Over the course of the colonies' evolution, the challenge of light delay - and subsequently dive delay - have required innovations to guarantee communications and commerce. ## Chains "Chains" are append-only ledgers that describe the provenance of just about anything, from medical records to bank accounts to supply chains. These ledgers conform to a set of standards that allow anyone to validate the continuity of the ledger, know the last date the ledger was validated, and replay the events contained therein. Chains are notoriously difficult to forge, and form the backbone of distributed, eventually-consistent record-keeping in [[Whistler's Reach|The Reach]] ## Net Nodes Net Nodes are massive data caches that provide public data within a tolerable light delay. Maintained by a consortium of [[The Whistler Colonial Corporate Council|Council]] and non-Council interests, Net Nodes are found in orbit of nearly every population center in [[Whistler's Reach|The Reach]]. These satellites constantly synchronize data amongst themselves, using chains to maintain consistency. ## Express Buoys The emergence of the [[Mao-MacGregor Jump Drive|M²]] drive opened up opportunities to synchronize communication between worlds like never before. A network of Express Buoys has been created by [[The Whistler Colonial Corporate Council|The Council]] and [[Republic of Jericho|Jericho]] to facilitate regular communication across the stars. These small ships, essentially dive-capable net nodes, pool local chain updates and communications and then jump to a destination star to sync up with nodes there. In many cases, dozens of buoys are queued up and maintain a constant rotation, with a delivery dive once or twice daily. Grade-2 buoys have entered service to maintain more rapid communications between critical worlds. Communications across stars not serviced by buoys (such as between [[Whistler]] and [[Jericho]]) must be done via courier. Most starship operators maintain a secure data vault for express messages, and opportunities exist to transport entire net nodes on behalf of the consortium (colloquially referred to as "delivering the mail"). ## Commerce & Banking While light delay within a single system typically isn't a barrier to commerce, the weeks-delay between systems can be, especially for starship operators constantly on the move. The banking institutions of [[Whistler's Reach|The Reach]] have developed incredibly sophisticated systems of fraud detection, risk analysis, and micro-loans that largely make interstellar commerce snappy. However, it's not uncommon for banks to hold on a transaction - especially a large one - until a certified chain update from a remote institution is received as a checksum for the ledger being presented locally.