communications system.